Chapter Twenty-Three
TWENTY-THREE
HAWK
13 Days Before the Conquest Moon
Not every retrieval mission goes smoothly, no matter how many skilled Taurians are sent.
This one? This one was a fucking nightmare.
Everything that could go wrong did. The flags were in the wrong tunnel and we had to backtrack once we realized it. The trainees were useless. The tunnel we actually needed was collapsed. Then when we dug them free, it turned out they had found a nest of ratlings. I’m covered in bites and bruises, and one of the idiots I was trying to save slashed me with his blade because he was waving it about so crazily.
My shoulder throbs under the hasty bandage. My artificial hand aches as if to remind me that it worked doubly as hard as any real hand down in those tunnels. I’m tired, sore, and most of all, fed up with humanity for a day.
I want to go home and sleep and not think about anything until dawn. Maybe two dawns.
I want to go home and roll over the innocent, nubile human woman in my bed—my wife—and lick her cunt until she squeals against my tongue. I want to jerk my cock to the scent of her bathing my muzzle. I want to drink in her soft cries and her panting, let it soothe my irritations like a balm.
That’s what I want.
I want to forget all guild business for at least a night, and focus on plump thighs wrapped around my ears. Nothing would be finer.
When I open the door to Magpie’s, though, I’m surprised to see Gwenna in the hall. She sits in one of the chairs facing the fireplace, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a candle on the table next to her. She jumps to her feet at the sight of me, a worried look on her face.
“What are you doing here?” I ask. It’s late and all students need to be in bed, because drills start early.
She hesitates and then sighs, shoulders slumping. “Don’t get mad.”
My hackles rise. “And why would I be mad?”
She smiles brightly, her expression brisk. “Aspeth will be back very soon. Any moment now.”
Aspeth is…out? At this time of night? I narrow my eyes at Gwenna, taking in the worried expression she’s trying hard to hide. “Why is Aspeth out and where did she go?”
“It’s nothing—”
I dump my mud-encrusted, heavy pack on the ground and cross my arms over my equally dirty shirt. “If it’s nothing, then why is it happening at midnight? And why are you waiting on her?” When she hesitates again, I continue. “If I wake up Magpie, is she going to be aware of this excursion?”
The look on Gwenna’s face becomes panicked. She clutches her blanket tighter around her shoulders. “She had no choice.”
“What do you mean ?” I’m trying to keep the infamous Taurian temper in check, but it’s growing more difficult by the moment. Aspeth is somewhere out there in the city. Alone. Against her will.
When she should be in my bed.
It’s the moon’s influence on me that makes the last part growl through my mind. But nothing good can come of a lone woman being coerced out alone into the streets. “Who is she meeting, exactly?”
Gwenna hesitates. “An old friend.”
“Who’s blackmailing her into going out alone at night?”
She hesitates again, and then falls silent. Whatever she knows, she doesn’t want to speak of. “You have to understand,” Gwenna says after a long, long pause. “No one has ever looked out for Aspeth. She’s the one who thinks she has to protect everyone else. Tonight is no different.”
“Who’s she protecting?” I demand.
Gwenna doesn’t answer. “Aspeth has never had anyone who cared for her. Not enough to look out for her. Not enough to say ‘No, Aspeth, that’s a terrible idea. You can’t meet a man at midnight—’?”
“So it’s a man?” Hot, possessive fury coils in my guts. Has she lied to me about everything? “An old lover?”
Gwenna shakes her head again. “I can’t say more. I’m sorry. I can’t betray Aspeth.”
Her loyalty to her friend should please me, but it only heightens my frustration. I want to shake the answers out of her. Just shake her and shake her until the truth drops from her like leaves falling from a tree. But she’s clearly doing what she thinks is best for Aspeth, and I can’t hate that, as much as I’d like to. Loyalty amongst a Five should be praised. The last few days wouldn’t have been such a shit show if the Five we were rescuing had given a damn about one another.
“She always had everything growing up, except people. Her father thought that wealth was more important than affection, and her mother died young. She doesn’t have anyone except me.”
“And me.”
“And you,” she adds, but her expression is clearly doubtful. “As long as you don’t murder her tonight.”
I give her a tight smile. “I need my wife alive.”
She tugs on the blanket at her shoulders again. “I know you don’t understand and I know I’m only giving you half-arsed answers, but just trust me when I say she’s doing this because she thinks it’s the right thing to do. I know Aspeth pretends like she has it all under control, but in her heart, she’s a people pleaser. Just because she hasn’t had anyone love her back doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to be loved. Do you see?”
I’m starting to. I’ve suspected all along that Aspeth was some rich merchant’s headstrong daughter. A fuller picture is forming in my mind—of a neglected daughter who had everything but affection, and the only one who cared for her is a maid who felt sorry for her. Whatever is going on tonight is tied to her past, something she feels she has to do in order to please or protect those she loves.
I’m still fucking furious, but it’s making sense.
With a frustrated tug on my nose ring, I shake my head. “Just tell me where she went and I’ll retrieve her.”
A short time later, I’m stomping wearily through the streets of Vastwarren. At this time of night there’s nothing but troublemakers and drunks out. Luckily they know not to mess with a Taurian on a mission. The scowl on my face probably could stop a parade in its tracks. I find the inn after wandering through a sketchy district and glaring up at each sign as I pass. The area isn’t great—but what part of Vastwarren is?—and I grow more and more annoyed by the moment that Aspeth thinks it’s fine for her to wander around alone after dark with beggars and thieves.
Foolish, foolish human female. Does she think she’s invulnerable? Gwenna is loyal to her but that only means she’s helping Aspeth with her ridiculous schemes. I’m going to put a stop to this. I’m going to put Aspeth over my knee and paddle her bouncy, delightful bottom to teach her a lesson.
But then I start thinking about smacking her arse and how it would jiggle and the noises she would make, and I bite back a groan. I can feel my knot rising, a ring of tightness at the base of my cock that feels like a vise. It’s affecting my thoughts, because now I want to find Aspeth—not to punish her but to pleasure her.
Well, maybe a little fun punishment, too.
Adjusting my cock, I glare at all the drunks loitering around the entrance of the bar. There are a few men off to one side wearing militia uniforms of some unimportant holder, but I ignore them. Every soldier needs to get his throat wet. I’m looking for Aspeth…and whoever had the poor judgment to blackmail her.
My magical fist clenches, and I wonder idly which one hurts more when I throat-punch someone, the real fist or the fake one.
I step inside and scan the place, noting that there’s only one other Taurian in the room, and he’s by the fire with a human male in his lap. There aren’t a lot of females of any race, either. I see a wench behind the bar, slicing onions, and other than that, nothing but human men as far as the eye can see. It’s crowded in here, elbow to elbow, and I’m tempted to wade in and just start shoving people aside until I find Aspeth.
If someone’s harmed her…
“Oh, look,” calls out a bright, familiar voice. “You’re just in time.”
Then Aspeth is in front of me, her expression cheery as she pushes through the crowd. She’s wearing her cloak over a dress, her hair is mussed, and her cheeks are flushed from the heat of the bar. Am I imagining things, or are her eyes shining with relief? She tucks her arm into the crook of mine and steers me toward the door. “It’s late and you’re here to see me home, right?”
I know what she’s up to. She’s leading me away from whoever it was that she met in this bar. I’m not an idiot. I ignore her tugs on my arm as she tries to drag me outside, pausing to look around at the crowded room again. Everyone is staring at us, but I don’t know if it’s because a human woman is leaving with a Taurian or if there’s something else at play. I wait for one man in particular to sack up, to separate himself from the crowd and announce that I can’t leave with his woman, but after a moment, they all turn back to their drinks.
No one’s going to admit that they were here with Aspeth. I glance down at my wife’s overbright smile and realize she’s not going to tell me anything, either.
The urge to spank her grows stronger by the moment. Scowling, I go with her when she tugs on my arm this time.
We’re in the street and heading away from the tavern before Aspeth looks up at me. “You’re growling.”
Am I? It’s probably because I hate this. I hate this place full of men who probably wouldn’t think twice about groping my wife. I hate that she’s put herself in this situation. I hate that no one’s telling me anything.
So aye, I’m probably gonna growl for a while. Anyone would in my situation. “You want to tell me what was going on in there?”
She blinks up at me. “Not really?”
It just makes my temper flare. I jerk to a stop in the street and resist the second urge to shake a woman this night. I grab Aspeth by the shoulders tightly. “You foolish woman. Why are you out here alone in the middle of the night? Don’t you know it’s not safe?”
Her expression grows uneasy. “I know.”
“Then why? Why?” When she doesn’t answer, my tail slaps against my thigh, as furious as I am. “Why were you meeting a man out here?”
Her brows furrow together. “I didn’t say I was meeting a man—”
“Why would you meet a woman at a pub in Vastwarren? At midnight?” I gesture back at the bar, furious, because I remember Gwenna’s words about how Aspeth had no choice in the matter. “Is someone blackmailing you?” Another thought blisters through my mind and fills me with an incoherent rage. “Did someone touch you?”
I might have to go back and murder everyone in the bar.
There must be something unhinged in my gaze as she reaches up and pats my chest. “I’m fine, Hawk. Truly, I do appreciate your concern, but I promise you that no one has molested me. Everyone was very polite and focused upon their drinks.”
I eye her, trying to determine if she’s lying. If she’s covering up for the situation because she knows I’m already furious at her. I cup her chin, tilting her face up, and look for bruises or marks. There’s nothing, and her clothing looks rumpled but every button is in place, even the tightest one at the throat. I release her, resisting the urge to run my thumb over her pretty, plump mouth. “Humph.”
“I ate a lot of onions to be as repellent as possible,” she tells me in a hopeful voice. “If that helps anything.”
It doesn’t, because now I know that she knows she was in danger and went anyhow. “I’m going to ask you one more time, and you need to answer me honestly,” I say, voice low and careful. “Do I need to go in there and kill someone? I won’t ask any more than that. Just tell me who and I’ll make it happen. I can hide the body where it will never be found.” Already I’m thinking of tunnels that would be easy to collapse, who I’d need to bribe to look the other way when I descend into the ruins.
She blinks up at me, then a smile spreads across her face. “You’d do that for me? I’m flattered.”
“It’s not meant to be a compliment.” I’m back to wanting to throttle her. I grab her by the arm and note that she does smell quite oniony. “Just…come on.”
Aspeth is silent as I drag her through the streets. Good. I hope she realizes what a mistake this was. I hope she’s realizing that her loyalty is to the guild first. To me first.
It occurs to me that I’m jealous.
I don’t like that. I don’t like that at all. But as she won’t tell me anything about who she was meeting, my mind continually circles back to the worst possible scenarios. Who else would you meet at midnight except an old flame? Is she looking for a way to back out of our marriage, then? Trying to get away from the beast she finds herself hitched to? Is that why she won’t tell me what’s going on?
The thought makes my temper flare and the painful tightness swell at the base of my cock. It’s possessiveness that makes me furious. Aspeth is my wife, has sworn that she’ll take part in the Conquest Moon with me. Has sworn to help me out as I help her. This isn’t about feelings, I remind myself even as I furiously stomp my hooves on the cobblestones and glare at anyone who dares to walk down the same darkened streets as we do.
Does it matter if she has a lover? I ask myself. A flame she left behind? She married you. She’s in your bed. It shouldn’t matter.
But…it does. The Conquest Moon and Taurian instinct are fucking with my head, demanding that I claim my woman, demanding that I fight anyone who tries to take her from me.
A drunken group of men spill out of a nearby tavern and she instinctively moves closer to me. They look rough and rowdy, and my protective instincts prick. There’s an entire lineup of taverns in this part of town, all of them seedier than the last. Rather than drag Aspeth past and ask for trouble, I steer her toward the darkened alley to the side. “Come on.”
“Is this the right way?” she protests, trotting after me.
“Shortcut.”
“It doesn’t look shorter to me.”
I want to growl at her to trust me, to quit asking so many questions, but instead I simply tighten my grip on her arm and hurry her along. I know I’m rushing her, but I can let her yell at me when we get back to the dormitory. I know of far too many guild students who have been accosted by thieves on these streets after dark simply because someone thought they might have an artifact of value upon them. Stupid, but most thieves are stupid. Or drunk. Or both.
We turn down a second alley, only to see a crowd of people outside another tavern, and then I realize my mistake. It’s not a tavern. It’s a brothel.
Aspeth sucks in a sharp breath. “Are those…What…what are they doing?”
The musky scent of sex carries on the breeze, making my knot tighten at the base of my shaft. It’s an orgy in the street. I recognize it immediately. As the hand of the god falls more and more heavily upon his sons, the Taurians, we become far more hedonistic. It’s not uncommon for Taurians to use sex workers to slake their thirsts as the moon rises, and public sex just adds another titillating edge to things. It’s not surprising to me to see the multiple Taurians out in the alley with the brothel’s women. It likely started with just one Taurian looking to get relief from one of the women who ply their wares against the alley wall due to the crowd in the brothel. From there, it escalated with multiple other sex workers and males joining in until the alley seems full of writhing, rutting bodies and the wet slap of hips meeting hips.
At my side, Aspeth makes a strangled sound and immediately turns her back to them. “They’re in the street,” she hisses. “Fornicating!”
For some reason, her prissy words just piss me off. In less than two weeks, I’m going to be doing the exact same thing to her, just not in an alley. There’s no time left to be missish about things. “You should watch.”
The look she gives me is incredulous, her head jerking up. Her breathing is rapid and in the low light, I can see there’s a stain of a blush on her cheeks. “It’s not polite—”
“ Damn politeness.” When one of the Taurians raises his head and looks in our direction, I step to the side and pull her into the shadows so we won’t get invited to join. She lets me tug her along, and I try to turn her around. She immediately tries to turn her back to the orgy once more, and I grab her and forcefully turn her around. I tighten one arm around her waist, pinning her against me, and with my other hand, I clamp her jaw in my grasp and force her head in their direction. “Look at them, Aspeth. This is as good an education as any as to what you’ve agreed to do.”
She whimpers, going still in my arms. Her breath remains quick, panting.
Holding her like this sets my senses on fire. I can smell all of her like this, erotic despite the oniony perfume. Her form is hot against mine, supple and firm. It makes my cock rise, and the sound of bodies slapping and the grunts of the bulls in the alley in front of us isn’t helping.
“I want you to watch,” I murmur in her ear. She trembles, and I hesitate. “Am I hurting you? Are you scared?”
Aspeth shakes her head as much as she can in my grip. She pants, and I follow her gaze to the nearest couple. It’s a Taurian who has a woman bent over, her hands on the wall in front of her. Her tits spill out of a low-cut corset, bobbing violently with the force of the thrusting Taurian behind her. Her skirts are piled up to her waist and the male has her by the hips, dragging them back as he works her over his cock.
“Watch them,” I croon into her ear, still holding her jaw. I nuzzle against her neck, and when she makes a strangled sound of pleasure, I realize that Aspeth is enjoying the sight of them. It’s her prudish upbringing that made her turn away.
That ends tonight. I want her to see everything. I want her to get a good fucking look. I want her to sate her curiosity because I want her to want this—want me—just as much as I want her.
I glance over at the male as he thrusts vigorously into the squealing woman. There are other couples twined together farther down the alley, but these two interest me. He’s giving her quick, shallow thrusts, and I realize why. The female he’s rutting reaches back and slaps at his hip, indicating that she needs a break, and he releases her, his wet, hard cock slipping free.
Aspeth trembles at the sight of it.
“He’s bigger than you expected, isn’t he?” I rub my muzzle against her ear, my hips grinding against her backside as I do. My cock is just as hard as the stranger’s, need making me ache. I can’t stop myself from pressing up against Aspeth, letting her know just how aroused I am. “That’s how big my cock is, little bird. I’m going to hollow you out when I take you, but I’ll make it so fucking good you won’t even care.”
She whimpers against my hand, and I stroke her cheek with my thumb.
The Taurian gestures and another female comes running forward, her bare tits bouncing. Her dress is falling off of her, and she’s clearly enjoying the attentions of multiple Taurians tonight. She immediately assumes the position that the other female vacated, shoving her arse into the air as she plants her hands on the wall. There’s an eager expression on her face.
“He’s got a knot,” the exhausted woman tells her, leaning against the wall nearby. “Mind your cunt.”
Aspeth twitches in my grasp.
“It’s a bit early for that, ain’t it?” the first woman says.
“I like ’em” is all the new woman says, and gives her ass a cheeky jiggle. “Do as you like. I can take it.”
As the Taurian mounts her, I lean in close to whisper into Aspeth’s ear. “Some Taurians have the god’s hand upon them at all times. Those males are cursed—some say blessed—to have a knot at all times. He must be one of them. Can you see it?”
“I can’t see anything,” she whispers back to me. “It’s too bloody dark.”
I love that she sounds disappointed. I’d love to know what she’s thinking. If the thought of the male knotting the woman in front of him arouses her like it does me. Then again, a gentle brush of fabric arouses me right about now. I rock against her hips again and groan when she presses back against me.
“Describe it to me,” Aspeth whispers. “Please.”
“His cock is thick, engorged with blood.” I rub mine against her backside. “At the base, there’s a swelling that makes it thicker than usual, like a fist wrapped around the shaft. When I sink into you”—her breath catches and she trembles, and at the same time, the sex worker cries out with pleasure as the Taurian plunges into her—“I’m going to fill your tight cunt so full. Some women don’t like it, but it’s because they’ve not been prepared. I’ll make sure you’re soaking wet and hungry for it, Aspeth. You’ll want my knot, won’t you?”
“Please,” she whispers, her gaze locked on the rutting couple.
One of the Taurians gets impatient when his partner leaves. He grabs the nearest woman—who’s being taken from behind—and shoves his cock into her mouth. She clasps his hips hungrily and he shuttles between her lips.
Aspeth makes a gaspy sound. “Is he…Are they…?”
“In her mouth, aye. Not his knot. Just sucking on his cock.”
“Ohhh…” She draws the word out in a long, gusty sigh. “Gods have mercy. I can’t believe we’re watching her.”
“You like the sight of it?”
She whimpers, and I think she does. “It looks…so big.”
“Aye, but you can take it.” I stroke my thumb against her soft jaw. “Your mouth won’t fit everything, but you can just lick a cock like a treat. Like she’s doing.” A new sex worker arrives to the group and immediately drops to her knees, licking at the exposed sac of the Taurian fucking the woman’s mouth.
Aspeth moans, the sound soft and yearning. “But…are you sure it will fit inside me?”
Ah, the age-old question of virgins everywhere. “Aye, I’ll fit in your cunt, Aspeth. With my scent in your nose, you’ll get slick. Slicker than you’ve ever been. It’ll ensure you can take me. I’ll ease into you gently at first, getting you stretched around my cock.”
She moans, the sound soft and yearning, and her hips rock against mine. I thrust against her backside again, and then because it feels so good, I keep doing it. I’m using her to rub myself off, but I don’t fucking care and I don’t think Aspeth does, either. I keep grinding against her plump backside, the rustle of fabric as I thrust betraying our actions.
“When I come, my knot swells. I’ll be trapped inside your pussy, locked there until I’ve flooded you with my seed.” I let my hand fall from her face and cup her between her thighs. She gasps again and then rocks against my hand. “You’ll come so hard, over and over.” As the woman in the alley cries out and the Taurian’s hooves clack against the pavement, I suspect he’s doing just that. I’m not looking at them any longer, though. I’m too focused on Aspeth’s heavy-lidded eyes, the part of her lips, the hunger on her face. I drag my fingers over her clothed pussy, rubbing, and love when she bites down on her lip, her eyes fluttering closed.
“And I’ll make you feel so fucking good,” I promise her. “I vow it, Aspeth. Because I like to watch you come. I like to watch it too damn much.”
“Please,” she whispers again, her eyes closing. “Make me come right now.”
I groan, and any shred of control I had disappears. I turn Aspeth until she’s pressed to the stone wall of the alley, against an armorer’s stall. Her cheek presses against the stone as I tilt her hips out and mimic the position of the couple we were watching. Her little whimper excites me, as does the spreading of her thighs. She’s still fully clothed—as am I—but it doesn’t matter. I push her thighs farther apart and then thrust against the juncture there.
Aspeth moans, the sound encouraging me.
I push up the front of her skirts and rub harder against the bloomers she wears underneath. I’m not sure if this’ll feel as good for her as it does for me, but if she needs more, I’ll give her more. I shove my hand into the front of her bloomers and seek out her clit. Her cunt is soaked, slippery with arousal, and I drag my fingers through it before circling her clit. She jerks against the wall, gasping, and I rest a finger against her clit, then drive into her from behind, letting the momentum of our bodies do the work for me.
“Gods,” Aspeth whimpers, shuddering against me. “Oh gods.”
“They’re watching us, just like we were watching,” I tell her with ragged breaths. “Give them a show, little bird.”
When she comes, quaking against my fingers, I lose it. I burrow against her, driving between her thighs as if sheer force can somehow tear the layers of clothing between us and let me sink home into her cunt. I buck, holding her in place and using her as she trembles, my breath so hot and heavy that it steams the air around us. I’m so lost in the moment that when I come, it’s surprising to feel the heat soak my pants instead of shooting into her. My thighs shiver with the force of my release, and my tail lashes so hard that it smacks the wall next to her.
I collapse over Aspeth, pinning her against the stone as she gulps in deep breaths. A quick glance over at the orgy shows that the couple we were watching is still there, the male with a sated expression as he rubs the sex worker’s shoulders. He looms over her, their hips joined, and as I watch, he reaches up and squeezes her tit, enjoying the moment.
Unlucky bull. What must it be like to have a knot every day? To be constantly grasped in the insistent fist of lust? To know that every time you take your female, you’re trapping her under you? Old Garesh must truly test those that he places his hand upon.
Then again, I can’t complain about how he’s treating me. I ease off Aspeth, catching my breath, and adjust the now-wet crotch of my pants against my throbbing cock. I want to pull Aspeth against me and cradle her tight. I want to lick the taste of her off my fingers and savor making her come again. I want to drag her to the nearest bed and lap between her thighs for hours.
But then I’m reminded that we don’t have hours, because she needs to sleep. We’ve been running her ragged with drills and training, and instead of resting…Aspeth has spent her time sneaking off to meet someone.
Someone she won’t tell me about.
It’s like cold water poured over my ardor. I shove her skirts down and step away, but the small, vindictive part of me can’t help but lean in as she adjusts her clothing. “Let that be a lesson for you.”
Her huff of outrage tells me that my comment stings her pride.