Page 24 of Savagely Mated

“That’s how life is sometimes,” he says, getting up to walk it off. Kirin is a tough guy, even though he looks like a runway model.

Truth is I’m excited by our little mate. I’m not so excited by sharing her with these two. Einar has already taken charge of her as if he owns her. He was the one who put her in his lap and tried to handle her like she’s some soft little female on a date.

That’s not who she is.

She’s an animal.

She needs to be treated like one.

Darcy

I’m in a stolen van, and it’s almost five in the morning. The bells are going to rouse the academy pretty soon, and I’m not going to be there. My room will show signs of a struggle, and the window is going to be open.

Wait. Will they think it’s a sign of a struggle, or will they think I’ve just abandoned my duties and not bothered to clean my room? Hard to tell. I think I’m going to be in trouble either way. We’re not allowed to be abducted.

As I drive, and worry, there’s still a tingling between my legs, a feeling of excitement and regret. Excitement because I just experienced the most primal feelings of sexual need I’ve ever felt in my life. Regret because I left them all behind.

I had to. I don’t belong in the mountain wilds. I belong in the city. I know the academy thinks otherwise, but I’m going to find a way to be a king’s guard. I’m going to patrol the castle and keep the king safe from all the people that want to hurt him. That’s what I’ve been trained to do all my life. That’s what I was made for. I wasn’t made to fuck three men like some kind of animal.

I’m making the right decision. I’m doing the right thing. The fact that it’s starting to feel very, very wrong is just how thingsfeel sometimes. I should be used to that. I’m used to a low-level sense of almost constant guilt anyway.

I’m going to go back to the academy and tell them what happened, and I guess I’m going to get detention or whatever.

Weee Ow! Weee Ow!

Flashing lights behind me indicate that an officer of the law is trying to pull me over. Great. That’s all I need. I don’t even have a license. I should, but I missed the driving module. Some of the guys taught me on the side later on, but I never got official approval.

I pull over and I wait for the officer to approach. He’s wearing three insignia: the Cardinal, the Nile, and the King. That gives him authority from all three branches of power. That also means I can be in a lot of trouble.

“Get out of the van.”

I do as I am told. Officers have serious fire power, more than I can outrun. It’s frowned upon to shoot down a drone, but it is a terrible thing to assault an officer. I have to do what he says.

“Mind if I check the van?”

I shake my head and think about running. The street’s too open. Nothing to hide behind. There are a few crowds of people, but I bet they’ll scatter if a cop shouts.

The guy checks the van, then pokes his head back around to look at me with a scowl. He walks up to me with a swagger.

“So you’re a rebel.”

“No, I’m not. I’m a student at the academy.”

“Academy’s for boys. Besides. It is 4.59 a.m., and you’re in a van rife with rebel tech.”

“That’s because I stole the van from them.”

He doesn’t believe me. And even I think that sounds pretty lame. Sounds like an excuse. Sounds like I am a rebel trying to pass myself off as a decent, law-abiding, law-upholding cadet.

“I’m wearing pajamas. Academy pajamas. Would I be wearing these if I wasn’t from the academy?”

“You’re wearing a cloak.”

“Oh, shit. I am.”

“Turn around.”

This is going terribly. The street feels sticky on my feet as I turn around.

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