by Lexi Hots
“Perhaps.” He shook his head with his back still to her. “There are no other bikes or horses. You would be on foot.”
“Vines would bind the wheels and the tangles of trees would trouble the horses. It is quicker and easier on foot. I have navigated the dark woods before. The other riders have not.”
She saw his head bow. She wondered if he was troubled and she considered withdrawing her request thus easing his mind. She wondered if he prayed. Then, she decided he was looking at the map and considering the distance. She expected him to point out that she had not nearly gone that far or deep before. She prepared her argument, but he surprised her.
Her father said, “Okay, but be safe and sturdy. Be strong, stand firm, and come back to me alive and well.”
Lily did not respond to his conditions, but ran past him. She opened the caging and then one of the door. She pulled her bright, blue hoodie off of the peg and stepped back out.
Her father stared at her as she pulled it over and adjusted the folds of fabric around her head. “That hood is so bright and bold. Do you have anything else you could wear?”
She frowned. “You want me to find something bright red instead, Father? Don’t be silly.”
“Maybe something more drab,” he said. “It is hot out. You don’t want to wear something else? You were practically naked a moment ago.”
“It might turn stormy.” She took hold of the parcel and pulled at it. The paper was so smooth and neat between her fingers. She felt an evil urge to sneak into woods and tear it open. He did not let go. She laughed and pulled harder until he relented and surrendered the parcel to her fully. She clutched it to her chest over her sweatshirt and walked around him. “Besides, if the opportunity to get naked comes along, I can still undress quickly.”
“That’s not funny.” He called after her. “Keep an eye out for danger. Obey me, girl.”
“I will.” She walked down the steps.
She knew her father’s eyes followed her, but she kept her gaze forward at the trees. She looked down at the penciled map once, but did not look back at her father or home.
Lily stepped into the shadows of the dark woods and weaved between the trunks passing the land she knew for one she had never seen. She waded through the creek and up onto the bank of a side of the world she had never experienced. Still, she pressed on.
Her pant legs were wet and muddy. They hung heavy and pulled down her hips further than usual. She stepped on them once and yanked them down exposing her slit in a sliver of sunlight between the branches. She thought about some creature or bandit or half-man thing watching her from the bushes and seeing the gristle of hair along her tightly trimmed sex.
She took her waistband in her fist and prepared to jerk them back up. But the sun felt warm between the shadows. She enjoyed the feel of it on her bare breasts outside the store, but she had never felt it on her pussy before. She licked her lips and waited a moment longer thinking of the evil eyes spying her in the shaft of light as she balanced the parcel on one arm.
Her fingers folded open out of her fist and she teased them along the crevice of her pussy lips. Her pant legs were not the only thing that was wet now. She considered stripping naked like she had teased about doing. She would run through the trees like a sprite from one of her fantasy stories. Dark things with hard cocks and evil hearts would chase her. She would arrive at the Alpha House slick with sweat and heaving for breath. She would do anything they asked for them to take her in safe. They would take possession of the parcel they owned and do as they pleased with it and her.
She realized she had slipped her finger inside herself during her imaginings and she gasped at her own gumption while standing exposed in the dark woods. She bobbled the parcel and nearly dropped it. As she recovered, her heart was pounding in her chest and her muscles contracted around her finger. She slipped it out and pulled her pants up finally.
Lily continued through the trees trying to keep the rough map on top of the parcel aligned to guide her along the scant trails.
The weight of water on her clothes continued to slide her pants down. The curve of her ass helped her waistband to stay up with just a little of her crack showing as she walked. She waited for her crotch to be exposed before she hitched them back up each time again.
Lily stopped and looked around her for landmarks she was not seeing. She had not found what appeared on the map to be a large stone for her to follow a trail left. She was seeing the edge of a lake ahead which surly would be marked on the map were she meant to come to it.
A group of young men were fishing. She considered going to ask them for directions. She supposed bandits could fish too, but she suspected they were from some settlement beyond the woods meaning she had come too far. They could be from the Alpha House and could guide her in. They might also say they were, take her deeper into the woods, and have their way with her. Boys in packs could be like wolves, her father had told her. She considered daring to ask any way.
One of them stood and stretched. As his back arched, she saw his muscles. Lily sucked in air and hitched up her pants again. He turned his head suddenly and looked toward the trees. She ducked and moved back the way she had come.
Lily still did not find the big rock that marked the turn, so she moved west which would have been to her left, if she were facing the right direction with the map. She weaved north and south through the trees looking for a hint of a trail.
She saw something red ahead of her and paused. It was too high to be a person, but she did not know much about mutants. They might fly or be oddly tall and slender. She approached slowly and saw a torn, red cloak hung high in the trees. Above her head, she could see the hood flapping with the wind.
The sight made her shiver. She had trouble forming a story to explain how the girl had lost it and it had gotten snagged so high in the branches of the dark woods. What happened to her after?
Lily hoped she would fair better in her blue hood. Of course, she could not find the trail, so she wasn’t sure how much hope she could hold out.
Lily turned her attention back to the ground and continued forward. She shifted left to avoid a thicket of brambles and thorns. She shifted back to the right to avoid a thicket of vines bunched high above her head. As she followed along, she noticed the brick under them. The vines marked the height and shape of a border wall.
She followed the wall and found an open, iron gate. Beyond the gate, a grand house stood in the middle of a broad, grassy property. She looked around the interior of the vine-consumed wall and saw the dark woods surrounding the vast estate marked off by the wall.
Lily wondered who could claim this land so boldly from the trees and hold it from the forces that might want to take it. The open gate might indicate it was taken already or abandoned, but the grass was kept and unclaimed by saplings. She thought maybe it was enchanted by some form of magic. Her father told her such things were fantasy, but there were many things about the world that even he did not understand.
She held the parcel up and saw the gate was open wide enough for it to fit through. She took that as a sign and stepped through herself. Lilly crossed the grass. There was a porch and grand columns. The porch was free of dust making her think someone swept. Lily shivered, but did not consider turning back.
She veered away from the front and walked along the side of the house. There were metal boxes and meters attached to the house. The boxes had fans, but they sat silent. The dials on the meters were still. Lily understood electrical power and that these things might run on them, but without them working she could not figure out their possible function.
She was almost to the back of the house when she reached a window low enough for her to see through. It was clean which also made her nervous. The kitchen inside looked too clean to have been used, but too crisp to be abandoned. It looked like things she saw in pictures from before the world changed.
There were yellow place mats, folded cloth napkins that looked like finer material than any cl
othes she owned, and china cups. She licked her lips and thought of witches that ate little girls over tea.
The dog barked and growled behind her suddenly. She startled forward enough to hit her head on the glass. She lost her grip on the parcel and it fell on the soft grass at her feet.
As she turned and reached down for it, the snarling, slobbering beast charged for her. She knew it was a dog, but she only saw all jaws and teeth.
Lilly turned empty handed and ran around the back of the house. She charged for the wall and found a clear spot she believed she could scramble over. As the dog snapped behind her, she thought about the parcel. Her father had already been paid and she was responsible for it.
She groaned and turned hard to the left. The dog locked on her pants and tore them open in the back. She pulled free and ran around the far side of the house. She could feel air on her exposed buttocks and felt certain that the next bite would be into her flesh.
She ran between the side of the house and sprawling oak. As she looked at the ground trying to avoid roots, she tangled in a clothes line and stumbled. The line broke with a loud twang. Her hoodie pulled up over her head. Lily felt the dog’s teeth sink into the material and its head whipped from side to side.
She pulled the sweatshirt over her head and ran out of it around the front of the house. Her hopes that the dog would be satisfied with her blue hood were lost as he ran behind her across the front of the house growling and barking. She wondered if he would hang her hood in the tree once he was done with her.
She rounded the corner past the side with the metal boxes again. Her shirt slid off her shoulder and one breast swung free in the air. She did not enjoy the sunshine in that moment.
Lily looked down in the grass and saw the parcel was gone. That filled her with more fear than the dog.
She ran back behind the house and slipped on a slick spot. Lily tumbled and slid in the mud. She was on her back with her breasts out and her pants bunched down looking up at the dog.
Someone whistled and the dog hunkered down. Lily looked around. They whistled again and the dog trotted away with its tail between its legs.
Lily sat up disheveled in the mud. She saw a man on the back steps in a fine suit and thin tie staring down at her. He had sliver streaks in his hair and a thin mustache to match his thin tie. He held the parcel tucked under his arm.
She jumped to her feet and ran toward him without collecting herself or dealing with her clothes. He stared at her with one eyebrow raised.
Lily shouted. “You give that to me. It is my parcel to deliver.”
“It is mine now.” He declared in a voice too formal for the world in which they lived.
“I am responsible for it and I will take it, if you do not give it.”
He wrinkled his nose and stared down at her from the back steps. “You are on my property. You will answer to me and you will take nothing that I don’t give to you.”
“Then, give it.” She held out her muddy hands.
“You are a mess.”
“Because of your damn dog.”
His jaw dropped open. He used his free arm to take hold of her elbow and turn her to the side. She opened her mouth, but before any words came out, he slapped his open hand across her ass cheek with a smart crack that echoed across the lawn.
Lily shrieked, but then closed her mouth. He turned her back to facing him.
He said, “I am Count Alpha and this is my house. You will call me Master or Sir while you are in my presence and you will not curse in my home nor in my presence.”
She took several deep breaths still shocked at what had happened and not realizing her pants were down around her thighs. “I’m supposed to deliver that parcel. Give it to me.”
“Give it to me, what?”
She shook her head and narrowed her eyes. “Now? I’m to deliver it to the Alpha House settlement.”
He turned her again and smacked her ass twice – once on each cheek. She yelped, but stood there with her hands out still turned sideways.
“Master or Sir.” He repeated. “This is the Alpha House. I am Count Alpha, so this parcel was meant for me. You should have come to the front door. Do that next time. Understood?”
“I don’t believe you. Give it back.”
He slapped her three times across the ass and she felt red heat rise in the curves of her flesh. She heaved for air. She felt the urge to anger him again for another smart touch of punishment. Maybe just once more to have him handle her again. Lily bit her lip.
“Master or Sir and do not accuse me of lying ever, understood?”
“Yes, sir.” She breathed.
“And you will use the front door on your next visit?”
“Next visit?”
He smacked her ass again and she moaned. Lily was on fire.
“Yes, Master, I will.”
“Remove your muddy clothes.”
She looked at him and opened her mouth. He raised his hand and she closed it.
Lily whispered. “Why, Master?”
“You will not bring mud into my house.”
“In your house … Sir?”
“I will not send you home in muddy clothes. You will clean yourself before you leave.”
She swallowed. “Yes, Master.”
He waved his free hand at her and she slid out of her shirt and pants. With the weight of mud and water, they practically fell off of her.
She stood naked. Alpha eyed her up and down. His voice was low. “Come in.”
“Yes, Master.”
She preceded him inside the kitchen from the back door. He set the parcel down on the table. The paper was still neat and sharp as if it were made to compliment the perfect corners of his napkins and mats. She wondered if the dirty men in their armored truck feared Count Alpha and wrapped his parcel with exacting care for that reason.
Lily swallowed as she stood naked and muddy in his house.
“Go to the sink.” He demanded. “I’ll not have you tracking mud on my fine floors.”
“Yes, Master.”
She looked away from the table and the fine paper and stood in front of the sink looking through the spotless window at the backyard. She had never seen glass so clean. She almost wanted to reach out to see if it was real, but she somehow sensed that he would not approve.
“Turn on the water.”
Lily looked around the metal basin. “Master … Sir, I don’t see a pump. How?”
He sighed and stepped up behind her. As the material of his pants brushed the raw skin of her ass, she gasped. He pressed in closer and she felt his hardness through the material. She wanted to reach back and take hold of him, but she gripped the edge of the sink and waited to be told what to do.
He grabbed hold of her hips and ground against her once from behind. She sucked in air and thought she felt him grow harder through his suit and against her skin.
He whispered and his breath tickled her shoulder as she stared out the window naked in his kitchen. “You are dirty.”
“Yes, Master.” She swallowed.
“You came into my house dirty.”
“Yes, Sir, I’m sorry. What can I do, Master?”
She felt his lips touch her shoulder and her body tingled. It wasn’t a kiss. She thought he might be tasting her like a hunter tasting its prey, but he had not used his tongue on her yet. He was breathing hard and his breath was warm, but she wasn’t sure whether he was sniffing her. Lily thought about looking over her shoulder to see if his big eyes were open looking at her skin as he rested his lips on her, but she didn’t dare. He dragged his mouth across her shoulder, over her spine, and came to rest on her opposite shoulder blade.
His hands slid down the sides of her naked hips. Dried mud flaked off onto kitchen floor with a heavy, crisp sound like falling bones. He growled and she felt the vibration of it on her skin. She thought he might be angry at her for the mud even though he had swept it off.
His fingers dug into her skin. His thumbs stung her ass cheeks
as the pressure spread them apart. His fingers on each hand laced around front where the muscles of her thighs curved into the firm flesh of her body. He was so close to pressing against her pussy on both sides. She wanted to lean back to give him access, but he was pressed so tight behind her that she could not move until he decided to let her.
She felt his teeth on the skin over her shoulder blade. Sensation edged toward pain and she opened her mouth, but did not dare to scream. She thought he might sink in his canines and mark her permanently.
Lily cut her eyes over to the tightly wrapped parcel on the perfectly set table. She saw an oily mark where her head had hit the outside when she was startled by the dog. Lily hoped he did not notice, but couldn’t imagine him missing even the slightest detail.