Page 10 of Mastering their Maiden

Her sister. Aria.

Esme wasn’t the only one concerned with the girl now standing in front of my comrades. Daya, Draven’s maiden, had also mentioned her name. Little Aria, she’d called her. Blue-eyed with strawberry-colored locks, and utterly alone.

Not anymore, it seemed.

Her bright blue eyes narrowed in my direction, and I bit back a smile. Gone was the timid girl I’d resisted approaching since she’d been just eighteen on my last tour, still two years away from the age our tribe liked to claim their women. It had been a year since then, which meant she’d be about nineteen, though she hadn’t grown much. Still skinny, though every woman in this village was thanks to the greedy, manipulative Elders who ran it.

But there had been changes to her body. Under her disheveled skirts I could see her hips were softer, her ass was rounder, both supported by strong thighs and smooth calves. Her arms were toned, braced as though she was ready to fight the three Kavari surrounding her. She couldn’t be that foolish…

Or she could. Draven’s woman said she’d been shy as a child but had gotten bolder over the years. Strengthened by her sister’s care and her defiance of our dominance. Defiance Quade, Lavan, and Viggo had to discipline out of their maiden, Esme. Defiance born from lies the Elders had fed her over the years. I was certain Aria was fed the same tales of how we were evil, manipulative, and would ravish for disobedience.

None of it was true. She’d receive discipline, and we would ravish her, but with that ravishment came protection. With her obedience came affection. With submission came devotion. And she would have all of it from us.

Sooner than planned, it seemed.

I could tell by her stiff stance and the relaxed, satisfied looks on my partners’ faces that something had happened in this room. I could smell the release of my partners mixed with her own scent, sweet and tart and all around feminine. It made my mouth water, and when she shoved past Kaiden and Umber, stalking toward the door, I reached out and caught her around the waist. Her fist clenched, crushing the small pieces of parchment clutched between her fingers, and she stared up at me with defiant eyes. Her plump lips were swollen, face flushed with arousal, shame, and rage.

“Should I introduce myself?” I asked Kaiden lightly, licking my lips. “It seems we’ve gotten… close to this one.”

“Another time, Dex. I’m sure she’ll misbehave in a few days, and we’ll have to spank her again.” Kaiden laughed softly and I looked up, watching Zander cup himself while Umber bit his lip and lifted his eyes to mine.

“Don’t worry,” he assured me. “If she misbehaves, her apology will be sweet. Won’t it, Princess?”

Aria scowled, then violently shoved my arm away as she stormed out of the cabin, shoulders squared and head held high. She shoved her fist into her pocket, stowing away the parchment she’d crumpled in her fist.

“What did you give her?” I asked, stepping into the cabin and shutting the door.

“Some of the letters Quade sent,” Kaiden explained, reaching down to lace up his trousers. “Her sister scrawled on the bottom of them, pleading with us to look out for her.”

“And you decided to bring her in here and fuck her face?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. Umber laughed while Zander just grinned. Kaiden, however, rolled his eyes.

“If you’d been here, Dex, you’d have done the same. That girl is trouble.” He pointed an angry finger at the door behind me. “She sneaks through the fence to… I’m not sure what she gets up to, but she brings back salted meat and grain and whatever plants she can find while foraging. I don’t know how she’s survived this long. Skepna have been crawling all over this area recently.”

“She said she killed one,” Zander said, frowning when Kaiden and Umber gave him a dubious look. “You don’t believe her?”

“I have to bend to kiss her,” Umber said, widening his eyes when Zander crossed his arms. “The girl is strong, but to kill a Skepna? Where would she get a weapon?”

Zander shrugged. “She carries that dagger, and she’s resourceful enough to get food. Maybe someone gives her other weapons.”

“There is that man who lives about a mile from here,” I pointed out. “He lets our troops stop for water when we travel between villages, and trades supplies with us for leather and other goods. At least he did when Zander and I were stationed here last.”

“Frayne,” Umber said, pursing his lips. “He wouldn’t help her. Gods, I hope not. It’s foolish. Sending her out there alone could get her killed.”

Kaiden shrugged. “We’ll have to ask. The man hates the Elders and that alone would motivate him to help her if she asked.”

“But she can’t keep going out there,” Umber said. “Even if he is supplying her with weapons, she’s going to get herself killed. Quade’s maiden would be devastated and then Quade—”

“Quade will help us regardless. He loves his maiden, but his loyalty is to his people. As soon as that babe is out of her belly, he’ll move. It shouldn’t be long. A moon cycle or so at the most if the babe needs time to adjust to the world. By harvest we’ll be ready to march.”

“We may not have until harvest,” I said, letting out a heavy sigh when the three of them looked at me. “I wanted to come sooner, but I thought it might draw suspicion on where our allegiances lie. And at this point, suspicion would be enough to get me thrown in a dungeon and put on trial like your uncle.”

Zander jumped off the couch, arms braced for a fight while Umber’s eyes widened and he looked at Kaiden, whose face twisted in rage.

“Put on trial? What happened?”

“Ryne found out about their maiden.”

Kaiden stilled, then he swore violently and stalked away from me. “I knew it was foolish to try and hide her. How did he find out? Ryne saw her when her hair was dyed. Draven told me they’d had to discipline and fuck the girl in front of him and he didn’t have a clue.”

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