Chapter 12
The Shadow
I watched my Little Mouse as she surveyed my army camp from the top of the hill. Her body was trembling despite the jacket I had given her, and I was certain that being barefoot only added to the cold she felt. I might have pretended that I didn’t care, but my wolf kept snarling at me, urging me to give her everything
she needed, to comfort her.
But why would I? She was one of them–a loyal subject of King Zyran, a sheltered princess who had spent her life in the castle. She deserved to suffer just like most of those fucking royals of the so–called great Lumeria Empire. And yet, seeing her shivering bothered me. Seeing her wounded had triggered the rage I hadn’t felt in years. The voice of reason demanded I let her go, but I wasn’t going to listen. Now I could only hope I wouldn’t live to regret my decision…
“What are your orders, Alpha?” Tariq, one of my squad leaders, stopped beside me and bowed low.
My gaze shifted to Little Mouse, still examining the valley as if she were counting the tents. She pulled my jacket tighter around her. Fuck. I seriously wasn’t comfortable watching her shiver. Muttering a curse, I turned to Tariq. “The wagon?”
“As you requested, all women were given tunics, pants, and boots. Then we assigned them to the kitchen, laundry, or field clinic.” A smug smirk curved his lips. “Not all of them were pleased.”
I snorted. “I bet.”
“What about her?” Tariq jerked his chin, pointing at my hand–picked possession.
“Find something for her to wear…” My eyes dropped to her tiny, bare feet. “And a pair of the smallest boots you can find.”
Tariq chuckled and nodded. “On it. Shall I bring those to your tent, Alpha?”
“Yeah,” I murmured, a wry smile twisting my lips. “Bring a few extra blankets, too.”
Tariq bowed and was gone a moment later. I walked over to my Little Mouse, lining up with her. “Time for us to go,” I said.
She gasped, turning around and looking at our carriage. “But… what about the wagon, and other-”
“They’re already in the camp,” I told her, and saw confusion in her gaze. “We stopped here because I wanted you to see the whole size of the camp” A smug smile curled up my lips.
She frowned. “Why? So I would know how powerful you are?”
I inched closer. “Actually, I wanted you to look around.” I pointed at the vast terrain beyond the camp. “There’s Deadly Lake on the southern side, steep mountains on the western side, and quite a vicious forest on the east. I wanted you to take a good look at it so that you know there’s no escaping this place. And if you do try, at least a few dozen warriors will come after you. You will be either caught and dragged back here, or you’ll die led by your own foolishness”
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Chapter 12
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Her jaw clenched as she considered my words. I could almost see the cogs in her head turning, and I knew the exact moment she realized I was right. I’d seen it in her eyes–the mix of fear, defeat, panic… But then something unexpected shone: anger. She refused to surrender, and the sight of her defiance sent a signal straight to my cock.
I watched her hands fist as she estimated her chances. Then she rolled back her shoulders and turned to me. “And what if you’re wrong and I manage to escape?” she challenged.
She didn’t believe that was possible; her eyes betrayed that much. But she wanted me to call her bluff. She was determined to see the shadow of doubt in my eyes. That wouldn’t happen, but I somehow found myself admiring her attempts.
I leaned over her, looking straight into her odd blue eyes with a ring of fiery gold. “I’ve changed my mind. I won’t send warriors after you.” I lowered my head, making sure my lips brushed against hers as I purred, “I’ll chase you myself. Then I will catch you and punish you for trying to leave me.”
A gasp escaped her lips, the golden ring around her pupils stealing away the blue. Her defiance had not left her expression, yet there were aspects of her body she couldn’t control. I drew a long, slow breath through my nostrils, savoring the delicious scent of her arousal. A smug smirk formed in an instant. “You like that idea, don’t you?” I leaned over her ear, biting her lobe gently before I whispered, “You want me to catch you. You want to be punished…”
“No,” she choked out, but her scent only grew stronger.
Damn. That smell was intoxicating. I hadn’t felt it the first or second time we had met. For some reason, her scent made her a thousand times more fascinating. She didn’t smell like I expected a princess would. She wasn’t the dull vanilla or boring rose. She was like a bouquet of wild flowers–spicy, sweet, and fresh–with each petal bathed in sunshine.
“No?” I nuzzled the side of her neck. “Then be a good little mouse and don’t run.”
I fixed my eyes on her and saw her pressing her lips together, as if the annoyance inside her fought against her reason. Finally, the reason won. “I won’t run,” she said softly and quickly added, “if you promise that none of your soldiers will ever hurt the women from the wagon.”
Now that wasn’t something I expected. “And why would you care about them?”
Her jaw clenched, anger flashing in her gorgeous eyes. “None of them deserved to be in those cages. None of them chose to be slaves. They’ve done nothing wrong, and-”
“How do you know that?”
She blinked, “What?”
“I doubt you even know their names. You don’t know whether or not they’ve committed a crime,” I said coldly.
Her mouth opened and closed. She held my stare for a moment before lowering her head. “You’re right.” Her voice dropped to a breathy whisper as she went on, “I don’t know anything about them…. but I cannot imagine they deserve to be treated cruelly,”
I lifted her chin, wanting to look into her eyes as I said, “Give yourself to me willingly, and I’ll promise none
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Chapter 12
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of them will be harmed.”
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She flinched, and I couldn’t help but be annoyed with her reaction. She had been aroused before, and she had clearly wanted me in that lake. Was she suddenly afraid to make a conscious decision?
Seconds passed, and she finally drew a deep breath and nodded. “You will have me willing. But I want to hear you tell your soldiers that none of those women can be harmed.”
My brows rose. “Is my word to you not enough?”
“No,” she insisted. “I need to hear you say it.”
I huffed out a laugh. She kept surprising me. That surely would make our little game much more interesting. “All right.” I shrugged. “I’ll say it tomorrow morning at breakfast.”
“No,” she gritted out. “I want to be sure they will be safe, starting now.”
More laughter slipped through my lips. “Have it your way, Little Mouse.” With one swift move, I lifted her in my arms, causing her to squeak.
“What are you doing?!” She frowned at me, but her hands quickly found their way to my neck.
I jerked my chin, pointing at her bare feet. “Your boots are waiting in my tent. I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself while walking down the slope.”
I corrected my grip, with my one arm under her knees and the other around her back, pressing her to my chest. I didn’t wait for her to hear more of her protests as I began to march down the hill. At least, she decided not to struggle and even leaned into me. My wolf huffed when that happened, as if telling me I had finally done something right. Perhaps he didn’t realize this was not a sign of some permanent change. It was just for now. This was just a part of a game, even though having her in my arms felt surprisingly… good.
I didn’t miss the wide grins of the guards standing by the camp gate. Their eyes locked on Little Mouse, and my grip on her instantly tightened, making sure my jacket covered all the less decent parts of her body.
“Alpha.” They bowed their heads, then pushed the gates open.
Giving them a curt nod, I strode into the camp. My Little Mouse gasped, her body tensing as all eyes turned to her and me. I walked a few more steps before putting her feet on the ground. My warriors gather around me in an instant.
“Just a quick piece of information, gentlemen,” I started, looking at the crowd. “The pretty ladies that joined our forces less than an hour ago are not to be harmed in any way.”
A few laughs and snorts sounded, and I saw confusion on my Little Mouse’s face. “Understood, Alpha!” someone shouted. “Sure thing, Alpha!” another one called out.
I turned to my pretty slave and smirked. “Happy now?”
Her throat worked on a swallow. “Yes….um… Thank you,” she murmured.
Blowing out a slow breath, I snaked my arms around her waist. “You’re a terrible negotiator, you know that?”
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Chapter 12
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Her shoulders tensed, and restlessness gleamed in her eyes. “Why? You gave them an order. If they don’t obey
“They would never disobey me. The women from the wagon are safe.”
She bit her lip and nodded. “Good… That’s all I wanted.”
“Is it? Because I believe you’ve forgotten about one very important detail.” A dark smirk pulled at my lips. “Those women from the wagon… My soldiers will never harm them.” I fixed my eyes on hers. “Too bad the same rule won’t apply to you.”
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