by Sue Lyndon
Ava. Ava. Ava.
Was this some sort of sign from the Goddess? A sign Wolfe and his twin were supposed to claim a human as a mate, rather than one of the Banded females who would soon migrate down the mountain?
He ran a hand through his hair and got out of bed, then walked to the window and pushed back the curtains. Sunlight caressed his face as he gazed across the landscape. In the distance, he could see his parents’ house atop a small hill. Banded homesteads were usually more spread out, but he and Jaxon had wanted to remain close to their parents, especially given that many of their other family members had perished in the war. Like their younger set of brothers, Matheus and Fredrick, who’d been nearly too young to fight in the war, but had stubbornly insisted on joining. He drew the curtains back in place and strode to his bed, pushing away thoughts of his lost brothers and the war.
He climbed under the covers and tried to return to sleep, but his dream still haunted him. Jaxon was due home in just a few days. Perhaps his twin had also been visited with a vision of a pretty young human girl. Wolfe refused to believe the dream was random. He’d never dreamed of a human before. In fact, he’d never seen a human once in his life. But he’d heard they were similar in appearance to the Banded folk, but much smaller and weaker.
Though the Banded brothers Gavin and Trent, who lived in a nearby castle, had claimed a human as a mate, both Jaxon and Wolfe had yet to lay eyes on the girl. But the members of this spread out settlement that had seen the girl, named Amelia, said she was quite petite in comparison to Banded females. Like the girl called Ava from Wolfe’s mysterious dream.
He fell back asleep for a while and the gorgeous blonde appeared again, this time standing naked in his bedroom. Her head was lowered and she was cupping her bottom, as if she’d just been soundly spanked. She appeared repentant when she finally met his eyes, and her lower lip quivered. He approached her and took her in his arms, holding her tight while she buried her face against his chest.
Goddess, she felt perfect in his arms. He stroked her hair and held her for what felt like forever, before he eventually guided her to the bed.
“I’m sorry I displeased you, Master,” she said, her eyes glimmering with tears.
Master?
He peered at her, confused. Then it hit him. She wasn’t his mate. She was his slave.
But why?
Everything inside him ached to claim her, to push her back on the bed and shove his cock into her tightness. He could smell her arousal, a sweetness that was unique to her.
“Over my knee, Ava. I want to inspect your punished bottom,” he found himself saying.
She flushed and nodded, not resisting as he guided her into place. But when he got her positioned over his lap, he was shocked to find a plug seated in her bottom hole and poking out from between her reddened ass cheeks. He tapped at the base of the plug, causing her to wriggle in place.
“Who put this here?”
“Master Jaxon. He says when you both finally take me as your mate, one of you will claim my ass, while the other one will claim my cunny. Master Jaxon put the largest plug in today and says I’ll be ready soon for you to both take me at once.”
His cock, already stiffening, went completely hard, and his balls drew up tight. He tapped at the base of the plug again, then withdrew it slightly, only to push it all the way back in. A needy moan escaped Ava’s throat, and she parted her thighs wider and arched her bottom into his touch. He did it once more, pumping the plug in and out of her adorable little puckering hole, and again and again, until he was thrusting the plug into her tightness in a steadily increasing pace.
“It’s going to be my cock you feel in your ass first, Ava.” He pumped harder and faster, delighting in the way her hole clenched around the plug. “And while I’m fucking your ass, Jaxon will be pounding in your cunny, and we’re going to fill both of your private holes with our seed.”
He was still confused, because in the back of his psyche, he knew Ava was his slave. Somehow, he knew Jaxon had bought her. Bid on her while she stood on an auction block in a faraway human village. How exactly had it all transpired? In the fog of his dream—or was he still dreaming?—he couldn’t recall all the details.
He refocused on the sweet human girl still over his lap. With his free hand, he stroked her glistening honey and spread it over her clit, reveling in her tiny gasps and needy moans. The whole time he circled her swollen nubbin, he continued thrusting the plug into her ass, training her for his cock.
She jerked on his lap and cried out her release, groaning his name—or rather, the title she called him.
“Master. Oh, Master.”
When he awoke just before nightfall, his cock was painfully hard and the bedsheets were soaked with his sweat.
Goddess, let this dream mean something. Let it mean Jaxon and I will soon have a mate to share between us.
Chapter Five
Somewhere along the journey to her masters’ homestead, a part of Ava’s heart had broken off and attached itself to Jaxon. He was kind and courteous to her during their travels, stopping frequently to let her rest when she became tired, and she suspected he walked at a slower pace than he was accustomed to just for her sake. Sometimes it felt like he was holding her at a distance though, and this she didn’t understand. Perhaps it was because he already had a mate. She hadn’t yet worked up the courage to ask this question. Or perhaps she’d misread him and he wasn’t lusting after her the way she had suspected.
But he’d given her pleasure. He’d made her see stars. And he told her that her body belonged to him. Yet he hadn’t touched her again in that way since he’d given her the spanking. Her face heated and a desperate throbbing commenced between her thighs at the memory of that punishment. He hadn’t hurt her badly, and after her chastisement was over, he’d held her in place and rubbed her bottom until she calmed down. The feel of his fingers pumping in and out of her cunny had been most wondrous, and when he’d stroked her sensitive nubbin and carried her away on a cloud of bliss, she had thought it meant he would most definitely claim her.
However, when she had groped his hard cock through his trousers and offered to please him in return, he had spurned her advances. That part, his rejection, had been the most humiliating part of her experience in the tent. Now she wasn’t sure what the best course of action was, in regard to her future.
Should she attempt to run away again, or should she wait and see what life with Jaxon and his twin was like? Something told her she would be physically safer with them than she’d been with her previous master, and she doubted they would try breeding her with another slave. She realized she’d only known him for a few days; however it seemed completely out of Jaxon’s character to do such a thing.
But her heart wasn’t safe. Far from it. She admired Jaxon and treasured each time he touched her, even the most fleeting brush of his skin on hers, and her face heated every time he smiled at her or spoke gently, or even sternly, to her. He was her master, but he was also her guardian, a strong handsome man who’d promised to keep her safe, but who’d also promised to chastise her when she was naughty.
At night, he tied her feet together and shared his bedroll with her. If she shivered, he would wrap his arms around her and spoon her to his chest. Sometimes, she shivered even when she wasn’t really cold, because she wanted to fall asleep to the feel of his arms wrapped tight around her. It was so easy to imagine he was more than her master, in moments like this. But when he gave her an order, like telling her to clean up the meal or pack his trunk, which he pulled behind him on a set of ropes, she was forced to utter yes, Master, and her role as his slave was reinforced all over again.
The forest, luckily, wasn’t the scary place she’d imagined. Occasionally, she heard the growls of beasts in the distance, but she hadn’t seen any up close. If they heard a snarl through the trees, Jaxon would emit a growl of his own that was so deafening, it rustled the leaves around them. Once, he pointed above them to show her a massive spide
r web, before hurrying her along to get out of the area in case the spider that had built it was lurking nearby.
When they came upon a stream on their second full day of travel, she was able to bathe and wash her hair, using fragrant soaps Jaxon provided her with. He’d apparently met other Banded in the forest before he’d bought her and traded for many of the treasures he now had in his trunk, which included strips of leather for his uncle’s shoemaking trade, cloth, silver utensils, cured meats, knives, and two sets of bows and arrows.
At the end of their third full day of travel, a large house came into sight at the top of a hill. Her heart accelerated, as she wondered if it was Jaxon’s home. Would she meet Wolfe soon, and what would he think of her? Her stomach flipped when she realized she would soon know for certain if they already had a mate. She’d tried to work up the courage to ask this particular question many times, but thus far she hadn’t yet managed, as her insides twisted with nerves and her mouth dried whenever the question rested on the tip of her tongue.
“Is that where you live, Master?”
“No, but that is where my parents live. Would you like to meet them?”
“Um…” She didn’t know how to answer. His offer stunned her and left her hopeful, because surely he wouldn’t wish to introduce her to his parents if she meant nothing to him. She reminded herself that in the village, slaves could become the spouses of free men or free women, if the match was approved by an Elder. What were the conditions for a match between a slave and a pair of Banded brothers in Jaxon’s culture?
Please, Goddess, let me be more than a slave to him.
“Come, I see my mother in her garden. And look—there’s one of my fathers now.”
One of his fathers? It took her a moment to understand, but soon it made sense. Of course he would have two fathers. If she were to mate with him and his brother, any children born between them would consider Jaxon and Wolfe their fathers. How nice that would be. For her children to be born free and have not one, but two fathers, to take care of them. Dare she dream?
Jaxon led her through the garden gate.
“Mother. Father. It is good to see you.” He let go of the rope that pulled the trunk and shrugged off the heavy pack he wore on his back. He wrapped his mother in a hug and briefly lifted her off her feet. She giggled, but soon grew silent when her gaze landed on Ava.
Ava tucked her hair behind her ears and smoothed her hands down her threadbare dress, hoping she looked more presentable than she felt.
“Jaxon?” his father said in a questioning tone as he approached from the back of the garden, his eyes also on Ava. Her cheeks grew hot as shame swept through her. She was wearing rags, and both his parents likely knew she must be a slave. But Jaxon’s father’s next words made her instantly like him. “Who is this beautiful creature?” he asked gently, giving her a genuine smile as he came to stand next to his mate, who had finally extracted herself from Jaxon’s fierce hug.
“Yes, son, who is this lovely girl?”
Her heart pounded as she awaited Jaxon’s response. Somehow, hearing him refer to her as his slave to others made her want to weep. She had always been a dreamer, and she wished for more than a life as a slave. She wished to have a family of her own, to have children who would be free to determine their own destinies. To grow old with a kind husband. Or, in this case, husbands.
But Jaxon’s next words left her humiliated and close to tears.
“Mother, Father, this is my slave, Ava. I bought her in a village a three-day journey from here.” Jaxon shuffled his feet, looking uncomfortable, as if he hadn’t wanted to admit what Ava was to him. Was he ashamed of her, or would his parents not approve of him owning a person? She hoped and prayed to the Goddess it was the latter.
By some miracle of self-control, she managed to blink hard enough to keep herself from actually crying. Hadn’t she been good the last few days? Minus the one time she attempted escape, that was. But she’d obeyed every little order he’d given her and hadn’t back-talked him in any way.
While he hadn’t spoken during most of their journey—he claimed they must keep talking to a minimum in order to stay vigilant for any dangers in the woods—she hadn’t truly felt like his slave until now.
Until he’d said it out loud to other people, as if announcing his ownership to the whole world.
What a fool she’d been to think he might see her as more than a slave. What a fool she’d been to practically beg him to touch her cunny and stroke her to bliss. Her entire body flushed at the memory, even as rage bubbled up within her.
“A slave?” his father finally said, breaking the silence. “You bought a slave?” He glared at Jaxon and stood taller, as if readying himself for a fight.
“Jaxon, I refuse to believe my own son condones slavery. What do you think—that you are human? You must set this girl free at once,” his mother scolded.
“I will not set her free. She is mine.”
His parents suddenly relaxed and exchanged a knowing smile that Ava didn’t grasp. What did they find so humorous? There was nothing funny about this situation. Nothing at all.
“Well, son,” his father said. “I hope you’ll bring Ava over later, when Durran is awake, as I’m sure he’ll be delighted to meet her.”
“Yes,” his mother agreed. “Your other father will want to meet your new mate as well.”
New mate? Ava reeled at these two words, and she quickly understood their sudden smiles. They didn’t think Ava would remain Jaxon’s slave for long. They sensed he had other plans for her, plans he wasn’t yet ready to reveal.
“She’s my slave, Mother,” he said, though not in a very convincing tone, before leading Ava out of the garden.
“My name is Katrine, dear, and this is Luke. Jaxon’s other father, Durran, is sleeping now, but you’ll meet him soon, I am certain,” the tall elegant brunette called.
Ava tried to smile over her shoulder at Jaxon’s parents, but he gripped her arm harder and forced her to walk faster. Once they reached the trunk and his carrying pack, he finally released her arm in order to put the pack on and grab the ropes attached to the trunk.
“Follow me and keep up, Ava, or you will be one very sorry little slave.” His harsh tone deepened the tension between them.
Her heart hammering, she kept pace with him as they traveled over another hill and approached a house even larger than that of his parents.
“Come inside, Ava. We have much to talk about.”
* * *
Wolfe bounded down the stairs. He’d awoken after having another dream about Ava, and just as he’d been trying to fall back asleep, he’d heard voices downstairs.
He rushed into the kitchen and was stunned to see the pretty human from his dreams seated at the table, sipping a cup of tea. Her hands started shaking when she looked at him, and she carefully placed the mug down and regarded him with wide eyes.
“Ah, there he is. Finally awake. Ava, I would like you to meet my twin brother, Wolfe. Wolfe, this is Ava.”
“I know her name,” Wolfe said. “She is our new slave. You bought her in a human village.”
Ava’s face paled and she bit her lower lip, as if to keep it from trembling. Was she afraid of them? Did she have any idea that soon she wouldn’t be their slave, but so much more?
Jaxon shot him a strange look. “How did you know?”
“I had a dream. Well, I had lots of dreams, about Ava. I knew she was coming.” He rounded the table and pulled his future mate to her feet. “I’ve been waiting for her, brother. Waiting to train her, and tame her, and make her mine. Better yet, make her ours.”
“Ava, go upstairs to the room at the very end of the hall. It will be your room. You will wait for us there,” Jaxon said in a commanding tone.
Not taking her eyes off Wolfe, Ava nodded and said, “Yes, Master.” She backed out of his arms and inched toward the stairs, not quite turning around until she was several feet from Wolfe’s reach.
Lust pummeled through hi
m. Goddess, it would be a challenge to wait to claim her alongside his twin. They would have to start training her soon, very soon. Wolfe looked to his brother.
“She is meant to be our mate.”
“I know.” Jaxon stood up and placed his own mug in the sink, along with Ava’s half-filled one. “I wasn’t sure that you would want to claim a human, though. You saw how petite she is? She is a human, you know.”
“Of course I know she’s a human. I’m not blind, and I knew that from my dreams too.” Wolfe raked a hand through his hair and glanced out the window. The sun was starting to set. While he was wide awake, Jaxon wouldn’t last much longer, especially considering that he’d been walking nonstop for days. The thought of having Ava to himself, if only for a little while before she fell asleep, filled him with vigor.
“She probably still thinks we’re keeping her as a slave. I was planning to explain things to her before you barged downstairs.” Jaxon suppressed a yawn. “I must confess I didn’t want her to think she would have the option to leave us, so I have been leading her to believe she’s to be our slave, perhaps a bit too strongly. It has been most frustrating, being so near to her, yet not claiming her. I have not been myself.”
“I will explain it to her. She’s mine tonight, brother. I will hold off actually claiming her until we’re both able to share her at the same time, but I will begin her training.”
“Her training?”
“I will fashion plugs out of bunna root and begin training her little asshole for my cock.”
Jaxon shook his head with a laugh. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll have lots of luck with that, brother.”
“She is obedient, is she not?”
A wary look crossed his brother’s face. “She’s mostly obedient.”
“Mostly?”
“She tried to run away once, but I tracked her down and gave her a sound spanking. And… stroked her to orgasm afterward. But that is the extent of the sensual pleasure she’s known. I doubt she will take kindly to you showing up in her room with a bunna root plug. But I wish you luck, as I am going to bed.” He yawned again. “She will be hungry, brother. I promised we’d always take care of her, so please see that she’s fed and comfortable in her room. Might I suggest getting to know her a little before you come at her with a plug?”
