Primal (Alpha Brotherhood 2)

I blushed even more deeply, although I said nothing to confirm his allegations because they were embarrassingly true.

His fingers brushed against the vulnerable skin of my throat and a jolt of electricity raced through me, catching me off guard. I sucked in a breath and bit my lip, trying to keep my sounds quiet even though it was becoming increasingly difficult.

“Would you like to come for me, omega?” he asked quietly.

“No,” I answered, even though I wanted the exact opposite. As soon as I said it, my body pulsed and my clit throbbed hard, begging for his fingers to delve between my legs so that I could orgasm all over his fingers again. I denied myself and I hated that I had to.

I needed to keep a clear head and I couldn’t allow my desire for him to cloud my judgement. The moment the word left my lips though, I regretted my decision. My denial seemed to make my arousal surge even harder from the depths within me and when my clit began to throb, I did my best to swallow my misery. If he noticed, he said nothing and instead uncurled his arm from around my waist and let me go. I was finally free to move.

The fire had gone out while we slept and there was a crisp morning breeze rustling the leaves all around us. I took my cloak back in my fingers and shrugged it back around my shoulders, snuggling it close to chase away the chill.

The sky was pink, and the musical songs of birds were the only thing that broke the silence of the forest. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh scent of wildflowers and mor

ning dew before I turned back to face the man who held me captive. I put on a brave face, not wanting him to know what I was really thinking.

I needed to figure out how to get away from and in order to do that, I needed to concentrate and keep my arousal at bay no matter what. I had to keep a level head and think with my mind rather than the needy little bud in between my legs.

“How far is Valgertha from here?” I asked, hoping to keep his suspicions low.

“A few days. I’m very familiar with the most direct route there, so we’ll be there in no time at all,” he replied, looking into the forest away from me. I licked my lips, trying to gauge from his answer how much further Ravenrath would be. Briefly, I glanced in the direction that I had been traveling and back toward the way Valgertha would be. By my estimation, it would take less than a day to make it home once and for all. I was close enough to risk running once again, no matter what happened.

“Come now. Let’s get moving,” he suggested.

I needed to figure out my next move and I could think of only two options. Either I had to figure out a way to escape, or I’d have to kill him. Hidden inside my pack, I’d buried a knife. He didn’t know I had it in my possession and I’d been careful to keep it that way since he’d appeared. I could jump him from behind and slash his throat, but that would require me to be able to best him in one-on-one combat; however that was far too unlikely to work out in my favor. I’d never trained for battle. Even though I was fast, and I knew how to avoid a blow, it would be very different against a warrior like Vikar who had prepared for battle his whole life. Killing him wasn’t a likely option unless I could catch him entirely unaware or asleep in his bed.

I could run, but that would also be difficult. If I was aroused in any way, he’d be able to find me by the scent of my slick alone. I’d have to be extremely aware of everything about my body before I attempted any sort of escape. I’d have to keep my arousal at bay.

I decided to focus on my daughter. All this was for her. She needed my protection and I needed to get back to Ravenrath so I could do just that.

We ambled through the forest and after about an hour or so, we came upon a swiftly flowing river. I found myself watching the rushing water slip along the rocks. It looked no more than a few feet deep, but it was wide enough for a shallow riverboat to sail easily downstream. I didn’t pay particularly close attention to where I was stepping and my foot slipped on a patch of wet moss, causing my body to lurch forward. With a gasp, I caught myself on a large boulder nearby before I fell and hurt myself. As I stood up, I sucked in a breath, realizing that the area felt immediately familiar and a little glimmer of hope began to spark to life deep within my belly. I knew where I was because I’d been here before. This place wasn’t that far from Ravenrath. It would only be a few hours’ walk and even less if I ran. I was even closer to the city than I had originally thought.

An idea began to formulate in my mind, and I slowed down, pretending I needed to keep a careful watch on my footholds when I was really just trying to find a particular place I’d found nearby in the past.

There. It was right over that riverbank.

I cleared my throat. He didn’t even pause for a second and I glared at his back.

“I need some privacy,” I said loudly. He would pay attention when I spoke. Finally, he stopped and turned back to face me.

“What for?” he asked warily.

“I need to relieve myself,” I responded. I glared back at him, daring him silently to deny me the right to my own basic bodily functions.

“Don’t go far. If you take any more than five minutes, I will come looking for you,” he warned. I nodded. I had no intention of giving away even a hint of the plans formulating in my head.

“Thanks,” I replied, not even trying to hide the annoyance in my voice.

I walked toward the river, veering to the right until I had to make my way through a large patch of brush. When I reached the other side and was safely hidden by the plants all around me, I pushed some of the grasses aside, revealing a deep cave that went quite far underground before it emerged about a mile downriver right outside Ravenrath. I slipped inside the small cavern in complete silence. My steps padded stealthily along the damp moss beneath my feet and as I ventured inside, I kept my fingers on the moist rock wall to guide my way. It would be very dark down here, and since I had nothing to light the way, I’d have to base my movements on my memory of this place and by cautious steps through the blackness.

I’d found this cave long ago when Thranar had decided to take me on a trip outside the walls of the city. He’d gotten drunk on wine and mead before we’d gotten very far and decided that we were going to play a game together. He wanted me to run and he’d catch me, a game of cat and mouse that would only end up with me on my back with him on top of me.

I didn’t want that.

To make matters worse, he’d told me that I wouldn’t like what would happen if he did, so I tried everything in my power to prevent it. His cock had been hard when he’d suggested it, leaving no doubt in my mind that he would be true to his word if he caught me.

I’d been so scared and had run like my very life depended on it.

I’d almost twisted my ankle when I stumbled on this cave. I was trying to find a safe place to hide at the time and ended up using it to slip away from the drunken alpha entirely unnoticed. Before long, I’d emerged on the other side of the cave and raced all the way back to Ravenrath. Once I was safe within the city walls, I hid in my maid’s chambers for the night. Thranar had finally returned the next day, the whole escapade entirely forgotten. He never even questioned my whereabouts and I came to the conclusion that it was very likely that he had passed out somewhere and slept off his drunken stupor, thankfully without me.