Huntress

by S. J. Sanders

  “I understand from Gund and Tah that it is the way things are done, but that doesn’t mean shit when it comes to feelings. I am not Ragoru, Orth. If you feel a certain way about it, I won’t judge,” she said quietly.

  He paused, considering her words, and sighed. “I just wish I had been a part of it. I wanted it so much when we got away from the creatures. Wanted with all my being to survive to see our life unfold together… and then it felt like I missed everything. That everything happened without me. They have enjoyed bonding with you for four days,” he growled bitterly, finally unleashing his anger.

  Heidi pinched her lips together and nodded. Slowly, she slid one leg around his hip and climbed into his lap. For the first time, he noticed what she wore… or rather her lack of clothing as the heat of her cunt pressed down against him.

  “What would you like to happen, Orth?” she whispered, her pale gray eyes looking steadily at him.

  “I want you,” he whispered. “I want to be inside you, to know you as they have.”

  A smile bloomed on her face as her hand stroked down his belly to his sheath, where his cocks were already swelling with readiness. “That can be arranged,” she whispered as she slipped back, farther down his legs. He wanted to protest the loss of contact until he felt her hand on his sheath. All objections immediately fled from his mind.

  Her fingertip teased the seam of his sheath and he lost all control of himself, his cocks spilling hot and hard into her hand. Her sigh of pleasure was musical as it greeted his ears, though it was nearly drowned out by his own loud groan. Her fingers danced over his cocks, first one and then the other, teasing him in their exploration. One fingertip circled the head of his primary cock, making his hips buck.

  “It is interesting how similar, yet so very different your cocks are. Gund is really big in width, and Tah’s cocks are not quite as thick at first but get even thicker than Gund’s around the base. Yours have larger, more prominent heads. It really is a treat for me,” she whispered.

  A thrill of excitement ran through him as she continued to work him, her hands slipping easily on his cocks. She leaned forward then and trailed her tongue along the frill of his primary cock so unexpectedly that he made a sound caught between a yelp and a snarl.

  “What are you doing?” he panted as he met her eyes in disbelief.

  She grinned and lapped at his cock again, making him groan and flex his hips into the air, panting all the while. She was going to kill him—but at that moment, he didn’t care. He closed his eyes, writhing under her touch until it suddenly withdrew. Rasping out his displeasure, his eyes popped open and he pushed himself up onto his elbows to look at her.

  Heidi sat up with a pleased smile on her face. She licked her lips, where some of his precum still lingered, and met his eye as she slinked forward.

  “I think we are ready,” she whispered, her hands dipping between her legs to grip his primary cock. “I know I am. Feel for yourself.”

  Orth shivered as his cock slid through her wet heat. Instinctively, he thrust up, eager to get inside her. Her husky laughter met him as she shifted slightly away. He growled at her, meeting her playful gaze.

  “Patience, love,” she whispered.

  “You are killing me, rya,” he rasped.

  She shifted his primary cock out of the way, gripping his secondary cock. He shuddered as she gave it the same treatment before poising it at the tight rear entrance. She lifted her hips to grab his primary cock with her other hand and slicked it into place. They both moaned as she sank down on him, her tight heat slowly encompassing both cocks. Bracing himself with his secondary arms, he sat up, wrapping his primary arms around her as he ground himself impatiently until she began to rock against him. Gripping her hips, he yanked her against him as his hips thrust beneath her, grinding himself deep into her. He lifted her up and forward and then slammed her back down on his cocks, a low growl rattling in his throat as pleasure snapped through him.

  He watched with satisfaction as her smug look disappeared and her lips parted on a sharp pant with every hard, deep thrust. Her eyes closed, her eyelids twitching as he felt a shudder run through her. He snarled, it felt so good, her cunt squeezing around his cocks with every hard pull, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted her pinned beneath him so he could slam his cocks into her over and over again.

  Her startled shout as he surged forward was gratifying. Even the slight oomph that puffed out from her lips when he rolled up with the motion, dropping her onto her back on the soft bed, gave him a thrill. Her eyes widened with shock but then glinted as a smile curved her lips. She ground back against him as he braced himself over her, his cocks still buried within her.

  “You want to be in charge, Orth?” she moaned, wiggling beneath him.

  He leaned over her, entangling his upper hands in her short hair, pinning her to the bed. Grinning down at her, he curved his back and dropped his head to slide his tongue over her breasts before slipping his tongue up her neck in one long stroke.

  “In charge? No. Want you pinned helpless beneath my rut? Absolutely,” he growled. He pushed his hips back, allowing his cocks to draw out almost to the tip before slamming forward.

  Heidi cursed, her hips jerking up off the bed in response as her fingers dug deeply into his fur. She clung to him, hissing and whining her pleasure as he drove into her repeatedly. The tug on his fur edged on painful, but it sweetened his enjoyment. A shiver ran up his spine as the pressure drew down to his center.

  Ducking his head against hers he whispered in her ear. “I cannot breed you like Gund, but by the Mother, you will feel every bit of me for days after this,” he snarled.

  “Fuck yes!” Heidi gasped as she arched against him, her muscle straining with her climax.

  He felt her orgasm spill through her as her pussy clenched greedily on him, desperately seeking his cum. Instinct roared through him, his cocks twitching within her passages as he gave her exactly what she wanted. His cocks swelled further as they sank deep, his hips losing rhythm as he abandoned himself to a wild rut, his body striving to do things that it would not do.

  With every brutal thrust, he was certain that he was branding her even without the mating bite. She would never be rid of him, nor he of her. He groaned as he felt another climax claim his rya, her body latching onto his so strongly that it caused an explosion of sensation within him. With a roar, his orgasm whipped viciously through his body, his inactive cum shooting deep within her, filling her until there was nothing left.

  Groaning, Orth rolled off his female and collapsed on the bed. His body, though healed, still protested the activity even while the rest of him felt wonderfully sated. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he felt Heidi snuggle in against him, her warm breath fanning his fur.

  Playing with the ends of her short mane, he turned his head and looked down at her thoughtfully. “Why will you make us wait to mate?” he asked.

  Heidi sighed against him and shifted to meet his eyes, her expression bleak. “I don’t want to limit your options. I knew from the beginning that there is a chance I could die by pursuing this. The Master must be stopped, and he has to pay, but I didn’t count on this happening between us.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “I know Ragoru only mate once. If anything happens to me, I want you to find a mate, not mourn my loss.”

  He stared at her, abhorrence filling him at the very idea of taking another female as his mate. She didn’t know it, but as far as he was concerned, it was too late for him. There would be no other female that he would wish to touch. Looking at her expression, though, he knew there was nothing he could say to sway her. She was determined.

  Instead, he grunted and shifted to curl affectionately around her smaller body. She lay there in his arms for a while before she giggled, and her hand started to dance along his muscles. His body shuddered in delight, his cocks stiffening once more.

  “I have noticed something interesting about Ragoru,” she hummed sweetly. “Though the lead is the
only male who can breed and knot with a female, the other two males are blessed in other ways. You have impressive stamina. Even after you come, you are ready to go for it again.”

  Orth gasped when her hand smoothed over him. “It is designed by the Mother, so the secondary males can continue to provide pleasure in other ways when the breeding male is unable to continue.”

  “Such a wonderful feature,” she said. “I do believe I would like to test it out some more.”

  Orth moaned as she tugged a little on his cock. One more tug and he was on her again as they battled for domination while they eagerly coupled. For hours they enjoyed each other, the sun’s arc through the room the only evidence of the passage of time. When at last Heidi fell into an exhausted sleep in his arms, Orth held her tight.

  When they fought the Master, she would not die. He and his triad would never allow it. Their little human had no idea just how much a triad would battle to keep their female with them. She was about to find out.

  23

  As promised the Atlavan, although unhappy to see them go, carried them back over the forested hills to the borders of their territory. There were no trees where they landed, only empty land filled with tall wild grasses and rough-hewn stone. Although Heidi had heard of the Plains of Shades, she had never seen them firsthand. Looking upon it with her own eyes, she could see how it received the name, and even why the Atlavan called it the Blood Plains. In many places, the rock and grasses had an almost reddish appearance, the grasses swaying ghostly on the light breeze. There was nothing but emptiness as far as she could see. The track cutting through the grassland was the only thing that interrupted the vastness.

  Levanth had been careful to return to where he found them outside of the hill, so they were able to follow the tracks from air easily enough. Only a few times had they lost the track within other hills, but the Atalvans broke formation and scouted until the path was found again. It was so helpful that she wished she could take the entire group with her, but Levanth had reluctantly refused when she asked. He lingered with them as the other males took flight again.

  Looking over at him, Heidi tried once more. “Are you sure I cannot convince you to come to Dunvar with us? I will not lie, you make a great ally and could be useful.”

  He shook his head. “As much as I would like to, it is forbidden. We have a peace treaty with the Mintar. We do not fly over their territory, and they do not come into our hills. We cannot afford to make enemies of them again. Not even the Order will risk a Mintar herd if they can avoid them. I caution you to stay as far as you can from any sign of the herd. Keep to the tracks and it is possible that you will avoid them altogether.”

  Gund wrapped a hand around Heidi’s arm, pulling her away, his expression grave as he dropped his head in acknowledgment. “Our gratitude, Levanth. We will remain cautious in our crossing.”

  She thought for certain that the Atlavan would leave then, but he shifted in place indecisively.

  “Is there something else, Levanth?” she asked.

  “There is something, although no one wishes me to discuss it. The prince would be furious if he knew, but it weighs heavily on my mind,” Levanth admitted.

  “Go on,” Gund encouraged.

  “I mentioned that we have had some problems in the past with females and offspring being killed in the nest… Well, that is not at all. Our people migrate between two roosts. This is our warm season roost, but our cold season roost is farther south. Twice a year, we migrate between them over land. Our last migration concluded only a handful of days ago, and during the migration, four females became separated from us. They disappeared and couldn’t be found by any of our males. One of them was my sister.” He hesitated, his crest flaring. “There is no evidence that they were taken by huntsmen, especially since they usually kill our kind, not capture us. But I would appreciate it if you would take note of any news regarding our lost females. Learning that the male you seek came through here around the same time gave me too much time to think—and I do not believe in coincidences.”

  “More missing females,” Orth growled in dismay. Tah frowned, exchanging a sharp look with Heidi. She knew exactly what he was thinking of. The missing women. She hoped that he did not speak of the dead woman fed to the creatures. There was no reason to take away hope so cruelly.

  “We have heard similar tales in a human village,” he rumbled. “Their females went missing around the time the Master passed through.”

  Levanth hissed, his feathered tail whipping with menace. “If the Order’s prince is responsible for the disappearance of our females, I ask that you make him suffer. If he has… killed them. I ask that whatever you find be brought back to us.”

  “We will,” Heidi promised. She had failed on so many fronts in her life. This was the least she could do to make up for it. Her males stilled behind her, but each growled their complete agreement.

  The Atlavan’s eyes swept over them. “I am not a fool. I have hope that my sister is still alive, but I know that realistically the chances are small. Asking this one thing will give much peace to Randik and me. I thank you,” he said as he bowed, his large wings arching wide around him in salute.

  Heidi swallowed thickly and nodded in respect as the male finally straightened. Having said all that needed to be said, he didn’t linger any further. He gave them one final smile before spreading his fiery wings and lifting off into the sky.

  Beside her, Orth cleared his throat. “Do you think that we will encounter the Mintars?” he asked, his expression curious as he surveyed the land.

  “They sound rather peculiar. I would not mind seeing one from a distance… just to see if it looks as strange as I am imagining from Levanth’s description. Because really, I cannot see how it would even manage to rut.” He paused. “I would like to see that, actually.”

  Gund growled, his eyes narrowed on the male. “How we ended up in a triad together, sometimes I will never understand.”

  Tah grinned impishly. “It is because you could not imagine having to endure living without my company, of course.”

  A grunt was the only reply he received but Tah chuckled as they started out into the grass.

  One thing soon became apparent: the sun was far less kind on the plains than it had been in the forest, or in the mountain city of the Atlavans. Heidi couldn’t recall traveling anywhere on the continent that had been so dry and hot. She’d heard rumors of a far-off Southern Continent, where there was nothing but oceans of hot sand and caked, sun-scorched earth. When she read of it, she wondered what it would be like and had imagined seeing it. Now, knowing the hell of walking in leather armor beneath the brutal sun of the plains, she decided she would rather walk through a forest of predator plants than ever strike out over open land again.

  Sweat gathered between the armor and her skin as one brutal hour passed after the other. By the time the midday sun was directly overhead, she felt like she was swimming in her armor. Wiping a hand across her brow, she squinted at Gund as she leaned against Orth, who was supporting her weight. She glared in disbelief at the males who seemed unbothered by the sun despite their thick fur coats.

  “You guys make me sick,” she said, giving each of them a dirty look.

  Gund’s ears lay back in surprise as he looked to Tah, who just snorted with amusement. Orth stroked her back with a free arm that she wasn’t leaning on.

  “Why would you say that, rya?” Orth murmured softly.

  Heidi sighed. “I think I am about to get heatstroke, and you guys aren’t suffering at all. Somehow this doesn’t seem right.”

  Understanding dawned and Gund chuckled. “We can get miserable in hotter temperatures, but this does not break our comfort threshold.”

  “If it ever gets that hot, I am not sleeping anywhere near Gund,” Tah grunted.

  Heidi’s eyebrows winged up. “And why is that?”

  Orth snickered as both of the males fell mutinously silent. She glanced back at him askance. “Ragoru will sweat,” he i
nformed her with a laugh. “When it gets that bad, our fur gets wet and we produce an abundance of smell that clings to it. The smell is pleasant when it is just a small amount while rutting, but when we overheat it can be very difficult for males to enjoy being anywhere near each other. The females don’t seem to mind overmuch, but the slicked fur of one’s triad brother can get unbearable pretty fast.” His eyes strayed over toward Gun and his smile widened. “It is especially potent among the leads. Breeders seem to produce it excessively for some reason.”

  “It will not get to that point,” Gund said darkly, glaring at both of his triad brothers.

  “Good to know,” Heidi snorted. “But unfortunately, you guys aren’t going to get that lucky. Once I peel this armor off tonight, I am going to smell pretty bad.”

  Orth dropped his nose, sniffing at her neck. “You always smell delectable to me,” he growled. His tongue swiped out and caught the back of her neck.

  Heidi drew up her shoulders in effort to protect the back of her neck and wrinkled her nose. “I can’t believe you just did that. You actually licked my sweat.”

  He grinned down at her wolfishly. “I am always happy to lick you, rya. Everywhere. If you are interested in stopping…”

  Laughing, she pushed his nose away. “I don’t think so. And stop licking my filth.”

  “I like your filth,” he growled.

  “That sounds both disgusting and incredibly appealing at the same time,” she snorted in amusement.

  “You should consider taking the leather off,” Tah suggested. He was staring at her armor thoughtfully. “There is no one in the area and it would probably keep you more comfortable to walk that way than covered by it.”