Dela's Hunters (The Harem House Book 1)

by Charissa Dufour

  Would they sell her to the whore house? Or give her over to the sons…like the one who had tried to rape her?

  She had barely reconciled herself to the idea of the Harem House, and now the dogs had taken even that from her. She didn't care about her looks. Not really. Or at least that’s what she told herself, but she cared about yet another future taken from her.

  Dela’s legs suddenly gave out, sending her into the dirt. Gareth grunted as she hit his injured leg, sending him down to one knee.

  “So-ee, so-ee,” she said repeatedly, her words coming out garbled as her face swelled and the blood dried on her lips.

  “It’s okay, babe. You need to stop?”

  “No. Let’s go.”

  Gareth got himself up onto both feet, checked on the crying infant, and pulled Dela up to her feet. He kept his hand on her arm, ready to catch her if she stumbled again. They walked on, each sweating, each bleeding, and each running out of willpower.

  A shape began to form on the horizon, but Dela assumed she was hallucinating. Slowly, the shape solidified into a horse with a man atop it. Gareth released her arm to wave, and Dela’s legs buckled again. She hit the ground with a thud before slumping face first into the ground. A haze covered her one good eye and the world spun. As she drifted in the haze, she felt the earth shake. The shaking stopped, and she felt hands on her body.

  She was floating above the ground when she was suddenly tilted. Something dug into her gut—the one part of her body that didn’t hurt. Suddenly she was bouncing. Dela forced her one good eye open to see the ground beneath her.

  “No,” she groaned before she could truly realize what was happening. She turned her head to see Gareth limping behind the horse, quickly falling behind. “Gareff,” she muttered.

  “I gotcha, girl. He’ll catch up,” said a voice she didn't recognize.

  With the thought of Gareth walking while she rode and the guilt that accompanied it, she drifted back into oblivion.

  Her next conscious thought was of more hands and a frantic voice.

  “Dela? Oh, baby, what happened to you?”

  “Gareth said wild dogs.”

  Dela wanted to chime in and tell her own story, but she couldn’t make her mouth work right.

  “Didn’t Gareth protect her?” the frantic voice asked.

  “He said she sacrificed herself to save the babe.”

  “Babe? What ba…”

  Suddenly there were more voices, shouting, and painful movements. This time, Dela welcomed the darkness.

  When she came to again, all her aches and pains came life and her good eye flew open. Josie hovered over her, a worried look creasing her brows. There were other people around her, running to and fro. She lay on a hard surface.

  “She’s coming to,” Josie said. “Get the opium.”

  A moment later, Dela faded away again.

  “You know I hate to say it, but her face will be badly scarred.”

  Dela recognized the voice even with her eyes closed; she would recognize it anywhere.

  “You think that matters? She’s the most amazing woman we’ve ever met. No one will care about a few scars.”

  Dela knew that voice, too. She wanted to smile and thought she had, but nothing on her body seemed to be working quite right.

  “Of course she’s the best. But we know that because we’ve spent time with her. Imagine what a stranger will think when they see her for the first time.”

  Dela’s almost-smile faded.

  “Aren’t they desperate for wives?”

  That voice wasn’t so familiar. She knew it, she just couldn’t bring a face to mind.

  “That desperate?”

  “The fact is, boys, you can’t see clearly on this topic.”

  What did that mean? It was a female voice. One Dela disliked.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I think… wait… she’s starting to stir. I need to give her more opium.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Do you think she could really handle that much pain?”

  A second later, the voices faded away but the ache in her heart remained ever-present.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  It had been days. Dela didn’t think she could stay in bed a moment longer without going mad. Her wounds were far from healed, but she could move without opening her wounds again, and that was enough to enact her plan. In the intervening days, the Hunters had tried to keep her company, but she remained distant, her one unbandaged eye averted from their pitying gaze.

  Now though, she could be free. Or better yet, now she could free them.

  She climbed out of the bed slowly, careful not to pull too hard on any of her stitches. She took her little pack, stitched back together by Josie’s daughter and moved slowly into the kitchen.

  The sound of snores reverberated through the cabin, muffling any sounds she made. She stuffed a loaf of bread, a sliver of hard cheese, and a canteen into the pack. From there, she slipped out the door. Unlike last time, Josie had no precautions to her escaping. In her current state, none of them had imagined her being capable of escaping. Dela knew going out into the desert in her condition would mean her death, and, strangely enough, she was okay with it.

  She made it to the main road before she had to stop and lean against a fence post to rest. It was going to be a slow journey, and if she kept to the road they would catch her before she escaped Josie’s property. Hoping Josie’s cattle tended to be nice, she ducked under the fence, wincing as her half-healed back scraped against the bottom of the cross support.

  Once inside the enormous field, she headed off again, focusing on just putting one foot in front of the other. As she walked, she thought over the last few weeks. Even though the final result of her time with the Hunters would be her death, she couldn’t regret it. It was almost as though fate had led them right to her.

  Dela stopped in her tracks. Not fate. She had never been a believer in the fantastical. No. Fate hadn’t led her down her final path, but something had. She started to mull it over, remembering how they had practically walked right up to her, as though they knew she would be in the Dead Zone… as though they had…

  Again, Dela stopped walking, but this time, she couldn’t bring herself to move again.

  Someone had told them where she would be, and the only person who knew where she would be—much less knew of her existence—was Quiq. Tears pressed against her eyes and rolled free, stinging in her cuts.

  The boy she had been raised with, the man she had expected to marry one day had betrayed her. And for what? What could they have offered him that was worth her?

  Dela sank to the ground, ignoring the way the wounds on her back screamed and the way her head began to pound. Slowly, she sank from her knees onto her hip, pulling her ankles free. It was a little more comfortable, but she hardly noticed the difference.

  There was no one left. A little piece of her had thought to return to her home in the hopes of finding Quiq. She even dreamed of their reunion. He had known her long enough to not care about the scars. Or so she’d thought.

  Now, though, she had no one to fight for, no home to return to, and no friends to go back to. All her willpower drained from her body like water draining from a canteen into the parched earth. Without thinking it through, Dela pulled her canteen out and slowly trickled the water onto the ground, watching it seep into the cracked dirt.

  Just like her life…

  Gareth woke to the sound of Josie clunking around in the kitchen. The poor woman was worked to the bone. Between Dela’s injuries and the horde of people currently camping on her front lawn, she had been called in every which way. Though it wasn't expected of him, Gareth rolled out of his bunk and stomped into his boots before joining her at the table and cutting the side of pork waiting atop the table.

  Josie frowned at him. “You should be sleeping,” she whispered.

  “So should you.”

  “Ha. Then who would feed you lot?”
r />   Gareth smiled at her.

  “She’ll be okay.” Josie was a mind reader.

  Gareth’s smile wavered. “I hope you're right. She doesn’t seem herself.”

  “Gareth, dear, I love you like you were one of my own… but sometimes you can be a real fool.”

  Neither of them spoke for a second while they worked.

  “That woman, yes woman, was a great beauty just a few short days ago. Now…”

  “She’s still beautiful,” Gareth snapped, cutting her off.

  Josie, usually the pistol, just grinned at him. “Yes, she is, but she is especially pretty to the man who loves her.”

  Gareth felt his face heat.

  “Marie was a long time ago.”

  “No amount of time can lift that burden.”

  “No, but the love of a wonderful woman can help ease it.”

  Gareth considered her words, trying not the reject them outright, but when he spoke, he felt sure. “Dela is bound for the Harem House.”

  “Only because you chose it to be so.”

  “The other Hunters wouldn’t want to lose the pay.”

  Josie put her dirty fists on her widening hips. “You really are an idiot.”

  Gareth stabbed his knife into the rump of pork. “Well if I’m going to be insulted all morning, I’ll just go back to bed.”

  “Check on your girl. It’ll be time to change the bandages soon. She doesn’t like to do it with everyone watching.”

  Gareth wanted to stomp off, but he would never do so when Dela needed him. He approached her bunk, squinting in the darkness. When he reached it, he found a strange lump in the bed, as though she was curled up in the fetal position. Gareth knew such a sleeping position would be too painful on her cuts. He touched the lump before he realized what had happened.

  “She’s gone,” he snapped loud enough to wake the entire cabin.

  A lot of groaning, confusion, and questions followed. Gareth bolted out the cabin while Josie hurried over to the empty bunk. By the time Gareth had confirmed she wasn’t with any of the newly attached groupings camping outside, he burst back into the cabin.

  “Where is she?” demanded Mason as though Gareth could somehow materialize her.

  Gareth glared at him. “She’s not here.”

  “She ran,” Josie stated, though half the room didn’t hear her.

  Lath stepped forward into the melee. “Dela hasn’t left her bed since she got back. Why would she suddenly disappear?”

  “Who cares ‘why,’” added Adrian. “The question is where is she?”

  “I’m telling you, she ran,” Josie said again, finally getting their attention.

  All four hunters scoffed at the idea. “Why would she run?” demanded Gareth.

  “Oh for Pete's sake!” Josie slammed her wooden spoon down on the table, breaking it in half. “That girl is madly in love with all four of you, and you’re all too daft to notice. She ran because, believe it or not, she probably heard some of the comments about her appearance being bandied around her. Now you boys listen to me very carefully and do as I say or you’ll never be welcome on my land again.”

  Gareth felt his chest tighten. Josie had a knack for asking for the most outlandish things, and if they lost the right to travel on her lands, then the northern end of their sector would be cut off.

  “And I mean it. You disobey me and I’ll have my husbands chase you off my property and shoot you on sight should you return. You understand?”

  They all nodded.

  “You either let that girl leave completely without one more sight of your ugly traps…”

  Gareth began to interrupt, but she pointed her broken spoon at him and he bit his lower lip.

  “Or, you go out there, find her, and all four of you marry her on the spot.”

  Gareth’s chest relaxed, almost as though a weight had been lifted. It wasn’t like he could disobey. Half their business would be destroyed without Josie’s travel rights. She had tied his hands and forced him into it. It was a lie, but he liked the sound of it.

  He turned to see the other men’s reactions. All three of them were looking at him, awaiting his response.

  “Where would we live? We can’t exactly go on Hunting with a wife.”

  “‘Cause there aren’t lands aplenty all around here… much less up toward the Dead Zone. It’s time we take those lands back from the lawless. I’m sure you’d get help aplenty.”

  Gareth glanced back at the other Hunters. Lath looked ready to wet himself with excitement. Mason wore a strangely content expression, and Adrian looked concerned. He didn’t know what to say to them, or how to gauge their responses. Finally, he said, “Well, we can’t just leave her out there.”

  The three other men broke out into hugs, thumping each other on the back and grinning like fools. To be truthful, Gareth was grinning, too.

  Children were sent out to saddle their horses, and in record time, the four Hunters were leaving the homestead. They began down the road, assuming she would take the path of least resistance.

  “Wait, guys,” called Lath from the back of the caravan.

  They turned their horses to find that Lath had ridden right up to the fence and was leaning over in the saddle. He righted himself, producing a few strands of white thread. “I think she went off the road.”

  “Of course she did,” Gareth grumbled in good humor.

  It had been a long time since he had been happy. He hadn’t realized it, always assuming he was “good enough,” but as he experienced true happiness again, Gareth realized he had been lying to himself for a very long time.

  The four Hunters jumped the fence and took off, startling a few of the half-asleep cows. Gareth had expected to find her within just a few yards, but they road for a good mile or so before a white spot appeared on the horizon. Within a few minutes, Gareth realized it was, in fact, Dela. He urged his horse onward, pacing the other men. Each yanked on their reins, harder than they ever would normally, and the four horses nearly toppled in their efforts to stop so suddenly.

  Gareth practically jumped from the saddle, wincing as his injured leg tried to hold him up. They all reached her together. Dela turned her head slightly at the noise they were making but made no effort to get up. Gareth worried she had further injured herself or was dehydrated by the morning heat.

  The four Hunters slid to their knees before her. She looked up at them, showing the signs of crying.

  “He sold me out, didn’t he?” she croaked, her voice sounding as though she’d been screaming for hours.

  Gareth felt his own heartbreak as he realized what had happened. The other Hunters looked confused for a moment before comprehension took place. Her own heart was breaking at the realization that her friend had betrayed her, and as her heart broke so did his. Gareth had never known love until that moment.

  No one else spoke, so he made himself say the ugly truth. “Yes. We met Quiq in Uvalde and he sold the information of your whereabouts.”

  She nodded, having already figured it out. Dela lowered her eyes and made no move to get up.

  “Come back with us, Dela.”

  “What for?”

  She sounded so morose Gareth struggled not to laugh. “So that we can marry you.”

  Prologue

  Dela healed eventually, though her looks would never return. Her back and face would remain scarred to the ends of her days. In time, and with the outpouring of love, not just from her husbands but from her many new friends, she learned to love herself again.

  On the day of her wedding, she had never looked so pretty. All her husbands agreed. Secretly, though, they wanted her all to themselves, but that wasn’t the world they lived in. Dela was worth putting up with a little competition, but maybe they could work toward a world where a woman could choose only one husband, or even none at all. Even with the blessing of a wife like Dela, they knew some women suffered under the fists of their husbands.

  The McMillians and the Perkins came to the big day
, as well as all the new families formed as a result of their adventures. It was a sunny day, as most are in the South, and everyone came dressed in their best.

  Gareth, Lath, Adrian, and Mason each waited for her to walk down the aisle, dressed in new clothing made by Josie and her little girl. No one commented on it, but more than once Gareth was caught dabbing at his eyes.

  In her white gown, Dela descended the long aisle. The side of her face still drooped down, following the lines of her scars, and her hair hadn’t grown back yet to cover the long cut running up her scalp, but to those four men, she couldn’t have looked lovelier. She reached them at the end of the aisle and gave them a nervous smile.

  Ever since the Great Extinction, there had been no sort of formal religion. Everyone was too busy surviving. This meant weddings were often awkward affairs, but not with Dela. She stood before her men and said,

  “Never ask me to leave you, or to turn my back on you; for wherever you go, I will go; and where you lay your head, I will lay my head; your people shall be my people, and your beliefs, my beliefs. Where ever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May fate do worse to me should anything but death separate us.”

  Thank you for reading Dela’s journey to love.

  Whether you enjoyed it or not, please write an honest review.

  Reviews help authors improve their art and readers make informed decisions.

  Thank you

  Continue reading for a sneak peek of the Dothan Chronicles.

  Follow Charissa Dufour at

  http://amzn.to/1jYWVyi

  https://www.facebook.com/Charissadufourauthor

  https://twitter.com/CharissaDufour

  https://www.instagram.com/charissadufourauthor/