Page 4 of Tamed for Her Pleasure

Damn it. It is too late to take the words back.

“Well now, little princess, come to gawk at the barbarian prisoner so you can tell your fancy princess friends?” His smile drops, and his eyes bore into me. “Fuck off and leave me alone.”

“Are all barbarians this rude?” I demand, not letting him intimidate me.

“Aye, happen we are when some bastard takes our mate from us.”

“Why did he separate you?” I ask, stepping a little closer, deciding that he is not a savage beast about to lurch through the bars for me.

“It’s all the fault of that fuckwit, Marshal. Snatching a mated lass.” He turns away and begins to pace the confines of the cell.

I step closer still until I can peer through the bars at him. Goodness, he is a strapping male. His head barely skims the ceiling. “I still don’t understand. If Marshal took your mate from you, why does my father have you in a cell?”

“Because your father will want to hand her off to some lordly alpha prick.” His voice lowers to a growl. “I swear I will tear down every brick in this castle to get to her.”

Goodness, I am near swooning on behalf of his mate. I’ve already determined that, somehow, I shall find a way to reunite them. Only, something is definitely not adding up. My father does not normally interfere in the ways of barbarian clans, even for an omega. Marshal would certainly benefit from the associated wealth in taking an omega as a wife, but, still, I cannot see him raiding a clan for one already mated. That would be foolhardy in every sense. I narrow my eyes. “There is more to the story.”

The prisoner huffs out a breath, throws himself down on the narrow bed, and thrusts a hand behind his head. “Why don’t you ask your father?”

“I would not be here asking you questions had my father told me anything,” I point out. “And we do not always see eye to eye on his decisions. Was your mate not congenial to your claiming?” If I find out he took the woman by force, I will be opening the cell door and liberating him of his cock and balls.

“Damn straight, she was congenial.” He sits forward and glares at me. There is no mistaking his deep affront. “We clansmen do not take a lass by force. Unlike that bastard Marshal.”

“Why would Marshal take a barbarian omega and a mated one at that?” It is very dark down here, but I perceive his cheeks take on a red hue.

“It’s a bit complicated.”

“How complicated?”

“The lass is Hydornian.”

My unladylike snort is all disdain.

“That is a very fucking judgmental snort,” he says, “and you don’t know a fucking thing.”

“Well, you best explain it to me promptly,” I say. “I don’t have a lot of time.” I glance to the right, where Bert sups his beer. “They will be changing the guard soon. I need to be away before that happens.”

“Fine. We grew up together, Freya and me. Her mother lived on the outskirts of Hydornia, close to Baxter village. She used to come and play with my sister. And then I went to war, serving under her father with Lor.”

“Lor?”

“Freya’s other mate. I don’t see how you can help unless you can get word to Lor or my clan king. So why don’t you take your fancy ass off and leave me to my misery?”

I get right up to the bars, forgetting that I am placing myself in a position of danger. “It’s true, then, that barbarians take more than one mate?”

“And that is your takeaway from this,” he says dryly.

I can see that getting a message to his other mate is pressing, but, also… “What do you call your mate’s other mate? Something like mate brother?”

“We are all mated, lass,” he says. “So he is my mate, too.”

I feel a blush creep up my cheeks. “You are all intimate with one another?”

“In our case, yes. But that is really down to the people involved. If Lor and I were blood brothers, it would be downright unsavory for us to be rutting one another.”

Rutting? Goodness, this is all very scandalous. Little wonder my father has locked him up lest he infect the people of Hydornia with his uncivilized ways… but now, we are both getting distracted. “Please continue with the story.”

“Fine then. While Lor and I were serving in the war, we discovered that Marshal was set to wed Freya. He didn’t wanther, only her omega status and that through her, he would clear his debts. Worse, we had suspicions he was responsible for her father’s death, a man Lor and I served under and had the deepest respect for. The lass didn’t know she was going into a trap with a monster, so we took action.”

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