Hired for Heat (The Hired Series Book 1)

by Leann Ryans

  Going limp so he could get it done faster and hopefully not cause more pain, she barely had the energy to be surprised when he paused, pulling her closer to sniff at her hair. Unable to do anything more than shiver, she didn’t resist as he pulled her against him and nuzzled her throat, licking over the pulse in her neck.

  At the point where she was oblivious to anything but the warmth of his body, she snuggled closer to him as he lifted her into his arms and strode back towards the village, his musky scent wrapping around her and telling her omega side that she was safe.

  2.

  The first thing she noticed when she came to, was warmth. It wrapped gentle fingers around her body and whispered that everything was okay. That it was all a bad dream. But as her other senses kicked in, she noticed that nothing smelled right, and she could hear male voices nearby. If she was at home in her bed, the blankets would smell like her instead of the seductive cinnamon-sugar scent of an alpha, and she shouldn’t have been able to hear voices from her second-floor room in the back of her house.

  Sitting up with a pained cry, the blankets fell to her lap, revealing that she was bare beneath them except for a bandage around her shoulder. With a gasp, she quickly yanked the blanket back up to cover her chest, eyes darting around to be sure she was alone. She had never slept bare, and had no memory explaining why she was now.

  Her movements caused her injury to throb, and when she reached over, her fingers encountered a thick pad on both the front and the back. Remembering the alpha with the arrow, she scrambled out of the bed and looked around frantically for her clothes.

  Finding the tattered remains tossed in a corner, a keening cry escaped her throat. He had obviously been one of the raiders, and she had no idea what he planned to do with her but waking up naked in a bed that smelled of him didn’t bode well.

  Eyes frantically searching, she spotted a clothes chest in a corner of the room and darted over to it, clasping the blanket around her with her good arm. Dropping to her knees before it, she couldn’t stop the tears of frustration when she found it locked. Letting out a little growl, she yanked on the lid, hoping her small amount of strength would be enough to force the chest to open.

  Noise at the door had her scrambling back into the farthest corner, abandoning the chest and clutching the blanket tighter around her as if it was some form of protection. Holding her breath and hoping to somehow not be noticed, she waited as the door swung open and the alpha from the night before stepped into the room.

  His shoulders were so broad he could barely fit through the opening, and if he were any taller, he would have had to duck so as not to hit his head. Wild, dark hair framed a rugged face that under other circumstances she would have found handsome, but as he turned to search the room after not finding her in the bed, simply inspired fear.

  Even holding completely still, it only took him a moment to find her, her heart thundering so loud in her ears that she couldn’t hear his steps as he moved closer. The way he stared at her reminded her of a cougar she had seen hunting a deer once, but she wasn’t lucky enough to be oblivious to the predator stalking closer. She was well aware of being the prey.

  Whimpers spilled, unbidden, from her throat as he approached, never breaking eye contact with her. The closer he came, the more details she could make out about him. The eyes penetrating her were a rich chocolate brown, and black stubble graced his square jaw except for a thin scar starting next to his mouth and stretching over his jaw to below his ear.

  The intensity of his gaze became too much for her and she ducked her chin to the side, pressing back further against the wall until her wound bumped against it, causing her to let out a gasp of pain. Cringing as he closed the last few steps between them, she didn’t dare look up when his feet stopped before her.

  A few tense moments passed before she saw him crouch down out of the corner of her eye. She flinched away from the hand that reached for her, and he let out a low growl, causing a shudder to pass through her body.

  “Please, don’t,” she whispered in a broken voice.

  A string of words that she didn’t understand left him and she raised her watery eyes to meet his. Giving her head a small shake, she said, “I…I don’t understand.”

  Letting out a huff, his eyes narrowed, and she tried to sink further into herself.

  “You’re injured. I need to check it,” he responded gruffly. His voice reminded her of thunder rumbling in the distance, and another shudder passed through her.

  Narrowing her eyes back at him, she stiffened her spine as she responded. “I’m injured because you shot me!”

  Her voice came out with more force this time, but he simply gave her a shrug with a bland look on his face. Like shooting someone floating down a river and pulling them in after attacking their village was an everyday occurrence. For him, maybe it was.

  When he reached for her again, she bared her teeth and swatted his hand away. A fierce growl ripped from him, freezing her in primal fear as he rose to his feet and yanked her up by her good arm. With a wail, she was thrown over his shoulder, barely holding the sheet around her with her injured arm. Turning, he stalked to the bed and tossed her down on it. The look in his eye had ice flowing through her veins and she attempted to roll off the bed away from him.

  A hand wrapped around the back of her knee, stopping her motion, before his weight settled over the back of her legs. She screamed and attempted to wiggle away, but he caught her wrists, pulling them behind her back and wrenching a pained cry from her at the abuse to her shoulder.

  Taking both of her wrists in one of his massive hands, he buried the other in her tangled hair and jerked her head to the side. Growl still rumbling from his chest, he leaned over her back until she could feel his warm breath gusting over the side of her neck.

  Evidence of his arousal at subduing her prodded her backside and she froze, breaths coming in short, quick gasps that did little to meet her need for oxygen. When his tongue slid over the top of her shoulder up to her ear, a whine escaped her throat.

  “Do not move,” the alpha commanded.

  Whimpering, she did as he said, not attempting to fight or get away as he slowly released her hair, and then repositioned her arms so that they were stretched out to each side of her. When she remained still, he sat up, still kneeling over her thighs.

  Feeling his weight shift to the side, she could see him reaching for bandages on the table beside the bed that she hadn’t noticed before. She was surprised at how gentle his fingers were as he removed the one stuck to her back. The slight chill of air flowing over wet skin once he removed it let her know that there was fresh blood.

  He was obviously trying to be careful, but she still hissed in pain when he blotted at the wound to clean it before dressing it again. He continued what he was doing as she tried to force herself not to flinch away from him.

  3.

  It wasn’t long before he was smoothing a fresh bandage over her wound and she let out a sigh of relief. There was still a deep throbbing through her shoulder, but at least it no longer felt like a brand was being drawn over her skin.

  “The arrow passed through cleanly. There are stitches on both sides so you will need to be careful with the arm to prevent tearing,” he told her as he finally slid off her thighs to dispose of the dirty dressings.

  She gave a small nod but otherwise remained exactly as he had placed her.

  Raising an eyebrow, he said, “You may move now, but do not fight me.”

  Nodding again, she carefully moved to sit up, being sure to keep herself covered with the blanket and not move the injured shoulder too much. Unsure of what to do, she remained sitting on the edge of the bed looking down at the Alpha’s feet.

  “I’m sure you are in pain, yes?”

  Looking up, she gave another nod. Moving to the door, he opened it and motioned for her to follow him out. Snorting at the surprise he must have seen on her face, he moved through the door and out of sight, leaving the door open behind him.
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  It took a moment for her to get up and follow him. Peering through the doorway, she saw a large open space that was obviously the living area of the home. A huge fireplace in the same wall as the doorway she was standing in did double duty to warm the home and serve as a place to cook as well. Another door on the opposite wall was closed, but she assumed it was the way out. A kitchen area with a table and chairs took up the left side of the room, while the right contained two large, well-worn chairs.

  The alpha had his back to her, dipping something out of a pot sitting on the hearth into a mug. Eyeing the door on the other side of the room, she wondered if she could make it outside before he caught her.

  He didn’t even turn to look at her when he said, “Even if me or my men didn’t catch you, you will freeze before you make it to the next home.”

  Walking towards her, she ducked her head, but he only thrust the mug into her stomach.

  “Drink,” he ordered.

  Bringing the mug to her lips, she sniffed it before taking a cautious sip. Chugging the rest of the mead, the sweet flavor of honey flooded her taste buds.

  “That was very good,” she told the alpha as he took the mug back from her. “Thank you.”

  His only response was a grunt before he turned back to the hearth and poured more into the mug. Handing it back to her he said, “Slow.”

  When her hands reached for it eagerly, he pulled the mug back out of her reach while giving her a stern look.

  “Yes. Okay, I’ll drink it slow,” she said, and he finally let her have it back.

  Taking another sip before finally moving out of the bedroom doorway, she followed behind the alpha as he went over to the table. Pulling out a chair, he motioned for her to sit. Taking a bowl off of the counter beside him, he sat it at the spot he wanted her to take and moved to the other side with a second bowl.

  Stretching her neck forward to peek at the contents, she sat cautiously on the edge of the chair. Seemingly ignoring her, the alpha dug into his own bowl of what looked like some kind of stew. Sitting the mug on the table next to her portion, she lifted a spoonful towards her mouth, surreptitiously licking a bit of the sauce from the edge of the spoon. Though slightly bland, her stomach demanded that she stop wasting time and eat it.

  Curious at how hungry she felt even though she had eaten dinner just before the raid had hit her village, she decided to try and get some information from her captor.

  “How long was I sleeping?”

  Not bothering to look up at her, he responded, “Around eighteen hours.”

  Gasping, she almost dropped the spoon. His dark eyes glance up at her before returning to his bowl.

  “You were exhausted and injured. Your body needed rest. It still does,” he said.

  Swallowing hard, she looked down at her own bowl. “And, where are we?” she asked quietly.

  She thought he was just going to ignore her question this time because he didn’t respond right away. Finally, he sat back and wiped his mouth with one large hand.

  “We are in a home on the border of your land where we stayed on our way to your village. My men are camped outside, and in the morning, we will return to our home.”

  Picking up her mug, she took a large gulp of the mead before asking her next question.

  “And what is going to happen to me?”

  The look he leveled at her said she should already know the answer to that. And in her heart, she did, she was just hoping he would tell her something different. Getting up, he made is way around the table. She pressed herself back into the chair as he got closer, knuckles turning white as she gripped the mug before her chest like a shield.

  Leaning down before her, he placed his hands on the chair on each side of her and stared into her eyes. “Let me make it clear. You belong to me. I captured you, and as soon as you go into heat, I will claim you. My teeth will pierce that milky skin covering your neck as my knot locks deep in your cunt. You will take my cock whenever I want you to and be grateful that I let you live. I destroyed your village, so there is nothing for you to go back to. Nowhere for you to run that I can’t follow and find you. Anyone who helps you will die by my hand right before your eyes, so be careful that your actions do not cause unnecessary deaths.”

  She stared at him in shock, mouth gaping open. No one had ever been so crude to her, and to casually mention that he would kill someone just for helping her left her speechless, but a slow anger began to burn within. Closing her mouth as he smirked down at her, she straightened herself in her seat.

  “I belong to no one. You’re a murderer. I will never be grateful to you for destroying my life. I may not be able to stop you from doing what you want to with me, but I will never just give in to you. I will fight you every step of the way.”

  Coming July/August 2019