Unexpectedly, he swipes a tongue across my cheekbone and ear before pushing up with a limberness and grace that I doubt my sleep-stiff muscles and bones would even be able to match. Fuck springing up like a daisy. I’m not a kid anymore, and I have stiff joints in several places where my childhood antics make me suffer upon rising.
I am contemplating rolling off the side of the bed onto my feet when two silvery arms scoop me up. Arawl tsks and sets me on my feet.
“Were you planning on lying there all morning?” he teases as he thrusts my clothing into my arms. “We do have much to get done today.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “I believe that was my line.”
His grin widens playfully. “It was your line, but I beat you out of bed. Now it’s mine.”
“I don’t think it works that way,” I argue, but I can feel the corners of my lips twitching. I order them to be still... quite unsuccessfully, I might add... but it is a losing battle. Why does he have to go and be all cute and attractive this morning? Shouldn’t he wake with a bad case of the grumps and breath that could kill an alligator? I breathe into my hand and sniff. Ugh. I immediately hurry from the bedroom to the bathroom to hunt out my toothbrush.
The fact that he doesn’t even suffer from doggy breath is pretty unfair, I reflect as I tackle cleaning my teeth.
“Don’t take too long in there. I am starting morning meal,” he calls out minutes later.
I roll my eyes as I spit out the toothpaste and rinse my brush. Damn bossy werewolf... Oh, yes.
“That reminds me!” I holler as I pick up a washcloth and a bar of soap. I may not be able to have my morning shower, but I’ll be damned if I don’t at least take a sponge bath while I can. “We need to have a discussion about all of these orders you like to give.”
He pops his head around the edge of the door.
“Meaning?” he rumbles as his eyes narrow on me. I have one arm raised, ready to soap a pit at his appearance, so I’m naturally flustered with embarrassment; my mind goes blank and struggles to keep up with the conversation.
I shake it off and clear my throat as I begin to cleanse myself, fully aware of his eyes following the movement of the cloth as it moves from under my arms to over and under my breasts before it slides even lower.
“Meaning,” I manage to continue, “that you aren’t going to order me around like I’m one of the omegas in your tribe. You don’t get to tell me to stay. You may make reasonable requests that I do something, and I’ll take such requests into full consideration before I decide whether or not to comply. You may even advise me on why I should do something. But don’t you ever tell me to stay and lock me in a room again.” I glance meaningfully at him over my shoulder.
He steps fully in the doorway and crosses his thick arms over his chest, his head cocking ever so slightly to the side. His nostrils flare as he regards me but otherwise maintains a stony silence. Discomforted, I raise an eyebrow in inquiry.
“Did you have something to say?”
He expels a slow breath. “Are you finished?”
I give him a small shrug as I rinse the cloth and proceed to wipe the soap suds away. “I suppose I am.”
“Very well. Since you want to have this conversation now, we will. Here is all I have to say on the matter—no matter how much you rant at me, if I feel that there is any possibility of you being in danger, I will demand obedience. There is much that I am willing to bend to your will and adjust to your comfort, but when it comes to your safety, I will not take any chances. There is not always time to be gentle about it, so when I give you an order, know that it is to keep you safe, and do as you are told. Nothing made me angrier than seeing you with Rashi and Jinx when I told you to stay safely within our den—and believe me, I will be speaking to Rashi on this matter because he is one of my tribe and knows better. As for you... I will only tell you once: if you disobey me like that again, I will be forced into a position of domination.”
I throw the washcloth in the sink and face him, crossing my arms under my breasts. “You think you’ll dominate me?”
“It would almost be a pleasure,” he growls. My body betrays me and reacts to the promise in his voice, and his nostrils flare at the change in my scent. I flush hotly.
“You have no authority over me,” I hiss. “You don’t want a mate, remember?”
“It has nothing to do with what I do or do not want,” he growls. “You are mine, and I am yours. I will protect you and see to your welfare, and I will do everything I can to be certain that you are comfortable and happy, but you will yield to me when I demand it. I do not make such orders lightly, and what I ask for in exchange is only a small thing. I am yours to command in all things except where it pertains to your safety.”
I raise an eyebrow at that. “I can order you around in anything else that doesn’t endanger me, and you’ll just do it?”
“Of course,” he snaps in offense.
I search his face, looking for any sign of deception. He stares right back at me without guile.
“Hop on one foot.”
His head snaps back and gives me a look of disbelief as if gauging whether or not I am being serious. Oh, I’m dead serious. A male who is willing to make himself look like a complete fool at the request of his female I’ll trust with a certain level of power exchange.
I raise my eyebrows. “Well?”
He bares his teeth at me but lifts one paw off the ground and, much to my delight, begins to hop in place.
“This is stupid,” Arawl snarls.
I beam at him. “It may be stupid, but it tells me what I need to know. Okay, I will do my best to obey you when it is necessary... but,” I add with a raise of my finger, “if I feel that I absolutely must disobey, and have a good reason for it, I won’t hesitate to follow my own judgment. In most cases, however, when it comes to my safety, if you ask me to do something—and I do mean ask, a little bit of civility goes a long way after all—I’ll do my best to follow your lead. Fair enough?” I ask sweetly.
He stares at me, his eyes narrowed as he thinks it through. Finally, he inclines his head in agreement, his expression relaxing to let a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth. “Fair enough, mate. I am going to prepare the morning meal now. I will see you in the kitchen. Try not to let the food get cold.”
I smile at his retreating back until I am alone once again. I don’t dither, hurrying to make myself presentable, and head toward the kitchen. The den is already filling with the scents of cooking food, and by the time I arrive he’s setting two plates of food on the table filled with eggs and meat. A platter at the center of the table has another loaf of bread. I point at it as I sit.
“It didn’t occur to me until now, but I wouldn’t have imagined that bread would be something that werewolves required in their diet or would even be partial to making, considering how labor-intensive it is.”
He rewards me with a grin. “It isn’t and we aren’t. However, since our alliance with the troll kingdom, we have become accustomed to enjoying the sort of fare that normally wouldn’t have been in our diet. Considering how active werewolves are, the bread has been a blessing in keeping weight on our people, especially the males who may spend days on the outer edges of our territory. Bread is delivered by trolls twice a week.”
I take a greedy bite of the chewy bread that drips with butter and moan. “I swear, the bread here is the best bread I’ve ever tasted.”
I suddenly feel the slick press of his hot tongue against the corner of my mouth as he leans forward to lick away a smear of butter. I freeze, my body pulsing with liquid heat, as I wait to see what he’ll do next. To my horror, he does absolutely nothing. He only smiles and sits back on his stool as he digs into his food.
“Trolls have a way with grain foods. From what I understand, they buy the grain from the centaurs and turn it into the most wonderful pastries and breads in all of the kingdoms. Their culinary magic among those who have such talent is truly remarkable,” he observes and
then prattles on about other exchanges among other species which many find beneficial.
He’s going on and on like he hadn’t bombed my libido with instant lust.
Once my lust cools, I have to admit that much of the economy of this realm is fascinating, comprised largely of trade. There’s no real currency, although bits of metal have various weights of value that are always appreciated in trade. Copper, silver, and gold in particular. He acknowledges too that when that doesn’t suffice, the trade in flesh and sex is seen as an acceptable coin with which to barter. That makes me all the happier that I was not accidentally mated to a male of a species who wouldn’t have a problem slinging my ass on the corner to barter for necessities. I’ll take possessive, highly territorial male for five hundred, thanks.
After our meal, I work side-by-side with Arawl to clean up after breakfast. Since we’ll be leaving for an extended period of time, we wrap the food well before storing it in the larder. I’m not sure if it is my imagination or not, but I’m almost certain that he is intentionally taking every possible opportunity to touch me. And not overtly sexual or anything like some horn dogs I’ve dated in the past. His little touches convey far more intimacy. It is very effective. I find myself looking forward to each touch and going out of my way to set up more opportunities to be touched. It’s like a dance between us, and I’ll admit that I’m leaning more and more toward him, eager for every bit of his attention, like a flower to the sun.
The rest of our day progresses with an endless list of things we must accomplish, the most important of which is packing our supplies for what could be many days of traveling. We are careful to check and double-check everything, and only when we are certain that we have everything that we need do we set our packs by the door to await our departure.
Night comes swiftly after that, and in the dark at a late hour, we slip out of the den, me clad in a dark fur-lined cloak as we hasten to the meeting place.
Chapter 17
Arawl
The moonlight illuminates the small clearing in front of the portal, enough that I can easily make out Eral and the five betas clustered near him. The males are almost uniformly dark gray. I recognize the brothers immediately. Vrox, Tas, Mentep, Gorn, and Etier are among the strongest betas that the tribe has to offer and only distinguishable from each other by subtle white marks on their faces. I’ve never interacted with them personally. They never travel by portal to my memory and tend to keep to their own company. I know of them mostly by reputation, though Gorn seems somehow familiar. They stand stiffly as they watch me approach, only shifting enough to drop their head in polite acknowledgment.
Though not as large in stature as Eral or me, they bristle with a considerably large number of blades strapped to their bodies in addition to the packs they wear. I feel almost embarrassingly underprepared in comparison given that my two short swords strapped to my side are my only other armaments. Even Ana only has a single dagger and it took some convincing for her to even take that, despite her insistence that she knew nothing of using blades. Although she has her magic to protect her, I am determined to teach her a few self-defense techniques with the blade during our trek to the northern border.
Even if she goes back to the mortal world maybe she can stab the next elf who doesn’t fuck off. Not surprisingly that doesn’t make me feel much better.
Fahuri arrives just moments later with Rashi at her side and Jinx, cloaked like Ana, tucked between them. It is a wise formation, not unlike whenever the tribe must travel that we keep the omegas in the center. Jinx raises his hand and waves cheerfully.
Gorn looks to his brothers for a moment before turning to the tribe’s enforcer. “Why are we taking humans? They are too weak and too slow for such a mission, Eral. They should remain here in the village.”
I stiffen but Ana ducks around me, a series of words sighing off her lips as she raises her hand and draws it down sharply, pulling a bolt of lightning to crack just a foot away from the brothers. Immediately, they duck back, grabbing for their weapons. I step between them, a growl echoing in my chest as she pushes back her hood and glares at them.
“Try it, assholes, and next time I won’t miss. You will all be smelling of burnt dog hair for the next few weeks.” They back down with an unsettled look between them and she grins. “A lesson for you boys: humans may be small and physically weaker, but we use everything we have to our advantage.”
“Don’t fuck with witches if you don’t want to get burned,” Jinx jeers from his place of relative safety. “You’re lucky that Ana is so nice. I so wouldn’t have missed. Maybe being singed would improve your sourpuss attitudes.” The brothers eye him sourly and cluster together even tighter, their fur bristling.
I can tell that this is off to an excellent start.
“The humans are going,” Eral snaps impatiently. “Jinx, the human male, had a good point when he told me that they might be able to get in places where we cannot due to their smaller size. Being that they are different, they may notice things that you might overlook.”
“Yes, Eral,” the brothers reply as one, though they cast irate looks toward Ana and Jinx. Gorn tightens his hand on his lance, an ill-tempered huff fogging the air in front of him. Vrox, the eldest of the group, taps Gorn’s lance in recrimination. Vrox is known to be the most disciplined and least tolerant of those who lack control. It is welcome to see. I don’t need irritable betas going off half-cocked while we are crossing into ogre territory. I nod my thanks to him and he inclines in his head in acknowledgment. I know that he is not doing me any favors. His allegiance lies with Eral, but I will trust Vrox with guarding my back, or my mate if need be. His younger, more impetuous brothers, I am not so sure of. Time will prove them.
Etier, the youngest, smirks as if enjoying the chaos but draws up in attention when Eral lets out a low yip in command. My brother meets my eyes and nods. It is time for me to do my part. I will move us through the portal to an opening a short distance from the village. It is the nearest to the northern border. There are no others that go that direction that aren’t controlled by other beings, primarily elves. It won’t get us far, but it will get us away unnoticed from the village at least a short distance before someone notices our absence.
I lift one hand and touch my fingers to the invisible gem at the base of my throat. Concealed on a thong around my neck and buried in the thick fur of my scruff, the portal talisman springs to life at my touch. Its green glow is barely visible within my fur, but it triggers the portal to open to the network that connects to our territory. The elves have tried to stamp out the wild portals, but they will never get ours, not without going through the entire tribe to get to the portal guardian. In any case, our portal is a closely guarded secret for a reason.
Vrox smiles for the first time at the sight of the whirling light and bows his head with respect as I approach. I grip Ana’s shoulder as we pass. Fahuri and I will be taking the lead and rear, but I am not leaving Ana with the betas unless I have no other choice. She will stay with me. Vrox seems to understand this because he takes his position directly behind me to cover our backs as we step through the portal.
The world blurs, but thankfully it is not as bad as going between realms. Ana shakes a bit under my hand, but she emerges on the other side without the weakness or illness that she suffered before. Instead, she merely looks a bit pale and on edge. Although I hate to see her so discomfited, it is a good thing that she suffers little from the transporting since we have much ground to cover.
As we move out of the way, we make room just in time to allow Mentep, Gorn, and Etriel through. Tas arrives last with Fahuri, Jinx, and Rashi. My friend doesn’t look particularly pleased for his company, no doubt insulted by the other male’s presence when he is a capable beta, but he restrains his temper as he glances around our surroundings.
The forest here is thick with undisturbed trees, and where the portal had been is nothing more than two standing stones with ancient glyphs on them. Mentep shoulders his bo
w and glances over at Fahuri inquiringly.
“Well, since you are our lead, where to?”
Fahuri stiffens at his abrasive tone but gives him her back as she lifts her head to scan the position of the sun and to catch the scents on the air. She lifts a hand and points. “We go this way.”
Mentep’s muzzle wrinkles in confusion. “That way? That will take us off the projected course by some distance. Are you certain?”
The look she gives him is hard and cold. “Unless you’ve spent weeks caged, exposed to the scent of ogres coming and going, I don’t think you would truly know what you are looking for. The calculations are all based on assumptions. We will be trusting my nose in this case, not Eral’s mapped out calculations.”
“Understood,” he returns crisply.
We fall into line and enter the woods. Mist blankets the trees the further that we get from the portal, and I can feel Ana lean into me more as her weaker vision is hampered by the murky surroundings.
“Is the mist always this thick here?” she asks quietly.
“Yes,” Vrox growls from beside us as he picks his way carefully among the brush. “This part of our territory has a lot of old magic that runs through it. Our ancestors lived in this part of the forest generations ago, born from the magic and mist, before we moved south where we could raise our kits in relative comfort and peace. This land is unforgiving and unkind. There are many things that dwell on the northern edges of our territories. Ogres and the Warue tribe make their home here, but so do beings who delight to confuse and trap, predators that will consume even a grown werewolf as if we are prey. They are dissuaded by larger numbers moving through, but I am not sure if we few won’t be too much of a temptation for them. Best to stay close,” he says.
The light grows dimmer with the thicker trees and Jinx at the front casts an illumination spell, which Ana echoes at the rear to improve our visibility. I almost would have preferred avoiding the sight of skeleton branches reaching out toward me ominously in such clear detail. I would have seen enough without that. Every now and then, something flits from the trees.
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