by K. A Knight
Dray snorts, smacks him on the back, and grins at me as he slips past to see his wife. I shake my head and look to the others. “Come on, I need to nap.”
Jago starts to grin, and I point at him in warning. “I mean it, nap, no funny business. Keep little beast to yourself, and I don’t mean our new son, but your wang-a-dang.” They all start laughing, so with as much dignity as I can muster, I turn and storm away, my head held high.
I don’t know if I won that little argument, but I definitely had the most style.
“Motherfucker, it’s too hot for this shit. My thighs are sweaty and rubbing together,” I grumble as I unstick them and do a little waddle to try and stop the chafing. “Bloody thick thighs betraying me.”
Worth laughs as we wander around the complex of The Ring. Mother, or Clarissa, as she is called, walks alongside us silently. She throws me confused looks every once in a while, as if she doesn’t know what to make of me.
I try to rein in the crazy as much as I can, I really do, but honestly, I don’t know what is considered too much anymore. I’m used to speaking my mind, to never filtering my thoughts or actions, especially around Worth and my men. I must have gotten into bad habits, and they just end up slipping free.
When I make a comment about Worth’s boobs, Clarissa surprises me by bursting into laughter. I blink at her in astonishment. I thought she hated me, but the more we walk, the more she warms up to me, and I realise she’s just guarded. She’s survived a lot and has had a ton of people lean on her. It made her strong, but with that came the struggle to trust and let people in.
I guess all three of us are the same.
“So you are a pascha?” she asks as we wander. The Ring is silent this early in the morning. I left my men sleeping, not even Archel stirred for once. “What does that mean?”
“Badass.” I shrug. “I think it means I lead them, but honestly, I couldn’t understand it. I just nodded and went along with it not to be rude.”
“Don’t let her fool you.” Worth laughs. “She leads The Forgotten, The Lost, and now The Damned. She might seem easygoing, but under all those jokes is a true warrior, even better than I am sometimes. She’s a born leader.”
I almost blush as I look away from their appraising gazes. “Yeah, well, you still have better boobs. Like, seriously, how do you get them to stay up like that?”
She ignores me, of course, and winks at Clarissa. “You two will get along, I know it. She’s a little crazy, but she’s the most loyal friend you will ever meet, and she knows the darkness the men in this world are capable of. She’s experienced it, bears the scars from it, and fights that much harder to protect innocents because of it. I trust her with my life, with my people.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, knowing that’s a high honour. “I knew you liked me,” I tack on, because I just can’t resist.
Clarissa looks at me and nods. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come across cold. It’s simply how I’ve always had to be. I hope we can be friends. Honestly, I don’t have many.”
I smile and slap her arm. “Well, now you have another, though I warn you, you’ll probably never know when to laugh or scream with me around.”
We carry on walking in silence, taking in the world. Every so often, we discuss what it’s like to be a woman, weapons, men, or even the places we have been. There is no judgement, only friendship, and I find myself relaxing and genuinely enjoying it, even the sweaty thighs.
“I think we should make this a tradition,” Worth suggests as we stand side by side, watching over The Ring and our people.
“I agree,” Clarissa replies.
“I second—wait, third that.” I grin, and they laugh.
“There is a tiny dog and a man hiding in the tree behind us,” Clarissa comments before wandering away, proving she is already adjusting to our level of insane.
Worth and I both turn to see Archel hiding in the branches like she said, watching us. The thing giving him away? My puppy is at the bottom, barking up at him as he glares and presses his fingers to his lips.
Crossing my arms, I can’t help the smile flirting on my lips. “Baby, what are you doing?”
He looks up and smiles before leaping down, grabbing Beast Jr., and strolling over. I take my new best friend and cuddle him to my chest. “He was looking for you, so I volunteered to help him find you.”
“And that involved spying on me from a tree?” I counter with an arched eyebrow.
“And with that, I’m out. I have enough crazy men to deal with myself. See you later, Piper,” Worth calls and strolls away.
Archel just smirks at me and steps closer. “Okay, maybe I was missing you and looking for you.”
“Uh-huh, come on, you two, let’s go get breakfast.” I take Archel’s hand, and with my puppy in my arms, we set off in search of food.
After breakfast, Worth has a surprise for me. She has me interviewing and testing some of her warriors to become part of my road team. That way I can order them to certain areas, for supplies or conflict resolution or trade, and not always have to go myself. It means I need to test them and their skills though, so with my men at my side, we hold auditions in three phases.
The first is face-to-face. I have to get along with them and understand why they want to do this so I can trust them.
The second is seeing them fight and ride so I know they can handle themselves.
The last? My favourite—a hunt.
I sent Jago, Clay, and Archel to hide some objects for me. I will give the warriors basic locations, with some wrong directions, and tell them to work as three teams to retrieve each one. Along the way, my men will watch and report back, and I’ll judge them on time, teamwork, and aggression.
The first phase takes hours. I instantly dismiss five men for not respecting me. They looked to my men for orders and completely passed over me, even though they knew I was in charge. Sometimes being a douche is hard to grow from, and they clearly haven’t, even though they have a queen now.
One of them gets annoyed, and Jago knocks him the fuck out for running his mouth. My dark little heart loves it. I focus back on the fifty or so men before me. I want to whittle it down to exactly thirty—ten in each team—so I need to be tough and strict. They are all huge warriors, with scars and weapons covering their bodies. In their eyes is knowledge of combat, they are used to this world. Some are scavs, and some are guards for The Ring. I even notice a Lost milling about, and a Forgotten who seems to have stayed behind.
“It’s going to be a long day,” I announce as I stand before them in The Ring. “Be prepared to wait, and be ready for the unexpected. Before this day is through, you will hate the fact you volunteered for this, but if chosen, you’ll have a family for life, a new home, and a new crew to ride with. You’ll have a purpose and a place within The Wastes to protect the innocent.” I look through them then. “If that isn’t something you want to do, leave now. This won’t be easy. It’s not just existing, this is a job, and it will be bloody and tiring, but it will be worth it.”
There’s a slight shuffle, and then one man walks away with his head down. I let him go. He’s not Damned material if he can’t handle the mere thought of it. There is no shame in bowing out when you know something is not for you.
“Okay then, let’s begin. Line up, and I’ll meet you one-on-one down below in the preparation area for warriors,” I order and then turn, holding my head high as I walk down the steps to the room below.
I don’t need them worrying about what others think or lying to show off. I need to know the real them, and I plan to do just that.
After setting up downstairs, which means we dragged a table and some chairs down, I sit behind it and wait for the first person. He’s a big bastard, huge actually. He has to bend his head to get through the entrance, and when he sits, the chair creaks, making him wince.
“Name?” I ask.
“Vaughn, but all my friends call me Vin,” he offers and reaches out to shake my hand. I raise my eyebr
ows at that and accept, noting he doesn’t squeeze to assert dominance. In fact, he seems almost afraid of hurting me with his size, so he is extra careful.
“Where did you come from, what clan?” I inquire as I cross my legs.
“I was just a lowly scav roaming around.” He shrugs. “Nothing exciting. I never fit anywhere. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, and I was big enough that they couldn’t force me to.”
“Honest.” I nod. “I like it. So why here? Why now?”
“You seem like good people, friendly enough, and I’m getting old. I need a place to rest my head and people to watch my back. Plus, I like helping people, it makes me happy.” He smiles, showing his pearly whites, which I was not expecting. He seems like a big softie, and I instantly like him.
“Thank you, Vin, you may wait upstairs.” I smile.
“Thank you, Pascha.” He nods respectfully. “It would be an honour to serve you.” He leaves as I blink after him.
So far, so good.
The next phase—fighting. I take a weird amount of pleasure in this.
Around forty-five men and women are left. I’ve noticed a few that really stick out. Like Vin and a woman named Sascha, who has one side of her head shaved and is covered in tattoos. She seems really strong and smart, maybe enough to lead a team. I just hope she can handle her own with the large men in the fighting ring, but by the look of her biceps and muscles, I would say so.
Another is a man named Abraham. He’s quiet, almost too quiet, but he’s willing to talk. He told me about his past, about losing his husband, and now all he wants is to forget. I can appreciate that. I keep my eyes on them the most, because in addition to picking thirty people to bring on, I need three team leaders, and right now, they’re tied with another man named Reginald. However, the cocky look in his eyes and the way he speaks makes me hate him just a little, even if he is qualified.
Jago splits them until they are evenly matched, but I shake my head. I want them outmatched, caught off guard. I want to know what they are truly capable of when it comes down to the wire. Instead, I team Vin and Sascha, Abraham and Reginald, and the rest so they are opposing. Brains, brawn, and speed. I want to see if they will survive out there during these missions. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t test them properly and then they never came back.
Jago, Clay, and Archel oversee the fights from below while I sit above with Evan. He’s here to give me his opinion. He’s good at understanding people, and as a doctor, he might spot something I don’t.
“Begin!” I call as I sit and then look at him. “I feel like a gladiator from that film we watched the night the lights went out,” I whisper, which makes him smile as he reaches over and lays his hand on my leg.
“You mean the night I got my first hard-on?” His eyes twinkle as he looks over at me, gripping my thigh harder. “You were lying on me, and I was a teenager, babe,” he explains when I gape open-mouthed. “You were everything I wanted. That was why I rushed to the bathroom, red-faced. I was so upset, thinking you felt it.”
“Well shit.” I huff as I hear the commotion from below. “Now I’m curious how many other times you hid a boner…a flag of lust.”
“Every fucking time,” he mutters. “All you had to do was walk into a room, and don’t even get me started on our sleepovers. Christ, Pip, you were torture in the best way.”
Unsure what to say to that, I look back at the fighters, focusing on them as he chuckles and leans closer, running his tongue along my earlobe. “If you want, I can show you later.”
“Deal,” I whisper breathlessly, scanning the fighters but not seeing much. I just feel the warmth of his mouth and his breath across my skin causing goosebumps. How close he is, the feel of his talented hand—
Shit, two are out.
Focus.
Ignoring his roaming hand, I watch the fights carefully. Jago, Clay, and Archel point things out for me, and I follow the ones they seem impressed by. Once the first round is over, six more are out.
The next round is one versus three. I want to see how they handle insurmountable odds, like we faced with the cannibals, to see what solutions they can come up with, and in the worst case, if they are willing to lose for the cause.
We start with some of the men. The first manages to win, but barely, and he’s limping. The second is adamant on not losing, so much so that it blinds him and he loses anyway. The third wins, but there was nothing…intelligent about it. He could have won it sooner, but he used his muscles, not his brain.
Next up is Sascha. She’s the one that interests me the most. We pit her against three men, and although she is smaller, she holds her own. But three against one drives her back, farther and farther. She starts to get tired and winded, but she doesn’t give up. Her eyes are hard and her face is contorted in a snarl, even as she glances around. I see what she is about to do a second before she moves. She’s smart, really smart, and is using her obstacles to her advantage. She leaps up onto the fence, and when they follow, she flips back down, knocking one out and leaving two.
She uses the area around her, which is smart. We never said she couldn’t, and before long, she has them both on their backs.
Vin is up next, against Reginald and Abraham and one other. The man might be a gentle giant, but when it comes to fighting? Not so much. He’s a warrior through and through—feral, strong, and with no quit in him—but he has an edge. He’s not too cocky, and he uses his brain to assess the situation rather than running in without thought. Recklessness can be a plus sometimes, but I’ve learned my lesson on that. If you can put thought into it, do it, because you are more likely to survive, and with Worth and my men around me now, I know I have to. No more rushing into danger unseen without a thought for Piper…well, not all the time anyway.
He wins using his brain, with Abraham only slightly losing, but I discard him as a leading candidate, although he will make a good runner. The rest of the fights are uninspiring. I pick out some good candidates, but I already know who I want for team leaders. However, I can’t announce the names until all stages are complete. They get no time to rest, since they wouldn’t get it out in The Wastes. I order them to their bikes, with Archel and the others already on the road to watch them.
“Ride, and know that we will be watching and assessing. This isn’t just for your job. Out there, it’s about working together. It’s about surviving the odds. Can you?”
I wait at The Ring with Worth and Clarissa. We eat and laugh, while I watch the clock, wondering who will make it back. This position of power weighs on me, but today, I feel happy and a little smug. All those men who looked down at me, called me weak…yet now I have an army of men fighting to the death to try and follow me. I know a lot of it is because of Worth, but I got myself here. I won this position fair and square.
I wonder what the younger me would have thought. She was always itching for adventure, thinking there was more above ground than they let on. She was right, and now look at me, sitting with a queen as I help her rule the lands filled with thousands of people, places, and new experiences.
There is still so much out there to be explored, and I don’t think I will truly settle until I have seen all of it. As Evan’s parents told him, there is no feeling like that of seeing something no other has, to be the first human to set eyes on it. He told me that once when he wove me tales of castles and princesses above ground to help me sleep. It seems I am following in their footsteps, my parents too—though I wish they were here to see it. I barely remember them now though, since I was so young when they died on patrol. I wonder if they would be proud, or would they hate the person I’ve become?
I have no way of knowing, but I make myself proud every day for getting up, for continuing to move forward, for healing from what I experienced. There have been so many times in my life when I didn’t know if I would make it. Yet even in the dark, I found the light, and I will continue to find it each day, even when it’s hard, even when it hurts or I don’t feel like it.
I plan to live it to the max with my men at my side and plenty of orgasms—a lifetime’s worth. An orgasmic world, you could say. Cum central. The big O. Just call me Sir Cums-A-Lot.
“Does she know she’s speaking out loud?”
“You’ll get used to it,” Worth replies without even a blink.
“I really don’t think I will,” she mutters but smiles at me like I’m a crazy person, so what do I do back? I wave.
Fucking hell, no wonder I don’t have many friends.
Luckily, I’m saved by the bell—er, well, technically the rev of engines, but you get my drift. Do people still say drift? Fuck, am I old?
“Piper, engines,” Worth reminds me as she takes a bite of her food. Fuck yes! I jump up and wave as I rush away, probably leaving them wondering if I was dropped a lot at birth.
I wasn’t. There was that time when Evan dropped me down some stairs when we were playing, but the doctors didn’t think that had too much impact on my brain.
Much.
I rush through The Ring and make it back to the gate to see the first team coming in—led by Sascha. Fuck yes! Girl power! I want to scream it, but I swallow it back and keep it professional as she pulls off her helmet with a skull drawn on it and grins at me. She gets off and strolls up to me, handing me a note with a giant X on it.
“Well done! You beat everyone.” I grin, and I really try not to say it, but it just slips out. “Pussy power!”
Luckily, she just laughs. “You know it. So what now?”
“Now we wait for the others. I’ll make a decision tonight and announce it tomorrow.”
She nods and looks back at the men from her team. “Free time, boys. Get lost.” She turns back to me, winking. “Just a heads-up, that Reginald asshole tried to take my team out by smashing into my bike. I managed to bitch-slap him away, but we had to stop to fix it. He’s not a team player, only out for himself. Thought you should know.” She walks away, leaving me gawking after her. She managed to bitch-slap him, fix her bike, and beat everyone else back here?