Earth's Mark (Lords of Krete Book 2)

by Rachael Slate

  “Fight me,” she grated between gritted teeth, charging forward again. This time, he seized her blades in his paw-like hands, holding firm though they cut into his flesh, crimson pooling around the edges. She gasped as he pulled her toward him, not even a wince in his features.

  “Will you not fight for your freedom?” she snapped.

  “What the bloody hell do you think I’m doing,” he ground, and there, a crinkling in the corners of his eyes. A hint of pain. “You’re the only one who can help me save my people.”

  She froze. He was serious.

  Deathly so.

  Before she could respond, he kicked his leg out and toppled her. Omph! Her bottom met the ground, her head thwacking against the soft earth. She gaped upward, gawking at the enormous male posed above her.

  “Does this count as besting?” His quirked brow was raised toward Ainia, but she didn’t answer. Around them, the entire crowd had gone silent.

  Somehow, this male had beaten her.

  But oh, the fight wasn’t finished yet.

  Chapter 2

  “Well, well, welcome.” The leader rolled the words over her lips. “I’m Ainia. What’s your name? You’re not Gargarean, are you.” She assessed him, the fine point of her nose drawing down.

  “Aye, that I am not.” Arctus straightened his spine in pride and wiped his bloody palms on the sides of his breeches. Thankfully, his cuts were already healing—a benefit of being descended from the gods. “I hail from Krete and my name is Lord Arctus.”

  “Lord?” Ainia tsked. “Well, Kleo, come claim your prize.” She stepped aside and swept an arm toward him.

  Prize? He tensed, sensing the fury fuming off the Amazon he’d bested. In one agile leap, she hopped to her feet. She stalked around him, her rage firing sparks off his skin. Perhaps, this hadn’t been his best plan.

  “Remove your clothing.”

  “Pray pardon?” He cleared his throat. Not that he was modest, but dozens of voracious females ogled him.

  “Strip, so I may brand my mark upon you.”

  “Mark?”

  “Yes, you are now mine,” she intoned. “You’ll submit to my every command. Should you disobey, it will be by my hand that you are punished, or executed.”

  “Wait, I never agreed to this.” Panic flooded his muscles, making them stiff.

  “Actually, you did. The moment you followed me.” She rose and purred into his ear, “Careful what you wish for.”

  He gulped, swallowing against the thickness in his throat. “For how long?”

  “Until I carry a child,” she tilted her head, “or tire of you.”

  A child? Damn, what brashness had driven him to this?

  “Make haste.” She gave a backhanded wave toward his breeches.

  “What precisely is this mark?”

  “You’ll see.” She extended her hand toward the crowd and one of the maidens placed a dagger on her palm.

  His manhood cowered a little.

  Tentatively, Arctus shrugged off his breeches, stepping from them. Dozens of stares burned into his backside and his cock. He trained his perusal on the horizon, praying for this humiliation to be swift.

  Such a bloody fool he was.

  Kleo was quick. Her blade sliced a series of slashes into his upper left thigh, at the juncture of his hipbone. A burning sensation spread from the cuts, upward along his left arm. Odd. Forcing his body to remain frozen, he dismissed the pangs. She paced back from him and handed the dagger to a female, then intoned over her shoulder, “Come.”

  Like an obedient hound, he didn’t even glance at his new wound before tugging on his breeches and following. Serious doubts about the goddess’s instructions crossed his mind. He never should have listened to her call.

  Arctus snatched his sack and passed through the crowd, but now, not a single female peeked at him. Strange.

  “You’re mine, so they wouldn’t disrespect me by admiring you,” Kleo murmured from up ahead, and she ducked through a hide flap into one of the caves.

  Curious once more, he dipped beneath the flap. As his vision adjusted to the dim lighting, he stalked forward and observed her home. A neat row of weapons adorned one wall, a bed of furs another. Two torches lit opposite sides of the modest hollow.

  Ah, but this was her temporary home, was it not? Reserved for the mating season.

  “Cozy.” He set down his sack and grinned while she spun toward him. “When does the breeding begin?”

  She scoffed and shoved a bundle of cloth toward him. “First, you must cleanse yourself. Go bathe with the others.”

  Others? Aye, the ones who hadn’t died.

  He inclined his head and strode toward the entrance. “Pray pardon, for forcing my way here. It was the only path I saw.” Sighing, he backed out into the light.

  A scattering of other males trailed in a line toward a path cut into the forest. He treaded behind them, following. Bubbling waters cascaded across his ears as they approached a spring surrounded by waterfalls. A dozen or more males already bathed within. They’d stripped, their clothing strewn across the boulders framing the pool. Shrugging, Arctus copied them and then sank into the warm water. His fingers brushed across Kleo’s mark—the letter “k” pierced by an arrow. The mark had already healed, now only a raised pink scar.

  Jolts of yearning struck him. I belong to her.

  Sweet gods, but the notion didn’t disturb him as much as it should have. He had a home, lands to reclaim, in Krete. Amazons never left their homeland, certainly not to join with a male.

  They were worlds apart.

  Still, there was something infinitely alluring about Kleo.

  Damned if he knew what, though.

  As the sun crept across the evening sky, Kleo paced her chamber, reached the wall, and spun toward the other side. Curse the centaur. She might be in charge of the breeding females, specifically of the birthing process, but she didn’t partake of these activities.

  Not anymore.

  The only way to refuse would be to blame him. Such would likely lead to his death. An outcome, for whatever reason, she couldn’t condone.

  Would it truly be so bad? To feel a male’s kiss on her skin? His hardness thrusting inside her? His seed filling her, creating a babe…

  She slammed a fist on the table and squeezed her eyes against the tears flooding them. Breeding wasn’t expected of an Amazon. Being a warrior, devoid of weakness, was. She must determine how to dismiss this male. Before he viewed what she let no one see.

  The flap rustled and Arctus marched inside. A wave of his heady, spicy scent blasted toward her. Smooth and rich, like the forest at the moment of the first kiss of dawn’s rays. Her toes curled and she scowled.

  “I have bathed, Mistress. What would you command me next?”

  No mistaking the jesting in his tone. She bit down against smiling at the quirk in his lips.

  “Kleo?” He sniffed, his thick brows bunching together. “Are you well?” He took one halting footstep toward her.

  She stiffened. He didn’t detect her tears, did he? Blasted centaur senses. “I am fine.”

  “I wish you to know, I’m not here for breeding. Listen to my request and I will gladly be on my way.”

  She huffed. If only it were so simple. “Once paired, you’re expected to fill me with your seed. There will be inspections.”

  “Inspections?”

  “Yes. Besides, the walls of this cave aren’t thick.”

  He cleared his throat.

  If the grunts and cries of lovemaking didn’t echo from her dwelling tonight, there’d be questions tomorrow. She wouldn’t risk her reputation. She’d striven her entire life to be an exemplary warrior. Steeling herself, she peeled her chiton from one shoulder, slipping the fabric from her body, until she stood nude before the male.

  His eyes darkened with intense hunger and an erotic rush swept over her. This might not be disastrous. He certainly was decadently built.

  Arctus stepped to her and slid one larg
e hand around the back of her head, then he pulled her mouth to his. Sparks sizzled through her being as his lips devoured hers. His deep, heaving inhalations sucked the air from her lungs, making her heart race, fumbling to pulse blood through her veins.

  Sweet Artemis, a kiss had never felt like this before.

  She clawed at him, ripping the robe from his smooth, warm flesh, his eager erection rising to her challenge. Kleo wrapped her hands around his neck, drawing him closer to breathe him in deeper. Need pounded through her core, demanding and relentless.

  His skin was so enticing, his muscles so gloriously fashioned, that her hands itched to trace every edge of him. She skimmed her fingers down his shoulders, swallowing a moan. He nipped at her mouth, his silken tongue tangling with hers while his rough hands spanned across her waist and over her bottom.

  He hoisted her onto the table, his thickness ready to drive into her. Breaking their kiss, he trailed his lips along her neck, down to suckle her breast, his hot mouth enveloping her flesh and making wetness slick between her thighs.

  She clutched his biceps, bracing against the torrents of lust.

  An odd bulge pressed against her right fingertips, jerking her focus. Leaning forward, she peered at his left arm, squinting. “What’s that?” Scars, a centaur marking?

  No, it was below the skin, thin and encircling his arm.

  Her mouth fell open.

  Oh, hell, no.

  “What’s what?” Arctus mumbled and released a mouthful of her succulent flesh. Kleo had stiffened, her body no longer pliant and beckoning in his arms. He drew his gaze toward his arm and frowned. Aye, his arm had burned earlier, when she’d cut her mark into his thigh. He’d dismissed the agitation. Now, the pang around his arm throbbed, swelling. “Sweet gods, is it…”

  “A bonding mark,” she snarled, shoving him away.

  He stumbled backward, scrubbing at his arm, but nay, the mark was below his flesh. “I swear, I didn’t…” Didn’t what? He whipped his head.

  “When, how? Is it me?”

  He grimaced at the questions he had no answer for. Well, except that it could be no other female than her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to kiss her without heaving up his last meal. Kleo is my mate? “This is why she sent me to you.” Ugh, he groaned at the goddess’s games.

  “Who? Who sent you to me?”

  Right. He lifted his head and released a shuddering exhale as he beheld her beauty again. Fire lit in her depths, brightening them, and the flush on her bronzed skin made his cock stiffen.

  He couldn’t possibly crave her any more. Desperation flooded him. And yet, resentment and ire did as well. He didn’t want a bloody mate. Not yet, not like this. Not with someone like her. Already, rejection hardened her features. Why shouldn’t it? He was a throneless bastard with nothing to offer a warrior.

  “Artemis,” he grated. “She came to me and set me upon this path. Told me you were the only one who would grant me what I sought.”

  “Liar.” She charged him, pummeling a fist straight into his gut. Ughmph! He twisted aside, grunting, and seized her slender wrists against a second blow. She bucked, kicking out her legs to topple him, but he crashed her to the ground with him, bracing an arm behind her head.

  “Listen to me, Alala.” Her lithe body beneath him, he struggled to form words. “The bonding isn’t set, and it won’t be, unless we complete the ceremony. There’s nothing to concern yourself with.” Of course, he omitted the part about the lyssa—an illness which would slowly drive him to madness if he didn’t claim his mate.

  She writhed, but that only caused his shaft to harden and twitch against her, so she stilled.

  “Trust me, I did not intend this.”

  “You’ve been saying that a lot lately,” she huffed and stuck her chin up.

  “Aye, so I have.” Slowly, he disengaged from her, released her wrists, and shifted back to sit.

  “So, this isn’t permanent. Surely, you don’t believe I am your mate?” She glanced longingly toward the cave flap. “It must be some mistake, or dream.”

  More like, a nightmare.

  “Precisely.” He gave a jerk of his head. “We just shouldn’t…” He waved a hand between them.

  “Right.” A delicate blush bloomed across her cheeks and she tore her stare off him to pull a fur across her nude body. “Artemis paid you a visit?” Her scrutiny landed on him, quizzical, and something like awe in her tone.

  “Aye. I swear on my siblings’ lives that she did.”

  “Siblings?”

  He linked his hands behind his head and propped back against the wall. “My bloodsworne brothers and sister. They’re like me, able to harness one of the elements. In addition to my bear form, Zeus granted me power over Earth.”

  She tilted her chin, assessing him. “Truly? What can you do?”

  “This.” He offered her a wicked grin and puffed into a mound of dirt on the earthen floor.

  Kleo gaped at the pile of earth where Arctus had sat a moment ago. “Are you well?” she whispered to the soil.

  The dirt gathered itself into the shape of a male and transformed into flesh, fully clothed. “Aye. Very much so.”

  “Did Zeus grant you the ability to transform into a bear, too? Why?”

  “Indeed, he did, because the bear is the guardian of the forest. And I suspect, because it led you to me.” He cleared his throat before elaborating further. “Now, show me yours.”

  She drew her knees to her chest, wrapping the fur tight. Who was this male? Tentatively, she stuck out her hands and concentrated on her argent glow. “Silver Metals. I can manipulate them.”

  He whistled low. “Impressive.”

  She shook out her hand, dissolving her powers. “Elaborate on your visit with Artemis. What did the goddess tell you?”

  “Only that the aid I sought would be found within the Amazon encampment, with the first warrior I came across. You.”

  “Hmm.” She sank onto her heels and puzzled this revelation. A declaration from her goddess was not to be dismissed. If Artemis declared Kleo would aid him, then she must determine how to do just that. “Very well. I’ll ponder your request, but, Arctus, the Amazons have already pledged many warriors to the centaurs of Thessaly.”

  “Thessaly?” His expression grew dark, grim, his brows inching together low across his eyes.

  “Yes. Many moons ago. My sister Kyme leads them. The centaurs are at war with the Lapiths, and all are engaged in the War to come.”

  He stiffened even further. What was he hiding? “You consider my request a fool’s errand then?”

  “I didn’t say that. I can speak with my Queen, but not until she returns, in a month or so. I can’t leave this place. It’s my responsibility to oversee the fertility of the couples.”

  He snorted. “ ’Tis too long to wait.”

  Ugh, males. “Well, I can’t help you until that time. If I abandon my post, I’ll be punished.”

  “Truly?” His gaze pierced her, warm and sultry. The intensity in his perusal made her question the truth of his words. If she was his mate, could he actually renounce her?

  How she wished there were another centaur here to interrogate.

  Kleo fisted her hands. “You should sleep. The men recover in the large cave near the eastern border.”

  “Don’t you mean, ‘rest?’ ”

  She curved her lips. “No, trust me, after a night with an Amazon, they recover.”

  He barked a laugh and dipped his head. “I don’t doubt it.” A low note in his voice curled her toes.

  She cleared her throat and waved toward the door. “Go now.”

  Leisurely, he rose, uncoiling his large, tall body. “Aye, Mistress.” Pausing at the flap, he cast her a long, hard stare. He parted his lips as though to speak, but instead he strode through the exit.

  Kleo exhaled a slow, deep breath and unclenched her fists. Her nails had made marks on her palms. Gods, the male unnerved her. Not only that, he made her feel. Her heart thum
ped weakly within her chest. For years, she’d hidden away within herself, hiding behind her warrior’s shield. Alone.

  He saw straight through her armor, piercing with his scorching focus. Warm blood flowed through her veins, bringing with it hope and longing.

  Emotions she’d not experienced since life had grown within her.

  Kleo pressed a hand to her empty womb. She shouldn’t grieve at all, because she never would have held her son. Yet, having even that much taken from her had stripped her soul.

  Chapter 3

  The next morning, Arctus yawned and stretched, blinking into the dawn’s soft rays. The snores of dozens of men ebbed through the cavern. He’d gathered, from their bits of gossip, that to be chosen to mate with an Amazon warrior was a great privilege. Most of these men were Gargarean—a race of males. Female children stayed with their mothers, while the males were given to their fathers. The arrangement pleased both sides, but damn. How could either parent relinquish their child?

  He regarded the smooth stone ceiling and drummed his fingers across his thigh. His own parents had cherished him and his elder brothers. That day, they’d done everything to protect him and ensure his survival. Despite it precluding their own. He squeezed his eyes and blocked out their cries. The horrific shrieks of the Minotaurs. The slash of metal slicing through flesh. The scorch of embers devouring his village.

  Struggling to seize control, he clenched his fists at his sides. Right. He had to avenge them. His four bloodsworne brothers had each chosen a direction, each tasked with enlisting an army.

  The goddess Artemis had made this mission seem simple, like the Amazons would rally to his cause.

  He was quickly learning it would be anything but simple.

  Even if he convinced Kleo to help him, as soon as Rhoetus completed his task, the Amazons would as quick end Arctus as aid him. Mayhap the goddess had been wrong. He should escape this place and seek out a different army.

  He could leave Kleo, couldn’t he?

  Such lies. He sneered. As far as he knew, no one had defeated the lyssa. Arctus wouldn’t care what madness claimed him, so long as he avenged his family first.