Nazery dropped to his knees between her legs. He gave a sharp tug and her skirt came away in his hand, exposing her completely. Her eyes flew open and she let out a wordless cry. That only inflamed the crowd more. They stomped and roared, chanting something Lexi couldn’t make out through the buzzing in her ears.
Behind her, Khan laughed wickedly, dug his fingers into her hips and started pumping back and forth. His phallus protruded from his garment and she could feel it now against her bare bottom, hot and stiff. Every thrust of his hips sent her body jolting forward, right into Nazery’s face positioned between her legs. She felt his tongue dart out, flicking the tip of her clitoris, and couldn’t hold back a scream of pleasure.
All the while, Ayron stood aloof, off to one side, watching the proceedings. But when he heard her scream, he sprang forward and shoved Nazery to the ground, knocking Eli aside at the same time.
He turned to Mother Eva, furious. “Enough,” he commanded, his voice pitched low so only those on the platform could hear. “Hold your hunt if you must. But do not treat this female like a dumb animal. I brought her here to save her life, not to provide amusement for these lechers. You are our ruler, and I bow to your will. Compete we will, since you have decreed it. Until then, I will not stand by and allow this to continue.”
Eva clapped her hands and the two attendants hurried forward. Nadina wrapped the cloak around her naked body while Mara untied the ropes that held her spread-eagled between the pillars. Meanwhile Eva addressed the crowd once again.
“Behold the greatness of our warriors! Mighty hunters, virile stallions—with caring, compassionate hearts. We salute you, every one!” She led the assembly in a chant that rang through the huge cavern. Meanwhile, Nadina helped a trembling Lexi off the platform.
She could still hear the chanting of the crowd as they made their way back through the long corridors to her quarters. Even through the haze clouding her mind, Lexi realized the old woman was a consummate politician. She’d somehow twisted Ayron’s scathing remarks into a tribute, as though his outburst had been part of her plan, demonstrating all the virtues of the Tryb’s most powerful men.
Maybe it was the effects of the liquor. Maybe complete sensory overload. Whatever the reason, when they got back to the room where she’d been held, Lexi collapsed into the cozy fur nest, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
* * *
“You are a vile old creature. Someday you’ll go too far.”
Eva chuckled, not the least bit chastised. “Nonsense, child. The female suffered no harm. She was no virgin. I made sure of that in advance. So it was not her first experience at arousing the appetite of a brawny male. Besides, the Tryb has been restless lately. They needed some amusement.”
“Captive or not, it was wrong to parade her in front of the entire crowd like that, letting Nazery strip her naked. Did you not see the shame and fear in her eyes?”
Eva sighed and shook her head as he paced back and forth angrily in her private quarters. He stopped, arms crossed over his chest and glared at her. She stretched out a hand to caress his cheek. “Ayron, my dear. You are a fierce warrior—with the kindest, most gentle heart I’ve ever seen. You have always been my favorite grandchild. But don’t tell the others,” she cautioned with a wink.
“It seems this creature has caught your eye. I’m happy for that,” she confided. “You’ve been alone too long. Maybe wrestling with a feisty young female is just what you need to find your way back to life, put the fire back in your belly. You’ve been lost to all of us in your grief.”
Eva stopped. Despite the soft tone in her voice, her dark eyes were shrewd as she looked into his. “You do realize I planned all along for her to be yours, don’t you? But I can’t show favoritism to a family member and simply give her to you. Even though everyone knows you’re the best, the other hunters would sulk and gripe about me behind my back. You’ll have to win the competition to claim her. Will you do it? The others—especially Eli and Khan—they’ll fight dirty if that’s what it takes to win the female. Will you swear to me you’ll give it your all, do whatever it takes to bring her back with you?”
“You’re a wicked, wicked old lady.” Ayron’s words were stern, but his eyes held a trace of warmth. He suspected her decision not to simply give him the female was only partially due to the jealousy it might awaken in the other hunters. She’d been worried about him for months now. The crafty old lady was probably hoping this competition would reawaken his manly vigor, break through the deep depression he’d been in since that horrible night.
Eva had raised him after his mother died. He knew she’d felt helpless over the last year watching him grieve the death of his beloved mate Naia and their only child. Naia’s heart was never strong and the birth of their son Judah had weakened it even more. She’d collapsed on the way home from the farms one night. When she hadn’t returned by the time dawn came, search parties went out in shifts all day, staying in the sun as long as they dared.
She was still nursing and she’d taken Judah with her. By the time rescuers found them late the next day, it was too late. They’d been in the outlands far too long. He carried both of them back himself, refusing to allow anyone else to touch her. He laid her tenderly in the healing waters, their child nestled in her arms, though he knew she was already gone. His son lived only a few hours longer.
He blamed himself. Weary from two nights of hunting, he hadn’t gone with her. He’d asked her to wait a day until he rested, but she wouldn’t hear of it.
“Don’t fuss over me, Ayron,” she chided in her soft voice. “I feel fine. Besides, we haven’t had fresh vegetables in days and you need a good hearty meal. I’ll tend to our crops, pick a basket of juicy ripe penalas, and be back before you know it.”
“At least leave Judah with me.”
Naia slipped out of bed and kissed him softly on the forehead. “Your son will be a mighty hunter one day, just like you are. I can tell by how hearty his cry is when he’s hungry.” She picked up the child and nuzzled him in her arms. “That cry can become very demanding when mama isn’t around to feed him every few hours. You’d grow weary of hearing it long before I returned.”
He rolled over, asleep before she left the room. And he hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since.
Eva had been there by his side through it all. She could see into his tattered soul, knew he’d lost the will to live after that night. She’d been matriarch of the Tryb longer than any other on record. And for good reason. She knew when to be a loving mother figure to all of them and when to be tough as narliphant hide.
Tonight Eva waited silently, allowing him to make his own decision. He wasn’t surprised. She knew he needed time to think things through from every angle. Even as a child, he’d never been one to rush into action impulsively.
He looked down at her hair, no longer the flowing dark mane he remembered so well. Many were the nights he sat on her lap as a child, playing with the glowing crystals in her headdress as she sang him to sleep. Now she still held her head high, but he was saddened to see the way her shoulders drooped with weariness when she thought no one was watching.
Eva had given him everything, taught him what it meant to be a man, a leader of the Tryb. He sighed, knowing he could never refuse her, even though he hated the idea. Going into a solitary hunt was like going to war. Not only would he have to stalk his prey, he’d have to evade the other hunters, most likely engage in combat with them to get his prize safely home and be able to claim her in front of the Tryb, as custom demanded.
Despite Eva’s scheming, Ayron couldn’t be angry with her for long. He bent and planted a kiss on the top of her head, then bowed before her formally as tradition decreed. “Yes, Mother Eva. I will join in the competition. And I will bring the female back here. But I do not promise to claim her as my mate. Since you seem so taken with her, perhaps I will give her to you as a gift instead. A tribute. She has the spark of intelligence in her eyes. Surely Nadina and Mara
could train her as a servant.”
Eva smiled sweetly. “What a lovely thought! I shall accept your gift with great pleasure. Go now, my child. And may the gods be with you.”
Ayron strode from the room, heading back to his home on the topmost level of the city. He wasn’t fooled. He was sure she’d concocted this contest to shake him out of his lethargy. The old woman wasn’t above waving a delicious morsel of female flesh in front of a healthy male to stir him into action. She probably thought he’d change his mind about taking the female as his own once he spent some time staring at those creamy white breasts with their red nipples and that patch of golden curls peeking out between her thighs.
He caught himself picturing those soft curls, so different from the dense dark nests of the women in his Tryb, and cursed the old lady out loud. She’d set up this whole game to get his male hormones raging. She knew he’d never allow any of the others to claim her, even if he didn’t want her himself.
Ayron couldn’t bear the thought of any living thing being treated badly. Even on the hunt, it pained him to see the suffering in the eyes of the creatures he failed to bring down with a single thrust of his spear. He’d been injured more than once getting too close to a dying animal as it thrashed around, trying to slit its throat and put it out of its misery quickly.
Eva left him no options. He had to track the female down first. The others would treat her like a wild beast. Especially Eli. She’d be forced to service him whenever and however he chose or risk a beating. Or worse, a punishment session before the whole Tryb. Eli would be a formidable opponent with the most to gain. He had no mate. Not surprising. Ayron had seen the way the man treated the females he lay with. Caring only for his own pleasure, never seeing to theirs first as a real man would do. No wonder none of the women of the Tryb wanted to be mated to him. He’d relish the idea of owning this female, a piece of property he could do with as he wished. One with no standing in the Tryb, no one to object.
The other men were less objectionable. But none of them had seen the shame and fear in the eyes of the female. Or if they had, they didn’t care enough to call a halt to the lewd spectacle. Ayron was no prude. He’d participated in many feasts and this wasn’t the first time those pillars had been used to provide a show for the Tryb. But in the past, the star of the show had been a willing participant. Or occasionally, someone’s naughty mate, brought there to be disciplined. Tied up, stripped, and spanked in front of the whole Tryb, then made to serve her master. Sometimes other men would be invited to participate just to remind her of his complete ownership of her.
This female knew nothing of their ways. And despite what Eva said, he was willing to bet she’d never been touched or played with that way before. He’d seen the look in her eyes when Nazery ran his hot tongue over her naked breast. Shame, yes. But he’d seen her body shiver uncontrollably as a bolt of raw lust shot through her. There was no tiny smile of satisfaction. There’d been no soft moan from her parted lips. Only a sudden flicker of shock on her face, followed by surprise and confusion she tried hard to conceal.
When Ayron got to his quarters, he found that tired as he was, sleep still eluded him. He stood in the doorway to his home for what seemed like hours. Watching the revelry still going on far below him. Listening to the sensuous beating of the drums. Trying to empty his mind of the image of the female, her naked body gleaming in the torchlight as hands and fingers and tongues roamed over her.
His cock had been stiff for hours now, balls aching for release. Feeling like a traitor to the memory of his beloved Naia, he went inside and relieved his need. Hours later, he tossed and turned. He could still feel the touch of the female when he jumped into the bath to comfort her—hands clasped around his neck, warm, smooth skin nestled against his as he held her trembling body in his arms.
* * *
Lexi sized up her guards. Two old women, stooped and gnarled, made more so by the packs they carried on their backs. It would be laughable if she weren’t so frightened. Even here, she could see Eva’s crafty mind at work. Men were men, no matter what their age. She probably didn’t trust any of them to simply abandon Lexi in the wilderness untouched. The matriarch was determined one of the Tryb’s mighty hunters would win the right to take her first, as his prize.
Her wrists were tied together behind her back. They’d tied a rope between her ankles too, so she could was reduced to taking small steps, hobbling along between them as if she too was crippled with age. Worst of all, they’d taken away her cylerian. Slashed it to bits, then burned it. Maybe they thought it would give her an unfair advantage, turn into some sort of shield or cloaking device. After all, she wasn’t meant to get away forever. Only long enough to be hunted down, captured, and dragged back to the underground city.
The old women led her for what seemed like miles out into the barren wasteland. The moon was full tonight, casting its strange purple glow on the sea of sand and rock the Tryb called the outlands. Lexi marveled that any creature could survive out here, let alone grow to the size of the narliphant the hunters brought down.
They stopped at a large outcropping of rock. The women shoved her to the ground beside a huge boulder. Then they moved away about thirty feet and dropped their burdens. One of them made a point of leaving a shard of bone in full view. Turning without a word, they disappeared into the shadows.
Lexi took stock of her situation. Alone in the wilderness. Again. But this time she knew she wouldn’t be alone for long. She’d heard the instructions Mother Eva issued to the hunters before she was led away. She’d be given a few hours head start. Then five savages would track her down like an animal, each competing with the others for the right to own her for the rest of her life.
Which wouldn’t be long if she didn’t get moving. Lexi got to her feet, covering the distance to the packs they left as fast as she could. She dropped to the ground next to the piece of bone and scrabbled in the sand to grasp it between her fingers. It was sharp as a knife. After dropping it a few times and having to feel around behind her back for it, she managed to cut through the rope around her wrists enough to work her hands free. Moments later, she’d untied her ankles and turned her attention to the packs.
Two flasks of water. A few hunks of narliphant meat. A packet of the nasty-smelling leaves that would leach the poisonous effects of the sun from her body. A heavy cloak made of some animal hide. That was all. No weapons. Other than the cloak, nothing to shelter her from the blistering rays that would be out in a few hours.
They’d dressed her in a simple skirt and a band of cloth that tied over her breasts, just like all the women of the Tryb. But unlike the colorful skirt she wore at the feast, these garments were a drab brown. With the cloak tossed over her, she could blend into the moonlit landscape. Eva wanted to make sure this hunt challenged her warriors. She wasn’t about to stake Lexi out, an easy target to spot.
They’d given her a pair of the flat sandals to wear, ones that laced halfway up to her knees. With most of her body uncovered, Lexi shivered a little. A sharp wind blew across the plain. Heat. Cold. Currents of air whipping against her bare skin. She’d experienced so many physical sensations foreign to her since her arrival on this planet.
She wrapped the cloak snugly around her, stuffed the other supplies into one of the packs, and slung it over her shoulder. The empty pack she tied around her waist, using the rope that had bound her feet. Both might come in handy. She tucked the shard of bone into her makeshift belt. It wasn’t much of a weapon but it was better than nothing.
Her first order of business: find shelter. A cleft in the rocks, a small cave. With an underground city as large as the one she’d seen, Lexi guessed it wasn’t the only cavern extending deep into the bowels of Iridia. Maybe that’s how the animals survived too. They might have enormous burrows underground with a supply of water and some form of plant life they could eat. Maybe they only came out at night.
That thought was enough to have her glancing over her shoulder nervously every few
minutes as she jogged away from the boulders. She looked down at the ground behind her. The surface was too hard to leave footprints, so they couldn’t track her that way. She had no real plan in mind, only to survive on her own long enough to make her way back to where she’d arrived on the planet. If—no, when, she corrected herself—when they sent a search party to find her, she wanted to be as close to the Portal as possible.
Of course, that was easier said than done. From what she’d seen so far, this whole planet was just one big rock covered with smaller ones. Here and there the occasional jagged hump arose, all that was left of a mountain long ago worn down by the ceaseless wind sweeping across its surface. She had only the vaguest idea where she’d landed. Without the rising and setting suns as guideposts, she had no idea in which direction to head. For now, all she could do was keep moving.
Hours later, the first rays of dawn peeking over the horizon illuminated a cleft in a sheer rock face ahead. With a sigh of relief, she saw it was far too narrow to give refuge to any large creature. Lexi picked up her pace, slipping through the opening into the dark void beyond just as the sun came out.
Chapter Six
She ventured just far enough into the darkness to keep the rays of Iridia’s twin suns off her skin. From the narrow opening, the cave widened out as she moved deeper, but the light didn’t penetrate far enough for her to see where it ended. Although she’d seen skins of unfamiliar creatures in the city, she hadn’t found evidence of any other living creatures on the planet besides the Tryb members and the narliphant. But where two species survived, many others surely had as well. The strange beasts woven into Eva’s tapestry proved that theory.
Lexi tried not to imagine any of those fierce animals creeping up on her from the darkness beyond. She went back through her packs, arranging their contents, then had a few sips of water. Her stomach roiled. She didn’t think she could hold down a meal, but she forced herself to take a few bites of the meat to keep up her strength. Then she curled up against one of the walls of the cave, snuggled under the cloak and closed her eyes. The stronger gravitational pull on this planet made every move exhausting and the long trek had worn her out.
His to Claim (Alien Masters Book 2) Page 7