by Ramona Gray
“Kane, seriously. You can’t just touch me like this.”
“There is no one else around,” he replied. “That was your objection before, was it not?”
“Well, yes, but – “
“Then why can I not touch you? You crave my touch. I know you do.”
He leaned in and nuzzled her neck affectionately and she moaned softly. “I hardly know you. All you want from me is sex and – “
“Of course I want to mate with you. As you want to mate with me.” He sucked on her earlobe and then probed her ear with his warm tongue.
She shuddered all over, and when he reached for her breast she didn’t try to stop him. He cupped her breast, pulling and pinching her nipple as she tightened her leg around his hip.
He kissed her and she returned it eagerly, pressing herself against him as he pushed her back against the tree. She gave a gasp of pain, arching her back away from the hard bark and he frowned.
“I’m sorry. I forgot that your back is bruised.” He rubbed her lower back soothingly before trailing kisses along her neck.
“Kane, why are you doing this?” She whispered.
He lifted his head. “Because I want to fuck you.”
“But why do you want to?” She asked.
He shrugged. “I have never mated with a human before and I find you oddly appealing. A few of my pack mates have fucked a human before and they say it is pleasant enough. I will mate with you and find out for myself. I need to fuck you before we return to my home. Dagon will claim you for his own, and I will lose my chance to mate with you.”
She glared at him. “So I’m a damn experiment for you?”
He stared at her in surprise. “You’re angry.”
“Of course I am,” she sighed. “Kane, humans aren’t like shifters. We don’t just go around fucking each other. At least, I don’t.”
Now it was his turn to sigh. “Why do you keep arguing with me, human? You want me.”
“Are you seriously trying to tell me that your kind just fuck whoever they want in their pack?”
“Of course not. Many of us fall in love and mate for life just like the humans do,” he replied.
“But not you?”
He shook his head. “No, I have no wish to be mated for life to another.”
“Of course you don’t.”
He frowned. “Are all humans this confusing? You want me. You submit so eagerly to my touch, and yet you keep saying we cannot mate.”
“You’re right,” she said. “I’m totally giving you mixed signals. I’m sorry for that.”
He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. She pushed at his broad chest. “No, Kane. I’m serious. Have you never had a woman say no to you before?”
He stepped away from her. “It has happened on occasion but their scent clearly indicated they did not want me. Yours does not. Why are you denying yourself what you want?”
She sighed again. “I’m not going to have sex with you when I’m most likely going to be mated to your damn alpha.”
“So you’ll fuck my alpha but not me?” He could feel jealousy burning in his stomach and he frowned. What did he care if the human fucked Dagon once he was finished with her?
“I’d rather not fuck anyone I barely know,” she snapped. “But I have a feeling that your alpha isn’t going to give me a choice.”
“Probably not,” he agreed.
“What happened to his last mate?” She asked suddenly.
“We told you. She died.”
“How?”
“What does it matter?” He said evasively. “She is dead and he needs a new mate.”
“How many mates has he had?” She had a bad feeling in her stomach.
“Many,” he admitted.
“How many?” The bad feeling was growing.
He sighed harshly. “Do you always ask this many questions, human?”
“Yes.”
“Let me give you a word of advice.” He gave her a serious look and pulled her against him before brushing his hand down her hair. “Learn to curb your tongue when you are around my alpha. He does not like his mate to question him.”
“I’m not good at keeping my mouth shut, Kane. Besides, I thought you said your alpha liked his women with spirit.”
He gave her a look of frustration. “Just do as I say, human.”
“Why? What will your alpha do to me if I don’t?” She asked.
He didn’t reply but there was a dark look in his eyes that set off alarm bells in her head. “How many mates has your leader killed?”
He kissed her hard on the mouth and gripped her head firmly before staring at her. “Just keep your tongue quiet around him, girl.”
He turned and stalked away.
Now, she wrapped her arms around her body and stared silently at the shifters and the two women. She hadn’t told Adina or Ghita about her conversation with Kane and she decided she would pull the two women aside and tell the both of them. They needed to know.
A cold drop of rain fell on her arm and she looked up at the sky. They were thick with dark clouds and the wind was picking up. Theran stared nervously at the sky before glancing at Hanif.
“He needs to hurry.”
Hanif nodded. “I know. Do not worry, brother. Kane will find – “
He stopped and inhaled deeply. A look of fright crossed his face as Theran turned to the right and inhaled as well. His eyes widened. “Hanif, do you smell – “
“Aye!” Hanif hissed. He beckoned to the women. “Come, quickly!”
Ghita scurried to Theran as Hanif strode to Adina and took her arm. “Let’s go.” He glared at Reese. “Come, human. Right now!”
“What’s going on?” Reese frowned at the two obviously frightened shifters. “Why are you so – “
There was a low, thick grunt and a large thicket of bushes to the right of her shivered violently.
“Reese! Run!” Theran suddenly shouted. Before she could even think of moving, a hand reached out from the bushes and seized her by the arm.
She shrieked in alarm and beat at it with her fist as the bushes parted and a giant of a man strode out from them. All of the air escaped from her lungs in a whispery little moan as Reese stared up and up. She had thought Kane was big, but the beast standing before her was at least twelve feet tall. His body was thick with muscle and covered in dark, black hair. He grinned at her with black and rotting teeth and his hand tightened around her arm.
“Human,” it muttered delightedly.
The two shifters snarled in fear and bared their teeth at him as they pushed the two women behind them. They were starting to shift and the beast growled at them before raising the large, wooden club he held in his right hand.
“She is ours. Let her go,” Theran snapped.
The beast laughed, a thick, rich sound that made all the hair on Reese’s body stand up. “You dare tell a tagen what to do?” It replied.
“Give her to us and no harm will come to you,” Theran growled.
“Watch your tongue, shifter.” The tagen glared at him. “I can kill you and your brother easily.”
Reese cried out when there was a loud crack of thunder and the skies opened up. Rain, hard and cold, poured down from the sky and instantly soaked her to the bone. The wind had become a howling moan and it whipped her wet hair against her cheeks.
Hanif shifted to his wolf form and whined softly. Theran glanced quickly at him before turning back to the creature holding Reese captive.
“You would be wise to disappear back into the cave you crawled from. The rains are upon us and I have never heard of a tagen being able to swim.” Theran had to shout to be heard above the wind.
The tagen glanced up at the sky before back to Reese. He grinned again at her and she shuddered and yanked at the hand holding her. The tagen laughed and pulled her closer.
“I will make you a deal, shifters. You have no need for three women. Give this one to me and I will let you and the other shifter live. You can take your two f
emales and find higher ground before you drown.”
Hanif whined again and Theran swallowed before darting a quick glance at Reese. Her eyes widened with horror and her mouth dropped open at the look in his eyes.
“Theran, no!” She whispered.
“Reese, I am sorry,” he moaned as he took Ghita’s and Adina’s arms and began to back up, dragging them with him. “Truly, I am.”
“Theran, you can’t do this!” Adina shouted. She punched the shifter in the chest and he winced but didn’t let her go.
“Listen to the shifter, human,” the tagen rumbled. He looked Adina up and down with his black eyes. “Unless you would like to take her place?”
Adina paled and Reese, adrenaline humming through her veins, turned on the tagen and began to kick and punch him recklessly. He grunted and then bent and hoisted her over his shoulder like a rag doll. She screamed again and continued to pound on his back as he turned and disappeared into the forest.
Chapter 7
Kane, his shaggy head bent against the wind and the rain, loped into the trees. He had found a cave, one that was big enough and set high enough into the mountain to protect them from any flooding. Even better, it was deep enough that he could take the human to the back of it and fuck her without the others seeing. He was obsessed with the idea of taking her and he didn’t know why. He –
He gave a startled growl when Theran and the others burst around a grove of trees. Theran was in his human form but Hanif had shifted and he was whining softly under his breath. Kane barked sharply at them and they skidded to a halt. The women were panting harshly, their hair and clothes plastered to their bodies. Kane felt a trickle of fear when he realized Reese was not with them.
“Did you find shelter?” Theran gasped out.
Kane shifted, wincing a little at the feel of the cold rain on his naked skin, and nodded. “Aye. Where is the big human?”
Theran glanced uneasily at Hanif and the trickle of fear in Kane’s belly grew bigger. “We must get to the shelter, Kane.”
“Tell me where she is, Theran.”
“Kane, I had no choice. Please believe me.”
“Theran!” Kane warned.
“There was a tagen,” Theran whispered.
Kane strode forward and grabbed Theran’s arm. “Is she dead?”
“No, but I…”
He trailed off and gave Kane a miserable look.
“Where is she?” Kane shook him roughly.
Adina’s body was trembling violent and she stuttered though blue lips, “The tagen took her. Theran traded her to save his own miserable life.”
Theran winced. “I had no choice, Kane! We could not have defeated him and you know that. The tagen offered us a deal. He would take the woman and let us live.”
When Kane didn’t reply, Theran gave him a pleading look. “I am sorry, Kane. But you know it’s for the best anyway. Once Dagon found out she was mad, he would – “
He stopped and glanced at Adina and Ghita before returning his gaze to Kane. “There is nothing we can do for the human now. Come, we must get the remaining females to the shelter before they freeze to death.”
Kane dropped Theran’s arm and pointed into the trees. “Go to the base of the mountain. There is a large moss-covered boulder. To the right of it is a path that will lead you to the cave. It is about thirty feet up and to the left of the path. You will find it easily enough.”
“Are you not coming with us?” Theran frowned at him.
Kane shook his head. “No. I’m going after the human.”
Theran gaped at him. “Have you gone mad, Kane? The tagen will kill you, if you can even find them. The rain will have washed their scent from the ground.”
“I found the tagen’s home when I was searching for our shelter,” Kane replied briefly. He flexed and shifted before running toward the mountain.
“Kane! This is madness!” Theran shouted after him. The shifter didn’t stop and Theran gave Hanif a stunned look before tugging on the women’s arms. “Let’s go.”
* * *
The tagen dropped Reese to the hard floor of the cave and she scrambled backward until her back hit the wall. She winced at the pain and staggered to her feet. As the tagen moved to the front of the cave and knelt by the smoldering fire, she glanced around cautiously.
The tagen had carried her through the trees and up the side of the mountain. Although it was steep and the rocks were slippery, he was surprisingly nimble for his size. His home was set high in the mountain and he had climbed steadily. He had scaled the mountain, holding confidently with one hand to the slippery rock as he carried her higher. Eventually they reached a path but it was so narrow and slick, the tagen had been forced to turn and inch his body along the face of the mountain. Hanging upside down over the tagen’s back, Reese had stared at the sheer drop off the mountain and quit fighting him. Instead, she had clutched the beast’s broad naked back and closed her eyes. She had been certain they would fall to their deaths, and she had breathed a sigh of relief when the tagen had finally reached his home.
The cave was a big one and although dry, it was cold enough for her to see her breath. Her wet body trembling, she pushed her hair from her face and stared at the tagen’s home. There were natural indentations in the side of the rock that the tagen used for shelves. They were filled with a variety of items including bottles, leather bags and crude cups and plates made of wood. She swallowed thickly as she stared at the top shelf. A human skull sat beside what she suspected was a leg bone and she pressed herself against the wall again, ignoring the pain in her back.
A nest of fur pelts was near the back of the cave and she peered past it into the depths of the cave. There was a tunnel veering off to the right, and a large wooden bucket sat at the entrance of the tunnel to what she assumed was a second section of the cave. The tagen grunted softly and she swung her terrified gaze back to him. A rocky ledge, about five feet wide, jutted out from the entrance to the cave. It was protected from the rain by an overlay of rock above it and the tagen had built up the fire until it was crackling loudly. He added a few more handfuls of dry grass to it and blew lightly on it before hanging a large iron pot filled with water over the fire.
He turned and entered the cave, kicking off the leather boots he wore before pushing down his pants. Reese inhaled sharply and reached down to pry a rock from the floor of the cave. She held it in her hand, the weight of it comforting her. She stared at the tagen as he moved deeper into the cave and picked up another pair of pants piled neatly at the end of the pelts. His penis dangled between his legs and she moaned quietly to herself at the size of it. He pulled on his pants and turned around to smile at her.
“Are you hungry, human?”
She shook her head and he frowned. “I am making dinner. You will eat it. You need your strength.”
“For what?” She whispered as he eyed the rock in her hand.
“To mate with me, of course.” He started toward her and she raised the rock threateningly.
“I’m not mating with you,” she hissed.
“Of course you are. If you do not, what need do I have for you? I might as well throw you off the side of the mountain and be done with it.”
He was only a few feet away from her and she gripped the rock in her hand tightly. “Stay away from me.”
He gave her a look of amusement. “Do you believe you can defeat me with a rock? You may be big for a human but I am a tagen. You will only hurt yourself if you try and deny me what I want.”
“I’d rather die,” she spat at him.
He shrugged. “Deny me and you will.”
He held out his hand. “Drop the rock and give me your hand, human. I wish to see you naked.”
She shook her head and then hurled the rock at his head. He roared in surprise as it bounced off his jaw and she darted toward the mouth of the cave. She would most likely slip and fall to her death trying to climb down the mountain but it was better than the alternative.
Sh
e had barely made it to the entrance of the cave when she felt the tagen’s hand grip her hair. He yanked viciously on it, pulling her to the ground. She screamed and kicked at him as he knelt beside her and pinned her down with one large hand on her abdomen.
“Stop fighting me, human!” He snapped as he reached for the hem of Kane’s shirt. One of her flailing fists caught him in the face and he growled with anger before slapping her hard across the face. The force of the blow bounced her head off the rocky floor and her ears began to ring. Her body went limp and she stared dazedly at the beast.
“There, that’s better,” he muttered to himself. He was reaching for her shirt again when a loud growling filled the cave. He turned and stared in surprise at the large shifter standing at the entrance of the cave.
It was the largest shifter he’d ever seen but the tagen felt no fear as he stood and stared at the wolf. “Lost your way, dog? Do you believe I will offer you shelter from the rains?”
The shifter’s gaze dropped to the woman at his feet and the tagen grinned. “She was given to me as a gift by your mongrel brothers.”
The shifter snarled at him and the tagen’s grin widened. “Is she yours then? I will not give her up easily. The rains have come and I need something to keep me occupied. The human will be a perfect bed warmer and when the rains are done and I have no more use for her, I’ll consider letting her go.”
He glanced down at Reese. “Although let’s be truthful. She is a big one, but she most likely will not survive sharing my bed. The last human I took to my bed only lasted for a couple of days before succumbing to her injuries.”
He stared beyond the wolf at the rain pouring down. “The rains will last at least two weeks this time. I feel it in my bones. Do you think she will last a week, dog?”
The shifter howled loudly and the tagen winced as the sound echoed in the cave. “Turn around and go back to your brothers, shifter. I am in a good mood and will let you live.”
The wolf bared his teeth at him and crouched. The tagen grinned fiercely and started forward. “It has been many months since I’ve enjoyed a meal of shifter. I will make your woman watch as I skin your fur for my bed and tear the meat from your bones for our dinner.”
