Savage

by Sara Fields

  “My city has need of me. I shall return later this evening,” I replied. I didn’t ask him if he wanted to come with me, because I had no intentions of letting him.

  He smirked, just gazing back at me.

  “Do you think I will just sit back and wait for you here in your chambers?” he asked, his voice darkening with warning.

  “Yes,” I answered brazenly.

  He grinned and the ringing sound of his laughter surrounded me. I cocked my head to the side, staring back at him quizzically after he said it.

  “Don’t worry, my little queen. I’ll make you pay for that later with my cock,” he threatened, his eyes sparkling at my open defiance.

  “Maybe you will, maybe you won’t,” I sassed more openly this time, unable to keep myself from smiling just a little bit in return.

  “I look forward to the moment when you walk back through that door, my pretty omega, because that will be the last time that you’re allowed the privilege of clothing for the night. I’m going to enjoy putting you on your knees so that I can punish that sassy little mouth with every last inch of my cock. And that, my queen, is only going to be the beginning,” he threatened.

  A shiver raced down my spine.

  “I’d like to see you try,” I said mischievously as I walked past him, and he chuckled.

  “Do you doubt me, omega?” he returned. I turned back to face him, feeling more confident in the bond between us. Even though he’d made me submit to him as his omega, it dawned on me that he wasn’t here to control me, but to work with me. Nothing about his demeanor gave me the impression that he intended to take over my role as king of Valgertha, and that very realization made my pussy dampen with need.

  He made no effort to follow me. He was letting me go.

  He trusted that I would come back and I adored him for that.

  “I think you can handle a little challenge,” I said lightly as I left the room, feeling my core quiver just the slightest bit with a glimmer of arousal. He laughed louder in clear amusement as I walked down the stairs away from him.

  I tried not to think about what that might mean.

  * * *

  I raced through the halls of my castle, ensuring that my orders to serve the visiting king were carried out quickly and efficiently. I was pleased to find out that the kitchen had provided a lovely spread of our finest cheeses, meats, and fresh fruits for him and had already delivered several plates to King Thranar. In the few minutes I had to spare, I met with several of my closest advisors in order to find out if he’d brought his forces or if anything had changed along the bordering lands of Valgertha. To their knowledge, he’d only arrived with enough of a protective guard to keep himself safe. It wasn’t the type of army that he would bring to start a war.

  They didn’t know why he’d come here, therefore it would be up to me to find out.

  Before I walked into the room, I took a deep breath and pulled my shoulders back.

  I was ready for this.

  I walked into that room like I owned the place, because I did. This was my castle. My city. And no one was going to challenge that, especially not Thranar. I wasn’t afraid of him.

  I was Queen Freya of Valgertha, and I was powerful in my own right.

  “Queen Freya,” a gruff voice said as I strode inside. There was the slightest air of cocky arrogance in his tone that ruffled my feathers just a bit, but I ignored it. For now, at least.

  “King Thranar,” I returned just as confidently. He was sitting at the long wooden table in the center of the room. He was leaning back in his chair, with his dirty boots up on the surface, just staring back at me as if he owned the place. I glanced down at his feet with a look of disgust and for a moment, it was obvious that he contemplated ignoring my silent displeasure, but he finally took them off the table and sat in his chair properly. He leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table, giving me a first good look at the man I’d considered my enemy for a very long time.

  His hair was a dark dirty blond, shaved at the sides and braided into a long swinging series of knots at the back of his head. Black tattoos were etched into every inch of his body that I could see that wasn’t covered by his clothing. They weren’t elegant like many of the looping and swirling markings that Valgertha was known for and I found them strangely off-putting. Instead, they were vivid and harsh with hard edges and thick strokes. Not only that, but he was covered in scars that spoke of his prowess in battle, but that wasn’t what caught my attention the most. Icy blue unfeeling eyes stared back at me with unknown intent. In one breath it felt like he wanted to hurt me and in another, it felt like he was giving me the respect I deserved. I didn’t yet know which one it was. By the end of this meeting though, I was going to find out.

  His leather armor was thick and well made, embroidered with the same heavy intricate designs that were tattooed onto his skin. He watched me study him with a careful gaze and I did the same to him. I grabbed two silver goblets and poured two healthy servings of some of the best wine we had in the castle. I passed one to him and kept one for myself, all while I took a seat across the table from him.

  He took the cup from me and I had to suppress a violent shiver as his fingers touched mine. They were cold and I was suddenly overcome with a very strong sensation of danger, but I swallowed it as I sat back in my own chair. I looked at him, ensuring that I appraised him with a look that was just as cool and calculating as the one he was giving me.

  A king versus a queen.

  He grinned, enjoying the challenge I brought just by sitting before him as his equal. I didn’t back down in the slightest and I think he enjoyed that.

  “It’s come to my attention that the two of us have never spent any time together, Freya, and I’d like to remedy that,” Thranar began. He lifted his goblet in salute, and I returned the motion.

  “We haven’t, have we?” I replied with a smirk. I took a very small sip of wine. I made a show of it, thinking he might relax if he thought I was drinking more than I actually was. He took a large swig himself and hummed in delight at the well-aged vintage. He smacked his lips together in appreciation and I was quick to grin in return.

  “It’s one of my very favorites,” I said. “Enjoy however much you like.”

  “I’d like to enjoy a whole lot more,” he added, his tone entirely too suggestive for my liking. My skin prickled in annoyance at his bold assumption. Instead of lowering myself to his brazen words, I picked up the jug of wine and topped off his glass. He grunted his thanks.

  “Why have you come to visit me, Thranar?”

  “Can’t I just visit and get to know my neighbors?” he asked carefully. His eyes darkened considerably, and he smirked. The more time I spent with him, the more I was beginning to hate him.

  “I guess you could if that’s what you really wanted to do,” I returned. Sitting there before him, I swirled the wine in my goblet. This was my first one on one meeting with any member of the ruling class and I wanted to make sure that I presented myself as someone to be feared and respected too.

  Now that I was away from Aric, my inner omega had seemingly quieted down. My alpha was now rearing her head once more as I sat across from another alpha. There was nothing about him that made me want to submit to him. Thranar simply seemed to make my alpha angry and I did nothing to quell it. I let her rise unabated.

  “I think we could be good friends, Freya, you and I. Perhaps our interests lie in the same vein,” he began, finally giving me a clue as to why he was here. Maybe he wanted an alliance or maybe he felt threatened by my recent conquests that had expanded the borders of Valgertha. Perhaps he wanted to make sure his city of Ravenrath wasn’t next on my agenda. I hadn’t planned on it, but the way this meeting was going, I might reconsider where I sent my armies going forward.

  His eyes dropped to look at the swell of my breasts and his gaze lingered there for far too long. When his stare returned to my own, I could feel him boring into me, searching for answers that I wasn’t yet ready
to reveal. He looked at me slowly, ensuring that I saw him do it so that I could feel every chilling moment. My upper lip rolled just slightly, and I glared back at him, feeling my sense of unease grow with each passing moment. I wasn’t about to give him what he wanted though. Not a fucking chance.

  He picked up a strawberry off the silver platter in front of him, biting it in a way that made my insides crawl with disgust.

  “I think you and I could work well together,” he suggested. “Valgertha and Ravenrath together. We could be quite strong, you and I.”

  “I’m quite strong all on my own, Thranar,” I replied, leaning forward and taking a piece of meat into my fingers. I gathered a slice of brie and pressed it against the lean sausage, before I took a bite of it myself. He watched me eat with a growing smirk, clearly catching the warning in my tone.

  “That you are, Freya, but we could be stronger together. As one,” he continued.

  “What exactly are you suggesting?”

  “If you were my queen and I was your king, think of the land we could take if we brought our forces together. Think of the raw power we would have,” he said. He was seemingly careful to keep his tone light and free of any suggestion that it would be anything other than my choice, but I wasn’t stupid enough to fall for it. I knew enough about his reputation to know that this wasn’t like him and I trusted my instincts enough to know that the slimy feeling in the pit of my belly was one that I needed to pay attention to.

  “Thranar, you’ve taken a woman already for yourself. You have your very own omega, yes?” I pressed, cocking my head with interest. I’d heard rumors of him taking a mate. I’d also heard that it was very much against her will. He wasn’t the type of man to care.

  “Luna? She’s expendable. You need not worry about her,” he said gruffly and that sickening sensation inside me grew even more intense.

  Alphas and omegas mated for life. If a pair bond was ever severed, like an omega being cast aside, it would cause great pain to them both. Had he forced the bond on her? Had she completed it by marking him back?

  Even now, I could feel the initial pangs of the bond between myself and Aric. It was only partially formed. When I returned the bite and chose him for myself, the bond would be fully forged and irreversible. If I decided to. When I decided to. Fuck.

  I took a sip of wine to cover up my thoughts of the irresistible alpha upstairs waiting in my chambers and forced myself to focus on Thranar instead. His eyes studied me intensely, waiting to see what I said next.

  “Unless you want to share her with me, Freya,” he said next, his grin growing exponentially. It made me feel unclean and not in a good way.

  “I’m not interested in something like that, Thranar,” I scoffed.

  “Then I will see to it that she is dealt with. It would bring me far more pleasure to have an alpha in my bed rather than a tiny omega,” he chided.

  It was very bold of him to assume I’d be willing to bend for him that way. Very bold indeed.

  “It is not in my nature to belong to an alpha,” I countered.

  “That’s not the rumors I’ve heard your staff whispering when they didn’t think I was listening, Freya,” he responded brazenly. He stared at me and sniffed the air. “I can smell him on you, even as we sit here together.”

  My neck burned, covered up by my long hair. Aric’s bite would be visible there, clear evidence that an alpha had claimed me for his own. I growled in warning.

  “I am a queen. I can have whoever I want whenever I please,” I replied carefully.

  “Is that something you regularly take part in then? Do you enjoy that royal alpha cunt leaking with alpha seed?” he asked, leaning forward and pressing his elbows on the table. I snarled even more loudly this time, warning him that I was increasingly becoming displeased. He didn’t seem to care.

  I didn’t like where this was going. Not even in the slightest.

  “So, let me make sure I’m understanding you. You’ve come all the way here to offer your cock and nothing else?” I asked, taking a sip of wine and ignoring the way he was intentionally pressing my buttons. He was trying to get a rise out of me, and I wouldn’t be goaded into acting irrationally. I would be better than that and better than him.

  “I could give you the world, Freya. You need only take it,” he chuckled. “But you’d need to bounce up and down on top of my dick first.”

  I simply chuckled, feigning my amusement, and his jaw ticked with restrained annoyance.

  “If you have nothing else to offer, I suggest you enjoy the food and wine my people have prepared for you and leave in the morning,” I replied coldly, shaking my head. I moved to stand and leave.

  “Wait, Freya. Perhaps I misread you,” he added. He was careful to keep the threat out of his voice this time and I slowly sat back down, watching him warily. Even though he tried to hide it, there was still an air of danger around him and I didn’t let my guard down, not even for a second.

  “You came here to talk of an alliance, yes? To what end?” I asked, taking control of the meeting now. I’d given him too much leeway this far and it was time for me to take charge. If it bothered him, I no longer cared. He was in my city, in my castle, and he would abide by my rule.

  He sighed, tapping his fingernails impatiently on the table.

  “Valgertha is strong and so is Ravenrath. Combined, our forces would be unstoppable, and I’ve had my eye on one particular city for a very long time. Do you know which one that is?” he asked. This time, he talked to me like I was his equal and I found myself growing at least a little more comfortable sitting alone in the same room as him.

  “I’m not sure,” I answered. I lied. I did have an idea of where we could move next. Since the sacking of Kaldar, I’d gained control of the Suna Kava river trading port, which was upstream of a major network that led down to the city of Kingsworth. On our own, Valgertha wasn’t big enough or powerful enough to even consider such a formidable opponent, but together with Ravenrath, it might be possible.

  My people were well known for our skill on the water. We could sail down the river and attack Kingsworth from the banks of the Suna Kava. Ravenrath’s forces were particularly renowned for the strength of their warriors on land. Between the two of us, we could take Kingsworth from the land as well as the sea in an inescapable vise-like formation that they wouldn’t be able to prepare for.

  I didn’t want to suggest it though. I wanted him to tell me first.

  “You’re a smart woman, Freya. Together, you and I could take Kingsworth in our sleep,” he replied, confirming my suspicions once and for all.

  “You want to secure an alliance with me,” I replied carefully.

  “I do,” he answered.

  But he also wanted me in his bed.

  Cocky motherfucker.

  I drained the rest of my goblet of wine and he grabbed the pitcher this time, filling my glass for me. The importance of the moment wasn’t lost on me. He was an alpha and right now, he was serving me. I nodded in appreciation toward him, trying to weigh the options of what I would do next.

  I knew that Aric had been sent here with the sole purpose of ensuring that my conquest aligned with the needs of the Brotherhood. I also had yet to decide if that was something I wanted for my kingdom.

  I needed time and I also needed to understand everything that would result from a decision of this magnitude. I wasn’t going to decide anything right now.

  “It’s an intriguing proposition, Thranar,” I began. I leaned back and took a sip of the wine that he had poured me, nodding my head in thanks at his thoughtfulness.

  “I had hoped that you would think so,” he smiled. He crossed his arms over his head. He watched me carefully as I thought over his words. I was silent for some time before I began to speak again.

  “I don’t have an answer for you today though. An alliance of this sort should be properly considered before either of us decide to enter into an agreement like this,” I finally replied.

  I cou
ld see a ripple of tension cross his features. His fingers stilled and at once, the air of danger had returned. He wasn’t here just to secure an alliance.

  He wanted to take me and my throne for himself.

  I shifted in my chair, the thin leather holster around my ankle pinching my skin and reminding me of the small dagger I always kept on me in case of danger. I made no movements to retrieve it, but I was thankful that wearing it was a part of my daily routine no matter if I was on the battlefield or safe in my castle.

  I had a feeling that I may find a use for it today.

  I would wait though. I wasn’t going to be the one to draw first blood.

  I leaned forward and took another bite of cheese. Thranar remained motionless and he still hadn’t said anything. It felt like he was a bomb ready to explode at any given moment.

  I decided to try to distract him.

  “I am exceedingly pleased to have your company here, Thranar. I have a number of very good brothels I might suggest if you’d like to spend the night,” I began. His dark irises flicked to mine.

  “I’m not interested in sharing a bed with a beta or an omega, Freya,” he said ominously.

  I’d denied him and now I had the icy feeling that this meeting would soon spin out of control.

  He cleared his throat. I didn’t say a word.

  “Do you know they sing songs about you? About your rise as a warrior and how you killed a king and took the throne for yourself? They sing of your conquests and of your glory,” he began.

  I narrowed my eyes in his direction. He was trying to goad me.

  “Here in Valgertha, yes, they certainly do,” I answered carefully.

  “In my city too,” he growled.

  My inner alpha boldly reared her head. Every ounce of his being was challenging her, and I was having difficulty backing down now. It was me against him, alpha against alpha. My omega was quiet, or at least I thought so at first.

  As the seconds passed, I realized that fiery fury was stronger than ever though, and I came to understand that my omega hadn’t settled down. She’d just merged together with my alpha to make me a formidable and entirely unique force to be reckoned with.