CHAPTER THIRTEEN #2
Not once did the prince glance back at the room or in Sterling’s direction before he shut the door behind him.
Why would he? And why would she care? He could fuck all of the women in the brothel if he wanted, and she wouldn’t give a damn.
She only hoped that he would continue where they’d left off if she won tonight, that their fucking might lead him to release her, even though he said she’d never be free.
His mind had changed about touching her, so perhaps it could change further.
He could fuck her mouth as hard as he wished with that gloriously large cock of his if that would entice him enough.
Still flustered from the heat pooling low in her stomach, Sterling slipped into the bathing chamber, finding the water already cold.
It didn’t matter as she sank into the liquid’s depths and washed herself clean.
The distraction couldn’t get the feel of the prince’s tongue against hers out of her thoughts.
“It’s been too long, Sterling. Too long.” She dipped her hand between her legs, running it up the creases of her folds. Just as she caressed her clit, a knock came at the bathing chamber door. Fuck. I’m cursed to never orgasm again. “Yes?” she grumbled.
“It’s Amalli. I have your meal and set it in the cage. I’ll wait for you to finish in there.”
“One moment.” The mood to pleasure herself had already subsided, annoyance left in its wake.
Sterling dried herself off before dressing in a new tunic and trousers that had been left for her beside the tub. She opened the door to find Amalli waiting beside her cage.
“Good luck tonight,” the servant said, surprising Sterling as she climbed inside.
After Amalli handed Sterling a glass of water, she adjusted the pillow at her back and asked, “Does the prince treat all his prisoners like this?”
“Not even close. Seems you’re a rarity.” Amalli shrugged and shut the door.
“I hear the king is almost better,” Sterling said, taking a sip of water. “I didn’t even know he was here.”
“You better hope you never meet him.” Amalli’s tone turned serious. “He has a liking for all women. Scarred or not. Murderer or not.”
“Oh.” Sterling furrowed her brow. She hadn’t known he’d pleasured that many women. Like father, like son.
Amalli frowned, seeming to war with herself about something, when she finally spoke, “The prince is allowing your brother outside privileges. You may catch a glimpse of him in the garden.” Without another word, the servant left the room.
Sterling ate her meal and, twitching anxiously, stared out the window until she finally caught a glimpse of Cyan in the garden.
She watched as he pointed to the soil, and she wagered that he was telling Amalli about the herbs that should be planted there.
He looked healthy, still his scrawny figure, but not the bones and sagging skin as she’d imagined.
His new clothing wasn’t ripped or torn either.
“I’ll win tonight,” she promised him even though he couldn’t hear her.
The door opened and the prince sauntered in, his collar torn, pink rouge staining his neck. He didn’t look in Sterling’s direction as he entered the bathing chamber.
“At least one of us could get off,” she muttered to herself.
Cyan had already returned inside the manor hours ago, and Sterling stared up at the ceiling. She didn’t read that often, but if she got through this next game, she would possibly ask for a book to pass the long days when she wasn’t dusting.
The bathing chamber door creaked open and the longer side of Winter’s damp hair hung near his chin, several strands stuck to his sculpted cheek. He walked past her, his skin bare, and a few drops of water kissed down his back and the curve of his buttocks.
She wouldn’t think about fucking now when she needed to focus on what was at stake.
The game.
Once Winter slipped on his fresh clothing, he unlocked her cage. “Follow me.”
Sterling exited the cage and tugged on her worn black boots near his bed.
As she walked behind Winter, along with the wolf shifters at her sides, it was as though she was entering a dream she’d already been a part of before. The manor was mostly empty besides the guards at the main door and two servants scrubbing the windows.
Outside, the night’s dark blanket colored the sky, the stars beaming down at her in anticipation. The drums filled the silent night, and she wondered if Cyan could hear them from his room, if he’d been informed that Sterling was competing for his freedom.
Up ahead, the torches flared, their flames burning brightly. The guards left her as the door to the enclosure was drawn open. On both sides of the door, atop the walls, sat a line of shifters, waiting to watch the spectacle beneath the glowing full moon.
The prince dipped his head near Sterling’s ear, his voice somewhere between stern and gentle. “If you live, don’t bleed on my floor afterward.”
“I take that as you’re hoping I’m well enough to suck your cock.” She rolled her eyes and lifted her chin, striding past him into the familiar enclosure. The trees swayed and creaked from the gust of wind, the guards on their drums silencing their pounding.
Sterling took in the group of prisoners, male and female, this time nineteen instead of twenty-four.
Their arms were all chained behind their backs, grime and dirt covering their forms. Talia’s face was nowhere to be found, not even watching from the walls.
She prayed to the gods that the bitch wouldn’t interfere again, but if she did, Sterling wouldn’t be caught off guard this time.
Once the chains were off the prisoners, Winter edged toward the drummers. “For tonight’s game,” he shouted. “Red Riding Hood and the wolf prisoners will work in pairs.”
Wolves. Sterling’s eyes widened. Of course this game would be wolves…
“The last team standing will be the winners,” the prince continued. “Whether one or both members are alive, the wolves on that team will gain freedom. It sounds simple, doesn’t it?” His gaze met Sterling’s. “But if you get trapped, your life is forfeit to my wolves.”
“What do you mean trapped?” a male prisoner asked, his long greasy locks of hair clinging to his filthy skin.
Winter’s smile grew wide, vicious, his dimples showing beneath the moonlight. “You’ll know if it happens.”
The male snapped his mouth shut and Winter turned to Sterling. “Red Riding Hood, your teammate is the first in line.”
Her eyes fixed on a tall man, his body toned, his head bald, and tattoos covered half his face and chest. Not the weakest of the bunch—the gods had given her a small amount of grace. The man pursed his lips, seeming disgruntled that he was to work with the enemy.
Winter elegantly held out his hand and called, “Bow.”
A moment later one of the guards brought a wooden bow that was much smaller than Sterling’s and looked as if she could crack it in half. But it was a bow nonetheless.
The guard placed it in Winter’s grasp, and the prince passed the bow to Sterling. She blinked, cradling the object as if she’d been given the greatest gift in the world.
“You start with a weapon this time,” Winter drawled.
“No arrows?” She could make them with things in the forest, but a wolf would sniff her out before she finished completing one. Even with a shifter on her side, they couldn’t win if eighteen criminals attacked them at once.
Winter trailed a finger across his lower lip, his teeth still bared in a savage grin.
“In the center of the forest there will be a quiver with one arrow awaiting you. You better move fast though.” He prowled closer to her, his pleasant scent enveloping her.
“Sterling, you have a fifteen-second head start, and your teammate five. Begin.”
She stilled, wasting one whole second before she took off like lightning into the forest. Winter had called her Sterling. Not human. Not Red Riding Hood. It was nothing. Another twist to trip her up.
Avoiding as many twigs and leaves as she could muster, she darted toward the center of the forest, her gaze sweeping across the brush for any sign of a quiver.
A few moments later, feet thumped across the earth behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to find a brown and white wolf near her heels. Her teammate didn’t attack her, only followed closely.
“Help me find the quiver!” Sterling panted as she picked up speed, her breath fogging the crisp autumn air.
The wolf curved around a large trunk and she tailed him past flowered bushes and moss-covered trees. Fireflies danced around leaves, illuminating the area for her even more.
In the distance, howls and roaring reverberated as the fights erupted. Sterling hoped it was wolves tearing one another to shreds, that they kept themselves busy before hunting her as easy prey.
Her teammate gained speed before halting near a narrow tree where a dark green quiver dangled from a branch. Only there wasn’t one arrow inside it but two.
Sterling snatched the quiver from the tree, and as she nocked an arrow against the bowstring, a bush rustled. She released the first arrow, impaling a white wolf through the eye just before the enemy could rip into her teammate.
The wolf slumped to the ground and her teammate shifted into his bare male form.
“Your scent is going to make us lose,” he snarled.
“It doesn’t matter if the wolves have to kill one another—they will come for you first. Smear the wolf’s blood on you and go.
I’ll fend off the others, and for any that slip past me, use the arrows. ”
“Thank you,” she said, startling herself. Maybe he hadn’t murdered her in order to help him win, but it didn’t matter.
Claws slipped out from her teammate’s hand, and he slashed them across the wolf’s chest and stomach, now that of a woman. Blood spilled from the wounds, pooling around the dead body with a deep, metallic scent.
Sterling knelt and gathered handfuls of warm blood to smear her face and body with its stickiness.
“That’s good. Now go,” her teammate rushed the words out. “They aren’t far.”
Yanking her arrow from the woman’s eye with a sickening squish, she abandoned the wolf and skirted through the trees while surveying the area. Soft thumps came from her right and she whirled to the side, letting an arrow fly straight into a wolf’s throat, another in its chest.
The body convulsed on the ground as its fur reeled into its flesh. Sterling wrenched the arrows from the shifter and went further into the forest. She scanned the trees, searching for a decent branch to balance on while watching for wolves when a thick one enticed her.
As she bolted toward it, the ground below her feet gave way, and she fell into a deep hole, the air knocked from her lungs when she struck the hard dirt.
Sterling peered up, her breath ragged—she realized what Winter had meant about being trapped.