Slave Gold (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  “They are taking a break.” One of the young boys stepped forward. “They said they were going back to their dwelling, but I saw them walking toward the healer’s home.”

  Barclay took off before the boy had finished speaking. He ran to the other side of the village. He never made it to the healer’s door. His brother’s body was lying unconscious on the ground with blood seeping from a cut on his head.

  “Gilmore, get the healer.” Barclay pushed Darby over onto his side and ripped his shirt off. He folded it and placed it under his brother’s head, being careful not to touch the lump and wound.

  Moments later, Gilmore and the healer were at his side, just as Darby was waking up.

  “Fuck,” Darby groaned, “what the hell happened?”

  “Lie still, Darby, and let me check you over.” Healer Marrick knelt down and scanned him with the MediScanner device. “You are fine except for your head injury. I’ll have you fixed in a minute.”

  “What happened, Darby? Where is Shannon?” Barclay asked and cursed the fact that even he could hear the fear in his voice.

  “Shit.” Darby tried to sit up, but Healer Marrick scowled at him and pushed him back down with a hand on his shoulder. “It was Tren and his brothers. I was so intent on what Shannon was saying, I didn’t see them until it was too late.”

  A beep sounded from Healer Marrick’s MediScanner and Barclay saw the line of pain on his brother’s face had eased.

  “Thank you.” Darby sat up and then rose to his feet. “They took her. We have to find her.”

  “Where would they take our bond mate?” Gilmore snarled his question.

  “They wouldn’t take her back to their dwelling. That would be the first place we’d look.” Barclay ran a hand down his face with worry and frustration. “That only leaves the forest, and if I were them I would want as much distance between me and the village as possible.”

  “Then let’s get our horses and go after our mate.” Gilmore spun on his heel and took off at a run. Barclay and Darby followed.

  * * * *

  Shannon came awake slowly. Her head was aching and her stomach was sore. She finally realized that she was slung facedown across someone’s thighs atop a horse. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and then wished she hadn’t. Her body was being bounced around as the horse and rider galloped across an open field. The ground beneath blurred as it passed at a rapid pace. Every time the horse’s hooves connected with the ground, her stomach was jostled, making her feel nauseous.

  “You’re finally awake.”

  The horse slowed from a gallop to a canter, then to a trot and a walk until they finally stopped. Shannon was fairly certain who had her, and seeing his face finally confirmed her suspicions.

  Then her memory came rushing back. Tren Saval and his brothers, Kai and Garth, had hit Darby on the head and rendered her unconscious somehow. She was feeling a little sluggish and wondered if it was because of her nearly upside-down position or because of what they had done to her.

  The body beneath her shifted and hard hands gripped her waist. Her vision blurred once more and then she was swaying on his lap, upright with her ass in his lap and her legs across his thighs.

  “What are you doing? What do you want with me?” she asked anxiously.

  “What do you think?” Garth asked from behind her. She looked over her shoulder at him. He was eyeing her body with a leering stare, and Shannon began to become very afraid. He smiled at her maliciously, and she cursed the fact that he must have seen her shiver of fear.

  “You can’t just take me and expect to get away with it. My men will come after me. Besides, they’ve already bonded with me. You can’t usurp that bond.” Shannon glared up at Tren.

  “We don’t care about your bond. We haven’t had a woman in nearly a year, and since you are so different from our women, we decided we wanted a taste of you.”

  Shannon looked around, and more fear skittered up her spine when she saw they were on the edge of the forest. The village was nowhere in sight. How she wished Darby had let the Healer Marrick place the data chip in her brain. Maybe then she would have been able to tap into the fighting information and escape, but there was no way she was going to give up without a fight. She wouldn’t stand a chance against their muscle and brute force. Each of them outweighed her by more than a hundred pounds, but if she stayed calm she could use her head and work out how to get away from them.

  “If you don’t let me go, they will kill you.”

  Tren looked away from her to his brothers. “They’ll have to catch us first.” He nudged his horse in its side and rode through the trees. Shannon tried to keep her body from touching his as much as possible. The feel of his flesh against hers made her skin crawl.

  Her mind raced as they wove deeper into the forest. And then she remembered how the bonding had somehow connected her men together through her. Maybe if she concentrated hard enough, she could link with them. But she needed to know if Darby was all right. He had been unconscious and bleeding before she had passed out. The thought of him lying on the ground dead or dying caused pain to pierce her chest. She held in the sob that had been working its way up her throat by biting down on her tongue. She bit so hard she tasted blood in her mouth. You have to stay calm, Shannon. You need to concentrate if you’re going to get out of this unscathed.

  Closing her eyes and taking several deep breaths, she tried to block out her worries and everything and everyone around her. She pictured her men in her mind. How sexy and handsome they’d looked as they made love to her. Love and hope filled her heart again, pushing away her fears and concerns.

  Their faces swam before her mind’s eye, Barclay with his usual seriousness and arrogant dominance, Darby as he listened to her intently when she was talking, and Gilmore with his easy smile and gentle touch. Her men were a dream come true, and she wanted to spend the rest of her life living with them, getting to know them, and loving them. No one was going to take that away from her. She belonged for the first time in her life. She was complete. She was home.

  A vision of them riding atop their horses with their swords secured to their backs wavered in her mind. They looked so fierce, and her men had a contingent of warriors following them. Is what I’m seeing here and now, or am I just imagining how they would look?

  Taking another deep breath, she reached out for them on a spiritual plane, and their emotions swamped her. Darby had a slight headache, but he was well and worried about her. Barclay was full of fear, but he turned that fear to rage as he galloped his horse across the open field. And Gilmore was trying to hold his emotions at bay. Although he was very worried about her, he didn’t want his emotions to impede his mission or ability to think logically.

  Shannon felt shock being pushed at her and then warmth. They could feel her through their link and were trying to comfort her. Gilmore pushed his happiness toward her. He was glad that she was unharmed. Hoping to push her thoughts even harder to her men so they could find her, she opened her eyes, but as soon as she did, her concentration was broken.

  In the distance, mountains loomed, and Shannon became even more concerned. Where are they taking me? Will they kill me after they rape me? Think, girl, you have to get away.

  Shannon only had one hope. If she could catch Tren off guard she might have a chance. Curling her hand into a fist, she tensed her muscles in preparation. Then, shifting slightly, she pulled her arm back and swung it toward his face with all her might. His roar of pain drowned out her higher-pitched one, but she didn’t stop to worry about her throbbing hand.

  She slid down off his lap and from between his arms, bending her knees as her feet landed on the ground. She sprung into a roll and tucked her head. As soon as she could, she scrambled to her feet and took off running. Her breath and heartbeat sounded so loud in her ears that she couldn’t hear whether Tren or his brothers were following her.

  Branches slapped her in the face and scraped her arms, but she didn’t stop. She dodged bushes and
tree trunks, her lungs screaming and her legs burning. Shannon pushed herself like she never had before. It felt like she had been running for hours instead of minutes. Chancing a glance over her shoulder, she couldn’t see any of the brothers following her.

  Just as she looked forward again, she was too late to jump or dodge the fallen tree trunk. Her thighs connected with the wood and her forward momentum toppled her over the fallen tree. She went sprawling onto the ground facefirst and cried out when her injured hand connected with the hard-packed dirt.

  The ground rumbled beneath her, and she pushed to her hands and knees. Just as she scrambled to her feet and took a step, an arm wrapped around her waist and hauled her into the air. Her screech was cut off when her ass landed on firm thighs with a hard jolt. She clung to that arm, digging her nails in. Scared though she was that she would fall off, she wasn’t willing to stop her struggling. A harsh curse sounded close to her ear and then gravity pushed her into Tren’s side as his horse reared. The arm around her waist tightened so much it crushed the base of her ribs, making it hard to breathe.

  Once he had his horse back under control, he gripped her chin with his free hand, digging his fingers into her flesh hard enough to surely leave a bruise. Satisfaction swept over her when she saw blood still seeping from his nose. It looked swollen, and she wondered if she had broken it.

  “You are going to pay for that, you little bitch. When we get to the cave I am going to have my brothers hold you down and I will take my pleasure with you.”

  Tren was so angry with her that when he spoke, spittle flew from his mouth and landed on her face. With a grimace she wiped it off and then swiped her hand over his shirt. He scowled at her, but his grip on her face eased and he removed his fingers. Then pain exploded. Heat suffused the side of her face, and she cried out. He’d hit her.

  Fucking asshole. She was going to make sure he paid for hurting her. A well-placed foot or knee would slow him down.

  “Give her to me. I can control her if you can’t.” Kai moved his horse closer and reached for her. Tren slapped his hand away and glared at his brother. Without a word he nudged his horse into a walk, heading toward the base of the mountains.

  Shannon prayed that her men would get to her in time. She could only fight for so long, and the thought of Kai and Garth holding her down while Tren raped her sent terror throughout her system. Her flight-or-fight mode kicked in. Her heartbeat raced and thundered a rapid tattoo against her ribs, and she gasped for breath. Dizziness assailed her, and even though she knew she was hyperventilating, she couldn’t control her body’s response to fear. Shannon had never been so scared in her life.

  Chapter Twelve

  They hadn’t left the village that long ago, and the thought of the Saval brothers having already gotten her to the forest was killing Gilmore. He gripped his horse’s sides with his thighs and tried to push his fear for Shannon deep down inside. He needed to keep calm and cool as much as possible. If he let his emotions rule he wouldn’t be able to think logically and would just react. That was a dangerous thing to do.

  What worried him most was that he couldn’t feel any of Shannon’s emotions through their link. He should have been able to feel something. But each time he tried he got nothing. Inching his mount closer to his brothers, he called out to them.

  “Can you feel her?”

  “No. I’ve tried, but it’s as if she isn’t there,” Barclay snapped.

  “What about you, Darby?”

  “Nothing,” he snarled. “God, this is my fault entirely. I should have been more alert.”

  “You don’t have eyes in the back of your head, Darby. It could have been Barclay or me. You didn’t stand a chance.”

  “What the fuck have they done to her? We should be able to feel some thread of connection, surely.”

  “Not if she’s unconscious,” Barclay practically growled.

  “Shit. We have to find her.” Darby leaned over his horse and kicked it on.

  Gilmore spurred his horse to a faster pace and raced across the meadow with his brothers and a contingent of warriors behind them. Just as they reached the trees, he felt her. She was thinking about all three of them. Thank you, God. Shannon is at least alive.

  Gilmore slowed his horse to a trot and scanned the ground. Hoof prints led deeper into the forest. He took the lead and followed the trail left by the Saval brothers. As he rode he imagined wrapping his hands around Tren’s neck and squeezing until he was no more. Better yet, he was going to beat the crap out of him and his brothers to teach them a lesson. They would learn that his bond mate was sacred. Anyone weaker than them should be protected and revered, not harmed.

  Gilmore pulled his horse to a halt and studied signs on the ground. There was an indentation in the soft foliage where it looked like Shannon had leapt from the horse and then rolled along the dirt. Grooves showed where she had clawed at the ground as she scrambled upright and then took off at a run. Turning his horse, he followed the trail until it came to a halt. Here Shannon had fallen again, and she had been swept off her feet. Her footprints disappeared. Looking at the hoof prints, he realized that Tren and his brothers were headed toward the mountains.

  Anxiety rushed through him. The caves beneath those crags were long, deep, and numerous. It could take days to find her. But what scared him the most was that their spacecraft was also hidden in a large underground cavern. If the Saval brothers were able to access the craft, they could escape Aeros with Shannon, never to be seen again. If he had to travel in space for years until he had his mate back in his arms, he would.

  “Do the Saval brothers have access to the underground caverns?” Gilmore looked at Barclay over his shoulder.

  “No. They were never interested in learning to fly the spacecraft, thank God. But they know the craft is there.”

  “Do you think Tren or his brothers would be able to override the security system and gain access?” Darby asked.

  “I don’t know. Let’s hope they aren’t that smart and are only using the caves to hide in. We have security cameras running through all the underground tunnels, so we should be able to find them easy enough.”

  “Only if they haven’t taken out the cameras,” Darby muttered. “We have to hurry. Maybe we can catch up with them before they go too deep. Did you feel Shannon’s connection?”

  “Yes, and I can still feel her fear. She’s terrified. We have to rescue her.”

  “We will. If it takes my last breath, we will save her.”

  * * * *

  By the time Tren stopped the horse at the bottom of the mountains, Shannon was exhausted. Her panic attack had abated, leaving her so tired all she wanted to do was go to sleep, but she had to try and stay alert. The skin on her cheek was hot and throbbing from where Tren had slapped her. She wanted to claw the bastard’s eyes out, but it wouldn’t do her much good. She’d still have Kai and Garth to contend with.

  Kai didn’t worry her as much as Garth. He had spent the whole ride leering at her body, and every time he caught her looking at him, he would smile maliciously and grab his crotch. Nausea roiled in her stomach at the thought of him and his brothers touching her body. But her fear was pushed aside as Tren roughly hauled her from the horse to the ground.

  She eyed him nervously when he pulled his curved sword from his back and pointed it at her. “If you give me any trouble, I will cut you. I can place cuts all over your body and cause you great pain. I know how to avoid arteries and large veins so you don’t bleed out.” Using his sword, he pointed toward the foothills. “Get moving.”

  Shannon didn’t want to turn her back on him or his brothers, but she knew he was serious when he said he would cut her. He’d looked so evilly intent. She headed up the incline and concentrated on her footing. The last thing she wanted was to fall and give him a reason to be pissed with her. She’d already pushed her luck by socking him in the nose and running off once.

  “Look at that ass,” Garth jeered. “I can’t wait to shove my cock i
n there.”

  Shannon bit her lip to stop herself from retorting with repulsion. It would only make them mad and egg them on. When she saw a large opening in the cliffside she hesitated.

  “Go in,” Tren barked and pushed the point of the sword into her back. The blade was so sharp it cut her. Blood trickled from the small cut down her back. Her captors laughed, apparently amused by her pain. Sick fuckers.

  Although she kept walking, it took a few moments for her vision to adjust from the bright sunlight to the dim tunnel. She looked up and saw that the rock was smooth. The tunnel looked manmade, and it sloped down farther into the ground. Cool dampness surrounded her, and she shivered after the contrast of the heated sun. Will Barclay, Darby, and Gilmore be able to find me? Please, God, let my men find me before it’s too late.

  The deeper Shannon walked, the more scared she became. There were small lights along the tunnel floor, so she was able to see where her feet were going, but that was all. When she stumbled and caught herself before she could fall, she once more felt the prick of the sword tip in her skin. It seemed these warriors didn’t care for her well-being at all. Are they going to kill me after they’ve raped me?

  She was beside herself with fear. Her legs were shaking so much it was a wonder she was still able to use them.

  “Hurry up. You are going too slow,” Tren snarled from right behind her.

  Shivering with revulsion as his hot breath brushed over her skin, she picked up the pace. It seemed to take forever, but eventually the tunnel leveled out and she came to a large cavern. Lights glowed sporadically around the interior, just enough for her to make out the underground room. There were more tunnels leading off the cave at intervals, and there was also what looked like a rock door, which had an electronic panel off to the side.

  In the corner on the far side was what looked to be a large spacecraft. Shannon moved away from her captors cautiously but kept away from that ship. As she edged around the room, she half turned, keeping her eyes on the three Saval men.