by Sabrina Kade
Without a second thought, as the stockier one tries to climb up my back, I grab the taller one and bite into his throat. His blood tastes sour, as though he has not eaten well in weeks, and I spit the vile substance to the earth.
Weak. They are weak. So weak it’s disgusting.
I am thrilled not to have these outsiders anywhere near Prince Korben’s lair.
I am even more thrilled to kill them.
I embrace the madness as it coerces through my veins. The outsiders are shocked by my actions, thinking I am going to rationalize and not attack without thinking. But when it comes to Ellis, there is no time to second guess.
If she is in danger.
If there is something I can do to help her remove the threat, I will do it.
I feel her eyes upon me as I toss the first body aside, and his friend looks as though he wants to run.
Drazal and his pale-haired human are in the corner of my vision.
“Stay back!” I roar.
I do not want anyone to help me. I want Ellis to know only I am taking care of the danger. If Drazal kills the remaining outsider, will she view me as a worthy protector?
The dilewilers are howling loudly, growing aroused by the scent of blood and exposed flesh. I cannot blame them for their excitement. I have not killed in so long. I have not tasted the blood of my enemies for years. The dividing has kept us all separated. And I am okay with that. So long as they do not harm the ones I care about.
Ellis is still scared.
Perhaps that is because of me, but I am too wound up by the frenzy of protecting her to worry if my protection is what scares her.
Drazal holds out his arm, keeping Phoebe from approaching us, and she’s screaming at the top of her lungs. She wants to go to Ellis. She wants to get away from the dilewilers as they draw nearer as more and more blood spills. I kick the taller one as he continues to sputter and cough up blood, and I flick the drops on my hand aside as the shorter one gets off my back and stumbles away.
I may have been tame since I arrived in Hethdiss, but my reputation is well known.
After all, I am the blood on Prince Korben’s hands.
I am the guard.
I will kill any who messes with anything he cares about.
“You’re crazy,” the stocky one stammers. “Killing for a Human Whore? Are you mad? Has the madness retaken you, brother?”
I hiss at his words, angrier than ever. This Sidyth. This traitor. This outsider. He is not my brother, and yet when his life is about to be taken, he acts as though we are united. He is not a shameful Sidyth, no. He has not fallen upon his knees, begging for mercy. But by trying to reach out to me like this, calling me a brother, he knows he is about to die. I advance on him slowly, and he manages to turn to run.
The dilewilers screech in the distance delighted at the prospect of a chase.
“I would not go that way,” Drazal calls from behind me.
I snarl for him to be quiet, watching the outsider as he drags his feet to a grinding halt, staring into the dark abyss of the woods. The dilewilers are crazed, yes. But now the stocky outsider is wondering if I am more so. He turns back to me and visions of killing him rush to my mind. My vision turns crimson. Ellis is talking to me, probably begging me to stop or show mercy, but I tune her out. Her words are useless now.
I have embraced the madness. It feels incredible.
A low hiss escapes the stocky Sidyth as I approach, each step slow and methodical. I can taste his fear. This Sidyth is frightened, and I continue to question him and his motives. Did he know what he was doing when he approached Ellis and me in the darkness? Is he friends with Yayk? How did he get the information? Does he know what will happen soon? Does he realize he has fallen into my trap?
He falls to his knees before me, frightened that if he tries to run, things will only end up worse for him. I cannot blame him for this fear.
“You don’t have to do this,” the stocky one says. “You are risking everything. We’re not at the fatherland. Korben cannot protect you anymore.”
“Prince Korben,” I say in a low hiss. “He is the rightful ruler of the fatherland.”
“Then why does he remain here?” he challenges me, growing a bit of spine at last.
None of the others approach me, and I’m not sure how much I want to reveal. Things are still going according to plan, but I am not yet satisfied. I will not be until the speaker of Yayk’s name dies within my bare hands.
“He’s coming,” the stocky one says at last.
“What did he say?” Phoebe calls in a trembling voice.
I don’t want anyone else to hear this news. Not yet.
“You think I don’t know that?” I say in a low voice, keeping my attention entirely on the stocky outsider. I lower into a crouch, meeting his terrified expression.
“How do you know?” he manages to croak.
I slowly wrap my hands around his neck. If he doesn’t know, then he’s already as good as dead. He reaches around my hands to stop me, but this moment of hesitation is all I need to finish him off. I don’t kill him gracefully or elegantly. He should not be allowed the joy of a peaceful death, so instead of strangling him, I merely tear apart the skin at the back of his neck until the flesh folds beneath his chin like the ties on Azan’s mask.
Phoebe and Ellis both scream behind me. My vision is so red from the blood spatter and the madness, I can barely register the sound. I see the traitor crouched before me, eyes rolling into the back of his head. I could keep going. I could make the death more painful. It’s beautiful enough that the taller one is suffering, though, I can’t hear his choking voice any longer, and the dilewilers are rooting and cawing now. They’re ready to take their prize.
The dilewilers are not stupid. They will no longer see me as food but as a bringer of food. And if I am protecting Ellis, they will leave her alone as well. People think dilewilers are simple creatures, but they are also clever ones. They do not bite the hands that feed them, and I have presented them with quite a feast.
“Brother?” Drazal’s voice rumbles behind me, and I realize the other members of my pack have grown closer. Drazal may understand how dilewilers work, and if he does, that’s why he’s close. He wants to help feed them. The rustling in the branches lets me know of their descent and remembering Phoebe’s fear; I turn sharply in her direction.
“Do not scream,” I hiss at her.
“But the monsters,” she says in a choked whisper.
Drazal holds her closer. “They are not going to harm you. Not if we give this offering. You must participate. I am sorry, but the blood of the offering must be mixed in with your scent. By doing this, they will not kill you.”
“Unless they grow hungry again,” I grumble.
“Enough, Hujun,” Drazal says. “Come. Let’s get this part over with.”
Phoebe sucks in a trembling breath, but soon she and Drazal are working on taking a body further into the woods. I am not worried. This is quite an offering, and though I am not sure how much of the dilewilers the pale one has seen, I know she will be safe at least for a few days. The dilewilers do not need to eat much, and they don’t attack unless hungry. It is a pleasant combination that will keep everyone safe until we return home.
“Hujun?”
I swallow hard. Only one voice can make me react like this. A protectiveness and a wanting surge through me, swallowing up the madness as though it never existed. I turn slowly, and sure enough, Ellis stands next to me, staring down at the dead body. The stocky one is as good as gone as far as I’m concerned. I turn back to Ellis whose chest heavily rises and falls. I long to touch her, but I am not sure how she is going to react to me now.
She has seen my madness. My love of the hunt and the kill. The plotting and the planning. The blood and the glory.
“Hujun, are you alright?”
Her question leaves me perplexed at first, and I go to move into a standing position, but find that conversing with her like this is much mo
re comfortable. I don’t want to give her any more reasons to be frightened of me, and I don’t want to tower over her. But still. That question…
“Are you hurt?” I ask in return.
“I’m fine,” she stammers. “They just surprised me. They wanted me to lure you out.” She shakes her head. “They didn’t get to say much more than that.”
“That’s probably for the best.”
She hums. “So you’re okay? You looked a little nuts.”
I sigh. “Are you frightened?”
“Of what? Of you?” I nod. “Hujun, I—”
“No lies,” I remind her.
“I’m not frightened of you.”
My heart stops as I quickly turn. I expect her to stumble back. To hold up her hands and beg me not to hurt her as memories of Yayk come pounding back, but she remains still, fiercely meeting my gaze.
My Ellis is coming back.
“I’m surprised you didn’t try to stop me,” I mutter, listening as Drazal and Phoebe discard the first body. I hear the chomping of raw flesh, and the scent of blood violently fills my nostrils. I focus on Ellis.
“I didn’t try to stop you.”
This takes me by surprise. “I killed two men tonight. They are traitors. They are outsiders. They tried to scare you—”
“Hujun, you don’t have to rationalize this to me.” She scoffs. “If I weren’t so scared, I would have cheered you on.” Color flashes across her cheeks. “Damn, I shouldn’t have said that. That’s awful. They didn’t deserve to die.”
“But they did,” I remind her. “Because they tried to frighten you.”
“People shouldn’t be killed for scaring people.”
I shake my head. “Ellis, that is a childish belief. I kill people for trying to intimidate or scare others. It is my job. My calling. And I’ll continue to do so.” I pinch my eyes shut, realizing just how true this statement is. “This is who I am, Ellis. And if you are not comfortable, I completely understand. But I had to do this. I had to take the appropriate steps to ensure your safety.”
“I get it.” Her voice is soft and tentative before she nods at the bleeding body before her. “Shouldn’t we do something about that? I need to… uh… get the blood on my hands, right? To be safe from those things?”
“It would be the safest thing to do, yes,” I say, rising to my feet. Ellis looks small and frightened again, but surprisingly determined as she moves closer to the body and brushes her fingertips against the blood, pressing the crimson drops into her palms. “That is good.” I swallow hard, surprised she is taking this so well. “We should move the body further into the woods. Also, we cannot go back to Prince Korben’s dwelling tonight.”
“Because of the dilewilers?” she guesses.
I nod, not wanting to elaborate. Despite my happiness with the day’s events, I am quite tired. I need to rest up, and I want to have a dwelling ready before Drazal returns with his noisy female. She talks too much and reasons too quickly for someone with such blank expressions, and I cannot risk Ellis second-guessing anything.
Like how she is still here with me.
How she is helping me lift the dead body of my fresh kill and moving more into dilewiler territory. The howls and screeches make me want to cover my ears, but I push forward. I want to lie down. I need to rest up.
“Are you okay?” Ellis asks.
The question brings a smile to my face. She cannot see it, but she has warmed my heart with her slight concern.
“I will be fine,” I mutter. “There is just one thing.”
“Oh?”
We stop, and I dump the body to the earth. I brush what blood remains on my hands off on my shorts. If Ellis still wants to be with me, she needs to understand that the blood of others is a part of me. Shockingly, her hand slips into mine before I can offer or try to reach for her and my cock springs to attention despite the howls of the dilewilers and the smell of raw flesh.
No woman has ever done this to me. No woman has looked at me with anything except disgust after watching me kill.
And many women have watched because many Sidyths have died in my hands.
I swallow hard, trying to regain my senses as the forests erupt with movement. They smell the offering. They long to taste the prey. And though Ellis is safe, there is a small amount of possession within me – even as the madness resides. A single dilewiler steps in front of us, but I warn Ellis not to scream in a low hiss.
“He is assessing,” I mutter. “Making sure we have offered the food and are not part of the meal.”
She’s shaking, but not nearly as much as I’ve seen her in the past. I suppose she’s never seen a dilewiler before. They reside in the thick forests and don’t enjoy being seen by others unless they have come for a feed. I puff out my chest and let out a low warning hiss to the dilewiler, and as though he seems to shrug, the dilewiler shuffles past us on six legs and joins the feast with his family and friends.
Ellis lets out a breath I didn’t realize she was holding, and we slowly start to move our way out of their territory in the thick woods and into the sparser valley. I’m cold, tired and anxious, but my cock stands erect with only one thing on its mind.
“That was the single weirdest thing I’ve seen in my life,” she mutters as I swoop her up and sling her over my back.
I don’t want her to walk. After everything that’s happened, I can at least give her this much. She barely protests, wrapping her soft arms around my neck. I swear I feel her lips press against the base of my neck, and my cock jumps again. I’m so aroused I must be imagining her affections.
Or perhaps not.
“The dilewiler?” I ask in a low voice, hoping she’s talking about that, and not my recent kill.
“Yeah.” And now I’m the one who releases a breath. “It’s like a spider monkey… with a trunk. That’s full of teeth.”
“I am afraid I do not understand your references.” I frown, wishing I did so I could deepen our conversation but decide holding Ellis like this enough.
“So what is it?” she asks as the forest clears enough that I can see my discarded pack in the dip of the hillside.
“What?”
She squeezes her arms more tightly around my neck. It is… pleasant. “Earlier. What is the thing you wanted me to know?”
Oh. That. I swallow hard, glancing around to make sure we are truly alone. I am not sure how long this fragile peace will last, but I am happy to have it for any amount of time.
“You are worth everything. And anything.”
She stiffens, her small, yet full breasts pressing between my shoulder blades. If she does not stop this, I worry I will not be able to control myself once the shelter is set up. I am tired, cold, and sore, but I am not too tired that I would not be able to show Ellis in more ways than one that she is worth it. For the first time, naughty boyish fantasies of pressing my tongue against her slit envelop me. Touching her. Tasting her. Being part of the conversations with Prince Korben and Azan when they speak of their Chosen mates. I want that. I want her. I want all of it.
I growl. “You are worth it,” I say again. “And if you allow me, Ellis. I want to show you in a way other than with words.”
Her heart rate picks up. A hint of arousal dances across the air. It’s glorious.
“What other way is there?” she whispers into my ear.
“Ways that don’t include killing,” I whisper, realizing this is not the most seductive statement.
“I hope not!” She bursts into laughter.
My words are never going to be flowery, but they will always be mine.
As will the tiny woman I have perched on my back.
Mine.
CHAPTER TEN
Ellis
He wants to show how I’m worth it. He doesn’t have to. After everything he’s done, giving me pleasure or letting me pleasure him feels like overkill. But here we are. The furry tent is set up, and Drazal and Phoebe are nowhere to be seen or heard. My heart races as I realize ho
w close we are to each other again and Hujun finally gets it. He wants me. I want him. I’m worthy. He’s worthy. We’re all fucking worthy.
“What Yayk did to you was not your fault.”
My eyes lift. I’m all but ready to get my pleasure on and Hujun wants me to feel comfortable with him. I fall for him even harder.
“I know,” I mutter. “It’s because he’s an asshole.” I wrinkle my forehead. “You know what that means, right?”
He chuckles, filling the tent with the sound. “Even I understand what an asshole is, Ellis.”
We both laugh, but it’s an uneasy sound. I’m not sure if Hujun knows what to do next, but if his dick is any indication, I’m not sure why we’re talking. I want his hands on me. I feel safe. For the first time in weeks, I feel completely safe, but Hujun seems uneasy. As though he’s not finished.
Of course, sporting a dick that hard would make anyone anxious.
“Do you want me to take care of that?” I wish I could make myself sound sexier, but something about Hujun always turns me into a blubbering high school dork about to go to the prom with the star quarterback. My mouth waters at the sight of Hujun’s cock pitching a tent in his shorts, but I can’t bring myself to take it and go to work. Though I really, really want to.
“Take care of it?” Hujun repeats, making this even sexier and awkward.
I crawl to him like something right out of a Rom-Com, and Hujun’s eyes widen.
“Wait,” he says, jutting a big hand against my shoulder to stop me. “Wait, please. I do not… I do not think I deserve this.”
“You just killed two of your brothers for—”
“Those traitors were not my brothers,” he says in a low hiss, pulling me closer to him. “I just… I want to wait.”
I’m about to pout when his mouth lands against my mine, making me cry out loud. Oh. He doesn’t want me sucking his dick tonight, but he wants to kiss? I’m okay with that. Hujun does look a little unnerved, and we’re both covered in blood. Maybe we should save the first time for when we get back to Korben’s lair.
