Kept by Seduction

by Jaymie Holland

  She wanted to go out and bask in the sunshine, feeling it warm her white fur, but could only see the light in these few stolen moments. Soon the darkness would come for her. The evil she could not escape. Would never escape.

  Awai shivered and her fur rippled with the motion.

  The darkness came faster than she expected. Sunshine vanished.

  Evil flung her through a black void. Fear caused her heart to hammer, and she roared and clawed at the air, as if she could tear herself away.

  Her paws met smooth stone as she landed in a crouch, her tail twitching as she struggled for some kind of control. With her keen night vision, she saw that she stood at the end of a long, black tunnel. A hint of light stole in through a crack. It was so far away…so far it was nothing more than a nail head of sunshine that could not penetrate more than a fraction of the blackness in front of it.

  Something was coming for Awai. It always came for her. She had to leave.

  She bunched her muscles, ready to bolt down the tunnel toward the tiny hope the light gave her. She sprang forward.

  Icy hands grabbed her and slammed her down. Countless hands drove her to the tunnel floor.

  She struggled, her muscles burning as she tried to regain her footing. The hands were too strong, thwarting her every attempt to escape.

  She floundered and a scream of rage, fear, and pain tore from her in a strangled roar as she clawed and snapped her powerful jaws at the emptiness around her.

  Yet she felt them. Felt the many hands as they subdued her, taking away her ability to move.

  The evil was too great to overcome, and her muscles went limp as she realized she could do nothing to free herself.

  In her fear and agony, she cast about, her mind searching for an ally, someone who could help. If she could be saved, she could help save the others.

  She grasped at thin air in her search for someone to aid her. All she found was emptiness and the doubling of the evil holding her fast.

  Somewhere in the distance, she heard the evil laughter that had tortured her mind for so long. The pain was as if a vice clamped both sides of her skull, pressing ever more tightly until she thought her head might explode.

  A feeling of hopelessness grasped her heart. She would never escape. She would never be free again.

  Awai woke with a gasp and the book she’d been holding slipped from her hands and hit the floor with a hard thump.

  She cast about for her whip as she struggled to clear her mind. Of course the whip was back on the stand beside the bed, where it had lain unused for the past two days. She clenched her fists, unable to break free of the bonds on her wrists. She didn’t know why her first instinct had been to go for the whip when she knew she wouldn’t be able to use it even if she needed it.

  Her breathing came so hard and fast she thought she might hyperventilate. She put her head between her knees and fought to take deep, even breaths.

  She’d been having regular nightmares about the white tiger, but this was the first time she had been the tiger. It was also the first time she had found herself in a dark tunnel only to be captured by evil she could not escape from.

  When Awai regained control, she straightened. She was fine. It had only been a nightmare, which was strange since it was daytime.

  She leaned to the side of the chair and hefted the heavy book she had dropped. “It must be these history books getting to me.” She held the book in her bound hands and got up to put the book away. When she reached the bookcase, her bonds relaxed enough to allow her the movement necessary to return the history book to the shelf. As soon as she finished, her bonds tightened again and she dropped them in front of her.

  “Okay, I’ve learned my lesson.” She muttered the words and groaned. “Now come and get me, Majesty.”

  The doors opened, startling her. Her gaze shot toward them, hoping it was Ty. She tried not to show her disappointment when she saw that it was the Sorceress Kalina instead. She wore a black robe, her dark hair falling around her shoulders, her eyes rimmed with kohl, and the red shadow glittering on her lids. She was stunning as always.

  Kalina smiled and flicked her fingers. Awai’s bonds fell away. A burst of relief flowed through her.

  The sorceress gave a small bow. “You are free to roam the palace now.”

  “Thank god.” Awai massaged her wrists. The ropes had never been tight enough to hurt her, but it felt good to know that she was free now.

  Kalina watched as Awai grabbed a robe out of the wardrobe and slipped it on, tying it snugly at her waist. “Can I go anywhere I want?”

  With a nod, Kalina said, “As long as you stay within the palace grounds.”

  Awai smiled and didn’t wait, her nightmare fading into nothingness. Maybe if she found Ty, he’d jump her now, she thought as she headed out the double doors.

  Her smile turned into a small frown. No, likely he had a lot more teasing and torture in mind for her before he took her the way she desperately wanted him to.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  TY STOOD IN THE SORCERESS’S CHAMBERS, his hands behind his back, his gaze focused on Kalina. He had given Kalina permission to free Awai and allow her to leave her bedchamber.

  Now the sorceress met with Ty in her own chambers.

  Kalina stood before the glowing a’bin, the table she used to predict the future of Tarok. She pushed the long fall of hair over her shoulder, her fire-ice eyes studying the cards upon the table. These cards she had always used to tell the futures of Tarok and its four kingdoms, but on this day she had called him because the cards told a tale that she found both confusing and unnerving.

  While he waited for the sorceress to interpret the cards, he glanced in the direction of the lone window shrouded by heavy drapes. Kalina preferred her chambers to have little light, save for countless candles perched upon every surface in the room. The smells of burning tallow, herbs, and perfumes filled the chamber. Amidst the plethora of scents, his keen weretiger senses caught her honeysuckle perfume, a scent that used to enhance his lust for the beautiful sorceress.

  Now that he had found his mate, no one but Awai would ever do for him again. He had no desire to look at any other woman. She was already ingrained in his heart and soul.

  He returned his gaze to Kalina, but her brows furrowed in concentration and perhaps frustration, too. He moved to the window, his steps heavy in the silence. He pulled back the drape and smiled when he saw Awai seated by the pond, feeding the large, colorful fish with pellets of food provided by the gamekeeper. She looked so beautiful as she sat near the water, her hair a shimmer of dark silk over her shoulders, her black robes clinging to her lovely figure. He had missed her more than he wanted to admit, and it had taken all he had not to go to her since he had left her in her chambers.

  “Majesty,” came Kalina’s musical but subdued voice, drawing him from his view of Awai. He let the drapes fall against the window with a soft swish as he turned to the sorceress.

  He stepped closer to the glowing a’bin. “What is it you read in the cards?”

  She frowned, her forehead creasing as she gave another glance to the three rows of nine cards. “I see that our kingdom is in danger, but the cards are not telling me what that danger is.” Her eyes grew distant. “A dark force has held a weretiger in its clutches for many years, and it is still imprisoned. Male or female, I do not know.”

  Ty frowned. “You have no idea who this weretiger may be?”

  “No.” Kalina raised her gaze to meet Ty’s. “Perhaps your sister captured one of our people long ago. Mikaela may yet be alive and continues to hold the weretiger as her captive.”

  He shook his head. “I have seen the cliff where she met her doom. It would be impossible to survive such a fall.” Even though his sister had turned to evil, he couldn’t help but feel sorrow for the Mikaela he had grown up with and loved. “Her body was surely washed out to sea.”

  “You and your brothers are no doubt right, Majesty.” Kalina’s lips pursed as she glanced ag
ain to the cards. “Since you believe that is the case, then we face a new threat.” She glanced back to Ty. “This force is more powerful, and far more evil than Mikaela.”

  Shock nearly sent him reeling. A force darker than his sister?

  He controlled his emotions as he studied the sorceress for a long moment. He gave a slow nod. “I will send word to my brothers and I will reinforce our own borders.”

  Even though he wanted to go to his mate, the safety of his kingdom and his people came before desire.

  He sent messengers to his brothers with the sorceress’s news. All four kings would not be able to bring their mates to Clubs to see Awai until they were certain their borders were safe.

  When he finished the task of sending out the messengers, Ty strode through the palace to the training yard where he knew his captain was working with new warriors.

  Ty’s mind churned over all the possibilities of the threat they faced. Could Mikaela have survived the fall? Kalina had not seemed convinced that was true. Surely the jagged rocks below the cliff near Karn’s Diamond Hall would have shattered their sister’s body.

  Despite the evil Mikaela had wrought upon all of Tarok, Ty could not accept her death. A part of him—that part who had loved his sister—hoped she had survived, even as he knew they were better off without her sorcery and the bakirs.

  On the other hand, he hoped the four kingdoms could return to normal and their women would once again bear children.

  Sadly, the two hopes could not be reconciled.

  If there were a way, if my sister yet lived and I could save her essence from the dark being she became, I would sacrifice almost everything to do just that. I know Karn would do the same. Darronn is angrier, but no less loyal to the Mikaela we loved.

  Jarronn, however… I do not know if Jarronn has it in him to forgive our sister’s many wrongs.

  In the messages he had sent out, Ty had not shared his thoughts about Mikaela with his brothers. It was better each brother formed his own beliefs, for together they would likely cover all possibilities.

  Ty paused when he reached the training yard to watch his captain sword-fighting with one of the newer recruits. The clang of metal upon metal rang through the air along with the curses and taunting of the captain as he jabbed at the trainee. The young man met each of the captain’s blows with the skill of long practice and Ty smiled.

  His mind once again returned to Mikaela, as if the sorceress’s words had bewitched him. If Mikaela had died, why then was the curse not broken? His brothers’ mates had all borne children, but no other women in the four kingdoms had become pregnant since Mikaela’s death.

  He knew the truth of it, as he had told Awai. Both the bakirs and Mikaela’s mind-spells had permanently damaged the minds of all of Tarok’s women, keeping them from conceiving.

  Yet can Mikaela be alive, after all?

  Questions and perceived answers continued to torture his mind and he fought to clear them away. No good would come from dwelling on it as he was now.

  He sucked in a deep breath before blowing it out. He strode to his captain, who had just unarmed the trainee.

  After speaking with his captain at length, and ensuring the kingdom would be well guarded from the threat Kalina now believed existed, Ty went in search of Awai. He shifted into a tiger and bounded toward the palace. He paused at the doors and scented the air. Yes, his mate had returned from outside.

  With his magic he shoved open the doors and loped through, and then the doors slammed shut behind him. His paws made no sound upon the marble tiles while he followed the scent of his woman’s musk to his private refuge, a hidden room he had never taken her to.

  He eased into the room, his muscles rippling beneath his black-and-white striped coat, his eyes focused on the beautiful woman before him. The chamber was filled with family treasures, personal belongings, many of which he had had since he was a cub.

  Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, highlighting Awai’s dark hair. She had her hand at her throat as she studied the oil paintings of his family that his mother painted before she passed away. He caught the scent of fresh air and Awai’s sweet perfume.

  She reached out and touched the nameplate at the bottom of his sister’s portrait. “Mikaela,” she whispered to herself.

  A low rumble startled Awai, the sound sending a trickle of fear down her spine. She whirled to see a tiger watching her. Ty. Would he be angry she had come to this place?

  “Don’t scare me like that.” She moved her hand to her chest, her heart pounding like mad. It was still unnerving to suddenly see a tiger beside her. “Please, Majesty,” she added, not wanting to add to her list of punishments.

  It was an amazing sight to see him shift from tiger to man. Before her eyes he transformed, rising up on his hind legs as fur turned into skin and leather clothing, fierce tiger features giving way to a masculine face and long white-blond hair. In just moments he was the powerful man who had brought her into this world.

  “I see you have found my sanctuary.” His expression remained impassive, not giving her any indication of how he felt about her stumbling upon this private room.

  “Majesty, may I ask questions of you?” Awai straightened. “Can we drop formalities for now?”

  He gave a slow nod. “Yes.”

  “I read more about your sister in your history books.” Awai gestured toward the portrait labeled Mikaela. “The last book I found ended shortly after it was discovered she was behind the mind-spells. It did not explain how the sorcery worked or what has happened since. I know only what you’ve told me.”

  Ty looked at Awai for a long moment. “Mikaela and her bakirs invaded our women’s dreams to make them believe they are infertile.” He held his hands behind his back, turning to look at the portrait. “When my brothers brought their mates to our world, she attacked, tried to harm each of the women.”

  Horror swept through Awai and her eyes widened as she realized he was talking about her nieces. “Did she hurt them?”

  His gaze moved to hers and his eyes softened. “They were each injured, but not badly. You should be proud to know that your kin are brave women.”

  Awai’s mind whirled at the thought of Annie, Alice, and Alexi being in that kind of danger.

  “We have been certain Mikaela is dead,” but Ty’s mind still questioned it. “As I told you, when she tried to harm Annie, Abra attacked our sister. Shortly after Mikaela fell from the cliff to the rocks below. Her body would have been smashed. When Karn searched for her, her body was gone, certainly swept out to sea.”

  Awai looked the portrait of the beautiful woman with laughter in her blue eyes. It was so difficult to imagine her as evil and capable of harming anyone. “Do you still believe she is dead?”

  A low rumble rose up in Ty’s chest and she recognized it as frustration mingled with anger. “The sorceress believes we are in danger once again. She cannot discern if Mikaela survived, or if it is another dark force. We must be prepared whatever the case.”

  Awai’s heart pounded faster. “If Mikaela is still alive, or some other dark force is out there, are my nieces in danger?”

  Ty turned to Awai and brought her into his embrace. He smelled wonderful, and it felt so good to be in his arms. “My brothers will never allow harm to come to their mates. And I will never allow anyone or anything to hurt you.”

  She cocked a brow at him. “Don’t worry. I’m not helpless.”

  Warmth filled Ty’s chest at the words of his brave future mate. He took her by the hand and they walked through the palace, outdoors, and into the warm sunshine.

  He enjoyed the feel of her small hand in his, her lithe body brushing against him. He needed to reestablish protocol, but he also wanted her to have something familiar to do, a part of her prior life, that would give her a sense of comfort.

  They reached the cherry grove. Ty faced her. “Time for questions is over, and you must refer to me as Majesty.”

  Awai nodded and straightened her
stance. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  He held out his palm and with his magic called forth her whip and it appeared in his palm.

  Her eyes widened. When he handed it to her a surprised expression crossed her face, but she took it without question.

  He folded his arms across his chest. “I would like a demonstration of your skill with the whip.”

  Awai smiled as she grasped the leather handle. “Yes, Majesty.”

  They spent the next hour with Awai displaying her talent and even teaching Ty a thing or two. He produced objects that she would snatch from his hand with a crack of her whip, the leather never touching him. In his lifetime, he had not seen anyone so adept at handling a whip, save for his sister, Mikaela.

  By the time they finished, Awai was laughing, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks flushed. He brought her close and her laughter faded as she stared at him. The whip curled around their legs as if it had a mind of its own.

  “You are precious.” He brushed his lips over hers. “So very precious. Keep up your skills with your chosen weapon at least an hour per day, without fail.”

  “Yes, Majesty,” she murmured, and he could not help but kiss her again.

  ~~*~~

  That evening, Awai waited for Ty inside the dungeon, her back to the doors, her hands behind her, and her stance wide. She was dressed in another miniscule white leather outfit. It had a tiny skirt and her chest was covered by a kind of strapless leather top, only there were holes where her breasts were, showing them to their full advantage. Her breasts were high and firm and the golden clubs dangled from her engorged nipples.

  This time Kalina had massaged warm almond-scented oil into Awai’s flesh after waxing her mound. Awai had always enjoyed how it felt after being waxed, her skin soft and silky, and she knew that Ty loved it, too.

  She shivered with anticipation as she waited for him. Likely he was taking his time, allowing her imagination to run wild, wondering what he would do to her. She was surprised at just how much she enjoyed her role as his slave, and how much she was looking forward to him coming for her now.