Page 20 of Hadley's Heroes
So, in my naked form, I moved away from the water and strolled over to where they said he fell. I looked around for the rock that hit him on the back of the head. I picked up a few—they were heavy—but I finally found the one. It was colored different to the others. It had blue flecks in it, and I could see dried blood on there. It fit into my hand. Huh, that would hurt if it was falling from up there, or… if it was used to hit someone. This wasn’t that big to have him knocked out for so long, it would have to be coming at him with a huge force.
I sensed movement to my side.
“Aalee?” I asked. Did he cross the river? I smiled. There weren’t any Aashi other than my mates that I had seen in the water before. They didn’t even cross it like that, they had a bunch of little bridges. I was surprised that he would do that, maybe he was different to the others and liked to bathe in the water. When he didn’t answer, I turned and didn’t see him. I called out again. Was he now scared to show himself to me? I didn’t care if he followed me, I would just keep my back to him. He could look at my butt… I didn’t care. Plus, he could help with my spy work. We could gather evidence together, that was what cops did, and then we would be able to find what really happened here.
I looked at some other rocks. Glancing to the different rock in my hand, I looked at the rock wall beside me, my eyes following up as high as they could go. I couldn’t see any other that was a dull brown with blue in it. The rocks all looked brown with purples here, not the dull brown. I placed it against the wall. Maybe it came from high up, closer to the sun, and the colors dulled over time.
I felt a presence behind me and the touch of something on my ass. Holy shit, Aalee. I squeaked. I didn’t think he would be so bold. I turned around to tell him off. “Aalee”—the pit of my stomach dropped—“who are you?”
This Aashi was huge, dark, and he gave me this smile that made my insides twist. I didn’t know this Aashi, in fact, he looked like he didn’t belong in the clan at all. He had no cloth and was stroking his hard cock in front of me. I took a step back, hitting the rock wall behind me, and he laughed.
“Aa—” I called out before a dirty hand wrapped around my mouth, cutting me off. Oh fuck, there were two of them. I shouldn’t have walked away from Aalee. I wasn’t a spy, I was a stupid woman who kept getting herself into trouble. I didn’t know what they wanted with me… Were they going to rape me, or kidnap me? Shit, probably both.
Fuck, this was bad.
Chapter Eighteen
Aalee
When Jaim had seen me in the tree, when he looked right at me and mentioned me to Hadley, I jumped down. There was no reason to keep hiding when he knew I was hiding from Hadley.
It was stupid, I had been thinking about how badly I wished to leave here. I didn’t want to see their happy faces. I made a mistake, thinking that these females had somehow destroyed me. But I realized now that, if anything, Hadley had made me feel like I was really living for the first time in my life. They weren’t sent here to have me punished, they had been punished just like me.
Each morning, I found myself searching for her smiling face, her laugh made me smile. I loved the way she tucked her hair behind her ear when she wore it all out, long with dark brown strands cascading down her back. How could I blame her for what happened to me? She didn’t control the M’Mori. She was just the same as me. A pawn in their game.
Jaim gave me a nod as I approached him. He was perfect for a mate, Hadley chose well with Jaim and Adee.
“You are very happy. I’m glad,” I told him. He smiled at me. I hadn’t seen Jaim this happy. He was soon to be a father, something I always longed for before… Before the M’Mori… Before the nightmares.
Hadley told Jaim that she had left her blanket back in the hut, the one on which to dry herself. It would make more sense if she didn’t submerge herself completely under the water. If she washed and bathed like Aashi, she would have no need for a blanket. We would dry in the heat of the day after a small wash. Jaim was conflicted. I could see that he wished to make his mate happy by returning to get the blanket, yet he couldn’t leave her out here unprotected. She pointed her finger at me and I froze. My tails froze too.
“Can you stay here to watch me?” I didn’t know what… She spoke to me. I wasn’t expecting that. She wished for me to watch her? She was wearing none of the cloths she usually did.
“Well, I mean, like, to make sure no bad guys come?” I didn’t know if I should agree to this, I wasn’t her mate. This was unheard of.
“I can… watch,” I told Jaim and waited for his reaction. Would he be happy with me watching his mate and keeping her safe after everything that had happened since she arrived?
“Thank you, I won’t be long,” he told me before he ran off. I was now hyperaware of everything around me, every sound and smell. I had sensed something earlier that felt out of place, but I brushed it off as more females here. There were going to be differences around. We had warriors around the cliff faces, protecting the clan. I had a shift on the cliff days ago, even though I mostly helped with cooking. It was something I preferred, but I was a large male so I had to take my turn in protecting the females and our clan. Something we didn’t have to do before they were here, but everyone was grateful to do so. Myself included.
I watched as Hadley moved out of the water. I wanted to be closer to her, I needed to be. I was worried she was leaving as she moved to sit on a large rock on the opposite side of the river. I couldn’t get to her from here. I would have to go the long way around and that would mean losing sight of her. I paced back and forth, wishing Jaim would return soon.
Should I tell her to rest on this side? Was that something I could even ask of her? She was protected by the many males around, anyone would have to get through them before they made it down here, but still, I didn’t like her being so far from me.
When she moved away from the rock and started to walk farther from me, I started to panic, but I was very distracted by her body. Her hips swayed in a way that made me mesmerized by her tailless behind. I quickly stood straight. I needed to keep my eye on her but also avoid looking at her naked body. That was not for me to look at… That was what I told myself to feel better.
I had seen it before, at this same location when she was mating with Vetok and Jaka. I turned away from her and prayed to the Goddess to give me strength. What am I supposed to do here? Did she want me to follow her? She knew I wouldn’t go in the water, did she want me to go to the nearest bridge?
“Aa…” she called out. Was she trying to say my name? I smiled. Maybe she wanted me to follow her. But as I turned, I saw two large Aashi holding onto her. My heart raced. They weren’t her mates, who were they? I ran towards her, only to be confronted by the river, but I didn’t hesitate. I ran through it.
I was slowed by the water. I didn’t know it was hard to run in water. It slowed my getting to her, and I could see the males clearer now as they scaled up a long rope up the side of the cliff. Hadley was held tight by one of the males, her screams muffled by the male’s hand over her mouth. She was calling to me and the water was stopping me from getting to her in time.
“Hadley,” I called out. I wanted her to know I was coming for her, that she wasn’t alone. But the waterfall was loud, the sounds we both made being drowned out being so close to it.
“Hadley!” I screamed, over and over, until my throat was hoarse as the males dragged her over the edge of the cliff, taking the rope with them. Did the warriors up there here my calls? Were they ready to take these males on?
Goddess, now more than ever, give me strength. If I wait too long we might never see her again. So, I did as any male in my position would. I started to climb the cliff’s edge.
As I climbed, rocks fell. I thought it was my mistakes as I scrambled up the side of the cliff, but it was the males above. They threw rocks at me, trying to break me, hurt me. One hit my shoulder and I lost grip of the wall with that hand as the pain radiated down to my fingers. But I used all four hands to climb. They weren’t going to have me stopping, I would get them and kill them.
