by Jenika Snow
They didn’t speak for several more moments, but Styx was used to the silence, welcomed it even.
“Will you let me leave when I’m fully healed?”
Styx didn’t need to think about her question, because he’d known the answer to that the moment he saw her in the forest. Styx grabbed the pot that up over the fire, heating water. He poured two mugs with the scalding liquid, grabbed herbs, and let them steep in the water for long moments.
“Will you let me go?” she asked again, her voice softer this time.
Styx handed her one of the mugs, looking right in her eyes. “No.”
She reached out for the mug, her eyes wide as she stared at him. “Why? What do you want with me?”
Styx sat down, facing her, and drank from the mug. The herbs made a tea that had calming effects. He drank it every evening before he went to bed. It also helped rejuvenate the body from the inside out.
“Because.” He could have elaborated, could have told her exactly why she wasn’t going to leave, but she was already upset. Telling her anything right now would make it worse. But clearly her anger rose inside of her like an angry beast. She clenched her jaw, and anticipating what she was going to do, Styx leaned to the side just as she threw the mug at him. Droplets of the hot liquid splashed on his bare arm, but there was no pain. The mug clanked against the cavern wall before falling to the ground and rolling back toward him.
He didn’t speak, wasn’t upset either. She was afraid, angry, and lashing out was her way of getting her fear out. But what Styx did do was stand, walk over to her, and stop when he was a foot from where she sat. He was a feared creature, had been in his tribe, but also in the outside world. He liked it that way. It gave him strength, let others know he was a predator. But he didn’t want his mate to be afraid. And she was his mate, his wife, and would be the mother of his babies.
“Tell me, you asshole.” She was on the verge of tears now, the scent of a cool breeze after it rained filling his head. “You might have saved my life, but keeping me here is wrong.”
Maybe it was, but Styx was a bastard in all ways, and he wanted this female with a ferocity that rivaled even the most deadly of beasts in this part of the world.
“You want to know why I won’t let you leave?” She didn’t answer, but he didn’t expect her to. Styx took another step toward her and crouched on his haunches, so they were face-to-face. He lowered his gaze to her lips and watched as she licked them. “I won’t let you leave because I plan on making you my mate, on having you as my wife.” Her eyes widened even further, and although she was shocked, the scent lingering in the air was like sweet, dried fruit. It was that flash of curiosity that was the strongest. He reached out and cupped her chin in his hand, her skin warm, soft. She couldn’t move away, not with her back to the wall. “And here,” he lowered his hand down her neck, between her breasts, and placed his open palm right over her belly. “Here is where my babies will grow.”
****
Was Audrey hearing this man right? He was claiming she was his mate? He was keeping her here to make her his wife, to impregnate her? She was not a vessel. Gods, was this any better than being with the slavers? The man who’d bought her at the auctions if she’d stayed would have used her. It seemed that was exactly how things would work here, as well.
No, Audrey couldn’t be a vessel for some … beast. He might appear to be human, but Audrey knew he was far from it. He was still so close, and she couldn’t find the strength to actually try to move from him. Audrey stared into his dark eyes. His face had smears of dirt covering it, and his hair, on the longer side, was unkempt and fell to his chin. The front of him was just as impressive as the back of him, with all the muscles on display. He did have a few tattoos marring his flesh, ones that were mainly made up of lines placed together and in patterns. She didn’t know what they meant, but she could assume they had something to do with where he was from. And then there were the scars that couldn’t be hidden by the ink. The raised skin was along his arms and upper chest, and for a split second she wondered how he’d gotten them.
Probably fighting and defeating some hideous creature.
But Audrey shouldn’t have been thinking about anything but leaving this man and this place. She wasn’t going to be a prisoner, not to the slavers, the man who’d purchased her, or this barbarian. She might not know where she was going to go, or if she’d even survive the foreign wilderness, but she had to try.
With his huge hand on her belly, his palm seeming to take up the entire area, all she felt was this tingling in her gut, this fluttering in her chest. Why did she feel like this? Why didn’t she feel disgust and anger that this savage wanted to keep her as some kind of pet?
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” he asked, his focus on her mouth, his voice so deep she swore she felt it vibrate throughout her entire body. His breath was warm and smelled sweet, like cinnamon and herbs. The tendrils of her hair moved along her cheek every time he exhaled.
“Tell me what you are called, female.” His voice had gone softer, and if this male could have been called gentle, she knew that act would have been the max for it. “I am called Styx, but if you prefer you can call me ‘mate’ or ‘husband’.” He was looking at her lips again, and gods, why did that have to be as exciting as it was?
“I’ll call you no such thing,” she managed to say. He lifted his gaze and looked into her eyes. “And I’ll tell you nothing of me.”
Another low growl left him. It excited her as much as it frightened her, and self-anger filled her that she couldn’t control how she felt.
“You’ll tell me everything soon enough, mate.”
“I won’t be a prisoner, a sex slave for you.” She was surprised she’d managed to say that much, but she was glad the words had come out. She wouldn’t be anyone’s toy, not even this male, who was bigger and stronger than any other person she’d even come in contact with.
He grinned, a flash of straight white teeth amidst his dirt streaked face. But the smile was not something to soothe her, and instead offered a dark promise. She knew that as much as she knew he was right before her.
“You will not be a prisoner, female.” He moved back an inch and took his hand from her belly. She felt her muscles tightening from the act and was confused by the way her body reacted. “You will be my wife, equal in all aspects. But being the male, your husband, I will provide and protect. You will never be frightened or be harmed under my watch.”
Her throat was so dry, her tongue feeling swollen. She wanted to curse at him, to say something, but all she could do was watch as he moved away from her and over to the pallet that was on the other side of the fire. But he didn’t sleep, like she’d thought … hoped? No, he grabbed several furs and came back to her. Audrey was pressed to the hard, rough cavern wall, not able to move as he put the furs beside her.
“Lie down and sleep. Come morning you’ll feel better.”
She didn’t know if he meant physically, or that she’d somehow think this situation was any better than what she’d been about to face with the slavers. But she didn’t move, couldn’t.
“Sleep, my female.” He pulled her toward him, and Audrey found herself lying down, face-to-face with him. She was shocked, frightened, but more so she found curiosity ran high in her. She had to try to escape though, because even if her future looked bleak, and she didn’t know if she’d even survive out there on her own, she had to try.
Not trying meant death, maybe not in the literal sense, but death all the same.
Chapter Four
The deep, even sounds of her captor breathing told Audrey he had finally fallen asleep. For what seemed like hours upon hours she’d lain there, still, silent, but she’d felt his eyes upon her, knew he watched her. But Audrey couldn’t have fallen asleep anyway, not with her mind working a mile a minute and her entire body screaming for her to run. But even though she had the instinct to escape, there was this small part of her, this little voice in the back of her head,
that said this male wanted her like nothing else in this world. He’d saved her, healed her, and wanted her for himself. He’d told her he’d protect her, care for her, and in return he wanted her to be only his.
But she couldn’t just roll over to be his in all ways, not when she’d managed to escape the slavers and a life of sexual servitude. Essentially, wouldn’t staying with this male be the same thing?
She opened her eyes and stared into his face. For how dirty he was she couldn’t help but admire the fact he was handsome, in a very savage, brutal kind of way. The fire was still going strong, and the light from the flames cast shadows throughout the stone surrounding them. She was on her back, and she looked down the length of her body to see his hand on her belly, holding her in place. The heavy weight was a reminder that this man saw her as his.
Audrey shifted slightly, and snapped her focus to his face to see if even the slightest move from her would wake him. He still slept, so she moved a little more, rising up and moving to the side until his hand fell onto the furs and away from her. Moving quickly away from him was what she wanted to do, but she needed to take things slow, and be patient if she wanted to escape and go unnoticed by him.
Audrey sat there motionless, not even breathing as she stared at Styx. His breathing hadn’t changed, and it was still even, easy. His body was so big that when she’d been lying down his form had blocked off everything else. Breathing out slowly, Audrey started to stand. Her side was still bandaged, of course, but she felt nothing in terms of pain aside from a slight pulling sensation. Whatever had been in that tea he’d made her drink really did help.
Are you sure this is the best option? Do you think running into the unknown, and up against things that know this land far better than you’ll ever know, is really the best course of action?
No, she couldn’t think that way, couldn’t let herself be fooled into thinking that staying here, after what he’d told her, was the best option.
She stood there, not moving, just watching him. Ever so slowly she stepped over him, her body tight, and her hands balled into fists at her sides. She wasn’t breathing again, not wanting to even cause the slightest ripple of air that might wake him. Once she was on the other side of him she moved slowly toward the left, where she assumed the exit to the cave was. The fire crackled and popped in that instant, startling her and having a little gasp of inhalation come from her. She froze, looking over her shoulder at Styx. He still lay with his back to her, his chest rising and falling easily.
Just run.
And she did. Audrey took off down the long cavernous corridor, a few torches placed on the stone wall beside her. She breathed fast and heavily, pumped her arms and pushed herself harder. But with each passing second that slight pull in her side gave way to something more uncomfortable, something painful. She didn’t know how long she ran, but her side throbbed. Audrey gritted her teeth and placed her hand on her wound. She felt wetness, but didn’t look down to verify she’d bled through the bandage.
Don’t stop. You can’t stop.
But the corridor seemed to go on forever, and she could barely see ten feet in front of her despite the torch sconces intermittently on either side of her. Audrey’s lungs burned, her legs and feet ached, and her side was hurting even more with every second that passed. And then she saw light up ahead, not bright sunlight, but the muted glow of the moon. It gave her strength, and she pumped her arms and legs harder, wanting to feel the cool, fresh air moving over her face. Freedom was so close, and she didn’t dare look behind her to see if Styx followed.
The opening to the cave came closer and closer, but all she could see was the vast expanse of sky. Audrey didn’t think on that too long, because the taste of freedom controlled too much of her. And then just as she was about to reach the opening she felt her eyes widen as she caught the first glimpse of the canopy.
Canopy?
Massive treetops greeted her view, and she stopped, but not before she realized the cave was high above everything else.
Oh. Gods.
She’d had too much momentum, and the threat of falling right over played through her mind. But she slid onto her ass, sliding on the unforgiving hard ground, dust flying up around her and blocking her vision. Reaching out on instinct, Audrey gripped onto the side of the cave, her palm being sliced open from the jagged rock.
A gasp of pain left her, but it was the shock of nearly falling right over the damn edge that filled her. Once her breathing was semi-normal, she crawled forward on her knees and looked over the edge.
So far up.
Pushing herself up until she stood, her knees threatened to buckle. The wind whipped by, blowing her hair around her face. She still held onto the side of the wall, her nails digging into the rock. Something high pitched sounded, and she lifted her head and looked into the sky. At first she didn’t see anything, but then a massive shadow moved over her.
That was when she saw the creature flying above her. No, not flying above her … flying toward her. A startled cry left Audrey, and she turned, but tripped over her feet in her haste to run back to the man that was holding her captive. It was either jump to her death, let the creature barreling toward her devour her, or run toward Styx.
She went to stand, not wanting to die, and realizing going back into the cave was her only option. Her feet were torn up from the rough, rocky ground, and running away, but she pushed past the pain. But before she could take one step huge arms wrapped around her middle and pulled her back against a hard chest.
An ear-piercing cry left the creature, now so close she could feel the intense wind whipping around her from the monster’s massive wings.
Would she even survive this? Had leaving Styx been smart?
Am I even meant to survive any of this?
****
Styx wrapped his arm tightly around his female’s waist and moved through the corridor. He’d sensed her gone not more than a few moments after she’d left. Her scent had still saturated the air around him, so he knew she couldn’t have gotten far. And when he’d seen her standing at the cavern edge, everything in Styx had frozen. In that moment he hadn’t wanted to picture her taken from him. She might just have been put in his life a short time ago, but he’d already deemed her as his mate, and that meant for life.
The Kasha bird was the largest flying predator in the forest, and it had picked up on his woman’s scent. He chanced a look behind him and saw the bird making its way through the opening of the cave. Its wings had claws at the end to allow it to move swiftly on the ground. But Styx had advanced speed, and he picked up his pace. He heard his mate’s breathing increase, smelled her fear surround them, and the purely mated, male side of him moved faster. He would not let anyone or anything hurt her, or take her away from him.
The creature screeched out loudly, the cavern becoming even narrower the further he moved. That was what made this home protected from the outside elements and predators. If one did come through, the cave was too small for them to pass into because of their large sizes. And if a smaller creature made it into the main part of his cave, he could hold his own against it.
“The more frightened you are, the faster the creature will come.” Although telling her that wouldn’t stop her from being afraid, he wanted her to know how this worked. She might be from the same world as he was, but the forest, where he lived, was far different than she was probably used to.
He finally made it into the main cavern, set her on the ground and grabbed his sword that hung on the stone wall with a hook. He moved toward the opening of the cavern, ready to face off with the creature, even if it couldn’t reach them in this part of the mountain.
He cast a glance over his shoulder at his female, saw she was wide eyed, and smelled her panic. It was clear she was an innocent in this world. Wherever she’d come from she either had been sheltered, or hadn’t been thrust into dangerous territory. But Styx was glad things had played out this way, because if not she wouldn’t have fully understood the danger
s of this land, or the fact he would, and could, protect her above all else.
With one more look right in her eyes, he turned and went to face off a beast that had meant to take his mate from him.
Chapter Five
Audrey was shaking, every part of her tense, the fight or flight mode waging war inside of her. Styx had disappeared down the corridor only seconds ago, and the creature’s ear-piercing wail echoed throughout the cavern. There was a second of silence, and she held her breath, not sure what was going on. Styx had taken a massive looking sword before he left, and all she could think of was him fighting that beast. How could he even possibly survive something like that? The beast looked like something out of a nightmare, and it had been intent on having her as dinner.
But then there was more screeching, followed by what sounded like metal on the stone. That fight seemed to go on forever, and as much as she wanted to leave, she was frozen in place, staring at the opening and expecting the beast to emerge.
Styx saved me even though I ran from him.
She shouldn’t have cared either way, but even telling herself that he’d taken her, claimed she was his, didn’t dim the fact he’d saved her life for the second time.
She rose up, her hands in tight fists at her side, her focus trained on the entrance of the corridor. Her heart was beating so fast and hard it almost drowned out the sound of fighting … almost. She heard grunts from Styx echoing off the walls, heard that terrifying creature screech out, and then there was nothing, silence, stillness.
Her pulse beat wildly at the base of her throat, and she started to move backward, away from the opening, not sure if Styx or that creature would be the one that emerged.
She turned and saw another very short corridor, this one lit up brightly. There were two semi-large caverns that split off from the short corridor, but she could see there were no exits in either one of them.