Chapter 5
My lungs feel like they’re going to collapse. And yet breathing is becoming a distant memory when all I can focus on is the pleasure building in my core.
His hands are rougher, his eyes hungrier than Conquest’s. And he smells like a bonfire—woodsy with traces of sulfur and smoke. I should be repulsed, but the more he touches me, the more I crave.
The strap around my neck digs in deep. I want to pull at it, but my wrists are bound. And the most peculiar thing is, the more I struggle to break free, the more my body comes alive with need.
He growls as he violently thrusts his thick fingers into my pussy, like he’s angry with me for existing, yet obsessed with my body at the same time. “Your shame arouses me, little doe. The way your cheeks redden as you witness the filthy things I do to you pleases me more than you can ever know.”
My thighs ache from the weight of his knees on them. No doubt there will be bruises. I have no strength left to fight or beg for release. “You have desecrated me. No one will ever want me after this.”
He leans forward, shifting more of his body over mine.
“Oh, but you’re wrong. There are two more of us who want you very badly.
” He licks the side of my breast and back up, circling the tip of his tongue around my swollen nipple.
“Famine and Death are literally panting at the edge of the forest, impatiently waiting their turn.”
My stomach knots. His face is so close to mine now that I can taste his breath on my lips. It tastes like he smells, smoky and metallic. “And then? What will you do with me after?”
He runs his sharp tongue across my lips. Another low growl rumbles from his chest. “You belong to us now, Imogen. You only exist to please us over and over again until your bones crumble into dust.”
No. I cannot live like this. “And what about what I want?”
He pulls the strap tighter around my neck as he glares down at me with his dark brown eyes. “I don’t care what you want.”
I fight the urge to cry again. That only seems to arouse him more. Instead, I go limp. “Fine. You want to do your worst. I will do my least.”
A smirk forms on his lips. “Is that a challenge, little doe? Because I can promise you, I will win.”
I take shallow breaths, desperate not to lose consciousness as the strap threatens to steal what little air I have left.
I will not let my body react to his touch if I can help it.
I turn my head and pick a spot on the wall to focus on.
The wood is rotting like the floors, and vines from the tree outside grow into it.
As if the forest is trying to reclaim this man-made cabin and return it to its original form.
War chuckles as he hovers his lips over my shoulder. “I think I’ll call your bluff.” Without warning, he sinks his teeth into my shoulder.
I let out a raspy yelp as a searing pain shoots down my arm. “Are you mad?” My heart races with adrenaline. But the pain soon subsides, and a spasm flickers inside me.
He sucks on the wound, moaning as he laps at my broken flesh. “I’m hungry for your agony. I want to taste every sweet and bitter inch of you.”
The longer his tongue works its way over my feverish skin, the more I start to come alive. Why didn’t anyone warn me that this could happen to a woman? That we could feel such pleasure and pain at the same time?
He continues to bite and nibble at my flesh as he makes his way across my breasts, then down my belly. Every little nip feels like a thousand needles pricking me until he’s moved on to the next spot, and the one before tingles with longing for more.
I’m irrevocably broken. Damaged. I bring shame to my family and to my village. For this tension between us is palpable. This exquisite pleasure that I cannot deny. I’m a traitor to myself.
He hums to himself while he licks and sucks and scrapes his teeth against my most tender spot. If my hands were free, I’d lose them in his long black hair. I’d use his strands to anchor me like reins on a horse. Sweat beads down my back and thighs as I pump my hips as an offering.
“Please. I-I’m begging you,” I stammer.
“I like hearing you beg. Looks like you’re not so pious after all, little doe.” He sinks his teeth into my thigh and bites down hard.
I jerk, my hips arching as I cry out. But my voice is hoarse, lost in the breath I cannot seem to claim. The movement tightens my restraints and sends a rush of blood to my head. Stars and black spots dot my vision.
He moans against my leg. “I’m going to mark every inch of you.”
I can barely keep my eyes open. I feel as if I’ve been drugged. “Please… untie… me. I-I need…”
He thrusts his tongue inside my pussy and flicks against a spot so deep and tender, I buck. Oh gods. As I pant in ecstasy, I no longer care if I live or die. If this is the last sensation I ever feel, then I will accept my fate.
He draws out and licks his lips. “I’ll release you after you’ve soaked my mouth.” He thrusts back in, plunging the entire length of his tongue inside me.
A fervent tingling spreads throughout my entire body, and just like before, like it was with Conquest, my pussy pulsates, each wave of pleasure crashing into the next, growing in size like the swell of a violent ocean.
I clench around him and claw at the bedposts I’m tied to, leaving scratches on the wood like a wild animal.
He chuckles as I come undone, knowing that he’s the one who’s made me feral. As he thrusts harder and faster, my orgasm peaks. I squeal and grip his head between my thighs when the rush of pleasure consumes me.
He tucks his arms underneath my legs and raises me higher, giving himself a better angle to go deeper. And then he swallows my cum, savoring it like it’s the finest honey mead.
“You taste like innocence lost. My favorite kind. Mmm.” He moans as he continues to lap at my folds, nipping and sucking my swollen flesh between his lips and teeth, caressing the marks with his rough tongue.
He tightens the belt around my neck as I fall apart for him. But instead of panicking, I roll my hips, surrendering to this state of euphoria. The fight has left me. My ache for him grows stronger as I grind against his face, giving him access to every part of me.
Breathless, my vision darkens. But just as I’m about to accept my demise at the hands of this vile creature, a whoosh of air rushes back into my lungs.
I gag, choking as he pulls the strap away from my neck. My body convulses, the spasms he’s forced on me still continue to wreak havoc, my clit throbbing.
War frees my wrists. They fall to my sides, numb, all strength leaving them as the blood rushes back in.
He watches me closely, his eyes flitting over every inch of my ravaged body.
“You’re beautiful when you suffer. I admit, it was hard to resist letting you slip into the darkness forever.
I’m still not convinced you are the one.
But Famine and Death would have my head. And I’m in no mood for their wrath.”
My throat and chest burn as I gulp for air, desperate to feel my lungs expand again. A strangled cry escapes past my lips. “You should have let me die…”
He arches an eyebrow, his satisfied smirk fading. “I have taken many human lives. They struggle and fight till the very end, never accepting their fate. Why do you have such a craving for death? It seems as if you welcome it.”
As my heartbeat slows to a normal pace, the weight of his words bears down on me. I clench and unclench my fists, forcing the blood back into my veins. “It is my duty. I swore an oath to die. If I live… then it was all for nothing.”
War snatches my wrists. But instead of brutalizing them further, he rubs the inside flesh with his thumbs.
“There will be no more killing now that we have you. The Wild Hunt is over. You are the last sacrifice. And you will return with us to our home. We will feed you, shelter you, and bathe you. In return, we will do whatever it is we wish.”
I swallow the lump in my throat, my mouth still dry. “The town will starve without my sacrifice to Saint Nick.”
“So let them starve,” War growls. “What have they done for you to make them warrant your sympathy?”
This creature is terrifying, monstrous, and cruel. But he speaks the truth. “I-I don’t know. But what of my sister? And Saint Nick? Won’t he be angry and take her instead?”
He flattens his palm against my belly, caressing my heated flesh. “You don’t need to worry about him, little doe. We are the Four Horsemen. No one is more formidable than us.”
I nod. As I gaze upon his face, I’m mesmerized. He’s beautiful when he’s not snarling at me. “You won’t miss the thrill of the hunt?”
His eyes darken even as he grins. “The hunt doesn’t end with your capture. It’s only just begun. You will soon learn the sorts of games we like to play with our prey.”
A cold shiver trails up my spine. Is this better than death? All my life, I’ve been raised to prepare for the sacrifice. I paid little attention to others, never making friends, never bothering to find any hobbies, and never daring myself to dream.
My fate was sealed. As the eldest daughter, I would die, so my sister could live. And as penance, she will have to sacrifice her first daughter. And so on for every generation.
Sometimes I wonder if it ever keeps my mother up at night, knowing she gets to live all while sacrificing her own kin. I worry about my sister. She’s a gentle soul with a glorious heart. This will break her.
“Who are those tears for?” War huffs.
I blink a few times, bringing myself back to the present. I touch my cheeks to find them wet. “For the ones who will never be free from this blasphemous ritual. For every woman whose life you’ve taken.”
He wraps his hand around my throat but doesn’t squeeze. “They are in a kinder place now. I promise you that. Don’t waste your tears on corpses, little doe. Save them all for us. We will make you earn each one of them.”
The more vile his tongue, the more I ache for his touch. Perhaps I’m a glutton for punishment. Maybe I deserve to be brutalized for eternity for enjoying this. I should’ve thrown myself into the river instead of playing their games. Now I have more shame than I know what to do with.
“I’m a coward who has brought nothing but shame upon my family name,” I snap.
He pulls me up to a sitting position by my neck. “If you continue to speak so poorly about yourself, I will be pressed to cut out your tongue.”
Confusion rattles me. I look into his murderous gaze, struggling to interpret his emotions. Three hours ago, I didn’t think he had any. “Why bother? You don’t care about what I want.”
He pushes me back down onto the bed but doesn’t release my throat. “We’ll have to work on your sour disposition. Maybe after you’ve taken all four of our cocks, you’ll become more pleasant to be around.”
I nearly burst out laughing. Which is odd, because I can barely feel my hands, my throat still burns, and I have the deadliest creature in all existence straddling me.
“I was wondering the same thing about you actually. All that pent-up aggression, the endless murdering of innocents… how long has it been since you’ve had a release?
Maybe you’ll be less grumpy after you’ve fucked my pussy.
” I don’t know where this newfound bravery has come from.
But there’s something about this man that sours my words, provoking me to bark back.
His grip tightens again, and his nostrils flare. “Don’t push me, woman. I will fuck more than just your pussy. You have a few holes I can find use for.”
Now it’s my turn to smirk. I don’t know if it’s the lack of oxygen to my brain, or the mere fact that I’ve been taken hostage by four immortals who plan to violate my body for the foreseeable future, but my fear is twisting and turning into something else. Something just as toxic as them.
I let out a little sigh. “I’ll always have a death wish as long as you keep me. I will never want this. You’re a monster. An abomination. You can fuck me all you want, but I would rather die if given a choice.”
He lowers his face till it’s inches from mine, his breath hot, his eyes murderous as he growls, “Liar.”