PrimalDemand

by Rebecca Airies

  “No one chooses that,” she whispered the words, but went along with him. She understood the need to know more and find those lost to the damn monks.

  In truth, it was worse with men than with women. In general, they took women when they were paid, except if they were a threat to the monks. Men, on the other hand, were often taken if the monks thought they could use them. Such as that group of warriors. She had no idea how they did it, but at times they took up to ten at one time. They’d done that once with men from one of the warrior clans in the Dahal.

  Arron didn’t take them too close to the group. They wandered down the street to the end. The group of warriors was now on the next street. They moved as a unit without a word. She couldn’t tell what they were doing, but they appeared to be searching. Groups of two men would fan out whenever they reached a connecting street or alley. They’d move down the street and then return to the main group. The odd thing was they didn’t appear to be visually searching.

  Arron led her down a connecting street. He kept her close to him. She didn’t try to move away from him. She hadn’t expected it to be so easy to get into the city and once they had, she’d expected to be confronted by her brother or some of his friends. They wanted her back and wouldn’t stop. She knew it. The knowledge she held would give their clan power.

  “They’re not like me, but I know what they are. I know who to contact to get help for them and begin the search for their people. Someone is missing them, I’d wager.” Arron leaned close to whisper the words to him.

  She nodded, but she focused on looking at everyone in front of them. It couldn’t be as easy as walking through the city and leaving the planet. Her brother and the other warriors of his clan wouldn’t give up so easily after chasing her here.

  They moved into a busier part of the city. She guessed they were nearing a market or some other business section. The streets here were a little clearer. No boxes or refuse littered the lane and the buildings appeared to be kept in better condition. She kept looking at each face she could see, searching for someone she recognized so that they’d have some warning. As they approached the entrance to what she could now tell was a large market square, she saw one of the men from her brother’s warrior clan. She’d seen him many times before she’d left Parit.

  “They’re here.” She reached out to touch Arron’s arm.

  “I know. My friends are close. Your brother won’t take you away from me.” Arron’s hand settled on her shoulder and squeezed.

  He was trying to reassure her and for a moment, it did. But then she remembered her brother wasn’t alone. As much faith as Arron had in his friends, he hadn’t seen any of them. He said they were nearby, but were they even in the city? Arron could get killed trying to fight her brother and his friends. Her heart beat faster. Should they stay or try to run?

  “Don’t panic. You only run if I tell you to. Then you get out of the city if possible. I’ll find you.” Arron’s voice was low and steady. She found his confidence reassuring. “It probably won’t come to that.”

  She took a deep breath and nodded. Fear pumped through her as he kept walking down the street. She wanted to go anywhere but toward that market.

  “They won’t be as likely to pull weapons in the middle of a crowd. We’ll be safer there.” Arron leaned close and his voice was barely above a whisper.

  She swallowed and felt only a moment of relief. They wouldn’t be so quick to use something obvious like a sword, but if Arron became too much of a hindrance they could use a knife without anyone seeing what happened and who did it.

  They walked into the market, but Leah didn’t feel any safer as they walked among the stalls and passed small groups of people. She felt surrounded. Even though she didn’t see anyone she recognized at the moment, she felt stalked and hunted. Her eyes darted from one place to the other and her breath rasped in her throat.

  “It’s all right. My friends are close.” He reached over and squeezed her hand briefly.

  She wished she knew what they looked like and could be sure of that. She didn’t see anyone as muscled as Arron. She didn’t know what to look for in these men. Would they be wearing the same type of clothing as he’d been wearing when she’d seen him in in the library? Would they have a symbol on their clothes somewhere? This wasn’t the time to ask him though.

  She felt a hand on her shoulder and gasped as she spun away from the pressure. Arron reached out and pulled her to him, guiding her behind him. She didn’t know where the man who’d grabbed her had come from, but it was definitely one of the men from her village. She easily recognized him, but he hadn’t been close to her a moment ago. She eased a little away from Arron, giving him room to move, but tried to stay close to him.

  Arron faced the man, but she caught him glancing to the side. She didn’t know if he expected more people to attack or if he’d seen something she hadn’t. She didn’t have time to wonder long. Two men jumped at Arron. She stayed back. One was smaller, but he moved quickly. The two smaller man lunged in, his fist shot toward Arron’s side. Arron blocked the punch, but the larger man swung at the same moment. His clenched hand glanced over Arron’s jaw.

  An arm wrapped around her waist. She screamed as she was lifted away and hauled back. Arron turned and stumbled as the smaller man slammed his fist into Arron’s lower back.

  “Did you think we’d let you get away? You’ll do what you’re told.” The man holding her tightened his arms as she tried to twist away from him. He carried her away from Arron.

  She kicked. Her feet slammed against his shins, but he didn’t even flinch. She scratched at his arms. One arm released her, but the other held her easily. His free arm rose. She didn’t wait. As his arm rose near her head, she bit and clamped her teeth down. He tried to pull his arm away, but she didn’t release. If he wanted to get her mouth off his arm, he was going to have to use his other hand. She was determined.

  “Bitch, let go.” His arm loosened, but moved up higher and he began squeezing.

  The band across her chest forced the air slowly from her and she could barely draw in a breath. She bit harder. If he didn’t release her, she was determined to take a chunk out of him. His arm tightened. She felt a little dizzy. Even though her chest ached and her lungs burned, she kept her teeth sunk into his arm.

  She felt a jerk, heard a faint smacking sound. He stumbled. Her feet touched the ground. She didn’t know why, but her heart pounded in her chest and she knew she’d pass out soon if she didn’t get some air. A hand entered her vision and pulled away the hand at her chest. As soon as that band of pressure lifted, she released her grip on the man’s arm. She stumbled forward away from her captor. Her legs wouldn’t hold her. She dropped to her knees, desperate for air. Dragging in gulping breaths of air, she looked up to see two men holding the man who’d dragged her away from Arron. Just by looking at them, she knew these were Arron’s friends. They had the same wild, almost dangerous aura about them and the same black hair. Dressed in white shirts and black leather pants, the men were obviously warriors. It wasn’t simply the swords and knives they wore though.

  “We’re here to help you and Arron.” Another man came and helped her to her feet.

  “Arron! You have to help him.” She spun and looked back toward where Arron should be.

  “Don’t worry. He’s just finishing up. Although he took a couple of good blows when you were taken from behind him, he didn’t have any real trouble. If any more of the men had stepped up to help them, we would have gotten them.” The man sounded almost cheerful.

  She wanted to hit him. “But you let him fight two men alone.”

  “He wouldn’t want our help. He wants you to know that he’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.” The big man crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Arron’s fist slammed into the smaller man’s jaw.

  She saw the determination on his face and beyond him she could see her brother and a couple of other warriors from his warrior clan standing and watching. She knew t
hey’d be involved if Arron’s friends weren’t there, ready to help. In that moment, she knew they wouldn’t stop.

  No matter what stood in their way, her brothers and their warrior clan would keep coming after her. She’d always hoped they’d stop chasing her after she managed to put a few worlds between them. In spite of what she’d known in her mind, she hadn’t been able to push aside that bit of hope that at least her brothers would cease helping. It wasn’t ever going to be over. They’d search for her and eventually find her. As long as she held the secret, they’d come after her. Arron was right. If she was out looking for her sister, they would get her. No one could be with her every moment of the day.

  “They’ll keep coming after me.” She shook her head and watched as Arron kicked the larger man in the gut and then put the smaller attacker down with another jab to the chin.

  “Yes, they will until we can take away what they want most,” the man beside her said calmly.

  She didn’t understand what he meant but didn’t ask. She was more worried about Arron than trying to figure out how he thought to stop her brothers and their clan.

  The lithe attacker didn’t rejoin the fight this time. He didn’t move.

  She looked up in time to see Arron slam the large man into a wall and drive his fist into his face. The large man slid down the wall. His head lolled to the side as he came to rest on the ground.

  Arron turned and smiled when he saw her. He walked over to her and took her into his arms. He hugged her tight and she rested her head against his chest. Her arms slipped around him and her hands fisted in the back of his shirt. Being held so close hurt a little after being squeezed, but she needed to hold him. She couldn’t remember ever being as afraid as she was when she was dragged away from him.

  “I told you they were close.” He brushed a kiss across her forehead. “Are you all right?”

  “A few bruises, but nothing more.” She shrugged and tightened her arms around him.

  “You’re bleeding at the mouth.” He touched her lips. “Did he hit you?”

  “That’s not her blood. She bit him.” The man who’d stood beside her as Arron fought stepped into her view.

  Reminded of what she did, she looked at the ground. She didn’t regret it, but thinking about it now felt a little wrong. She searched in her pockets for something to wipe away the blood. Pulling out a square of cloth, she hurriedly wiped at her mouth.

  “Good, you left a mark for him to remember you by.” Arron’s arm tightened again. “Leah, this is Achan Raven Talinian. Achan Raven, this is my mate Leah.”

  “You might go easy with the hug. The man who had her gave her quite a squeeze before we got him off her,” Raven suggested.

  Arron’s eyes narrowed. “You said you weren’t hurt.”

  “I’m not hurt. It’s just some bruises. You can check for yourself when we get a little privacy.” She smiled up at him.

  “He can do it later after we’ve gotten you somewhere safer.” Raven’s voice hardened. “We need to leave. Are we going to have to watch you to make sure you don’t try to leave or was that comment earlier acceptance of the truth?”

  She shot a glare at Arron. Was there anything he hadn’t told his Achan? “They won’t stop and if I’m caught there will be no one looking for her. I’d hoped that by leaving they’d see I wasn’t going to give in to their demands. I’d sooner burn the book than let any of those three clans hold the secret. The fighting would never end.”

  “They’d never see that. You said it yourself. They want to use it to bring the other warrior clans under their control. They wouldn’t see that it will cause more trouble until it’s much too late to stop it.” Arron released her and laced his fingers with hers.

  “Well, hopefully, they’ll be able to find her with only a drawing as reference. And we’ll be able to stop my brothers’ clan from coming after me.” She met Arron’s eyes. She wasn’t sure how long she could hide and wait for them to find her sister.

  “They’ll stop, although I’m not saying it will be soon. They won’t give up easily.” Arron released her hand briefly to grip Raven’s forearm and pull him into a brief hug. “Thank you.”

  “We take care of each other. You know it.” Raven smiled. “Let’s go.”

  Arron once again gripped her hand and guided her into the center of the men gathered behind Raven. He stayed beside her as they walked through the streets. She would have liked to stop and talk with him about everything that happened, but knew they needed to move. Her brothers and their friends might get the courage to attack again. Although she doubted that with the size of the group. She’d counted at least fifteen. When they finally had some privacy, she’d talk with him and ask him some questions. She still didn’t know how they planned to take away what her brothers wanted. Well, other than by destroying the book. That was a little drastic. She’d thought of it herself, but hadn’t done it. The knowledge was valuable to her brothers, but also a lifeline to many others. It was the only way they could get back to the life they’d had before they were taken. Without it, they had no way of learning who to trust or where they belonged.

  Chapter Eleven

  Leah stalked into the room at the inn ahead of Arron. She was happy to have a bed and a roof over their heads for the night, but she was even more appreciative of the time alone with him so they could talk. Arron wouldn’t talk about what had happened or what had been planned even after they had gone through a couple of the travel-gates and were basically around the men from his group. She didn’t understand what was holding him back. He had to know she’d want some answers. She didn’t even know where they were going.

  He closed and secured the door. As he turned to face her, she stepped forward and put her hands on his chest. It was definitely time to talk. She could see the heat in his eyes and knew they wouldn’t have long before both of them gave in to the need to touch and peel off each other’s clothes.

  “Now, I want some answers.” She frowned at him and poked a finger against the muscular wall of his chest. His shirt might blunt the sharpness of her nails, but he felt it. He leaned back against the door and smiled.

  “You could have asked me questions earlier.” He lifted an eyebrow, but leaned back against the door. The man looked as relaxed as if he were lounging on plush bed.

  “Every time I tried, you said not now or that we’d talk privately.” She folded her arms across her chest and scowled at him.

  You were using the wrong way to talk. Anyone could have heard the other way, but with this one, we could talk without fear of anyone listening. He smiled, but his mouth didn’t move other than that.

  “Arron! That way still feels strange to me.” She threw up her hands and turned away from him, walking across the room. In the enclosed room, his scent intensified and her arousal began to rise.

  It won’t get easier until you use it more. He crossed his arms over his chest and his eyes tracked her movements.

  “You’re going to be stubborn about this aren’t you?” She glared at him.

  If you want your answers you’re going to have to talk to me this way. His smile was wide and anticipatory.

  She gritted her teeth to keep from yelling at him. He knew she wanted those answers. The man also realized that trying to talk like that frustrated her. Especially if she was the one trying to contact him. She never knew until he replied if she made the connection. She didn’t feel anything different when the link formed. On top of that there was the very unfamiliarity of it. It felt strange.

  She heaved an exasperated sigh, but sat down on the bed. He wouldn’t change his mind. Stubborn, irritating man. She focused her thoughts. You’ve gotten more demanding in the last few days.

  He smiled and she felt the pride coming from him. It’s the way I always was before I was given that drug. When my memory returned fully, my personality returned to normal.

  I think that it would have returned that way regardless of if you regained your memory. She shook her head.

 
Maybe, but you’d better ask your questions quickly. I want to hold you and cuddle with you when there isn’t any risk of someone coming upon us or a wild animal possibly attacking us. He raised an eyebrow.

  What is the plan to stop my brother and their clan from coming after me until they either get me or I die while they’re trying? She clasped her hands together and watched him. It was all too possible that she could be killed accidentally if they continued to come after her. How long would your Achan tolerate that kind of attack?

  They won’t be that much of a problem. The planet where we live is far from here. It will be hard for them to find us. Aside from that, they aren’t close to the first threats we’ve faced. We’ll deal with them. Arron came away from the door and crossed the room to the bed. He sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

  As much as his answer irritated her, the feel of his arms around her soothed a bit of the anger away. Still, the uncertainty made her nervous. How? How will they make my brothers and their clan give up something they’ve plotted for years to acquire?

  His hand stroked down her arm and he pulled her a little closer. The reason they want you so much is because they want exclusive access to what you know. We’re going to make it not so exclusive.

  I doubt my ancestor was the only one to figure out what herbs and techniques to use. There have to be others out there, but they’re probably in areas just like the one I left. Isolated and secretive. So how are you going to make it not so exclusive? If the monks find out, they might do something different. Not that she saw them completely stopping the use of it. The use of those warriors provided them with security and an unquestioning loyal group of men.

  We’re going to spread the word slowly to trustworthy healers. They’re not going to shout the news. Not everyone will know of it, but the help will be there when needed. It’s not going to be a quick fix though. Arron pulled her into his lap. His hand stroked up and down her back.