12. Aurelia
Chapter 12
“Knock, knock,” I heard at the closed tent flap. It sounded like the man from last night. Hadriel.
I remained silent, sitting in the lone chair in the tent where the table had been. The alpha must’ve cleared everything else away this morning while I was still asleep, drugged out on bliss and frustratingly, deliciously sated.
“Please say you’re in there,” he said. “I don’t want to peek in case I accidentally see you naked and get killed by the alpha, or in case you are waiting in there to harm me in some way. This is a nice outfit and blood would absolutely ruin it.”
I tried to practice the vague calmness of a composed woman... and ended up shaking my head and looking away to keep from smiling. His humor was so crass and dark, it easily knocked me off balance.
“Okay. It seems you are not responding.” I saw the shadow of a foot at the bottom of the tent flap. “It is either that you are trapped under something heavy, like the weight of your conscience, or you are doing a wonderful job of ignoring me. The third option would be that you have escaped, leaving me the terrible task of informing a slightly manic alpha of your disappearance. Let’s hope it’s not that one. So. I am going to come in. Please do not stab me. I’m not the bad guy here.” He paused. “Except for unlawfully abducting you and taking you to—okay, I am kinda a bad guy here. Let’s join forces and rule the world, shall we?”
I didn’t respond. I wasn’t going to make this easier on these people, even if this one was oddly amusing.
“Gods tickle my balls, please be in there and not naked,” he murmured, pushing the tent flap aside and peering into the gloomy space. Very little light filtered in through the window, the flap closed. The alpha had done it to preserve my privacy, it seemed. Which was... thoughtful, actually. It hadn’t diminished the flaming embarrassment of what I’d done with him last night.
Hadriel’s gaze found me and his bearing relaxed.
“Thank fuck,” he murmured as he stepped in before raising his voice. “Well, hello and good afternoon to you.” He bustled toward me with a steaming mug. “Look at you.” He gestured to my plain brown shirt, tucked into faded brown trousers that I’d worn into the ground. “Drab chic, I love it. Who needs fashion when you have that face, am I right? Now, here we go. Let’s drink some tea and make sure last night’s bad decision doesn’t evolve into a spot of trouble for life, hmm?”
Ah. The pregnancy tea. How antiquated.
“I have my own remedy if you’ll just let me go back to the village and grab it.”
He clucked his tongue. “I don’t think that’s a possibility, I’m afraid. We’re moving out in the opposite direction today.” He held the tea forward.
It had been worth a shot.
I studied him for a moment, wondering if they’d put something in the brew. Would they want to knock me out to make the journey easier? Or maybe the alpha had too many regrets about losing control last night and decided to cut out the problem.
“Is this intended to kill me?” I asked, sniffing it.
“And rob the dragons their chance to torture you gruesomely? Not likely.” He grinned at me for a moment before the twinkle left his eyes. “Sorry. Gallows humor. In the not-so-distant past, we lived each day wondering if we’d see the next. At first we joked to cope. Or I joked to cope, anyway. What’s the point without a sense of humor, you know? Then reality got all fucked and twisted, as did my humor. I forget you’re normal. No, it’s not poisoned.”
There was something about him that made me want to trust him. To believe him. He was odd, no doubt, but he seemed completely genuine.
Regardless, I doubted very much I had a choice. Either I took it with him voluntarily, or the alpha would likely be brought in and force me.
As I drank it, my soft ugh of disgust couldn’t be helped. This stuff tasted like the inside of a sweaty shoe.
“Okay,” he said once I’d finished, taking the empty mug, “let’s get you up and out there. You’ll be riding with me today.”
I stood, my hands clasped as though still shackled, trying to keep my voice from showing how uncomfortable and awkward I felt. He seemed incredibly blasé about riding in close proximity, but I knew from experience how uneasy I made people. How afraid they were of catching my “affliction”.
“I should probably give you some distance,” I said. “I’ll walk.”
He turned a little sideways and narrowed his eyes dramatically at me.
“What’ve you heard?” He lowered his brow. “Who was talking, Kurt? He gets all his information from Liron, that cornholing dickface. Are you really going to trust a guy who doesn’t know which hole he’s sticking his dick into? No. Besides, that rash had nothing to do with the orgy in the woods. Well, it did, but that was because I was on hands and knees leaning over the wrong bush. When the railing from behind got a little extreme, I leaned too far down into the bush and suddenly I’m a sexual pariah. It was the plant that gave me the welts! The plant! Finley patched it up in no time. I wasn’t even contagious! Besides, it’s gone now. You have nothing to worry about.”
“I—” My brain filled with static. I blinked rapidly. “I?—”
He waited patiently for me to get my thoughts together. It was not easy.
“I didn’t hear anything about you, no. I was just trying to make things easier on you.”
“Oh good, that’s a relief.” He reached out to loop his arm through mine, probably so that I wouldn’t run. I shied away and he stuck out his hands. “Look! It’s gone! Seriously, the rash is gone. It wasn’t even contagious! It was months ago. You’re blowing this way out of proportion.”
I knew my lips quirked as I struggled with the budding smile. “I believe you. We have plants like that here. No, it’s not that. It’s just?—”
“Oh, my horse? Because Jenkins can take more weight, don’t worry about him. He’s a feisty stallion prepared to hold the likes of the largest dragons. You’re a waif who needs a little more nutrition in her diet and I’m lean. He can easily and comfortably hold more weight than us.”
I blew out a frustrated breath. “I know the alpha wants me watched, but I’d be a real idiot to run in the middle of the day with wolf shifters all around me. I wouldn’t get far. So I’m fine to walk. You don’t have to share air space.”
“Listen, love, I have no fucking idea what we are talking about, but I do know we are wasting time. The alpha is impatient to go and you holding things up is just going to enrage him. I do not want to deal with an enraged alpha wolf. Sure, usually I’m pretty sure he won’t lose his mind and accidentally kill me, but today he’s acting a bit manic. I don’t want to put him to the test. Get your cute little ass sashaying to the door, please. Let’s go.”
“It’s just...” I flinched away when he tried to loop my arm again to head to the tent flap.
Before I could spell it out—because he did not seem to be getting that I was letting him off the hook—I noticed the group of people waiting just outside the tent. They stared at me, one and all, their gazes curious or hostile, a few taking a step back as I neared.
My body had gone rigid. I could ignore this type of scrutiny in the village; it was something I’d grown used to shrugging off. But these were powerful strangers. Dangerous warriors. Their hostility made me freeze up, worried about what they’d do and reminding me of a violent past that had sent me running.
“I’m not contagious, either,” I murmured with a tight jaw, passing the onlookers by. “But I understand you wanting to keep your distance. It’s nothing new. I’ll walk.”
“Ooh, what’s this now?” Hadriel hurried to get closer. “What sort of sexual affliction did you catch, how did you get rid of it, and what were you doing when you got it? Tell me everything!”
I couldn’t get a handle on this guy. Was nothing he said ever normal?
“Not—no,” I said quickly, a wave of heat rolling over me as my mind replayed the many things I’d done with the alpha last night.
I followed his directional gesture toward the horses, their leads tethered around poles that had clearly been set up recently. When we neared, I turned to him angrily, embarrassed that I had to spell this out. Usually people were relieved when I let them off the hook like this.
“I know I make people uncomfortable,” I said. “You won’t lose your animal because I don’t have one, but I get the concern. I can walk, it’s fine.”
Understanding spread across his face. He barked out a laugh before planting his hand on my upper arm, refusing to allow me to pull away this time. “My darling, I don’t give two shits about your animal situation. There are things much worse than not feeling the stubborn basket of cocks you have lodged in your person, let me tell you. In fact, here, get on this horse and Uncle Haddy will tell you some stories about when my animal was suppressed and what it was like in the demon sex castle. Those stories are sure to curl your cunt hairs.”
I choked on my spit at the verbiage and spooked the horse with my coughing.
“Also,” I said through wheezing, “I’ve never ridden a horse. I don’t know how.”
“That’s easy. I’ll teach you. I just have to remove the saddle and get things ready for two riders. The dumb as rocks stable boy surely won’t be able to do it. He’d probably try to fit two saddles and wonder why it didn’t work.”
He didn’t just prepare the horse we’d ride, though. He ended up helping the flustered stable boy get all the horses untethered, organized, and ready to go. It was clear he knew what he was doing, much more so than the boy.
I waited off to the side in the trees, watching the riders take to their horses. Not all the people in camp would be riding, it seemed. Some would walk beside horses and donkeys laden with saddle bags or pulling carts. Others seemed like they’d be carrying a pack themselves, walking in a group. Still others shifted into their wolf forms, taking to the trees, their movements lithe and graceful in a way I had never seen. Hunters, all. The only thing that came close was Granny’s patrol and sentries, but they couldn’t hold a candle to the beauty of movement I saw before me.
My insides curdled as I remembered Granny. Thinking about the patrol and everyone who’d perished. It wasn’t right, marveling at the people who’d been responsible.
I turned my back on them, wandering away a little. I hadn’t been lying to Hadriel—I wasn’t so stupid as to assume I could make a run for it. They’d follow me easily. They’d then surely punish me, and any injuries I received would hinder me from other, easier escape opportunities.
I scanned the area, looking for landmarks I might know. Sadly, everything here was entirely foreign. It had to be outside of our territory, or close to the perimeter.
A small thread of guilt and worry wound within me. I couldn’t shake the innate feeling that I was doing something wrong. I’d lived with Granny’s rules for so long, afraid of what would happen if I strayed outside of her protections. It felt like a freefall to be this far out. It felt like I’d have a punishment to look forward to, regardless of whether it was my fault or not.
But she was gone. She wasn’t in control anymore. I’d better get used to my new normal.
My meandering carried me a little further still, though I made sure I could hear the chatter and shouts of the pack so I wouldn’t get turned around and lose my way. I looked through the plant life below me, hunting for the reclusive Moonfire Lily and thinking about my creations. I needed something to occupy my mind beyond what that man had said about there being worse things than a suppressed animal. I’d never heard anyone say something like that. People might feign indifference, but no one laughed off my affliction. No one stayed in my presence so easily, tried to touch me so often, and looked me straight in the eye as though he was fascinated by what he saw. It was... perplexing.
Warmth blossomed in my chest and then started seeping down my middle. My nerve endings sizzled, like fire washing over my skin. I recognized that feeling...
I turned around slowly, butterflies filling my stomach.
What I saw stole my breath.
A massive wolf stood twenty paces away, larger than any I had ever seen. His slate gray eyes matched his pelt, trained on me with intense focus. He stepped forward slowly, his head lowered a little.
Unsure, I took a step back.
His lips pulled away from large canines and he growled deeply.
I froze, my flight instincts going active but the magma now gushing in my middle, wrestling my control.
The alpha wolf crept nearer, still showing his teeth. He circled me, as though assessing. I didn’t dare turn to watch him, unconfident I’d keep my position if he wound closer.
My heart beat rapidly as he entered my field of vision again, having closed half the distance to me. I could smell his mouthwatering scent, even in his wolf form. Feel his proximity now as he continued to circle. He stopped mere feet away, his shifter form intimidating. His eyes sparkled as he beheld me, holding my gaze for a long beat, and then he shifted.
The man stood from a crouch, towering over me, his heat blanketing any exposed skin.
“What are you doing out here, Little Wolf?” he murmured, his voice deep and rich. Butterflies fluttered faster through my stomach. “Are you trying to run from me?”
My head was tilted up so that I could sink into those deep gray eyes. His taunt, Little Wolf, sounded more like an affectionate term this time, said like it was something precious. His power radiated, making my bones feel like jelly.
“You can, you know,” he murmured, his hand coming up slowly, as though I might spook. “Run. I’d like it if you did. It’s in my nature to hunt. To bring you down like prey. When I catch you, I’ll do with you what I like.”
My eyes hooded. Damn me, but I wanted that so fucking badly. I wanted the thrill of terror as he closed in, then the thrill of pleasure as he used me to his liking.
His fingers wrapped around the base of my neck, holding me in place.
“Or maybe I’ll do with you what I like right now.” He bent, his face inches away, his eyes jogging back and forth between mine.
I should’ve run. Fought. At the very least I should’ve told him to fuck off. A simple “no” even.
Instead, I stood there, frozen, heart racing.
With a little smile, he continued to bend until his lips grazed the edges of mine. Lightning sizzled between us. He traced my jaw with his tongue before sucking in an earlobe. I groaned in miserable delight.
His lips grazed down the side of my neck and then stopped briefly at the line of my top. His hand slipped from behind my neck, his fingers hooking into the fabric. He pulled it away enough for his lips to travel along the surface of my shoulder and back, just a little past the crook of my neck. He sucked in skin and then grazed his teeth over the sensitive location.
My stomach clenched, wanting it. Wanting him to bite down and mark me in a way that would never go away, that no one else would ever be able to cover. No one would be strong enough. Powerful enough. I didn’t know much of the Outside, but I had a feeling there weren’t many, or any, more powerful than this shifter. I’d be his, forever.
“No,” I moaned, but tilted my head away to give him more access. My body wouldn’t stop contradicting me.
“No?” he murmured against my flesh, scraping with his teeth and making me shiver.
“No,” I whispered, my hands at my sides.
His wanton tone matched mine. “Are you sure?”
I didn’t answer him with words. Couldn’t tell him to stop.
My head fell away that bit more, a silent plea for him to continue.
He ripped the fabric of my shirt, making me gasp. One of his hands was free to grab my neck, holding me in place again, and the other slid down my front. He pushed it into my trousers, down until his fingers found my wetness.
I moaned, standing still like a good girl, wanting to hear that praise again. It was a strange sort of fetish I realized I was very much into with this powerful shifter. I could hate myself for it later.
“Hmm,” he said, the word vibrating across my skin. “You’re so wet for me.”
He sucked on that sensitive spot in the hollow of my neck. Ran his teeth over it, making me shiver again. His fingers delved into me, his thumb circling my clit and making me dizzy.
“I think you’d let me,” he said, his teeth digging in a little more. My head felt light. I did nothing to stop him. “I think you’d come as I claimed you, wouldn’t you?”
His fingers worked me fast. His hot mouth felt so good against my skin.
“Not yet, though,” he whispered, so faint I could barely hear him. “Not until we can all participate. We’ll compromise this time.”
I didn’t know what he meant. Couldn’t focus on what he was saying. A delicious heat was building in me as his fingers worked, capturing all my attention. His grip on my neck tightened, and I liked that, too.
He moved fast. Sharp pain barely registered as his teeth cut into the flesh at the side of my neck. His fingers plunged in and out quickly and his thumb continuing to circle. He sucked the offending spot so hard a normal person would’ve probably wriggled in pain, first scoring my skin, and then bruising it. His mark in that spot wouldn’t be forever, but it would be a mark all the same. For an alpha, it meant that if anyone else dared touch me, it was a challenge to him. He’d kill them without blame.
I should be utterly pissed, fighting him off.
I closed my eyes, gyrating my hips as he finger-fucked my pussy. My moans increased in volume. My fists tightened.
“Oh gods,” I groaned, putty in his hands.
“No,” he said, pulling his face up even with mine. His eyes rooted me to the spot. “You don’t call on the gods when I’m touching you. You’re mine,” he growled, his fingers against my neck tightening a bit more. “You use my name. Weston or Alpha. Now come for me, Little Wolf,” he commanded.
Like a damn bursting, pleasure exploded through me. I cried out with the sheer power of it, this time using his name and earning an approving growl for my efforts. My knees weakened and I clung to him.
He dropped his head to rest his lips right beside my ear, pulling out his fingers and then rolling them around my clit. Aftershocks rippled through me.
“Good girl,” he praised, and his electric heat sizzled across my skin. “This was a warning. The next time you wander away, you’ll be on your knees, worshipping my cock.”
Tingles flowed over me. He pulled away, leaving me standing there panting, my eyes closed. I didn’t hear him leave but felt his growing distance as though part of him was still attached to me. In a moment, when the feeling subsided, I let my eyes drift open.
Hadriel stood in the clearing with his hands braced on his hips and his colorful jacket catching and throwing the sunlight.
“Well,” he said, not coming closer. “That’ll teach you to wander off, hmm? Looked like a nice little fingerfuck you had just there. I see you have a darkening mark to show for it. I sure hope you didn’t intend to fuck any more of your captors, because there’s no way that’s going to happen now. No one is going to come near you.”
“They wouldn’t have, anyway.” I shivered with a lingering aftershock.
“I suppose you’re right. No one’s stupid enough to touch an alpha’s—never mind. Come on, let’s go get you a new shirt. It’s like he thinks we have an endless supply of your drab attire. What if you have to start borrowing from other people? I’d bet you won’t know what to do with yourself if you slapped on a little color, not that there’s much of it around this place.”
I followed after him like a lost little lamb, not really sure what to say for myself. What could I say for myself? He was right. I’d just let my captor, the guy who’d I’d sworn not to touch again, finger me until completion. And though he hadn’t claimed me, he’d marked me for all to see. I was his prisoner in body and now in flesh. Worse, whenever he was near, I was his in spirit, too. It was like every time he came close, he gave me a drug that stripped away my rationale. A drug I couldn’t chase away with my mind.
A drug I really fucking liked.
Maybe that was why people were getting so addicted—assuming I could believe my captors. They loved the experience my product created. They didn’t have the mind power, or the threat of Granny’s punishments, to balance out the temptation.
I wasn’t sure what I could do about that, though I guessed it didn’t really matter, anymore. Granny was gone and her organization with her. Unless he handed me off to another distributor or his dragons decided to forgive whatever wrongdoing they thought I was a part of and jump into the trade, my days of making product were over.
Getting back to what he’d said, I chose the most obvious to focus on.
“You watched all that?” I asked meekly.
We wound through the trees.
“Of course I watched all that. I got there late but absolutely stayed for the end of the show. You were standing in a fucking field, getting off on him manhandling you. I was riveted.”
I grimaced, expecting embarrassment or outrage. Instead, a strange sliver of heat wormed through me. A weird sprinkle of pride that he should witness me with the alpha.
What in the hell was going on with me? More importantly, what could I do to stop it?
“I bet his wolf was leaning on him hard. Sometimes our animals have a way of influencing us. Too bad Leala isn’t here,” he murmured. “She’d help you work out your kinks. Seems like you like a little dominance play, huh? You like being... maybe not submissive, but a little passive? You should try enraging him next time and letting him take out his aggression on you. You might like that. You’d probably get the bang of your life.”
In the space where the camp used to be, people were waiting atop their horses, the shiny and well-groomed animals swishing their tails. Other people waited near them, holding supplies or standing with donkeys. The alpha—Weston—was nowhere to be found.
Hadriel walked past and I followed, noticing people look my way, their gazes once again tracking my movements. It wasn’t my lack of magic they were gawking at this time—it was the prisoner with the ripped shirt and intimate mark on her neck.
“What the fuck am I doing?” I murmured, my face heating.
“Making very delightful, if somewhat questionable choices.” He plucked at my shirt to get me moving faster. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. You might as well have a little fun before the end, if that is what’s to come. I know all about that. I lived that for sixteen years or so. Just please, love...” He stopped and faced me, his expression serious. “Stop before you reach shame-fucking. That’s a very slippery slope. Learn from your ol’ pal Hadriel. Hate fucking is fine. Getting off on the power play of captor and prisoner? Sounds fucking amazing, and I’m definitely going to roleplay that as soon as I can wrangle up some kinky fuckery. But shame fucking? No. You’ve gone too far.” He started walking again, leaving me sputtering awkwardly. “I promised you stories and I will absolutely deliver. You’ll see what I mean. By the way, did you find all the dicks on my jacket, yet? I wore it again today since you didn’t have enough time to see them all last night. Wasn’t that nice of me? Now, where the fuck is that fucking supply wagon?”
As my mind tried once again to process his words, my gaze dutifully fell to the back of his jacket, quickly spying several dicks sewn into the design. Various carts and wagons gathered in the middle of a forming line, many of these pulled by a sturdy horse or two.
“Ah, here we are.” Hadriel ran his hand over the rump of a black horse with white spots before stopping at the cart it was attached to. A man off to the side glanced his way and then noticed me. He saw my ripped shirt and then the mark on my neck, his eyes widening a little.
“What do you need?” he asked Hadriel, his surprise not coloring his tone.
“A shirt for her. She had a tryst with her enemy and ended up coming all over his fingers.”
My face started burning but the man seemed to take it in stride. Apparently Hadriel’s manner was no secret among the pack. It meant he wasn’t putting on an act for me, something I appreciated.
“The alpha is acting fair peculiar with her, ain’t he?” The man helped Hadriel unhook the latch and pull open the back of the cart. He stood back, leaning against the edge of the cart as Hadriel started rifling through packages neatly stacked inside. His gaze took in my face and drifted down my body, sticking on the mark again. I did everything in my power to stop from fidgeting at the appraisal. “I get the appeal—she’s stunning—but it isn’t like him to let down his guard like that. She’s a murderer, for heaven’s sakes. She took down my mate’s friend’s nephew. Our alpha can’t stand the things she’s responsible for. You’d think he’d kill her himself, not take her to the dragons. He’s got that personal grudge against it, you know? Why wait when we can just be done with her now, that’s what I say. I can’t stand the sight of her, let alone want to have sex with her.”
I lifted my chin and turned my face away a little, muscle memory for when people were saying nasty things about me within my vicinity. It was more common than I cared to admit. Ignoring it was now second nature.
Hadriel straightened up with an incredulous expression. He stared at the man for a brief moment.
“Real fucking nice, Chuck, you miserable weeping cock.” He threw out his hand to indicate me. “She’s standing right fucking there. If you’re going to bring up a possible execution, at least have the class to joke about it.” He shook his head, moving packages out of the way to get deeper into the wagon. “Who taught you social etiquette, the fucking demons? Next you’ll be trying to give her a dick flavored lollipop.”
The man straightened, crossing his arms over his chest. “I never much liked you.”
“I know, you tell me that every time you see me.” He opened up a package and pulled out a shirt. Holding it up, he nodded and then held it out to me. “Drab as they come. Just like you like it.”
“It’s better not to stand out,” I mumbled, taking it. “People think you’re putting your lack of magic in their faces if you stand out.”
“I get that,” the man said, studying me again. “That’s not the sort of thing you need to advertise. It makes people nervous.”
My gut twisted but I kept the familiar pain from showing on my face. He wasn’t wrong.
“Spank me and call me mama,” Hadriel muttered as though talking to the gods. He stood, facing the man again. “That is the dumbest fucking thing you have ever said, and given you say almost exclusively dumb things, that’s an achievement.”
A swell of gratitude rose in my middle. No one had ever stuck up for me like that. Granny had never made me feel inferior, unlike some in her employ, but she’d never backed people down when they said something like this man had. His opinions were common, as good as fact. No one had pushed back on someone saying what everyone was thinking.
Until now.
“With her face, she can’t help standing out,” he finished. He rumpled his brow at me. “Is that why you starved yourself, to try and erase all your curves?”
“I didn’t...” I looked down at my loose clothing. “I’ve always had plenty of food.”
He quirked an eyebrow at me, as though knowing it was a lie and wanting the truth, as though willing to actually listen to the truth, like he cared what it was.
Something uncomfortable tightened me up, realizing he was right. The lie was so well-rehearsed, said confidently whenever Granny asked, it had kind of stopped feeling like a lie at all.
Another part of me, though, had loosened within this exchange. He’d just defended me, a non-magical stranger—a prisoner, of all things. He’d done it so vehemently. I felt like I owed him that truth.
Or was that a lie, too? Did I actually just want someone, anyone to hear my pain? Pain I hadn’t been willing or able to tell Granny without her doing something to make matters worse? Writing it in my journal was therapeutic, but it hadn’t ever been completely enough.
I shrugged, a little uncomfortable, opening my mouth to respond.
He held up a finger. “Hold that thought. We don’t need this butt plug listening in and passing it around. He’s an awful wanker.”
He pushed the package back into the wagon.
“You’re one to talk,” the man said, bristling. “How many times did you get caught whacking off behind a tree?”
“Not as many as within the tents, I’ll tell you that. If only someone with a firm grip would take over, I wouldn’t have to do it myself. Do me a favor, Chuck. Go stick your head in a pond and try to breathe. That would save us all a lot of heartache.”
The man’s chest puffed out, his arms flaring at his sides. “Get bent, you little runt.”
“Fuck a cactus.” Hadriel closed up the wagon and ushered me in front of him. “Come on, love, don’t worry about him. There’s a reason he’s back here tending the supplies. Mediocrity would be a step up for the likes of that cock drip.”
At the end of the line of supplies, he pointed me to a grouping of thick-based trees. “Just pop behind there and change your shirt really quickly. Please don’t run. My nerves are fried, and I really don’t want to chase you. I certainly don’t want to deal with a feral alpha.”
I did as he said, handing back the ripped shirt when I was done.
“And thanks,” he said, ushering me toward the front of the line again.
“For what?”
“For letting the alpha finger bang you. I would’ve gotten my ass chewed for letting you wander away. Here we go.”
It took Hadriel and someone else to get me onto the horse. There was only a padded sort of blanket, something he mentioned had to do with two people. I wouldn’t fit in the saddle with him.
After he was up, I spied the alpha—Weston—at the head of the procession, strong and handsome, sitting atop a fierce-eyed, white stallion. The sun highlighted streaks of blond in his hair, sparkling as though a halo. His people, waiting around him patiently, sat tall, regal and confident, on horses just as fine. Their clothing wasn’t colorful, as Hadriel had hinted, but was made with fine fabrics and sewn with an expert hand. It was clear the alpha led a very rich and powerful pack.
Another spark of pride worked through me, as though I had a right to it. Even if that wasn’t so hopelessly fucked up because of my situation, all I’d done was fuck him. If I’d had magic, I still would never be in high enough standing for anything more. Not for someone like him.
His head was bowed just slightly, engrossed by something he held.
As though feeling my gaze, he suddenly straightened and turned to me. Butterflies exploded in my middle. His deep voice uttered something, his tone low, said to the person at his side and a little behind him. I was too far away to hear it. Then he tapped his heels to his horse’s sides, starting forward.
“Okay now.” Hadriel tore me out of my focus. “Let’s go over how we keep you on this horse, shall we? You’re going to hold me around the middle, but don’t hold too tightly or the alpha will freak out. Definitely don’t grab my cock. I wouldn’t really mind, but the alpha would. Tweaking my nipple a little would be great, but only when he’s not looking.”
I spit out an unexpected laugh.
“Oh good, you have a sense of humor. This will go swimmingly.”
I did hold him too tightly. I clutched onto him like I would fall to my death at any moment. We were just so high up and it all felt so unsteady. At one point, the animal stubbed its toe or something. It had jolted forward, as though ready to tumble or buck or roll over. I didn’t know which, all I knew was that I was halfway off its back and ready to dive to my safety before being crushed under its dancing hooves.
Hadriel had been able to steady the animal and grab me simultaneously, hauling me back up. I’d nearly crawled across his back when I’d been righted, only then noticing Weston not far away, his eyes filled with murder.
“I’ve got her, sir,” Hadriel had said jovially. “Just a little slip is all. We’re all fine here. She’ll get the hang of it.”
He didn’t say a word, just about-faced and headed back to his horse. He must’ve hopped off and run back when I was struggling to jump or climb back on or just throw up the white flag in defeat.
Before he’d re-mounted, he bent to pick something up. A brief flash of what it was had my blood boiling.
One of my journals. My private thoughts, ransacked from my home.
Taking me was one thing, but that sort of flagrant violation of privacy was another completely. Worse, in the hour or so we’d been traveling, he had hardly come up for air. He’d looked up once, to spy something in the trees, and then went right back to reading all of my most intimate thoughts as though hating to tear his focus away.
My insides shriveled in embarrassment. In rage.
There had to be a way to find out where he stashed those things and burn them all. Maybe I could arrange to do it when he was knocked out cold in the same vicinity. I had a product that would put him into a deep sleep, I just had to get to it.