Page 12 of Own to Obey

The light on the deck changed as the day wore on, as the skies darkened, Shaya suddenly noticed that someone was blocking the viewpoint she picked.

She blinked, lifting her head to meet the gaze of a man, an Alpha, staring at her. He was large and thick, but not quite as big as the shinno, with creamy tan skin and dark hair covering his head, his jaw, and around his mouth. Interestingly, his eyes were a similar color to the shinno's, except they were lighter.

He stepped toward her, his head cocked to one side. “Yenchin mal osshrek,” mumbled out of him.

She watched for what he might do. His tone didn't seem to be aggressive, but she couldn't tell when she had hardly interacted with anyone from this tribe, apart from the girl who helped her, everyone had been extremely aggressive.

He took a step closer, cocking his head to one side as he looked at her. Then his eyes lowered to her chest and flicked back up to her face, the corner of his mouth darting up slightly.

Shaya glanced down at herself and saw that the tunic she wore was wet through and through, and stuck to her, outlining the mounds of her breasts. Unfortunately her nipples also hardened from the cold and somehow she hadn’t felt it—not that she could do much if she had.

The Alpha stepped forward again, repeating what he said before, but this time a little softer. Shaya's eyes widened as he came closer. What exactly was he going to do? She glanced behind him and no one else in the deck seemed to notice that he was approaching her. Was this part of the punishment?

The Alpha stopped just in front of her, and lifted a hand, but before he touched her face, a harsh bellow came from the other side of the deck.

“Bakra!” The shinno was storming toward them, and she shrunk back, fear gripping her at the pure anger in his face. He grabbed the other Alpha by the shoulder, yanking him around to face him.

The words between them were fast and harsh—the shinno clearly angry, while the other Alpha appeared relaxed.

Shaya's eyes flicked between them, slightly worried, but it was clear who was in charge. The other Alpha held up his hand and stepped back slightly, as though trying to be non-confrontational, but the shinno was ready to attack, stepping toward the Alpha as though preparing to rip his head off.

The nervousness that plagued Shaya whenever the shinno was around, rose in her full force at the sight of his anger, but at the same time, a strange tingle trembled between her legs. She dropped her face, ignoring the searing pain to her arms as she did. What the hell was happening to her? The shinno's mere presence was doing things to her body that she didn't understand. Kyus had never mentioned anything like this and she couldn't tell why he had that effect on her.

Finally, everything was quiet. Shaya peeked up to see that the new Alpha had left, and only the shinno remained, staring at her with such anger in his eyes, as though something was her fault.

She stared back at him, an anger of her own growing that he had left her hanging from this rope all day. She hadn’t been given water, she hadn't been given food, and now he dared to act as though she didn't have the right to be seen or helped by anyone.

Her anger warmed her, running through her whole body until she felt bold enough to speak. But just as she opened her mouth, the shinno turned and stalked away.

She considered shouting after him, but before she could decide what to say, he was returning with a knife.

Carefully, he cut the rope holding her hands together, and she groaned as her arms dropped down. Her knees gave way as her whole body relaxed from the pressure of having to stay upright, but the Alpha caught her before she hit the ground and lifted her into his arms.

Shaya kept her arms as still as she could in her lap, her teeth gritted as the tears in her eyes formed. She would not cry. She would not.

She held herself stiff as he carried her, mentally urging him to move faster so that she could relax in her cabin alone and without him.

It felt as though he was walking for ages, but finally he entered her cabin. As he lay her on the bed, she rolled to turn away from him, swallowing the hiss from her throat at the pain in her arms. She desperately hoped he wouldn’t want to use her mouth again. She wouldn’t be able to hold back her tears if he did.

She waited to hear something, anything behind her, and when the door finally closed, she began to sob, each one deeper and harder than the last. When she cried all she could cry, she drifted to sleep, only to hear a quiet “Lanatton arook, Shaya,” behind her as the darkness took her.

CHAPTER FOUR

SHAYA

The next morning, Shaya could barely move. The girl urged her awake again, speaking softly but persistently, but this time her whole arms were stiff. By the time she was laying out the blanket for the shinno's tools, Shaya had only just managed to climb out of bed.

“My arms really hurt,” she muttered to the girl, who seemed very on edge. “Is there anything you can give me? Do you have anything for the pain?” At home, she would simply mix together the secretions of two plants with honey and a drop of cydill oil, and that would get rid of the most persistent pains in the body. They must have something similar.

But the girl didn't respond, in fact, she avoided Shaya's eyes as she prepared the blanket.

When Shaya notice the blanket on the bed, she groaned. The shinno was going to be here soon.

“Please don't make me do anything today,” she said to the girl, almost pleading. “I can't move my arms. He will be angry with me. Please?”

The girl turned slowly to face her and took her gently by the hands, causing Shaya to wince, and spoke gently to her in her tongue.

Even though Shaya couldn’t understand her, her tone was apologetic, and her eyes expressed the sorrow that she could not help. Shaya nodded, her entire body turning numb. She had no idea what the shinno would do if she didn't groom him properly. Yesterday he had strung her up like fabric and hung her out to dry when she’d been unable to do her chores.

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