Page 23 of Warrioress

Vrin frowned. Yes, he had wished to not only shock her but frighten her. But to have her walk in while Laro assisted him because of his own failings rankled him. He would rather see that look in her eye that he imagined, the one that recognized and yielded to his power. He wanted her to see him as powerful... not as broken as he must have looked being restrained in place and skewered on Laro’s cock. What sort of male required such violence in order to seek pleasure? She would not wish such a male for her own.

And he should not care, but by the blight of the Fathers he could not get that image out of his head that his imagination conjured, nor the brightness within her eyes as he caught her watching them. She had been embarrassed but there had been something more that he dared not hope for and yet suddenly desperately wanted.

He wanted... her. He wanted the captain of the guard open to him and accepting his dominance and the pleasure that he could give her. But more than anything he wanted her to look at him in that way which made him feel like he had in his imagination—like he was powerful and all that she wanted. He not only wanted her but wanted to be what she wanted as well.

A frustrated snarl escaped him as he rested his head against the bars once more. Why did it have to be her he wanted—a female impossible to obtain? And when exactly had that happened?

Chapter 18

Uma’s face felt hot. It had been that way for the last few days ever since she had walked in and was caught staring while Laro hammered all that into Vrin. She couldn’t even look at them when she delivered their meals and fresh supplies without blushing and making a hasty retreat from the holding room.

On the other hand, seeing Laro completely wreck Vrin while Kam humped the air behind them had been one hell of a Mother’s Night Gift.

She fanned herself with her hand. She had been prepared for the mess—and it had been one holy hell of a mess—but she had not prepared herself to witness that. And it was due to continue for days still.

At least the station would be empty. Although the snow had not picked up into another storm yet, with the Withering Days, the staff was working out of a small building within the guild headquarters in order to restrict contact between the guardswomen and Ragoru. She was not so oblivious that she wasn’t aware of the fact that her own scent wasn’t part of the ongoing problem with the males, but she could at least spare them from having the fresh scents of numerous women occupying the space.

“No, just you get to suffer, Uma,” she muttered to herself as she dropped back into her chair tiredly and glanced at the same case file spread across her desk with disgust. “I just don’t get it. Why would someone go out of their way to find a potent drug and just hold onto it on the off chance of having an opening to poison a Ragoru without drawing attention to themselves? And to have it ready and on hand so close to their mating season when they should be comfortable in their dens... What does one have to do with the other?”

She drummed her fingers on the desk as she considered the matter. Logically it just didn’t make sense for someone to risk having an illegal poison on them within the citadel waiting for an opportunity to encounter a triad.

A heavy frown settled across her face, and she leaned back in her chair and nearly tipped backward entirely when the clock chimed loudly through the station. Her chair clattered loudly as the front two legs made contact with the floor. She squinted up at the clock face. Midday already?

A grimace pulled at her mouth as she glanced around the dimly lit room. Although the wind wasn’t blowing, the snow outside was heavy enough to cast long, grim shadows as little sunlight penetrated through the cotton-soft gray world outside the station’s door. Where had the time gone? It still felt like early morning.

“Feeding time,” she muttered as she reluctantly got to her feet. “Back into the den of licentiousness. I can’t wait.”

And now she was talking to herself. Uma sighed and dragged a hand over her face as she headed to the kitchen. It was almost a pity that there was no one there who would understand her struggle and therefore fully appreciate her sarcasm. It was well warranted even if it was wasted in the empty space.

At least she would be able to get in and out of the holding room quickly. She had the foresight to thaw several days’ worth of meat from the station’s supplies. As much as she enjoyed torturing them with her stews, at least the meat had been slow cooking in the large ovens, requiring minimal oversight other than occasionally stirring the coals and adding more wood. Once the meat was pulled out, she would simply throw in more meat to cook the remaining hours until evening. If her own diet was a little unvaried, it didn’t matter all that much for the sake of expediency.

Gods, she could use a bit of sweet decadence from Saint Ann’s Bakery and Cider House where she usually spent the days following Mother’s Night when all the pastries were marked down for quick sale. If it were any normal year, she would be at home tipping back a mug of hot cider while she stuffed herself with sweet treats. She rubbed a hand over her belly and sighed. Later. There would likely still be something left after she escorted the Ragoru to the edge of the citadel’s territory and booted them over the invisible line. Maybe before they headed out, she would ask Ann to set some aside for her when she returned.

She smiled at the thought, her mood rapidly improving at the promise of a sweet treat. Hell, she could probably even grab a couple on her way back to the station. The Ragoru wouldn’t notice that she was gone.

Humming a little to herself, she headed to the massive oven and, taking a large meat fork in hand, began to skewer and lift the meat from the racks before throwing it into a large pail set beside the oven for that purpose. It landed with greasy slaps, the scent of roast meat filling her nose. At least it didn’t smell half bad. She wasn’t a great cook, but she grew up roasting meat over campfires with her brothers enough that it was at least one thing she could make reasonably well.

Upon removing the last slab of meat, she quickly refilled the racks and stoked the fire until it crackled cheerfully and the meat began to faintly sizzle. That done, she picked up the pail with a grunt and carried it back through the station to the holding cell. Six sets of eyes immediately turned toward her as she stepped inside, her arms straining with the weight of the pail as she bumped the door shut with her hip, and her mouth promptly pulled into a sympathetic grimace.

Blessed Mother, they looked terrible. Vrin had lost his cocky look and eyed her tiredly from where he slumped against the bars facing the door. His fur was slick with a viscous substance that she didn’t want to even begin to scrutinize closely. His ear turned toward her, and he heaved a rumbling sound that was like something caught between a growl and a sigh. It was almost pitiful.

A soft whine teased her ear, and her head turned, her eyes falling on the male flopped in a heap on a pile of bedding. She shook her head. “Kam, you look like a rug.” She paused, tilting her head. They looked terrible but also different—some of that urgency had fled. Edging closer to the cell, she gave him a sympathetic smile as she set the pail within reaching distance of the bars. “Are you okay?”

“I think I am dead,” he rasped as he tipped his head toward her with what appeared to be considerable effort. “I never thought a male could die from expelling seed, but I am certain that I am dead. My cock is chafed and may have fallen off. I am not sure and am too tired to check.”

“Your cock is still attached to you, despite Vrin’s threats to tear it off when you sprayed half the cell,” Laro interrupted tiredly, barely looking up from where he was slumped against one corner.

Uma’s eyes dropped to the floor and her lips twisted. Damn. He really had. The crusty coating and its pungent scent made her eyes water. But then what was new? When she cleaned up the used rags and replaced them every morning, they had been so fragrant with the males’ release that it had taken her best efforts not to gag. And now they all looked as miserable as she felt.

She pursed her lips thoughtfully as she surveyed the cell and then studied each male in turn. Yes, five days seemed to be about right. And they were a sorry case for it. While it was obvious that they tried to keep themselves clean, their fur was still crusted in spots that they missed or were simply too tired to deal with. She rocked back on her heels. The guys needed at least some kind of pick-me-up. No doubt they lost more fluids and burned more calories that they had taken in. And that gave her the perfect excuse for her own little well-earned treat.

“You know what this situation needs?” She glanced at the males, but they returned her gaze so unenthusiastically that she had to bite back a smile. They looked like she was about to condemn them to some new torture.

“If it is putting us out of our misery, I have not yet reached that level of desperation,” Vrin grunted as he slowly drew back from the bars and sank to the floor with a look of resignation stamped on his face. All the fight had clearly left him and for some reason it made her heart ache with sympathy.

She summoned a bright smile just because she knew it would annoy him and shook her head, her unbound braids lighting striking her shoulders. “I’m afraid it is nothing that good, but just wait here and I will return shortly.” Turning to the supply shelves, she grabbed several more rags and passed them through the bars to set them on the bench. “In the meantime, have a cleanup.”

Kam lifted his head to peer over at her curiously, and she gave him a little wave as she stepped out of the holding cell and hurried to grab her cloak from where it hung from its peg near the central woodstove. Throwing it around her shoulders, she almost felt too warm for all but a minute until she threw open the door and was immediately grateful for it as the swirling snow and icy cold air hit her all at once. Ducking her head, she drew up the hood and hurried outside.

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