Dungeon Bound 2

by Bastian Knight

  His Prime walked at his side, with one arm threaded through his, and they appeared as no more than a pair of young lovers on an afternoon stroll. It was the perfect cover for spying on the baron’s sex dungeon.

  Cindra remained back in their room despite her intense desire to accompany them. She had been worried she would miss out on the mating if she didn’t.

  Sthuza had refused to let her join them, and Gabriel agreed with his Prime. After several minutes of solemn promises that no one would be doing anything of the sort while they were out, she had consented to stay behind.

  No telling what Cindra would decide to chase after without warning. Besides, I’m pretty sure she’d have been bored to tears within seconds. There’s no food or mating.

  That thought made him smile, and he continued to escort Sthuza on a slow lap around the dark, well-fortified castle.

  Sthuza leaned in close and spoke quietly, “Getting past the castle gate would have been a serious challenge. Fortunately, we do not need to. There is only a small detachment to guard the prison where he keeps his conquests.”

  “Are you sure it’s safe to talk so openly here?” Gabriel asked. He glanced around again, wary of eavesdroppers.

  She giggled and patted his arm affectionately. “Yes, Master, as long as we do not raise our voices, no one will hear anything other than soft murmuring between us.”

  His curious look melted away when she discreetly tapped the silver and ruby bracelet she wore on her right wrist.

  She didn’t have that on earlier.

  “You have a lot of lovely little toys, don’t you?” he teased.

  She smirked. “You have no idea. If you are a very good master, maybe I shall show you some of my other toys.”

  He stumbled slightly at her unexpected response. His pants grew tighter as vivid images flashed through his mind, and he subtly adjusted himself.

  Sthuza didn’t laugh or tease him any further, though amusement glimmered in her eyes as she gazed up at him.

  Determined not to become careless, or let her tease him too much, he returned his attention to the drab stone bunker up ahead. While they were fortunate the baron’s slaves were kept far from any guardhouses, the place was still fortified.

  The strolling pair slowed their already leisurely pace. They pretended to inspect the various high-end businesses and restaurants that lined the street opposite the castle.

  Several shops with large glass fronts were filled with garishly bright clothing. The style was in vogue with the local nobility.

  Most of those colors are bright enough to blind a man.

  To his surprise, Sthuza appeared sincerely interested in the displays. Gabriel figured it would be fine for her to window shop for a bit, so he kept a careful watch on the sinister blockhouse that was their goal.

  Thick bars sealed off the few windows on the single-story building , and the lone door was similarly reinforced with wide strips of hardened metal.

  Sthuza’s deceptively strong grip tightened around his hand momentarily. “Massster, if you keep ssstaring at the prissson, people will take note,” she whispered.

  He flinched and twisted back to face the shop in front of them. It struck him that his Prime was using the reflection in the glass to spy on their target.

  Damn, I should have thought of that.

  ‘Do not be too hard on yourself, Master, I do have a slight experience advantage on you.’

  That caused him to snort in amusement, and she flashed an irritated look at him. Despite her harsh expression, his bond with her glowed with warmth and love.

  What the—

  Someone murmured, and Gabriel looked at the people passing by. Most of them studiously ignored the couple, and he realized Sthuza was further discouraging others from paying them too much attention.

  Long as we don’t get loud, nobody will look too closely while she’s glaring. Well, no one but gossips, and they’ll be busy imagining what I did to piss her off.

  ‘Precisely, Master.’

  He followed her lead but kept his focus on the guard that stood watch in front of the prison.

  They spent what felt like an hour pretending to view the various outrageous garments on display before something finally happened.

  Another armored man walked up and greeted the visibly bored guard. They chatted for a couple of minutes, then the new arrival opened the door and vanished within.

  Almost as soon as he’d ducked inside, two more showed up. This time the conversation between the guards was more heated. However, when they finished and broke up, no one seemed particularly angry.

  The first man took off down the street. One of the new pair took his place and opened the door for the other who waved and headed inside.

  “Interesting,” Sthuza mumbled so quietly Gabriel barely heard.

  “What is?” he asked, keeping his voice as soft as hers.

  She shook her head slightly, auburn locks fluttering oddly with the motion. “Later, Master. We need to keep watch for just a short while longer.”

  He nodded and pretended to be fascinated by the rather scandalous skirts on display in the store before them.

  That might look rather nice on Cindra. It would really highlight the blue of her eyes.

  The slender hand that held his tightened. Painfully.

  He instinctively closed his mind.

  Shit, she heard that, didn’t she? Almost forgot how strong she is.

  Gabriel made a mental note to take the time to remind Sthuza just how much he cared about her. He knew better than to compound his folly by turning to her or saying something that could be misconstrued as empty flattery.

  Probably best to keep my thoughts to myself for the moment. Letting Sthuza hear how much I’d like to see her wearing that silky lingerie from earlier might not be taken as intended right now.

  He kept his mind closed and accepted her crushing grip without complaint. Sthuza had yet to share much detail about her past, but he knew she’d been left alone in her lair for a long time. If she was a little insecure about her position, he’d do what he could to relieve her worries.

  Really need to get to know her better. Might be able to help her if I knew more about her past. But we don’t have the time to spend resolving long-term issues right now.

  He thought back to how poorly his social life had gone as a human. Plus, I might just make it worse. Can’t risk that before we get the crystal back. Once Meri’s safe, I’ll have plenty of time to work things out with my bonded.

  Sthuza squeezed his hand long enough that his already pale fingers started to turn blue, but he suffered in silence until she finally relaxed.

  “I believe we can return now, Massster,” she said, her voice carefully neutral.

  “Ok—”

  “Unlessss you wish to purchassse that ssskirt for the dog,” she finished before pulling away from him.

  He tried to swallow down the lump in his throat. “Uh, no. I think we should head back and go over our plan.”

  Sthuza turned and speared him with her gaze for a long second, then nodded.

  As she spun around and stomped off toward the inn, he couldn’t fully restrain an amused chuckle at the cute way her nose scrunched up when she got frustrated.

  The luckiest day of my life was stumbling into her hunting grounds.

  The day when Merideva saved his soul and granted him potential immortality was arguably his luckiest. But that was also the same day he’d wound up naked and strapped to a sacrificial altar.

  He followed the silent gorgon back to the inn. She cut a swath through the late afternoon crowds almost as well as the imposing hellhound. Though, some of the people that shifted out of her way stared after the frustrated beauty. Most of the ones that moved out of Cindra’s path were too busy escaping to look back.

  They entered the tavern together, and Gabriel saw Mrs. Spaulding step out of the kitchen and walk across the large, smoky room.

  She carried a wide tray overburdened with plates and drinks, b
ut she waved at them with her free hand before moving to a crowded table.

  The dinner crowd, and the numerous nightly drinkers, had started to filter in, and the place was rapidly filling up.

  Sthuza beelined for the stairs, so Gabriel hurried to keep up as they returned to their room.

  Hope she’s not really mad.

  He’d discovered one positive thing from her chilly attitude. It was much easier to keep his thoughts in his head when he was worried about pissing her off.

  It might be good practice for controlling my mind, but I’d rather not screw up in the first place.

  His Prime tried the door, then hissed and spun to face him.

  Nodding, he pulled the key and stepped up. He unlocked the door and moved aside, then waved Sthuza in.

  She blushed slightly, and he thought her gaze looked a little warmer.

  Or at least less arctic.

  ◆◆◆

  Any further observation was blasted from his mind when a powerful and furry arm reached through the open door and jerked him inside.

  “Packmaster’s back!” Cindra growled happily as she pulled him into a backbreaking hug.

  He grunted as the air was blasted from his lungs. “I’m glad to see you too, Cindra, but we need to—”

  She cut him off by pressing her hot lips to his, smashing them against his teeth.

  Gabriel could feel the fiery heat of her nude body through his clothes. He shuddered in her arms when she started to grind her crotch on his thigh.

  Their kiss deepened when he reflexively opened his mouth, which allowed her aggressive tongue to invade. It twirled around wildly, tracing along his teeth, wrestled briefly with his own smaller appendage, and then withdrew and lapped all across his face.

  The growing wetness of her slobbery kisses hearkened back to their last, very messy kiss. His memory of the event was still so vivid that he could feel her drool soaking into his pants leg.

  “No, Massster, that isss current wetnesss,” Sthuza said coldly from one side.

  He froze at her icy tone—and the dawning realization of the moist heat rubbing against his thigh.

  Cindra continued to slobber all over his face for several seconds before he got her attention.

  “Cindra, stop, please!” Gabriel all but yelled, finally getting his second bonded to calm down.

  She shrank in on herself but didn’t whimper like she did the last time he’d tried to stop her sensual assault.

  “It is rude to do that with Sthuza standing right there,” he explained after swallowing several times and readjusting his rock-hard arousal.

  The tall hellhound nodded eagerly at his statement. “Cindra understands. It was naughty of me to ignore Lady Snakes like that.”

  He smiled, grateful for her quick comprehension, then blinked as she let go of him and darted away so fast he almost fell.

  By the time Gabriel was steady again and looked back to her, Sthuza was wrapped in an intimate embrace and pressed against the wall.

  Cindra was treating his Prime to the same ruthlessly aggressive kiss with which she’d greeted him.

  He could see Sthuza’s cheeks bulge as the prodigious blue tongue violated her mouth. She had both hands grasping Cindra’s arms. But it wasn’t obvious if she was trying to escape.

  There was a faint hissing, possibly her disguised head-snakes expressing their displeasure—or arousal? Again he couldn’t be sure as the hungry moans the hellhound was making were far too loud.

  Suddenly the redhead in Cindra’s embrace shimmered. When her appearance stabilized, the beautiful gorgon was fully revealed.

  Why do I find this so hot?

  That thought reminded him of Sthuza’s issues with furry monsters, and he moved to help her. But before he could pull the overenthusiastic hellhound off of her, Sthuza relaxed her grip.

  Her slender hands trailed up her forceful partner’s shoulders, then along her neck before they tangled in Cindra’s thick gray mane. Several head-snakes leaned in and brushed against the larger monster girl.

  Gabriel froze at the unexpected movement, and his eyes widened when Sthuza showed no sign of trying to force the hellhound back.

  It almost looked like she pressed her body against the far more muscular woman.

  His initial concern for his Prime’s discomfort had limited just how aroused he got at the sight. But with her apparently willing, even eager participation, he couldn’t help but stare in rapt fascination.

  His own arousal continued to rise, and it felt like his pants were crushing his member.

  Shit, if they don’t stop, I’ll have to join them.

  Sthuza flinched slightly. After a few more excruciatingly erotic seconds of kissing, she pulled back from the exuberant hellhound mauling her face.

  Cindra panted, her impressive tongue hanging out of her mouth. A string of saliva, no doubt cinnamon-flavored, connected the pair for a moment.

  Sthuza’s eyes were closed, and her lips curved in a slight smile. Her usually pale face was flushed a vibrant green, and she took a deep breath, then swallowed several times.

  Vertically slit, emerald eyes snapped open and stared at Cindra. Sthuza turned away from the larger monster girl, first toward Gabriel, but upon seeing his hungry gaze, she flinched and looked to the opposite side.

  “Let me go thisss inssstant you… you… giant tongue!”

  Both Gabriel and his second bonded blinked at the gorgon’s ridiculous insult. He started to laugh, while Cindra leaned forward and licked Sthuza’s cheek. That caused his Prime to sputter before the hellhound finally backed off.

  Sthuza kept her back to them as she retreated to one corner. She spent several minutes adjusting her clothes and petting her head-snakes.

  While she was busy collecting herself, Gabriel led Cindra to the far bed and sat beside her.

  “Cindra, you can’t just go kissing anyone you want to,” he said firmly. He kept almost all of his burning arousal from his voice.

  Her gray eyebrows shot up. “Cindra would never kiss anybody outside of the Pack!”

  Damn right. The thought of some other man touching…

  The moment it occurred to Gabriel, a surge of fiery outrage washed over him.

  No one touches my Pack.

  He glanced down and noticed his hands shaking. He forced his anger back and relaxed when it melted away as quickly as it came. The soothing calm that replaced it took most of his lust with it.

  “I know you wouldn’t,” Gabriel said. His words instantly calmed the agitated hellhound. “But you can’t just force a kiss, or more, on a member of the Pack either,” he explained with an amused grin.

  “Cindra would never say no if packsister wanted to kiss,” she muttered. “Or more,” she continued, and her eyes flickered playfully.

  He chuckled. “Still, you need to make sure that we are okay with it before you proceed,” he said.

  She sulked, her tall ears flopping down flat against her thick hair, and nodded. “Okay, Packmaster, Cindra will ask first.”

  An easy smile spread across his face, which she quickly mirrored as he reached up and ruffled her wild hair.

  “Now that you have straightened out the fur rug, we should go over what we learned about the prison, Master,” Sthuza said in a relaxed tone.

  Gabriel glanced over to her as she approached and sat on the bed across from him.

  She held herself tall and proud, her bearing just as refined as ever, but Gabriel snorted when he noticed a wet spot on the crotch of her light-colored pants.

  Sharp emerald eyes snapped to his but looked away again when he didn’t flinch. He took pity on his Prime’s embarrassment and nodded.

  “What did you learn about the guards that showed up?” he asked, drawing a grateful smile from her.

  “It appears that there are only three guards on a shift. The one at the door, and two inside.”

  “That seems a little low, doesn’t it? Didn’t you say the place has multiple subterranean floors?” he asked.
<
br />   “Yes, though I believe it is likely to be no more than three floors at most. Any deeper and they would risk breaching the dungeon.”

  They definitely would have avoided that. Never ends well if you try to dig into a dungeon.

  “How confident are you that there are only three guards?”

  “I cannot promise it, Master. Still, it makes sense if you consider the reputation of the place, and the baron’s use for it.”

  Gabriel thought about that for a moment. Most of the people Sthuza had spoken with sounded terrified of the baron and his ominous sex prison. Rumors abounded about the cruel tortures he indulged within.

  Gabriel had heard hints back at the Academy of the man’s sadism toward beastkin especially.

  Slavery was legal in Ailannor, though only for certain races. All manner of beastkin tended to find themselves targeted for enslavement if they traveled far, so most of them remained with their tribes and clans.

  They were desirable as slaves for both sex and physical labor, but many free beastkin found great success as adventurers. And in a city that was famous for its dungeon, there were quite a few beastkin to be found living in Lostbarrow.

  They despised the baron and would blame him whenever a young female disappeared. Each time such allegations were made, he’d put on a show of force and “serve justice” to any that dared slander him.

  As Gabriel considered the man’s reputation, he nodded in agreement. The baron wouldn’t need more than three guards to watch over a handful of sex slaves.

  “Yeah, most people would never risk invoking his wrath. Still, it sounds too good to be true,” he said at last.

  Sthuza nodded, and her snakes weaved about her head. “I understand your concern, Master. I assure you I will remain on guard in case there are more.”

  “Cindra will help too, Packmaster!” Cindra interjected cheerfully. She’d snuggled up against him when Sthuza sat down.

  “Now that we’re done planning, is it time to mate?” Cindra asked, her deep voice filled with desire.

  He chuckled and adjusted his still tight pants.

  Before he could reply, or more likely Cindra could try to mount him, his Prime shook her head.