Primal

by Sara Fields

  When only the moon and the stars cast their light through the branches overhead, Vikar started making camp in the same place that he’d punished me. Since then, he hadn’t asked for anything more from me even though I’d felt how hard that had made his cock. He hadn’t made me take him in my mouth nor did he force his knot inside me like I had expected. He simply made the fire and prepared a soup over it with dried vegetables and cooked meat for me instead. It was a bit strange having a man cook for me, but I found that it was far tastier than I gave him credit for.

  We ate in silence, neither pressing the other for information just yet. I picked at my food, too riveted by trying to get a read on his body language and his true intentions to really enjoy my own.

  I didn’t feel like I was in danger. In fact, I started to feel just a little bit safe and that was unnerving on its own.

  The longer I was around him, the more confident I became that he wasn’t going to take me against my will just because he could and just because he was an alpha. He’d taught me the lesson he intended and nothing more. His behavior was strangely comforting, and it made me want to trust him even though I knew that I shouldn’t even think it. It wasn’t in the cards for me. Not right now.

  There were far too important things at stake for me to fall for a man like him. Even though he’d shown me kindness in a world where alphas reigned over omegas like me, I had to remember that he could turn on me at a moment’s notice. I still didn’t know his true intentions and I couldn’t fall for his games when my child’s life was at stake.

  I sat down on the fallen log by the fire and glanced into his silver eyes. The light of the flames lit up the flecks of blue and green so that they looked like they were ablaze from within. He smiled warmly and I knew it was time for me to try to begin figuring him out.

  “Where are you taking me?” I asked softly. I needed to know so that I could plan my next move. I had to figure out a way to get away from him, but it would need to be the right time. I had to come up with the perfect escape plan.

  “You’re going back to Valgertha with me. I was tasked to find you and return you to the castle,” he answered. I chewed the inside of my cheek, trying to figure out if I believed him or not.

  I wasn’t going to do what he wanted. It wasn’t an option for me.

  “I need to get back to Ravenrath. I have business there,” I answered.

  “What need do you have to return? King Thranar is dead. From the rumors I’ve heard, there is already a new person that’s been crowned to rule over the city,” he pressed. The furrows around his eyes wrinkled as he narrowed his gaze in my direction. He was suspicious now. I needed to tread carefully so I decided to lie. I would do whatever it took to protect my daughter.

  “I had a handmaiden there. If I ever ran, Thranar threatened her well-being. I need to return and get her out of there,” I replied.

  “I have people for that. I’ll send someone for her,” he answered carefully. His gaze held mine, as if he was trying to read my reaction and I gave him nothing.

  “It needs to be me. She won’t go with anyone else after what Thranar put her through,” I lied.

  “I see,” he answered. He licked his lips and cocked his head to the side as he studied my expression far more closely than I wanted. He pressed his feet to the ground and the leaves crunched under his feet as he turned away and returned to the fire. I held my hands out, warming my fingers by the flames and trying to remain as cautious as possible with my every move. I said nothing else for fear of casting suspicion on myself.

  The fire flickered into the night and I would occasionally catch his eyes on me, but he never moved to force anything else after that. Instead, I asked him about himself and turned the conversation back to him every time he tried to ask about my past or my life back in Ravenrath. I couldn’t tell if he was suspicious and if he was, he did a very good job covering it up. There wasn’t an ounce of skepticism in his expression.

  As the hours passed, the night started to grow warmer and a little muggy. Vikar shrugged off his cloak, revealing the thin cotton shirt he was wearing underneath. His arms flexed as he rolled up the long sleeves and I found myself enamored by the sight of his strong muscles. Even though his physique was covered by fabric, it was more than obvious that he was incredibly well-defined. I took a moment to really admire him. He stood at well over six feet tall with a wide set of chiseled shoulders and a narrow waist. My eyes dropped to his thighs, thick and sturdy and perfectly sized for him to bare my bottom and spank me over.

  I licked my lips, trying to ignore the nagging feeling of desire at the base of my core. A soft pulsing sensation was radiating outward from the center of my belly and I did my best to push it away. If he had noticed the wayward nature of my thoughts, he said nothing, and I was thankful for that. I stared into the fire, hoping he hadn’t sensed anything at all. For a while, the crackling of the flames consumed me as I watched the brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows flicker before my eyes.

  “We should get to bed so that we can wake up early enough in the morning to make some headway back to Valgertha,” he said, his voice steady with his command. I lifted my gaze to his and nodded. I wanted to seem amenable to his wishes so that I could gain at least some semblance of his trust before I ran away.

  “Okay,” I answered, mostly because it appeared as he was waiting for my agreement. He lay down on the moss and offered me his hand, clearly expecting me to take it. I didn’t see any other option other than to place my fingers within his, so I did. He pulled me into his chest and his breath was comforting against the back of my neck once he brushed my hair aside. His fingers splayed flat against my belly, possessive and strong. It didn’t take long for his breathing to become steady and defined, although his arm never relaxed enough for me to slip free unnoticed.

  I tried to stay awake for a while, hoping that I would be able to escape his grasp once he let down his guard, but his warmth proved to be too relaxing and even though I fought it with everything in me, I eventually fell asleep.

  The next morning, I woke feeling sore and tender to the touch. Before I opened my eyes, I took stock of my body. My bottom ached and I was reminded of the hard lesson over his thighs. I felt myself flush when I remembered where he’d put his finger and how he’d made me come that way. I didn’t move, but I knew that I’d awakened with discernible wetness between my thighs and my face warmed at the realization.

  “Even with your clothes on, I could smell your slick from a mile away,” he murmured.

  I blushed even more deeply, although I said nothing to confirm his allegations because they were embarrassingly true.

  His fingers brushed against the vulnerable skin of my throat and a jolt of electricity raced through me, catching me off guard. I sucked in a breath and bit my lip, trying to keep my sounds quiet even though it was becoming increasingly difficult.

  “Would you like to come for me, omega?” he asked quietly.

  “No,” I answered, even though I wanted the exact opposite. As soon as I said it, my body pulsed and my clit throbbed hard, begging for his fingers to delve between my legs so that I could orgasm all over his fingers again. I denied myself and I hated that I had to.

  I needed to keep a clear head and I couldn’t allow my desire for him to cloud my judgement. The moment the word left my lips though, I regretted my decision. My denial seemed to make my arousal surge even harder from the depths within me and when my clit began to throb, I did my best to swallow my misery. If he noticed, he said nothing and instead uncurled his arm from around my waist and let me go. I was finally free to move.

  The fire had gone out while we slept and there was a crisp morning breeze rustling the leaves all around us. I took my cloak back in my fingers and shrugged it back around my shoulders, snuggling it close to chase away the chill.

  The sky was pink, and the musical songs of birds were the only thing that broke the silence of the forest. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh scent of wildflowers and mor
ning dew before I turned back to face the man who held me captive. I put on a brave face, not wanting him to know what I was really thinking.

  I needed to figure out how to get away from and in order to do that, I needed to concentrate and keep my arousal at bay no matter what. I had to keep a level head and think with my mind rather than the needy little bud in between my legs.

  “How far is Valgertha from here?” I asked, hoping to keep his suspicions low.

  “A few days. I’m very familiar with the most direct route there, so we’ll be there in no time at all,” he replied, looking into the forest away from me. I licked my lips, trying to gauge from his answer how much further Ravenrath would be. Briefly, I glanced in the direction that I had been traveling and back toward the way Valgertha would be. By my estimation, it would take less than a day to make it home once and for all. I was close enough to risk running once again, no matter what happened.

  “Come now. Let’s get moving,” he suggested.

  I needed to figure out my next move and I could think of only two options. Either I had to figure out a way to escape, or I’d have to kill him. Hidden inside my pack, I’d buried a knife. He didn’t know I had it in my possession and I’d been careful to keep it that way since he’d appeared. I could jump him from behind and slash his throat, but that would require me to be able to best him in one-on-one combat; however that was far too unlikely to work out in my favor. I’d never trained for battle. Even though I was fast, and I knew how to avoid a blow, it would be very different against a warrior like Vikar who had prepared for battle his whole life. Killing him wasn’t a likely option unless I could catch him entirely unaware or asleep in his bed.

  I could run, but that would also be difficult. If I was aroused in any way, he’d be able to find me by the scent of my slick alone. I’d have to be extremely aware of everything about my body before I attempted any sort of escape. I’d have to keep my arousal at bay.

  I decided to focus on my daughter. All this was for her. She needed my protection and I needed to get back to Ravenrath so I could do just that.

  We ambled through the forest and after about an hour or so, we came upon a swiftly flowing river. I found myself watching the rushing water slip along the rocks. It looked no more than a few feet deep, but it was wide enough for a shallow riverboat to sail easily downstream. I didn’t pay particularly close attention to where I was stepping and my foot slipped on a patch of wet moss, causing my body to lurch forward. With a gasp, I caught myself on a large boulder nearby before I fell and hurt myself. As I stood up, I sucked in a breath, realizing that the area felt immediately familiar and a little glimmer of hope began to spark to life deep within my belly. I knew where I was because I’d been here before. This place wasn’t that far from Ravenrath. It would only be a few hours’ walk and even less if I ran. I was even closer to the city than I had originally thought.

  An idea began to formulate in my mind, and I slowed down, pretending I needed to keep a careful watch on my footholds when I was really just trying to find a particular place I’d found nearby in the past.

  There. It was right over that riverbank.

  I cleared my throat. He didn’t even pause for a second and I glared at his back.

  “I need some privacy,” I said loudly. He would pay attention when I spoke. Finally, he stopped and turned back to face me.

  “What for?” he asked warily.

  “I need to relieve myself,” I responded. I glared back at him, daring him silently to deny me the right to my own basic bodily functions.

  “Don’t go far. If you take any more than five minutes, I will come looking for you,” he warned. I nodded. I had no intention of giving away even a hint of the plans formulating in my head.

  “Thanks,” I replied, not even trying to hide the annoyance in my voice.

  I walked toward the river, veering to the right until I had to make my way through a large patch of brush. When I reached the other side and was safely hidden by the plants all around me, I pushed some of the grasses aside, revealing a deep cave that went quite far underground before it emerged about a mile downriver right outside Ravenrath. I slipped inside the small cavern in complete silence. My steps padded stealthily along the damp moss beneath my feet and as I ventured inside, I kept my fingers on the moist rock wall to guide my way. It would be very dark down here, and since I had nothing to light the way, I’d have to base my movements on my memory of this place and by cautious steps through the blackness.

  I’d found this cave long ago when Thranar had decided to take me on a trip outside the walls of the city. He’d gotten drunk on wine and mead before we’d gotten very far and decided that we were going to play a game together. He wanted me to run and he’d catch me, a game of cat and mouse that would only end up with me on my back with him on top of me.

  I didn’t want that.

  To make matters worse, he’d told me that I wouldn’t like what would happen if he did, so I tried everything in my power to prevent it. His cock had been hard when he’d suggested it, leaving no doubt in my mind that he would be true to his word if he caught me.

  I’d been so scared and had run like my very life depended on it.

  I’d almost twisted my ankle when I stumbled on this cave. I was trying to find a safe place to hide at the time and ended up using it to slip away from the drunken alpha entirely unnoticed. Before long, I’d emerged on the other side of the cave and raced all the way back to Ravenrath. Once I was safe within the city walls, I hid in my maid’s chambers for the night. Thranar had finally returned the next day, the whole escapade entirely forgotten. He never even questioned my whereabouts and I came to the conclusion that it was very likely that he had passed out somewhere and slept off his drunken stupor, thankfully without me.

  Water dripped onto the cool stone all around me, echoing in the dark passage and comforting in its consistency. I treaded carefully, making sure that I took each step with extreme caution so that I didn’t fall flat on my face. Occasionally my foot would slip just the slightest bit, but I kept both hands to either side of the tunnel to keep myself steady and upright.

  The minutes ticked by and I kept myself as silent as the grave. Each second would count, and I had to take advantage of every last one. Soon though, I found myself lost in thought as I kept moving forward, toward the city and away from Vikar.

  I didn’t know how this cave came to be, but I guessed that it was manmade. It seemed too straight and narrow to be natural. It almost felt like a passage that had been carved long ago for reasons unknown. The walls around me were smooth, although in some places, I could run my fingers along spots that suggested it was carved by hand. Those places were extremely subtle though, worn down by several years of water running along the stone in the changing of the seasons. I wondered absentmindedly if ice formed along the rock in winter.

  I kept moving. The tunnel was long and would take several hours to work through. I hoped that by the time I emerged that it would be nightfall and I could escape back to Ravenrath under the cover of shadow. I heard nothing around me except silence and the occasionally drip of water. There were no footsteps behind me, and I grew more comfortable the more I kept going.

  One hour passed and then another. The silence was reassuring and oppressive in the same breath, but it felt safe because I was completely alone. The total darkness was quite unnerving though. My eyes couldn’t get used to the pitch blackness, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other knowing that I would eventually emerge on the other side.

  At one point, I stopped and dug into the bag of supplies I had on my back. I found a soft fabric bundle inside and slowly unwrapped it, finding a few pieces of dried pork jerky inside. My stomach growled as I picked up one and took a bite. I ate several more pieces and filled my belly until I was satiated. I would need all of my energy to make it back to Ravenrath. I wouldn’t be able to rest until I returned to the castle. Instead, I would keep going until I was safely within the gates.

 
It was likely that the Cult had already begun rebuilding the walls that had been destroyed in battle. They had unlimited resources from what I understood. They also weren’t above forced labor. They’d do whatever it took to get the job done in the fastest way possible no matter who was hurt or even died in the process.

  I gritted my teeth.

  I’d been forced into their ranks long ago by my father. He was a high-ranking disciple with a lot of money and influence behind him. In order to rise even higher in the Cult’s rank, he had to give something back in return and he’d given them me. I was his only child and he had reminded me every day of how much of a waste I was because I wasn’t his son. I couldn’t ascend or take his place. Women had no place in the Cult or even within the city. Ravenrath was a society led by men and only men and especially not weak omega women who would eventually succumb to their mating instincts no matter what they did to try to stop it. It was only natural.

  My father had given me to the Cult and the men above him had decided that my place would be by Thranar’s side. I hadn’t been given a choice. On my eighteenth birthday, I had been dressed in a white gown and led to his chambers, where I received my first medical injection and experienced my first unnaturally forced heat.

  I hadn’t been ready for what came that night. Thranar’s cruelty hadn’t changed since then. If anything, it only got worse.

  His abuse still scarred my skin. There were pink scars on my wrists from the manacles he chained me to far too often. There were other places he’d used a knife on me, and I had whip marks on my back that descended down to my calves, little white markings that would forever remind me of the horrendous depravity that a man like him had been capable of.

  I was happy he was dead. No one deserved to have his head on a pike more than he did. A part of me almost wished I’d been the one to kill him myself.

  Another few hours passed, and I started to see an extremely dim light far away. With a smile, I moved faster, knowing that I was coming to the end of the tunnel very soon. It started to dim, and I sighed happily once I recognized that it must be late enough in the day for the sun to begin setting. It would be nightfall by the time I made it out.