by Zoey Draven
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the dagger. It was close. I reached for it when he leaned down over me, my fingertips brushing the handle.
“Not quick enough, kalles,” he murmured. He bent his head close, his eyes flickering down to my lips.
There. I’d dragged the blade close enough with the edge of my middle finger and I snagged it quickly.
“You want a kiss for your victory, Vorakkar?” I whispered, quirking my brows.
His eyes flashed, desire firing in his gaze, and he lowered his lips, intent to claim just that.
But right before his lips touched mine, I whipped the dagger’s edge up to his throat, hovering just above his flesh.
Every muscle in his body tightened. His nostrils flared wide as he looked down at me in surprise.
Grinning, breathing hard, I whispered, “Maybe I get the victory kiss this time.”
Arokan growled. “Then take it, kalles.”
My grip on the blade loosened and I dragged him down, my free hand threading through his thick hair, as I took his lips in an almost angry kiss. I poured all my frustration, all my need into that kiss.
He met me head on, devouring me until my head spun, sucking on my tongue in a way where I felt it between my legs. I grew hot and wet for him in no time at all. The blade fell from my hand to the ground beside me and Arokan repositioned himself so I could spread my legs wide.
With a grunt, while I scrambled to untie the laces of his hide pants, he pushed up the short skirt I’d allowed Mirari and Lavi to dress me in that morning—and I thanked all the deities in the universe for that fortunate decision right then.
I gasped when he slid inside me with a rough thrust, my fingers gripping his shoulders as his head came to rest against the column of my neck.
It was rough and fast and primal. It was exactly what we both needed, to release the tension that had building for the better part of an hour, ever since we started the training session.
And when I came, I bit into his shoulder to conceal my scream, lest the guards come running. Arokan, on the other hand, couldn’t hide his roar of pleasure and it echoed around the forest, ringing in my ears, as he emptied himself inside me.
Afterwards, I laughed, laying in his arms as we recovered.
“Neffar?” he asked, his tone husky and lazy and content. That orgasm had stolen all the fight right out of him.
It was amazing what sex could do, how it made me feel. The past few days with Arokan had been…spectacular. Consuming. I’d felt like I was in this happy daze as I walked around camp, as if nothing could dampen my mood, not even my duty at the pyroki enclosure or whenever I happened to catch sight of Hukan’s glares.
“I was just wondering if the guards heard,” I teased, pressing my cheek against his shoulder.
Arokan grunted. “They have heard worse around camp. I assure you.”
I shook my head, still grinning. Looking up, I saw a million stars twinkling through the canopy of the forest. The dark, black trees towered overhead and if I was with anyone but Arokan, I might find them eerie and frightening. But right then, they were beautiful against the even more beautiful backdrop of the inky sky.
I sighed in contentment, feeling his arm tighten around me, and I squirmed closer when a cool breeze chilled the sweat from our activities on my skin.
“You did well tonight,” he praised softly. “You reminded me of something. That until the very last moment, there is always an opportunity to change your fate.”
“That was lucky,” I commented, my cheeks heating.
“Nik, do not dismiss it, Luna,” he told me. “You distracted me. You did not give up. And you waited until the opportune moment, luring me into a more comprising, vulnerable position so that my throat would be easier to cut.”
My belly fluttered. Though we were discussing a kill strike, one might think he was baring his entire soul to me with how breathless I felt.
“You feel comfortable with the blade?” he asked me next, quietly.
Because of my mother, he meant.
He remembered that and it touched me that he thought to ask.
“It’ll take some getting used to,” I admitted to him. “But it was better than I thought it would be.”
He turned his head to look at me and I found myself looking directly into his eyes, our faces only inches apart.
“Do you have a father?” he asked.
“What?” I asked, laughing a little at how surprising the question was, how unexpected.
“You never speak of one. You only speak of your mother.”
“You think I just sprung out of the ground?” I teased. “A little gift from Kakkari?”
He growled, leaning forward to nip my fingers in frustration. I chuckled, my belly swarming again.
He elaborated his question by commenting, “I had heard that the old Earth colonies, before they were destroyed, had the ability to create offspring without a father. Just a mother.”
“Oh,” I said. “Yes, but it was long ago. And for your information, I was created the old-fashioned way.”
He shook his head, grumbling something in Dakkari at my teasings.
I sobered a little.
“My father died a long time ago,” I told him. “Even before my brother was born. He got sick and it took him quickly. I was four at the time, so I hardly remember him. Mostly, I just have these vague impressions or memories. My mother never wanted to talk about him. I think she never stopped mourning him and not remembering made it easier to move on.”
I used to think about my father a lot when I was little, how different life at the village might be. When my mother was alive, she struggled to have her voice heard. As a female, with two small children, the village council, Polin included, had never taken her seriously. It had always angered me, watching her get dismissed.
“What were your parents like?” I asked, curious. “Were you happy as a child before…before the Ghertun attack?”
“Lysi,” he murmured. “I was.”
I nodded, glad.
“Dakkari are not shy about showing their offspring their affection,” he told me. “They showed me every moment. My mother was gentle, yet strong. My father was everything I wanted to be. He would train me himself, even in Dothik. He wanted me to be strong because he told me that one day, I would need to protect my mother, my queen, and my daughters.”
My breath hitched and emotion welled in my chest at his words.
“He could be hard,” he continued. “But his lessons, not only during trainings, have directed my life. The memory of them have led me to this. I have felt both of their presence, their guiding hand, in every action I have taken. For that, I am grateful.” He met my gaze again. “I felt them when I saw you. Their force and Kakkari’s force led me to you. They knew that I needed you.”
My lips parted, my heart throbbing.
He was just…so wonderful.
Overwhelmed, I didn’t know what to say, so I simply leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss. He breathed me in deep and shifted, so I laid more comfortably in his arms.
When we pulled apart, I whispered, almost shyly, “I’m glad they did. I’m glad they led you to me.”
Because it was becoming obvious to me that I was falling in love with my horde king. I’d fought it at first, but the past few days had only intensified my budding feelings, had only proven to me that somehow, some way, I’d been given a gift.
A precious gift. One I had never expected.
But Arokan was real. He was right there, pressed against me, whispering sweet things that made my spine tingle.
He was offering me everything.
Yet, I was holding back.
Why?
Was it because of my brother and his uncertain future? Was it because nothing in my life had gone as planned or because Arokan seemed too good to be true and I distrusted that? Was it my doubts and fears and insecurities about leading the horde that continued to plague my every step?
It was everything.
<
br /> And until the answers to those questions became clear, I couldn’t give him everything in return.
I just hoped it wouldn’t destroy us both in the process.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Lysi,” Arokan growled, his hands gripping my hips. “Rin nekanevexi rei kakkiva, rei Morakkari!”
You ride my cock so well, my Queen, he’d said. Dakkari words I knew like the back of my hand now.
I gasped, feeling my horde king’s large palms slide up my bare torso and I groaned deep in my throat as his fingers pinched my nipples, making my hips snap over him harder.
“Arokan,” I moaned.
Building, building, building…
Too much, too much!
Then I was destroyed, falling into a powerful orgasm that made me scream, that made me fuck my hips over my husband’s thick cock faster, without rhythm, gripping his chest to anchor myself as I came apart.
Through my ringing ears, I heard his roar of pleasure and then felt his seed flood into me, filling me.
Arms trembling, I collapsed over his heaving chest, pressing my cheek into the warm flesh, hearing his heart beat drum in my ears as he continued to cum inside me.
Once it was done, once reality began to return, I peeked up at him, my thighs still straddling wide over his hips.
It had been two weeks since that night in the forest. Two weeks that had flown by, yet seemed like they’d stretched into months. Two weeks of settling into my life in the horde, two weeks of long, satisfying days, and two weeks of even longer, even more satisfying nights with my husband.
“You’ve created a monster,” I whispered to him.
Grinning in satisfaction, Arokan stretched his arms over his head and my eyes went a little unfocused as I watched his muscles pull and flex. He knew what that did to me.
He groaned when my inner walls tightened around him and he agreed with, “I have.”
A spot of morning sun shone down onto the furs next to him through the venting hole at the top of our voliki. Mirari and Lavi no longer entered at the first signs of my waking, considering most mornings Arokan still remained with me. And waking with my horde king was almost as satisfying as drifting into sleep beside him.
“Today will be long,” he murmured, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Hopefully one of the scouting parties will return.”
The moon cycle was almost over and that meant it was time to leave that place. The bveri, our main source of meat, lessened by the day, as the hunting parties reported to Arokan. We would follow them south and make a new home, a new camp elsewhere.
Arokan had sent out a few scouting parties of horde warriors ahead to scope out possible sites. The journey would take at least three days of traveling with the entire horde and it would be slow-going.
And while some of my dread at leaving had lessened over the weeks, there was a sadness that would always remain. I would be journeying further away from my brother and the possibility of ever seeing him again seemed slim to none.
A couple weeks ago, I had lightly broached the topic with Arokan, asking if there was any chance I could at least visit him before we left the area, to make sure he was alright. Arokan had studied me for long moments, but finally said, with a grave expression, that he couldn’t spare the warriors to take me. Not right then. Not when they were making preparations to leave and when they were coming across more and more Ghertun during patrols than normal. It wasn’t safe.
He wouldn’t risk it. I’d understood, of course I had. But it hadn’t stopped the overwhelming feeling of disappointment. I’d never brought it up again.
“Any day now,” I commented softly, looking up at him, my fingers tracing the golden markings across his chest.
Once a scouting party returned with a viable camp location, we would pack up and leave.
“Lysi,” he murmured, his eyes warm and dark as he looked at me. Belly fluttering, I gave him a small smile. “Bnuru tei lilji rini, kalles.”
Give me your lips, female.
Leaning up, I pressed them to his and my head spun pleasantly as he deepened it, taking my mouth in a warm, thorough kiss.
When I pulled away, I whispered, dazed, “I love how you do that.”
“You love many things I do, kalles,” he teased, brushing his lips across my cheekbone, my nose.
I pushed at his shoulder, half-rolling my eyes, and then I climbed off him, knowing that we both had to begin our days, even though I’d rather spend it all between the furs with him.
I’d gone from frightened indifference to being a little bit obsessed with my alien husband. Now it was the depth of my feelings for him that frightened me. Every single day, those feelings only continued to grow and flourish.
“The mrikro is expecting me,” I told him, turning from him to wash his seed from between my legs and dress in my tunic and pants. “He wants me to assist in training one of the pyroki.”
Arokan rose from our bed, snagging me around the waist before I could slip through the tent’s entrance. I looked up at him towering over me in question.
“What is it?” I asked softly.
He looked on the verge of saying something, his tail flicking behind him. But then he released me and said, “Nothing, kalles. I will come find you later.”
I nodded. Then with one last lingering look at him, I left.
The mrikro had a unique way of punishing me. He knew that though my fear of the pyrokis had lessened slightly over the weeks I’d been working for him, it was by no means gone. That fear, which had been instilled in me for over ten years now, would always be there.
However, I’d come to learn much about pyrokis in the last few weeks. I knew that fearing them wasn’t necessarily a bad thing because it also made me respect them. It made me respect their strength, their surprising emotional intelligence.
It was because of that fear that I never let my guard down around them either. They were intelligent creatures and they would take advantage if I was weak with them.
So, though my heart was pounding in my chest and I wanted to shrink away, later that afternoon, I stood my ground even though a fully grown, misbehaving pyroki charged right for me.
I felt the ground vibrate, heard the alarmed gasps of Mirari and Lavi, who were always watching me from the fence enclosure.
The mrikro yelled, “Do not cower, Morakkari!”
I stared into the blood red eyes of the pyroki as I felt a strange calm come over me. Closer and closer he came, but he tossed his neck when he saw I wasn’t moving out of the way.
I was braced, my thighs in a slight squatting position, my arms slightly outstretched, a position that Arokan had showed me over our weeks of training. A default position for defense, which allowed for quick movements.
I was ready. I felt ready and I certainly wouldn’t let this annoyed pyroki get the best of me. I was a damn queen for Kakkari’s sake.
Only five feet away and the pyroki finally realized I wasn’t going to move. At the last moment, he veered to the side ever so slightly, hitting me hard enough in the side to steal my breath. But he didn’t knock me off my feet, not like the other times I’d had this battle with him.
I figured it was progress.
Inhaling lungfuls of air, trying to replenish my supply, I looked over my shoulder at the pyroki, who was trotting close the training enclosure fence, as if celebrating his near victory.
The mrikro approached. “Good, Morakkari,” he praised. “He is beginning to recognize his defeat. It should take another week.”
“At least he didn’t knock me on my ass this time,” I commented, brushing my hands on my pants, finally catching my breath.
“Take him back with the rest,” the mrikro ordered. “Jriva will brush him down.”
I nodded and steeling my spine, approached the stubborn pyroki, still prancing away. I snagged his reins with a quick tug, though he shook his head. But I noticed, as I led him out of the training enclosure, he didn’t give as much of a fight as he usually did.
As I walked him back to the larger enclosure, I stopped, spying a cloud of dust billowing in the distance. My stomach dropped a little, though I was also relieved. A scouting party was returning, though they weren’t coming from the south.
Would they report back to Arokan with favorable news? Would the entire horde pack up and leave as early as tomorrow morning?
I’d never done well with change. I liked my routines and whenever we left this place, everything would change, at least for a little while.
But this is my life now, this is my duty to the horde, I thought quietly.
I tugged gently on the pyroki’s reins and led him back to the larger enclosure. Once there, I made sure he got his place at one of the feeding troughs and hesitantly stroked his flank when I left him.
Kailon came up to nudge me before I left the enclosure. Slowly but surely, Arokan’s beast had warmed up to me and I spread my palm over his snout.
“Hi handsome,” I whispered, giving the creature a soft smile and a pat. Arokan had a special bond with Kailon and because of that, I felt surprisingly comfortable around his pyroki. Arokan had assured me that Kailon would never harm me…and I trusted my husband. I believed him.
I spent some time with Kailon, stroking over his scales, and chatting happily with Jriva, the young boy who had finally been promoted from the Shit Corner to Groomer.
However, we were interrupted when I heard, “Morakkari.”
I turned to see one of my guards at the fence enclosure.
“Lysi?” I asked, straightened.
“The Vorakkar requests your presence,” he said, tilting his head towards the front of the camp, where Arokan often held his meetings with his chosen council.
I nodded, saying goodbye to Jriva, and followed my guard through the camp. I nodded and smiled at members who greeted me and soon, my guard brought me to the large tent I’d barged into when I thought Arokan was with another female.
“He waits inside,” the guard said, taking post outside the entrance.
I nodded, eyeing the group of pyrokis that had carried their warriors in the scouting party. They must’ve returned already, though they’d been a long distance away when I’d first seen them.