Page 15 of Bonded By Savages

He sets me down on soft earth, and the huge double doors swing open. Two women in simple clothes smile, greeting us.

The leader of the Aurelian duo strides forward, hand on his Orb-Blade hilt, ready to activate it at any moment. That doesn’t relax me. If even he can’t be at ease in his estate, how could I be?

What does he fear?

The other Aurelian takes my hand, wrapping his huge fingers around mine. My hand disappears into his. He’s warm. It’s strange. Looking at the stony skin of an Aurelian, I’d have expected them to be cold, but he still bleeds like I do.

“Welcome,” says one of the women. “We’ve prepared everything as you asked,” she says, and leads us inside. There is a big double staircase that leads up to a second floor with balconies. I catch a glimpse of another staircase leading down on the other side.

I’m taken to the right, and my nostrils twitch as the delicious smells of a feast waft through. I haven’t smelled food that wasn’t tainted by the swampy odors of Toads in years.

We enter a tall-ceilinged dining room with a window that looks out to the garden. On the big wooden table is a huge pot of soup, a roast, and fresh baked buns. Three bowls are already filled with broth. The servants disappear without a word.

I can’t help myself. I haven’t had a real meal in forever. My stomach roils and burns, acidic, and I run forward and grab a bun. It’s so soft in my hand. I can’t even pause to butter it. It’s piping hot, straight from the oven, and I moan as I bring it to my mouth.

The hand wraps around my wrist, and saliva drips from my lips, an inch away from the bun but unable to move. The leader of the Aurelians takes the bun from my hand and puts it on the table, then pulls a huge chair back.

Tears well up in my eyes. This can’t be.

The Toad Lord loved to torture me, not letting me eat for days before he feasted, making my stomach burn with digestive acids as he made me watch everyone at the banquet gorge themselves when I could only watch. My stomach would burn with acid, but I had to stand straight-backed, serving him wine. If I doubled over, he’d laugh and hit me.

“You are starved. Food will hurt you. Start with broth.”

He lifts me easily, like I am weightless, and sits down on the chair, putting me on his lap. I’m terribly aware of his half-hard cock throbbing underneath me. He wraps one hand around my stomach, pulling me tight against him.

Sitting on his lap makes me feel like a toy. The chair’s made for an alien much broader than me, and my feet wouldn’t touch the floor even if the big man wasn’t under me.

He reaches out his arm. His forearm is as big as myleg.He takes a silver spoon, takes a spoonful, and brings it to my lips.

Part of me wants to protest, that I’m not a bedridden patient who can’t feed herself, but saliva drips down my chin as he takes the spoon and gently brings it to my mouth. It’s strange seeing how carefully he moves his arm after watching him cut down Bullfrogs with violent, brutal swings.

I slurp, and the delicious flavors of meaty broth dance on my tongue. Tears well up in my eyes, but this time it’s not from fear or sorrow. It’s sogood.I never thought I’d taste something like this again. Bladdard would feed us a disgusting slop made of whatever the Bullfrogs left behind, and I couldn’t help but imagine their slavering mouths as I forced it down.

The second Aurelian sits down across from me.

Gods, but he’s handsome. Too handsome. He has perfect, symmetrical features, a strong jaw and nose, high cheekbones and thick, short black hair that I get the urge to grab and pull. His chest is half-bared, and even with that disgusting tattoo, I can’t help but stare at the slabs of muscle. I can even see the ridges of his abs.

I don’t mind the brutal scars on his body. The twin circles that mark him as a Fanatic, I can’t accept. I look away as the leader brings another sip to my mouth.

My cheeks flush red with embarrassment as he feeds me, like I’m his pet, and I understand the truth of my predicament.

The Toad Lord treated me like a piece of trash.

These two will treat me like the most precious art…

But I am still their possession.

I slurp the soup, too hungry to care, my head swimming.

“What is your name, my Mate?” The deep voice is felt more than heard from behind me, and when he says the wordMate,his cock twitches underneath me. I wriggle, uncomfortably, and it throbs in response to my movements, so I freeze, staying perfectly still.

I can’t give them my name. They may think they own me, but that, he can’t have. “Nelly,” I blurt out. It’s the first word that comes to my mind.

“Nelly. I am Damian. My battle-brother is Tarak. I wish you could have met Raython. He perished when we Orb-Shifted, after we felt your existence. His last words were to go to you.”

There’s a deep sorrow in his voice.

When they Orb-Shifted.

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