by Zoey Ellis
Moving gingerly, Ria climbed out of bed to examine the windows. Although they were locked, it wasn’t impossible to pick them. The only problem was, it was clear she was on the second or third floor of the building, and she would most certainly hurt herself if she simply jumped from this height without magic. Further, there were no trees to hide among if she did manage to get down there. She needed a plan.
She surveyed the room, but there was nothing that interesting. Her boots had been left by the table, and a large closet was in one of the corners. After finding nothing useful, she returned to the bed.
She didn’t have to wait long for general to return, and when he did, she was shocked to see that he only wore a towel around his waist. He must have bathed too, because the tips of his hair were wet. Even without his clothes and his armor, the general was massive. In fact, he seemed more daunting now that she could see the bulging muscle of his arms, shoulders, and chest. Ria looked over him carefully, trying to pinpoint his age. Initially, she had thought he was a much older alpha, but there was nothing to suggest that from just looking at him. Maybe it was the controlled way he moved or his manner, but there were no obvious signs of age on his face or body. The only thing that told her that he may be older was the sparse strands of silver that streaked through his dark brown hair.
Suddenly she realized he had stopped in the center of the room and was smirking at her as she stared at him. She dragged her eyes away, determined not to give him the satisfaction of her eyes on him.
“Where are you from, little Ria?”
She ignored him, though his deep voice caused a tremble in her stomach. Her stupid body was really starting to annoy her.
“I want to know everything about you. Tell me where in the Lands you were born.”
She kept her head facing away, staring straight ahead, not allowing him to engage her again, even in simple conversation.
The Alpha chuckled. As he moved around the room, Ria found herself curious about what he was doing, but she kept her eyes away.
Finally, he moved to the side of the bed, and she closed her eyes, waiting for him to climb in, but he didn’t. She made her mind up to not even acknowledge him no matter what he did, but when he growled, low and luxurious, there was nothing that could stop her from turning to him.
What she saw sent a shock of carnal hunger through her core. The general stood fully naked, his hard length in hand, rubbing and stroking it as he stared at her. His expression was so fierce, it drew a whimper from her lips. Instantly that familiar desperate need surged through every inch of her. But it wasn’t just the sight of the bulging, weeping head of his cock that caused it, or the flexing of his thighs as he jerked his hips forward to his hand. The general had her panties pressed up to his nose. Ria’s pussy, as sore as it was, clenched as her slick began to gather again.
“Do you still want these back?” His question came out as a harsh growl as he worked his cock faster.
Ria tried to drag her eyes away, but couldn’t, and in her rapture, she forgot she wasn’t supposed to be talking to him. “I thought they were evidence.”
The intensity of his eyes heightened. “They are. Evidence that your pussy smells gorgeous.”
The heat that rushed to her face flustered her, and although she opened her mouth, nothing came out. She squeezed her legs again, wincing at the pain between them while his scent drifted into her nose. That needy part of her was flourishing, raw, consuming desire threatening to take over again, but she couldn’t let it win.
Forcing herself to look away, she attempted to ignore him, but the firm, wet strokes of his cock, aided by his fluids, drew her eyes back.
His length was massive. How had that fit inside her? Going by how sore she was, it barely did, but she couldn’t deny how incredible it felt. The more he stroked, twisting his wrist every time he reached the tip, the deeper the craving within her burned, making her mouth water. When she licked her lips, the general snarled, moving closer as he sped up, and soon he was dragging the bedsheets off her, rumbling in satisfaction at the sight her body.
Ria told herself to get up, to move away from him, but those thoughts disintegrated when he grabbed her throat. She immediately went limp, and a beam of calm satisfaction and pleasure soothed away all confusion. This didn’t need to be that difficult. It was clear what the Alpha wanted, and she wanted it too, didn’t she? She blinked. No.
As the Alpha climbed over her, trapping her between his thick thighs, she served him with the best glare she could manage. He growled and moved his hand from her neck to spray her with his seed. Streams of the warm fluid coated her neck, chin, and chest, and as he continued to stroke, he saved the last spurt for her mouth.
Ria couldn’t help but lick the pungent fluid from her lips, savoring the taste of him. Something about his seed covering and marking her settled her just as much as his hand around her neck. When he lowered down and pushed his dripping cock between her lips, she automatically sucked the tip eagerly, draining him of every last drop, before realizing what she was doing.
“I won’t bathe my scent off you again,” he said, almost to himself.
With those words, Ria finally came to her senses. “I will,” she said sharply, pulling her head away from him. “I am not walking around stinking of you, Alpha.”
A strange look jumped into his eyes, but he said nothing. Climbing off her, he walked to the table and dragged the chair over to the bed.
“Tell me who you are,” he said, lowering to the chair.
Ria said nothing. Pulling the bedsheets over her to cover her nakedness, she leaned back in the bed and fixed her eyes on the ceiling.
“What is your family name?”
Silence.
“I told you, I can keep you here as long as it takes, little Ria.” Why did he always sound like he was goading her? And why did he always sound so sexy while he was doing it?
She pursed her lips. “Where is here?”
“My home.”
At that, her eyes snapped to his, and she frowned. “This is your home? I thought you were taking me to your base?”
His eyes flicked over her face. “You earned the right to my bed.”
Ria swallowed. Had the dark grey of his eyes always been so pretty? Ignoring the flutter in her stomach, she returned her gaze to the ceiling.
“It’s clear you went to the mountains for something.” He hesitated. “What was it?”
“Nothing you can give me.”
“I am the general who runs this territory. I trade with all the other territories and have direct communication with Lox Palace. If you want something, I will get it.”
Ria slowly leaned up on an elbow. “What I need is for you to let me go. You have no right to detain me.”
“I have the right to do whatever I want with trespassers.”
“Like fuck them on the floor of old stables?” she shot at him.
He shot off the chair toward her, anger flashing in his eyes as he leaned over her. “Yes,” he ground out. “Like fuck them until they are wet, and begging, and filthy with my sweat and come.” His eyes roamed her face. “You are the first trespasser to have had that honor.”
The strength of his voice rebounded through her, as though the vibration was seeking out something that could only be found deep within her core. “I wasn’t trespassing.”
“You were not invited to the Ariyon mountains,” the general pointed out. “The treaty forbids it.”
Ria kept her mouth shut. He didn’t need to kn
ow why she went there or that she wasn’t going to stop returning there until she got the information she wanted.
“You’re going to tell me eventually,” the general said, his voice low as he leaned farther toward her. “Whether it be while you are calm and clearheaded, or when you are clenching around me and out of your mind for my come, it will happen, little challenger. It’s just a matter of time.”
Roiling anger burst into Ria’s stomach. “You Lox Alphas are so arrogant! You think that you are owed everything you can touch, when all you have done is take take take from everyone else. You will not get anything from me!”
The general frowned as he straightened. “Why are you so against the Lox? Things have been better for the Eastern Lands since we have claimed it.”
Ria’s mouth dropped open, and then she laughed. “You truly believe that? Are you new to this job?”
The general growled, his eyes flashing.
Ria’s body reacted, the sound causing a pleasurable wave that lingered between her legs.
“I have been a general for years,” he growled. “And I have seen positive changes in this Land since the Lox has taken over. It is much more pleasant now than how it was with all different territories arguing and fighting. Things are unified now that Emperor Drocco is in charge.”
“That is not what I witnessed,” Ria muttered.
“What do you mean?”
She looked up at him. “I witnessed people fearful and afraid. I witnessed rebellions and protests. And I witnessed the emperor dealing with all of that in a violent and unforgiving way. In Vamore, babies were trampled as crowds ran from Lox warriors; in Raydelmore, merchants were killed for not acknowledging Lox taxes, and in Grence furniture merchants killed themselves rather than give a family member’s life to show their loyalty.”
“That was before!” The general stared at her in disbelief. “That was when he first took over. All people need time to adjust to change. There has been none of that in recent months.”
“Only because of the empress,” Ria argued. “The empress has calmed things, not the emperor.”
The general’s eyes narrowed. “What is your point?”
“My point is that you give him more credit than he is due. He has not been the one to unite lands.”
“They are as one, the emperor and empress. One cannot be without the other.” He eyed her. “So you agree then that the Lands have been united?”
Ria started, her body jerking as she frowned up at him. “No.”
“How do you know what went on in these different cities anyway,” the general said, suspicion in his tone. “You traveled to all of these places?”
Ria didn’t answer.
“How is it that you have traveled across the empire so extensively? I haven’t known anyone to do that unless they were some kind of diplomat or traveling merchant.” He moved around the bed, suspicion in his gaze. “Is that what you do?”
Ria’s gaze didn’t waver. She debated whether to lie, but she fell back on her training, even though she didn’t want to. “If you want information from me, you must be prepared to give it.”
That hard look of wariness she’d first noticed about the general, reentered his eyes. She hadn’t even noticed when it had disappeared. He lowered to the chair again, observing her carefully. “What information do you want?”
Ria held his gaze. “What are the details of the treaty you have with the mountain people?” If she could find out more about this treaty, then maybe she would have better success talking to them when she returned.
The general watched her for a long moment before making his decision. “Of all the people in the empire, the mountain people of Ariyon have been most difficult to align to Lox principles.”
“I thought the Lox would just storm in and kill them,” Ria remarked, dryly. “Isn’t that what you normally do?”
The general growled. “The mountains are strategically problematic to overcome in battle. It wasn’t impossible to do, but my commander wanted to maintain the beauty of the mountains, not destroy it. If we had stormed it, there was no guarantee it would be the same afterward. It is a much-loved phenomenon that can, at some times of the year, be seen across the entire East area of the Lands. Its desecration would be a constant negative reminder of the Lox.”
Ria tilted her head. “Clever. I did not expect strategic thinking from the Lox.”
Thorec clenched his jaw at her words, but continued. “The decision was to try to create some kind of agreement with the mountain people. I discovered they don’t actually have a problem with the Lox itself, they just want to be left alone. When the Lox took siege of the Eastern Lands, many people tried to find an escape in their mountains and took advantage of them. That disruption was detrimental to their livelihood. They wanted us to remove people who didn’t belong there so they could continue living their lives as normal. That became the basis of the treaty. We would help them to maintain their privacy as long as they did not intentionally do anything to destroy the phenomenon of the mountains.”
Ria snorted. “And you believe that the mountain people have the power to interfere with the beauty of the mountains?”
The general shrugged. “They have proved that they can dim its color-changing effects. I don’t know how they do it, but they do have some power over how brightly the mountains shine. It would be foolish of us to not take them seriously, especially when we have no objection to what they want or the life they want to live.”
Ria nodded slowly. That made sense, although it seemed far too reasonable for the Lox.
“Now tell me where you are from?” the general said, evenly.
“I’m not from anywhere.”
The general’s eyes narrowed. “Do not try to take me for a fool, little challenger. Where are you from?”
“I don’t have a home,” Ria insisted.
The general frowned and leaned forward on his knees. “How can that be? Everyone has somewhere that they grew up, somewhere they identify with.”
“I do not have such a place. I travel, I wander, I observe.” She shrugged. “And I live. I have another question for you.”
“You haven’t given me an answer yet,” he growled.
“I have. Just because it’s not the answer you want, doesn’t mean it’s not an answer, Alpha.”
Thorec shot forward again, but this time he climbed over her again and grabbed her jaw, just like he’d done on horseback. “Thorec. General Thorec,” he snarled slowly. “That is my name. Say it.”
“General Thorec,” she said, through gritted teeth. “It doesn’t change that you are an Alpha.”
That strange look appeared in his eyes again. “I am your Alpha. You will call me by my name.”
Ria blinked. Her Alpha? She watched him as he removed his hand from her jaw. Did he think just because he took her on the floor of some dirty barn that he owned her now? She exhaled slowly, refocusing her mind. Ultimately, it didn’t matter. She would take what she needed from him, just like he did from her. “One more question, General Thorec,” she said.
He dipped his head in a nod, but this time he lay on his side next to her. For some reason, it unnerved her that he was so close but not touching her. “Go ahead,” he said.
“Not all Alphas are members of the Lox,” she began.
“True.” His eyes were soft and ran over her body in slow, smooth strokes.
She tried to ignore the way he wa
s looking at her. “Why would an Alpha want to join?”
“Why wouldn’t an Alpha want to join?” the general countered. “The Lox upholds many of the standards that are important to Alphas and keeps us focused, structured and ordered. It is like a brotherhood.”
Ria tilted her head up to him, curious. “So it stops you from being so wild?”
“For some Alphas, yes. Being part of an army helps you to learn discipline, to have an outlet for our wild nature as well as able to better ourselves in ways that we didn’t always have the opportunity to before the Lox existed.”
That was interesting. “Is that why you joined?”
A hint of a smile graced the general’s lips, and suddenly Ria wondered what a full smile would look like on his lips. “I was a wild Alpha when I was younger, yes. But mostly it was pent-up energy and frustration. Once I learned to direct that into my training, things changed.”
Ria ran her eyes over his face, noticing the scratches on his jaw she’d inflicted. “How old are you?”
“Forty-seven,” he responded.
Ria nodded. That seemed right. “Don’t you want to know how old I am?”
The Alpha rumbled out a chuckle. “You’re old enough.” Tucking a thick arm around her torso, he scooped her into his body and settled her against him. “It doesn’t make a difference.”
Ria tried not to get too comfortable in his arms, but his skin against hers was a comfort she hadn’t expected to enjoy, especially with pains still so strong. “You bruised me.”
“And you marked me,” he responded, forcing her eyes back to the scratches on his face. “We have battled. It is expected.”
“Battled? Is that what you call it?”
He tilted his head. “Yes. What would you call it?”
Ria squinted at him, raising a brow. “You forcing me to—”
“No,” he said sternly. “You attacked me so I would fuck you how you needed. You set your expectation and demanded it with brute force when I didn’t comply, little Ria.”