I dreamt of the moment I’d be able to hold my daughter in my arms once again.
* * *
A strange noise woke me from my slumber several hours later. I could see that it was light through my eyelids and I reluctantly opened them knowing that I had slept far longer than I wanted to. A pair of captivating silver eyes stared into mine. I swallowed heavily. Despite all the running and hiding, he’d found me. I’d underestimated him once again and I vowed that I never would again.
Next time, I would keep running. I wouldn’t stop until I was sure that I was free.
“Vikar,” I whispered anxiously.
“Sweet Luna. Did you think you could escape me?” he answered as he cocked his head to the side. I noticed that his silver irises were flecked with deep greens and iridescent blues. I was immediately reminded of a diamond gemstone, only his eyes carried with them a sense of danger that a simple piece of jewelry could not.
I remained silent, backed into a corner with nowhere to run. The small cove I’d hidden the night away in was shallow. There was no way out except for where he was squatting right in front of me. Escape now would be impossible.
I’d have to wait for the next opportune moment. Until then, I just needed to survive.
“Last night, I told you that you were either to come with me or you would be punished, didn’t I, Luna,” he asked carefully.
When I didn’t respond, his gaze darkened considerably.
“You will answer me, omega,” he warned.
“Yes. That’s what you said,” I spat. I didn’t even put an ounce of effort into hiding the annoyance I felt at being thwarted by him once again.
With a calmness that I wasn’t sure I deserved, he held out his hand once more.
“Take my hand and we will deal with your punishment now,” he said softly. I stared at his rough, callused fingers. “If you take my hand now, I will remember that you submitted to what you had coming,” he added.
I licked my lips, trying to discern the meaning behind his words.
“This is my last warning, Luna. Heed it. I’m imploring you,” he whispered gently.
After several long moments, Vikar ended the tense standoff between us by reaching for me and taking my wrist in his. I expected a blow to the face as he pulled me to him, but instead, he deftly hefted my body over his shoulder. His palm pressed against my backside, holding me in place as he carried me off from my hiding place to wherever else he had in mind.
I knew better than to fight him now. I’d lost this round and he had won. Now I was going to have to take whatever punishment he had in mind before another chance to escape fell upon me. I hung over his shoulder limply, hoping against hope that it wouldn’t be more than I could bear.
He walked through the forest until we reached a clearing. He placed me on the ground before a fallen tree and reached for my cloak. Swiftly, he untied the cord holding it closed and took the fabric into his fingers before he swung it off of my shoulders and laid it on the thick log beside him. When he reached for the ties that held my blouse together, I slapped his hands away.
“In Valgertha, omegas are stripped bare before they are punished. It’s a thorough reminder of their place before their alphas,” he explained, and I hissed in return. I didn’t care for his explanations. I just wished he would do whatever he wanted to do and get it over with.
“Put your hands to your sides. Be a good girl,” he murmured softly, and I bit my lip at the unexpected gentleness in his tone. Exceedingly slowly, he untied my blouse and bared the soft bra that was hidden underneath. Then he knelt down and meticulously untied and removed each of the leather boots that protected my feet before he removed my socks. After that, he unbuttoned my pants and slid them down my hips.
I stood before him in nothing but a matching pair of lavender panties and a bra. No man had ever stripped me like this before and it was starting to make me nervous. I watched as his eyes perused my almost naked body. He traced his thumb along the hemline of my panties and the way the pad of his finger scratched against my skin was mesmerizing. I found myself pressing my hips into his touch, even though I was fighting with every fiber of my being not to.
“So very beautiful,” he said quietly, and it caught me off guard.
“What?” I asked, quite positive that I had heard him incorrectly.
“You are a magnificent thing of beauty, little omega. Never forget that,” he said, only much louder this time. I was unsure of how to take his compliment and I peered back at him with confusion. He reached around my back and unclasped my bra, slowly slipping the straps from my shoulders and laying it aside with the rest of my clothing. I crossed my arms in front of my chest in hopes to cover my breasts, but he silently took my wrists and placed my hands back at my sides.
I trembled before him. He hadn’t laid a single hand on me in anger, yet the slow process of baring my body to his gaze was leaving me deeply anxious for what was to come.
Was he going to fuck me? Did he intend to force his knot inside me even when my body wasn’t ready for it? The unknown of it all was quite nerve-racking and I didn’t know how to process it. Everything was coming together to make me an anxious mess, but that wasn’t the worst of it.
In the baring of my breasts, I felt my nipples harden into tight little peaks. It wasn’t the gentle breeze that flitted through the trees.
No.
It was him. My body was reacting t