Page 71 of You're Not My King!

“From your lack of scent, I thought those fools had brought me a waif.” His presence no longer surrounded me, something I hadn’t expected now that he knew who I was. He clearly hated Vo’ak, and I’d thought the opportunity to spoil his mate would appeal to him, but instead, he retreated.

I wasn’t complaining.

“Did you suck on a ja’nyp berry?” He tutted. “Such a disobedient mate.”

I bared my teeth in a mockery of a snarl. I already felt guilty about the whole berry thing, I didn’t need this dick reminding me.

Without warning, he flipped me onto my back, smirking devilishly.He lifted my wrist, inspecting the little white line between Puka’s bracelet and the raw skin. He must have missed it before because of the redness, but he saw it now, and it pleased him greatly. “I will have my fun with you, be assured,” he said, voice a lecherous rumble. “But not yet. You are to be leveraged, and keeping you untainted will be more effective. For now.”

I cursed myself again for eating those stupid berries. Not that I wasn’t glad to be temporarily spared violation and death, but because of that one—okay, there had been more than one, but whatever—dumb mistake, I might be the reason Vo’ak actually died for real this time.

I’d never forgive myself.

The chief’s hand curled around my sore wrist, yanking me toward the throne at the back of the room. He knocked me to the floor, and before I could right myself, body still weak from travel, something cold and metallic was cuffed around my neck and locked into place. Panic brewed in my gut, my hand rising automatically to tug at the restraints, failing to find any sort of leeway. He’d…

He’d fucking collared me like a dog.

I glowered as the bastard attached the free end of the chain to his throne, securing me in place. “When you are not laboring outside, you will stay there so I can watch you closely.” He smirked, as if the sneer I threw his way amused him. “You are of great importance, after all.”

“Fuck you,” I spat, uncaring what it earned me.

“Do not fret, that time will come. But, for now, since my cock is still hard and you are off limits, I must seek other entertainment.” I looked away in disgust, and he crouched, seizing me roughly by the face, squeezing until my lips pouted. “Be a good pet and stay quiet, or you will be punished.”

With a mocking pat to my cheek, he hobbled over to the cave entrance, shouting something I didn’t understand to his guards outside. Less than a minute later, Cesare was carried in over the Ly’zrd’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes, stuttering nonsense and breathing heavily. He was thrown haphazardly onto the bed, his red-rimmed eyes darting around the room, filled with pure terror, his small frame trembling as he seemed to freeze on the spot.

My blood turned to ice.

The chief pounced like a ravenous wolf, ripping at him as if he was no more than a piece of meat, ready for devouring. Cesare begged him to stop, even called out to me for help, and I didn’t know where the protective instincts emerged from, but I couldn’t just sit there and watch.

“Nononono,” I cried, launching forward, damn near choking myself when the chain pulled taut, jerking me back. I wrenched at the bonds as hard as I could, Cesare’s terrified little sobs ringing in my ears, but to no avail. I switched tactics. “Please don’t hurt him,” I pleaded. “I’ll do anything. Want me to suck your dick? I can do it, just leave him alone.”

The chief growled, tearing himself away from the boy to stride over to me, irritation contorting his face. I recoiled, shuffling behind the throne for cover, but he kept advancing, undeterred by my fear. I held out my hands, wincing as he snatched up a handful of my hair and leaned into my space.

“What did I say about silence?” he spat, and though I should have, I hadn’t anticipated the backhander. Pain snapped across my cheek, static ringing in my ears and blood bursting on my tongue as I hit the ground, shaking.

Images of fists and boots pummeling into my body swarmed through my head, paralyzing, blacking out the world as it resumed without me. Sweat beaded on my forehead,trickling down my face like the blood I used to wear, skin tingling with the phantom sensation of cuts and bruises that I had always struggled to hide. Then came the voice, the one I’d spent months trying to forget, to ignore, whispering its favorite words of degradation.

Weak.

Damaged.

Worthless.

What finally brought me hurtling back from that hellish chasm was the pained whimper and gratified grunt that echoed through the cave. I licked at my split lip, hauling myself to my knees, feeling broken and pathetic. I wanted to save Cesare from that bastard’s claws. It was all my fault that he was being used instead of me, but I couldn’t move.

Tears of intense rage gathered in my eyes, and every sound that flooded my ears only heightened the bloodthirsty fire storming in my belly. I had promised the boy that I would get him out of here, and whether it took days or weeks, I wasn’t going to disappoint him.

I had rarely ever felt the urge to kill before, but this fucker was going to die.

Painfully.

REUBEN

Wherever I went, there was a guard up my ass, holding on to the other end of the chain and tugging on it if I took up too much slack. I was literally being walked like a dog, but part of me—the petty, forever-holding-a-grudge part—was unfazed. It had my desire to escape bubbling at a hundred and ten, so there was a chance I’d actually see it through. It did make the planning itself pretty damned difficult, but I’d done it before under similar yet less jail-like conditions, so I was sure I could do it again.

Cesare had avoided my gaze all morning. I’d tried to talk to him, to make sure he wasn’t in too much pain, but the boy had just ducked his head and blanked me, getting on with his chores as if hoping to forget. I understood. It was a delicate situation—and a shitty one, at that—so I’d give him all the time and space he needed, while also keeping an eye on him from a distance. I wished there was more I could do, ways I could comfort him without crossing a line, but until he initiated that conversation or I found a way out, we were like sitting ducks.

I refused to make his time here any worse. He’d already been through enough.

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