Unleashed

by Tiffany Roberts

  She reached up and brushed the frost from his shoulders, her fingers moving lightly but her palms pressing down to appreciate his solid muscles. Her hands continued their trek down his arms, across his broad chest, and over his abdomen.

  —she is mine. And now she will finally know what that means. She will feel what it means—

  He maintained his silent stare; did he know what his thoughts were doing to her? Was he aware of the lust he projected, or of how the intensity of his gaze was stoking the roaring flames of desire in her core? His inaction built her anticipation, and her body thrummed with ever-increasing need.

  Vortok’s attentions had brought her to a new peak, one she could never have imagined. But now, not a few minutes later, she craved more. She wanted Aduun. Her valos hadn’t woken this appetite in her — she’d felt this hunger for sensual satisfaction since she’d first understood that touching herself could be pleasing — but they had built it into something insatiable.

  And the next piece stood here before her — the next experience, the next desire, her need of him only enhanced by their lack of intimacy to this point.

  “Aduun,” she rasped.

  His pupils dilated an instant before he snatched her around her waist and laid her on the blanket faster than she could react. He held himself over her, nostrils flared, hesitating only long enough to rake his eyes over her body. Her nipples hardened beneath his stare as cold air kissed her skin.

  She sensed the lust and possessiveness of his beast at the forefront, but he wasn’t resisting; in this, man and beast were unified.

  Aduun inhaled deeply. He lowered his face, brushing his nose against the side of her throat. Nina tilted her head back and placed her hands on his arms. Aduun snarled, raising his head with bared teeth. Gripping her hips, he flipped her over onto her stomach, nearly knocking the air from her, and raised her backside. He covered her with his body, slamming his clawed hands, palms down, beside her on the blanket, and brought his nose back to her neck. His cock was a searing brand against the backs of her thighs.

  A sliver of fear skittered along her spine. This was the unknown to her. Aduun intended to claim her. Now. Without hesitation.

  And yet he was hesitating despite being a single thrust away from entering her.

  “Aduun,” Nina said, licking her lips, “stay with me. Be here with me.”

  Aduun stilled. His claws curled into the blanket, tendons straining along his forearms. Slowly, carefully, he lifted a hand and slipped his arm around her, smoothing his palm down her stomach toward her pelvis. Nina’s breath hitched. His clawed fingers delved between her thighs, his calloused fingertips carefully brushing between her folds. A rumble of appreciation vibrated from his chest as he spread her moisture around her sex.

  Nina panted, hips bucking each time he stroked her clit. He focused on it, rubbing the pad of his finger over the little bud with alternating pressure, circling it with confident strokes. She came quickly, rocking against his hand. Her cries filled the shelter as her slick ran down her thighs.

  He removed his hand, and she glanced over her shoulder to see him lick her release from his fingers. Aduun tilted his head back, quills rising, and growled. He pressed his hand against the back of her neck, forcing her head down while keeping her ass in the air, and in the next instant, the head of his shaft was against her entrance. There was no hesitation this time. Aduun thrust his hips forward, shoving his cock into her. It broke past the small resistance of her hymen and stretched her, forcing her to accept him.

  She opened her mouth in a soundless cry, clutching the blanket, and gasped for air. The breaking of that small barrier had been painful, but the feeling of fullness was far more overwhelming; he was going to break her. She tried to push herself up, to rise, to escape, but he kept her down with another snarl.

  “Aduun!” she yelled, ceasing her struggles. He was stretching her to the point of pain.

  He shuddered and sagged forward, removing his hand from the back of her neck to brace himself on the ground. His chest expanded against her and receded with his ragged breathing, and his shaft pulsed inside her, in time with her own heartbeat.

  “I…I am with you, Nina,” he rasped.

  Nina didn’t move. She knew he was giving her time, restraining his primal instincts. She sensed his need to claim his mate, sensed the beast raging to do so now, but Aduun held himself back.

  His other hand smoothed along her side from breast to hip and back again in a soothing, petting motion. His callouses grazed her skin, and the gentle brush of his fur sent a thrill through her limbs. Soon, her desire rekindled. Her inner walls clenched around his shaft. She wanted him to move, wanted him to go deeper. Aduun’s hand froze. She shifted her hips experimentally. There was a slight twinge, accompanied by that fullness, but it suddenly wasn’t enough. She needed him to fill her completely, to move.

  “Now,” she breathed. “Now, Aduun.”

  Aduun groaned. Rearing back, he settled his hands on her hips, withdrew his hips, and plunged into her again. Nina gasped as the power of his movement rocked her forward. She gripped the blanket, and he slammed into her again and again, moving deeper with each thrust, filling her, stretching her, stroking her.

  It was too much; it wasn’t enough. Each time he pumped forward, he pulled her backward to meet him, allowing her no escape, forcing her to receive all of him.

  His pleasure flowed into her, enhancing her own. Soon, his control over the beast slipped; Aduun’s movements grew erratic, frenzied, and his panting breaths became guttural grunts and growls.

  He lowered his head and trailed his fangs over her shoulder, sending a thrill through her spine. The graze of his teeth set her off. She cried out, nearly howling as she came. Her sex clenched him, pulling him in deeper still, and her inner walls quivered.

  He slammed a hand on the blanket near her head as he leaned over her back. His other arm wrapped around her waist, locking her in place as he roared. His shaft grew impossibly thicker, and then she felt the hot spray of his seed inside her. Aduun continued to pump his hips, every shallow thrust releasing a little more until he finally stilled, pressing his pelvis against her backside. She felt his seed drip down the inside of her thighs, mingling with her own slick.

  Snow crunched somewhere nearby, but the sound was muffled by the languid haze that settled over Nina’s mind.

  Aduun’s warm, ragged breaths teased the hair at the back of her neck, and his shaft continued to pulse within her, showing no signs of diminishing.

  “You’re mine,” he growled, nipping her ear. It sent a thrilling shiver through her, making her sex tighten around his shaft again.

  “I scent blood,” Balir said. “What is—”

  Nina turned her head to see him just within the entrance, Vortok’s bulk blocking the outside light behind him. Balir’s nostrils were wide; his nose was particularly sensitive to blood, but she knew he’d smelled the musk of sex in the air too.

  Aduun’s beast flared, its possessiveness triggered by the proximity of the other males. She winced against its power, its looming aggression, and prepared herself for another outburst.

  But just as quickly as it had arisen, the beast receded, pushed back by a pang of guilt. The arm banded around her waist loosened to embrace her across her chest.

  “Are you all right, Nina?” Aduun asked in a low voice, barely audible over the sound of snow compacting under Vortok as he crawled into the shelter. He still hadn’t pulled out of her; his swollen cock seemed lodged in place.

  “Did he—did they—” Vortok stammered. His features fell into a combination of hurt and fury.

  “He has claimed her fully,” Balir said. “And she…she had been untouched.”

  Their emotions were building like gathering storm clouds, and she guessed that this would be the worst scuffle of all. Aduun would assert his dominance, would hold his claim over theirs, and this time their little shelter wouldn’t survive the resulting fight.

  Finally, she felt Aduun
’s shaft ease, and he leaned back, pulling out of her. A fresh gush of seed dripped down the backs of her thighs, and she immediately missed the fullness of him inside her.

  “Nina?” he asked again, his hands gentle on her hips as he drew away from her.

  Nina shifted, lowering herself onto the blanket to sit. She winced. “I’m fine. A little sore, but fine.”

  “You were not interested in claiming her from the start,” Balir said through his teeth. “And now…this?”

  “I have mated with her,” Aduun replied, “but mine is not the only claim. She is mine, but she is also…yours. Her choice was all of us. And she will know all of us, as she wishes.”

  Nina understood how difficult it was for Aduun to speak those words; his beast wanted nothing more than to fight for what it viewed as its possession, wanted nothing more than to take her to some secluded den far away from everyone and everything to have her to itself.

  The tension lingered in the air for what felt like a long while. Each of their beasts viewed her in a similar fashion, desiring to possess the sole claim on her.

  Nina met Vortok’s gaze. “I’ve chosen all of you,” she reminded him gently. “Equally.”

  Aduun stepped up to Vortok and looked up at him. “The light is failing. We’ve all worked hard these past few days. Perhaps we should clean up, share a meal, and take time to remember that we are a tribe, no matter what our nature may sometimes tell us.”

  Moving quietly, Balir walked to the alcove they’d made for the fire, brushing Nina’s leg with his tail on the way. He found the skull-bowls they’d fashioned nearby, picked them up, and went outside — likely to obtain fresh snow.

  Vortok shifted his gaze from Aduun to Nina, and as it lingered on her, his expression eased. “You are right,” he finally said. “We are a tribe. A family. Wanting to wring your neck from time to time, Aduun, is just a reminder of that.”

  Aduun smirked and lifted a hand, patting Vortok roughly on the shoulder.

  Vortok smiled wide. “I’ll fetch some of the meat. I’m hungry.”

  “That’s no surprise,” Balir said as he slipped back inside and carried the snow-laden bowls to the fireside. “While you do that, I will help clean our female.” He turned his head slightly toward Aduun. “You are on your own.”

  Nina laughed at Aduun’s exaggerated grimace as Balir knelt beside her. After placing the bowls next to the fire, he settled his hands on her knees and gently spread them. She put up no resistance, but she did blush. He inhaled, and the red spots on his neck flared. Leaning over her, he purred.

  “Once you are ready, Nina, it’s my turn.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Help…us! Nina…

  Nina.

  Nina!

  Come now!

  Nina woke with a choked gasp. She sat up, eyes squeezed shut against the throbbing in her head, and pressed a hand to her chest. Her heart pounded. For a moment, the ringing in her ears silenced all outside sound, leaving only the echo of those desperate, demanding voices in her mind.

  All three valos stirred around her, pushing themselves up from the floor.

  “What is wrong?” Aduun asked.

  Swallowing thickly, she forced her eyes open and blinked the sleep from them. She looked to the snow packed loosely at the entrance of the shelter. By the quality of the light seeping through the small vent holes, it was morning.

  “Today,” she said, reaching up to massage her temples. “We need to leave today.”

  The valos wore concerned frowns, and all three touched her at the same time — one hand on her thigh, one on her right forearm, one on her left shoulder. That physical contact grounded her.

  “Did you hear the calls again?” Balir asked.

  “Yes. They were…urgent. They need us to come now.”

  “We’ve stocked ourselves well,” Aduun said, “and we know the storm will not break. We were nearing the time when we would have left, as it was.”

  They stoked the fire, and even Vortok was restrained as they ate a light breakfast. No one spoke more than a few words. They were all aware of the potential hardships that awaited.

  The silence was a complete change from the evening before. After they’d cleaned themselves of dirt, blood, and…other substances, they’d gathered around the fire and told stories of their tribe’s history while sharing a warm meal. The stories continued well after their portions were gone, and Nina had helped Vortok finish the hide clothing as they talked, laughed, and imagined scenes from tales that might’ve seemed too outlandish to be true were it not for the awe-inspiring things they’d all seen on Sonhadra. When it was time to sleep, the valos had curled up next to her, bodies pressed together with hers for warmth. Their hands had been restless, roaming over her freely.

  She’d drifted to sleep when her weariness finally outweighed the pleasure of their touches, but she couldn’t remember dreaming. Only those voices…

  There was something different about them this time. She’d heard their desperation, felt their hunger, but beneath that, she’d detected…impatience. It was likely a normal reaction to knowing help was on the way after so many years spent in a terrible situation, but she couldn’t shake a feeling of wrongness even though logic said it was an insignificant observation.

  As Aduun left their shelter to gather their food stores, Nina dressed in her new hides. The material was soft but durable enough to protect her from the cold. With shaggy fur still attached on the outside, her movements would be slightly hindered, but she’d gladly trade some grace for warmth.

  “The clothes are wonderful, Vortok,” Nina said, grinning up at him. She stepped closer, grasped the mane fur beneath his chin, and pulled him down for a kiss. “Thank you.”

  He returned the kiss enthusiastically, if a bit roughly, and smiled down at her when she pulled away. “Hopefully this is just one of many.”

  “Kisses or clothes?”

  “Both.”

  Nina chuckled. As she turned to gather her things, Balir leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers. Before breaking the kiss, he slid the tip of his long, pointed tongue along her lips.

  He leaned back. “Vortok can’t hoard them all.”

  Her cheeks heated. His kiss roused memories of what his tongue had done between her thighs, but she pushed her desires aside. They needed to leave. Even if they were unable to find time to be intimate along their journey, they’d have plenty of opportunities to explore their affections once they made it out of this place.

  After they’d collected all their provisions, they crawled out of the shelter and into the storm. Wind and snow blasted Nina, whipping her hair across her face. Brushing snow off her legs, she stepped forward, allowing Balir and Vortok adequate space to emerge behind her. Aduun already stood outside waiting.

  He handed the simple bag Vortok had crafted to Balir, who slung it over his shoulder with the strap across his chest.

  “Ride with Nina,” Aduun said. “Share warmth with her and help her guide us. It will be faster if we travel as beasts, as deep as the snow has become.”

  Nina didn’t want to watch them shift — she didn’t want to see their pain any more than she wanted to feel it — but she couldn’t bring herself to look away as Vortok and Aduun’s forms altered. This was her first clear view of Aduun as a beast.

  He was what they all referred to as a quillbeast; she’d never seen one before him, had never heard of such a creature, and he was both magnificent and terrifying. His quills were even larger and more pronounced as a beast, sweeping back from his head, neck, and shoulders. His body was long, his front shoulders and legs powerfully muscled, with large paws and wicked black claws. His thick tail moved from side to side as though with impatience. Dark stripes ran over the fur of his back and legs.

  Her closest references came from memories Quinn had shared with her — memories of Earth animals Nina would never see in person. Aduun was like a mixture of the creatures Quinn knew as hyenas, tigers, and porcupines, but larger and more intimidating
than any of the three.

  When their changes were complete, Balir helped Nina up onto Vortok’s back and leapt up behind her. He removed the heavy fur cloak from her shoulders and swung it around his own before he slid forward. Pressing himself to her back, he wrapped her in his arms, enfolding them both in the cloak. She shifted to find a slightly more comfortable position and dropped her hands to grasp Vortok’s thick mane.

  The snowstorm had maintained its intensity during their days in the shelter, and it showed no signs of easing. The ground was white and the sky dull gray as far as she could see — which wasn’t far, thanks to the whirling snowflakes in the air.

  Nina was a little sad to leave the shelter. However crude its construction, it was theirs, and they’d found contentment within it together.

  After a moment’s concentration, she determined the direction of the voices and pointed Vortok toward them. He snorted, lightly shaking his head from side to side to cast snow off his mane and started forward. The snow was deep, but it was no match for his size and strength; he pressed on at a brisk pace. Nina kept her head down to protect her face from the wind and snow. The brief exposure she’d experienced while getting onto Vortok’s back had been enough to bring stinging pain to her cheeks.

  Balir seemed to sense her discomfort; he adjusted his hold on the cloak, raising it to block her face from the biting wind. She brushed her hand along his arm.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  They rode for a long while; she had no means by which to gauge the passage of time, but at least she was protected from the worst of the wind’s bite. Were Vortok and Aduun warm enough as they were? Could some of the hides have gone to shield them from the elements?

  A pang of guilt struck her. She knew it wasn’t her fault, but she couldn’t help feeling like a burden. They had delayed over the last few days to counteract her shortcomings. As much as they hungered, the valos could go indefinitely without food or water, and though the cold was uncomfortable to Balir, she doubted it could kill him like it almost killed her.