Torment (Primal Progeny Book 1)

by Stacey Mewse

  She smiled and closed her eyes in bliss as he thrust into her with all his force, just once. She ground her body against him, moving her hips so that his cock stimulated every nerve inside of her. Her muscles tensing and releasing around his length as he began pounding into her again. He grunted and groaned as his thrusts became harder and faster, and she leaned up to bite at his neck and shoulder as she felt him pulse and throb. He exploded inside her with a shudder that ran all over his body. Then slowly sank down onto her and kissed her passionately, remaining joined to her and pinning her in place with his weight.

  She returned his kiss and wearily sank against the bed, feeling sadness at the sensation of his erection shrinking away inside her.

  Eventually he moved away and slid out of her, holding her still with one strong hand.

  ‘Don’t move my love’ He insisted. ‘I will get you anything you need, all I want is for you to stay there and bask in the glow or our passions.’

  Audra smiled and her head tiled to the side. ‘As you wish…’ She muttered as her eyelids flickered closed. She was tired and satisfied, and had no desire to go anywhere.

  As she began to breathe more deeply Varulv stood and moved to the drawers on the far side of the room. He opened the top drawer and lifted out a small pill bottle, shaking two out into his palm. There was a glass of water on top of the drawers and he dropped the pills into it and watched them fizz and bubble away to nothing.

  He returned to the bed and gently shook Audra’s shoulder. ‘Drink this.’ He instructed as she sat up slightly, bleary eyed.

  She took the glass and swallowed down its content without question, slumping back to the bed and falling into an easy slumber.

  Standing over her, Varulv smiled to himself. He had no doubt that so close to being in heat her body would snatch up his offering and she would fall pregnant. Having drugged her he would not have to worry about her moving or discovering what he had hidden away in the room across the hall.

  As he thought about that his smile grew. He walked to the door and closed it quietly behind him. Strutting across the hallway to the door on the far side and swinging it open. For him the fun was only just about to begin.

  Chapter 36

  The hunting party jogged for well over an hour before they finally came to the edge of the city. They emerged from the woodland they had been travelling through one by one. On the far side of the field where they had found the remains of Varulv’s latest victim, they had entered the woods and remained under cover for the rest of the journey. Tobias and Eve were unhappy about how much time had passed. Though it had taken them much less time to reach the edge of the city than it would have taken a human man or woman.

  Eve moved to the head of the group and turned her back to the city lights to instruct the group. She looked across from each worried face to the next and pulled an expression that suggested concern.

  ‘I need more anger from you all. WE need more anger from you.’ She was stern, knowing everything rode on the success of their expedition. ‘I know that this is out of the blue. That this is dangerous and not how any of you wanted to be spending your night… But this is necessary! If we leave him to get away with everything he’s done since he has been on this island, then we’re accomplices in his crimes. We know who the murderer is, and we can find him. If we don’t stop him then we are as guilty as he is.’

  Finnlay murmured in response ‘yeah.’ And the others nodded along. The only one who gave a real response was Hunter.

  ‘We shouldn’t need encouragement!’ He snapped sideways at the other males. ‘I was under the illusion that werewolves were aggressive monsters for years, and I’m now wondering who perpetuated that myth!? You should be chomping at the bit to get this beast; he’s risking the exposure of all of us! He killed my oldest friend. He killed my family, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to kill Audra.’

  The others scowled back at him, some curing their lips in anger, but they were cut off before they could respond.

  Eve scowled at them all ‘Hunter’s right and you all know it, tack on some fucking balls and start getting angry! Varulv could make it so that we’re all hunted down and killed. Or even worse, I can only imagine the kinds of experiments humans would like to do on our kind. He needs to be stopped, and we all need to be in this enough to know that we can do it.’

  Tobias nodded. ‘I know you haven’t ever had to fight before, but that’s no reason to sabotage us now. I trusted each of you to join us on this trip, don’t disappoint us or your alpha.’

  Mason spoke for the group when he replied ‘we won’t. We’re all in this together and we’ll be behind you every step of the way.’

  ‘Good.’ Eve smiled tightly, worried about what they would find but sure that they would prove loyal when the time came. ‘Now we need to work out a plan before we find him. He’s close, we can all smell him. And he’s got Audra; we can all smell that too. Now we need to work out how we’re going to get to him and get Audra out safely.’

  This got her a few sneers from the surrounding males.

  ‘It doesn’t matter what she’s done, she’s a slave to her hormones by the smell of it. She deserves at least a chance at forgiveness.’ Eve scowled at them ‘and you should be ashamed of yourselves. As has already been said, we all make mistakes. I don’t particularly like her, and I think that’s common knowledge. But that doesn’t mean I want her left in the hands of a murderer.’

  ‘Well said’ Tobias chimed in ‘its not about like or dislike. She’s part of the pack and its our duty to protect each other.’

  ‘Thank you Tobias’ Eve smiled briefly at her co-beta. ‘Now how are we doing this?’

  Tobias took up the conversation from there, stepping forward and adopting a commanding tone. ‘We’re going to continue to follow his scent until we reach the city. Then we’ll follow it in until we’re roughly a mile away from wherever he’s hiding. Once we get to that point we’ll find somewhere secluded and Matthew, Eve and myself will all make the change. Hunter will continue straight on to the location where Varulv is hiding, and he will take Eve with him. Finnlay will skirt round to come towards Varulv from the left and will take Matthew with him. Mason will take me with him and we will approach from the right.’

  ‘We can’t just walk through a crowded city with half of us in wolven form!’ Hunter interrupted.

  Tobias shook his head and chuckled. ‘People will believe anything you tell them if you say it with enough conviction. If anyone questions you, you’re out walking your Czech wolf dog. None of us have ever been further questioned after that. If they try to touch, just tell them the breed is very obedient but not stranger friendly. Any other questions?’

  Mason spoke up ‘what do we do when we get there?’

  ‘We make sure the hiding place is surrounded, and if its safe to do so the rest of us change immediately on arrival. If it’s not safe then the few of us who are already transformed will head in and keep Varulv busy. That will give the rest of you time to change, except for you Hunter.’ Tobias looked into the lone werewolf’s eyes. ‘You need to remain in human form. One of us is going to need to be able to use their thumbs.’

  Everyone agreed with the plan that had been laid out for them. Hunter was glad he was not expected to change, he was not confident he’d manage it. Not enough time had passed since his last transformation and he did not have the discipline or experience that the pack members did. He wondered how Eve would manage in the wake of her most recent change, but pushed his worries to the back of his mind as best he could. He needed to focus.

  Tobias turned and began to walk away, calling over his shoulder ‘Lets get going, less thinking more doing people!’

  Tobias broke back into a jog and the others followed suit, chasing him down the slope that led to the city. They were no longer directly following Varulv’s scent trail, instead heading for the city border as the crow flew. They would be able to pick up his scent again easily once they reached their destination. It was logica
l to assume that he might have tried to confuse them by winding around and going back on himself. So close to his lair he would be more cautious, they had no doubt of that.

  Hunter skidded down a sharp incline, his feet sliding along on loose stones. He almost fell but managed to recover before totally losing his balance. Eve laughed at him, though her laughter was devoid of true merriment. He shot her a look and continued to jog onward. She sped her pace to catch up with him and jogged past with a smug look on her face. He chased her and overtook, and their little game was not lost on the others.

  Tobias raised his eyebrows to himself, thinking that now was hardly the time for flirting. Knowing that death and stress bought out strange things in people he had expected some kind of obscure behavior. But he had not thought Eve would be interested in Hunter… Even though he was not romantically interested in her himself, he felt a strong bond in the way that a brother might. He didn’t want her getting hurt. He jogged back to his place at the front of the group and shouted as he passed the others.

  ‘I’ll race you!’

  With that he broke into a run and sped off, skidding and sliding and kicking up stones and dirt. It took a moment for the others to register that he had issued a challenge. Once it had absorbed into their worry stricken brains they made chase.

  Mason was the first to follow, his slender frame powering past the others from his place at the back of the group. He was slim but fit and ran fast in human form, easily passing the others before they had even realized the race was on. Finnlay stumbled as Mason sped close past him, and scowled at the back of his head. Bending his knees he pushed himself hard into running and powered after the other werewolf, his arms pumping by his sides as he ran full tilt. Matthew and Hunter began to run at the same time, both starting slow and building their speed as they wound through the thinning trees. This left Eve jogging by herself for a moment. She rolled her eyes and sighed before throwing herself into a run. Her leg ached a little in protest but she ignored it, and was soon caught up with them.

  Predictably Mason had sped straight to the front of the pack and he ran tirelessly without complaint. He even once looked over his shoulder to ensure he was still in the lead and Tobias caught the side of his competitive grin.

  Running at full speed they covered the ground between the edge of the woods and the city border quickly. It was roughly three miles between the two, though they had no way of knowing at the time. With their heightened senses and abilities came the skill of being able to travel at great speed. It took them under ten minutes to reach the city’s edge.

  Once they had all skidded to a halt Tobias let them all recover for a moment. He rested his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths, enjoying the cool breeze on his arms and face for a moment. When they had all had a chance to get their breath back he turned to Matthew and gestured towards the city.

  ‘Can you find his scent again from here?’

  Matthew nodded ‘I’m sure I can, just give me a second to get my nose accustomed to the city smells.’ He breathed deeply for a moment, letting himself get used to the plethora of scents. He grimaced when he first sniffed at the air. He could smell rotting rubbish and human waste, old food and cheap aftershave. He turned his head and sniffed more deeply. The scent of Varulv hit him like a slap in the face. It was distant but it was definitely him, and Audra was still with him and still alive!

  ‘Got him.’ He smirked at Tobias ‘its this way.’ He turned and began to make his way along the city border, knowing the others would follow.

  The rest of the group caught up with him quickly and followed in silence while he trailed after Varulv’s scent. They passed by ramshackle flats and alleys that reeked of all of humanity’s vices. The smell of blood and drugs was thick in the air on that side of the city. The smell of sex and disease lingered in a way that tasted sour on their tongues when they breathed.

  Eve resorted to lifting her t-shirt to cover her nose and mouth after passing by a skip surrounded by dirty needles. ‘This place is disgusting.’ Her painted eyebrows kitted into a fierce scowl.

  Tobias nodded ‘Humanity can be when things are crowded together like this.’

  ‘I can’t wait to get back to the pack house.’ She murmured past a mouthful of her t-shirt.

  Hunter jostled her gently with his elbow and interjected ‘we’ve got stuff to deal with first.’

  Eve shot him a disgusted look and returned to trudging silently after Matthew, who’s sniffing had intensified. He stopped and sniffed about for a moment, frowning to himself.

  ‘This is where they went in’ he confirmed.

  ‘Alright’ Tobias replied ‘well then this is where we go in. Follow your nose Matt and we’ll be right behind you.’

  Matthew nodded and turned into the city itself, trying to be more discreet about the fact that he was scenting the air. If anyone saw him with his head tilted back sniffing and squinting they’d stick out like a sore thumb. The last thing they needed was to be stopped.

  ‘He’s not far from the edge of the city.’ Matthew muttered as they walked deeper and deeper into the filthy streets.

  ‘Good’ Eve stated flatly. ‘Then we’d better find somewhere to change.’

  Tobias motioned that they should wait and scouted ahead, ducking down a side alley and reappearing moments later. He waved them on ‘Down here, there’s no lights and no recent human scents. No fresher than two days old anyway.’

  They followed Tobias down the narrow alley and he instructed them as to what they should do. ‘Hunter, take Finnlay and Mason to the entrance of the alleyway and block it off from view as much as you can. Try and make it look inconspicuous. I don’t care what you do, but try and look friendly so people don’t think something is going on down here.’

  Hunter nodded and propped himself up against a dirt crusted wall, beckoning to the other two to join him. Mason loitered on the far side of the alley and Finnlay stood between them, obscuring the alley itself from view. They made awkward idle chitchat, laughing and joking loudly to try and appear drunk. It was the only way not to look out of place.

  Hunter jostled with the other two men, and made as much noise as he could to cover the sounds that were echoing out from the alleyway behind them. He laughed loudly and told jokes he’d heard drunks tell in the local pub over the years. Finnlay followed his lead and bellowed with laughter. Mason looked worried, and though he tried to add to the noise it was obvious he was nervous about their discovery.

  In the darkness of the alley the others had lowered themselves to the ground and shed their clothing. Though it was fairly cool their bodies glistened with sweat and steam rose from them as they began to writhe and squirm. Eve’s head snapped back and her wide eyes caught the lights of the city as her bones began to break and shift. She saw Mason glancing towards them and a sound of anger escaped her. It was something akin to a snarl. But the shifting of her muscles and bones created an awful clacking sound, which ended with a sickening gooey pop as her mouth split open to allow her muzzle to slide forward.

  Hunter grabbed the shoulder of the other man and swung him round to face the city streets, hissing at him. ‘Stop. They don’t need to be watched.’

  Mason nodded awkwardly, he didn’t feel right about the situation at all, and his eyes were becoming wild. Being in such close proximity to others transforming and being under so much stress threatened to force a transformation in him.

  Hunter shook him roughly. ‘Snap the fuck out of it! You’re staying this way, with us. Remember?’

  Mason nodded more slowly, swallowing loudly as he tried to calm himself and cease the will to change.

  Hunter kept his hand on the other mans shoulder for a while, his fingers gripping tightly in an effort to anchor him to his human form. After a while he visibly calmed and Hunter slowly releases his grip. In the meantime Finnlay fell about and laughed and joked, trying to diffuse the obvious tension in case they were being watched. When he was certain of Mason’s demeanor, Hunter finally look
ed away and took up laughing along with Finnlay. Slapping his thighs and telling more terrible jokes along with the younger pack member. Then all of a sudden a cold, wet nose nudged its way into the open palm of his hand.

  He looked down to see the familiar form of Eve’s wolf stood beside him, steam rising in curling tendrils from her thick pelt and her tongue lolling. She was bigger than he remembered her being, which was a good thing as far as he was concerned. Behind her, two more wolves emerged from the darkness. Their eyes shone brightly in the city gloom, as the lights of a thousand iridescent bulbs were reflected from them. The wolf to her left was the great, dirty blonde, hulking form of Tobias. To her right slunk forward an unfamiliar wolf, who Hunter would not have recognized as Matthew had he not known better. His lupine form was a rich brownish grey with red hints; nothing like his shockingly redheaded human counterpart.

  Tobias padded up to Mason’s side and nudged him hard in the direction he wished him to go. Mason complied without questioning and they walked off in silence. Matthew looked up at Finnlay with deep brown, soul-searching eyes and made a small grumble deep in his throat. Finnlay nodded gravely and walked away with his pack-mate in hot pursuit, both discreetly following the wolf’s sensitive nose.