Page 29 of Bonded By Savages

“Everything,”I telepath back.

“The Priests demanded those five women to reward their most loyal warriors. We’re in perilous waters, my Mate. I do not tell you to scare you needlessly, but because you have the right to know.” I watch her carefully, seeing her reaction. She’s getting more nervous, but she’s holding strong, keeping eye contact, so I continue. “Obsidian decreed that no Aurelian may take a woman unwilling. They will abide by their War-God. They follow the Priests, aye, but they follow him above all else.”

She shakes her head. “Please, Damian, you can’t—I beg of you, please don’t let them be sold off to the Priests, or those…those creatures with branded foreheads.” Her voice shakes, but she gets the words out.

She takes a step forward. I know how much it costs her. The light of the fire makes her copper hair glow, and I ache to run my hands through her curls, to pull her close to my kiss. I cherish this moment, seeing her come to me, her green eyes bright with courage as she stands up to what must be giants to her.

“You own me, by the laws of your species.” Her voice cracks, and the thin edge of fear rises up, that fear that fills me with sorrow.

“You are our Mate,Athena,”I say, loving the sound of her name on my lips. She gave it me. It is mine to use, but I don’t want to hear it from the mouth of any other man. I’d want to rip their heads off, gouge their eyes out for even looking at her. “We own you. But you own us in return. You are everything, Athena, all we fought for. Wewillkeep you safe.”

She nods, nervous, and takes a huge breath in, unclasping the robe.

It falls to the ground, and she stands before us, presenting her body to us. She’s still damp from the shower. Her pale skin glistens, a bead of sweat from the warmth of the fire coming down from her neck all the way between her breasts. My breath catches as I stare at the magnificent lines of her body, her pert little nipples that harden under my gaze.

She has a trail of hair above her mound, the same color as her hair, and I lick my lips, aching to devour her. It is not just the sight of her body that maddens me. It is the tendrils of lust growing to a torrent that emanates from her being, the scent of her need glistening from between her legs. I need to taste her.

I need to claim her.

My cock surges up, uncomfortably hard, harder that even before. I’m an iron rod and I feel my body is pulsing for her. My balls seem to move on their own accord, as if they are sending a signal to my body to fill them with more seed.

I’m on fire for her.

“Damian, Tarak, I will give you everything I have. All of me. Just please, kept them safe. Find a solution, any solution, and I’ll accept it, as long as they are not given to the Priests.”

I grit my teeth at the memories of their dark temples. Ancient husks of men, telling their Fanatic followers that if we served them, we’d earn our Mate. That she’d be ours, completely, but now I know the lie.

Some things cannot be taken.

They must be given.

My nostrils flare as I taste her lust, exulting in the perfection of her being. She’s still scared, but deep down, she craves us.

“The Priests will crucify us,”Tarak telepaths, but he barely cares. He sends me an image. Of me, in shackles, held back by Fanatics while he is put on his knees and beheaded in the Arena of Blood.

I snarl, hateful anger filling me, and Athena takes a step back, scared. She doesn’t know my thoughts.

She doesn’t know the horrible truth. Tarak’s right. The Priests view a Bonded triad as holy, as symbols of what any man who deserts and comes to join them can gain.

But three is as good as two, and two is as good as one. They only need one of us alive to impregnate our Mate.

They’d take off one of our heads in a heartbeat, to reclaim their power, to show the world that they still have might.

Athena takes another step back, sensing the darkness in our moods. We can only Bond her to us by mating her, but even that is not everything. A seed can only take root if she craves it.

We will never get that surrender unless we can show her we are worthy to be her men. Unless we can keep those five women safe, that barrier will always be between us.

“You do not know what you ask, Athena,” I say, my voice rasping and rough. “A High Priest took a woman by force. Before we stepped through the portal to save you, he was ripped to shreds by Obsidian’s wolves in the arena. The Priests will not take this humiliation lightly. They are in danger of losing control, of all their Fanatic followers ignoring them to serve the War-God directly.” My throat is dry, too dry, and the terror comes back in her aura.

It's this yellow, sour scent, and I hate it more than the pain I felt when an Elite stabbed me with his Orb-Blade, nearly ripping me in half.

Tarak nods. “Every Aurelian in the universe saw us come back with five women. If the Priests auction them off, they show they are in control. If my judgment is correct, they’ve already promised them to loyal triads.”

She looks down.

We told her everything. There are already so many barriers between us, and I will not have lies taint our relationship.

She looks down, fighting to control her fear. “I…you two saved my life. I can’t make demands. I can only beg of you,” she says, her voice soft, scared.

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