by Raven Dark
I hardly recognized this woman I was becoming anymore.
I was about to jump down from the hole when something grabbed at my foot. A man’s large, meaty hand. I screamed.
Whomever it was, yanked me downward in a single jerk. The darkness of the tunnel surrounded me, black after the glare of sunlight, and I was in someone’s arms. I tried to cry out, but a dark cloth—a sack—went over my head, pulled tight, muffling the sound.
I kicked and flailed and screamed.
Men’s voices, gruff, speaking in the Critian tongue, met my ears. I couldn’t make out much of the language, but two words did leap out at me. Vor Talak.
Talak. No….
I screamed and kicked harder. I felt a sudden prick in my shoulder, then dizziness took me.
The world slid away into nothingness.
Epilogue: The Girl With No Name
The morning sun beat down on my back as we rode out of Zone 2. After a quick stop at a shitty bed and breakfast in the early hours, I was beat. All I wanted was a dip in the cool waters of the Grotto and a cold mug of ale. Riding in the damn desert aged a man after a while. Seemed like the sand got in one’s blood. A few more days in this shit, and I’d be pissing dirt.
I glanced over at Steel. Ever since we left the Grotto, the giant man hadn’t been himself. Hell, I hadn’t been myself. The whole time we’d been away, it felt like something was missing. And I had a feeling that our little slave was to blame. Even in Praula, where we went to meet Alron, the usual temptations of tits and ass didn’t shake us out of this funk. I didn’t know what it meant, but I sure as hell didn’t like it.
We reached the last leg of our journey, the distant shadow of the Grotto’s mountain face peaking over the horizon. It would be another forty-five miles, then. Sheriff would want to know every fucking word said at the meeting with my middleman. It sucked ass that we still didn’t know who the fuck was stealing our merchandise. None of it made any sense. All the trails had run cold, anyone we thought was connected either turned out to be nonexistent or had covered their tracks like an expert. That was the part that got to me, the organization of the whole thing. It stank of genius, and with all that we had to lose, we had to be on our game.
The thing was, I had no idea where to look. Sheriff would want answers, and I had nothing do give but more questions. The only solution I had was for the four us to go on the road and lure the fuckers out. Bring some product with us, set it up as bait. Hell, how long had it been since we’d all left the Grotto and road out as a crew? Three, four years?
We had Princess now. My thoughts went to her. She’d probably love being on the road, her violet eyes taking everything in, her long limbs wrapped around me, holding on as we rode the wind through the night.
Fuck, that woman made me feel. I thought maybe after taking her that first night, I’d grow bored of her, give her to the men, let them have a go at her. But when Bear held her on his lap at the barbeque, the rage and fire in my blood shocked the shit out of me. Same for Steel. We just couldn’t do it. I knew now, after being away from her these past three days, I’d never be able to let her go. She was ours. She belonged to me and my club brothers. And whether Sheriff denied it or not, she belonged to him, too.
Something in my gut I’d never felt clawed at me. Guilt. Guilt over the last time I’d seen her. Leaving her with our seed all over her ass and back. Her tears spilling down her cheeks. That look of hurt. Fuck, that look.
She didn’t understand—of course, she didn’t understand—that men like me and Steel would never change. That no matter how good a woman felt, how sweet her words, how deep her touch, there would never be enough in her to change who we were. She got too close that night. Healing me, mothering me. Fuck that. Too close. And so we cut that shit off to the quick.
So guilt? Damn right, but there was no other way. I would never let another woman steal my soul again. None of us would.
I let my thoughts drift as Steel pulled on ahead of me, his motorbike throwing up a cloud of dust as he led the way to the Grotto’s main tunnel. From the outside, the Grotto looked like a granite mountain, not a tree or blade of grass, just barren stone. Outsiders didn’t see the man-made traps and tunnels that hid in the dunes surrounding the mountain. Pulleys and engineered secret gates Steel and his men constructed allowed access, all hidden so that only the residents of the Grotto to find them.
Pulling the throttle on my motorbike, I headed straight and down into the dark hollow of the mountain, winding my way through tunnels until we entered the front garage. I killed the motor and swung my legs over, stretching out my back.
“Fuck, I’m tired. Think we can wash up before we meet the General, Steel?” I stomped the dust and sand from my boots and looked over at Steel as he did the same.
“If we’re quick, PB. Hell, I just want a drink. It’s hotter than the Maker’s tits out there.”
We made our way out and headed toward my room where I grabbed some clean clothes. Once at the main bathing pool, I took off my clothes and dived into the cool water. When I surfaced, I swung my head, whipping my hair around and splashing Steel, who sat on the bank filling up a pitcher. “Damn, there’s nothing like being home.”
“We should go find Petal. We can be quick. Sheriff can wait a bit.”
I grinned at my friend. He had it just as bad as I did.
“Think she’s still mad at us?” I scrubbed my hair, getting out the grit and dirt.
“Maybe. But we can make it up to her.” He tossed back a swig of the water and drank heavily before wiping his mouth with his big forearm. “I feel bad, man. We shouldn’t have left her like that. She’s not like other slaves, you know?” Steel frowned. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought he was embarrassed.
I wasn’t about to tell him the thoughts I had earlier while driving here. He felt guilty, too. I just knew it. It pissed me off that we both felt that way. It wasn’t going to stop me from seeing her, though. My cock twitched just thinking about her and that fucking mouth of hers. The sexiest mouth I’ve ever seen in my life. I smiled.
“Sure, brother. Let’s go find our Princess.”
Except we couldn’t find her. We looked everywhere, and when we finally found Cherry—who apparently had moved Dice into a new home above the laundering hole—she said she hadn’t seen Princess since that morning.
“Nope, last I saw her was when Hawk took her to Sheriff for punishment.” She threw a towel over her shoulder and gave me an ugly look like it was my fault. What the fuck did that mean?
“Punishment?” Steel looked as confused as me.
“She didn’t follow orders, so the General scheduled a punishment. But she should’ve been back by now.” Now she seemed concerned, her mouth turned down at the corners.
What the hell had happened while we were gone?
I looked at Steel, and we both nodded. Turning on our heels, we started toward Sheriff’s office, but Cherry stopped us.
“I’m coming with you.”
“What the fuck, woman? What’s gotten into you?” I asked her. Something was wrong, I could feel it in my gut, and Cherry’s presence wasn’t helping matters.
“Let her come, Pretty Boy, I don’t care.” Steel picked up the pace.
As we passed through the halls, I noticed that the usual guardsmen weren’t at their stations. I saw Cherry looking around, taking in the same thing. Yeah, something was definitely wrong here.
Around the corner, Sheriff’s voice echoed off the walls. “I don’t give a fuck, just find him. Patch wasn’t supposed to be on a mission today.”
We stepped into the office’s waiting room, and I took in the scene before me. Old Man Dice was sitting in a wheeled chair next to Hawk who stood against the wall with his arms crossed. Bear, Crash, and a few of Hawk’s men were there, too. Everyone looked up as we entered. Cherry ran to her grandfather, while I looked around the room for Princess.
“Pretty Boy, Steel, perfect timing. We have a problem,” Sheriff’s voice boomed
. “We have reports of three guardsmen found at their North Gate stations, stripped and out cold. Someone fucking got in.”
Hawk walked toward us. “We also found this.” He held a small, fur pelt up and threw it to the middle of the desk, its white ermine fur identifying it as Northern. “It was found under one of the guards. They must’ve dropped it when they struggled.”
“Was anything taken? What’s the damage” Steel asked.
“When did this happen?” I put in.
Sheriff rubbed his hands over his face, looking tired. “About an hour or so ago. We don’t know how they got in. Nothing’s missing.”
“Where’s our slave”” I asked.
“Wait, what?” Hawk’s whole stance changed, muscles tight, a wolf ready to spring. He looked at Cherry. “She’s not with you?” His reaction made me pause. He was never emotional.
Cherry shook her head. “No, I haven’t seen her since you came to get her for punishment.”
“What the fuck is going on? What was she punished for?” I looked at Cherry, then Hawk, then Sheriff.
No one answered me. Sheriff just crossed his arms, his face like stone. Hawk’s jaw was so tight I half expected it to break.
“Why the hell is everyone acting so fucking weird?” I looked extra hard at Hawk. “What happened while we were gone? Wait. Did those Critian assholes take her?” My blood was boiling. If they had…
“Pretty Boy, calm down,” Sheriff said.
Steel’s eyes locked on the General. “Sheriff, where is she?” His voice was death.
Sheriff crossed his arms. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that not only was the Grotto infiltrated but, at the same time, a prized whore wearing Damien’s brand is missing. It’s more proof that she’s exactly what I thought she was—a spy.”
Cherry jumped to her feet. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how insane that sounds?”
I glared at her, but she ignored it.
“That poor girl went through fucking hell this week. You think she let herself get stolen by these two on purpose? You think she let herself get fucked, spanked, humiliated, and beaten—”
“We never hurt her—” Steel started in a snarl.
“That’s enough, Cherry!” Dice cut in. He rolled his chair up, placing himself between the fiery redhead and our General.
Cherry rolled her eyes.
What the fuck? I’d never heard Cherry speak out of turn like that. She was always a shrew, but right now, she sounded like a total psycho. Challenging the General like that; if she was any other woman than Dice’s granddaughter, she’d have been dragged out of here by her hair, her ass belted so hard she wouldn’t sit for a week.
I looked at Sheriff, willing control into my words. “Do you really believe she was sent here as a spy? That we were set up, brother?” I shook my head. There was no way he believed that. Did he?
“Pretty Boy,” Sheriff said. “Whether it’s true or not, I think it’s for the best the slave is gone from here. Let’s just make sure the Grotto’s reinforcements are in place, that the place is secure—”
“What the fuck are you saying, man?” Hawk demanded. “You don’t want us to find her? Are you saying we should just…leave her in the hands of those barbarians? You know that fur belongs to Talak and his men. He was the one she was promised to. This hasn’t anything to do with Damien, Sheriff. He stole her.”
Sheriff slammed his hand against the wall, causing a framed map to fall to the floor. “Fucking dammit, we don’t need that slave here! We should have thrown her ass out when these idiots brought her here. I don’t want her here. End of story.”
I stared at my oldest friend. His eyes were filled with pain, a look I hadn’t seen in over a decade. This wasn’t about Talak, or about Damien planting some spy. Or an outsider that Sheriff didn’t want living here. This was personal. Sheriff looked almost…scared. But of what? Before I could think on that, Hawk spoke again.
“Dodge, T-Man, gather as many men as you can and search the premises again. Search by floor. Get everyone in the Grotto on it. And I mean everyone.”
“Hawk, let it go, she’s gone,” Sheriff said, his voice stony, his eyes wild.
“Listen, man, I don’t know what went down with you and her today, but something’s not right here. You’re wrong about her, Sheriff.” His face looked torn. Hell, I couldn’t blame him.
Dodge looked at his captain, then to his general, obviously debating on which one to listen to.
“Those are your orders, Dodge, see to it.” Hawk’s voice left no room for argument.
I looked to Steel, readying myself to start the search with them until Dodge spoke again.
“Of course, Captain. What’s her name?” He waited, one foot almost out the door, ready to comply with Hawk’s orders.
“What?”
Wait. What was her name?
Hawk looked at me and Steel. “None of us even know her name?”
We both shook our heads.
“We never asked her,” Steel answered him.
I cleared my throat, my words heavy. “I…never thought to ask her real name. What the hell?” An unbelievable pain sliced at my heart, the kind of pain I hadn’t felt since I was that young boy back in Mount Dire.
“Her name’s Setora.”
I turned to Dice. He looked about as gutted as the rest of us.
“She told me the other day. It’s Setora.”
“Well shit,” I said lamely.
What kind of men were we? Well, it didn’t matter now. There was only one thing left to do.
I turned to the others. “We have to find our woman,” I said. “We have to get Setora back.”
The End of Book One of
SAVING SETORA
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