Lycan's Surrender Read online

  Panic cut off her breath. Who had her? Thoughts of a Centuri warrior running her through with a dagger had her readying to fight for her very life.

  “If you move, if you scream, I’ll break your neck.”

  Relief washed over her at the sound of Lycan’s voice.

  Lycan’s very angry voice.

  Freedom was less than a mile away, and yet the man who could take away her independence had a vise-like grip around her middle.

  “You thought you could sneak away from me? You think I’m inept in the forest, Starr? That I wouldn’t know where to look for you?”

  He removed his hand from her mouth. For a split second she thought of screaming, but wondered how many of her warriors were scouting the area. She may have had her differences with Lycan, but she did not want to see him killed.

  And he would be, as soon as her warriors caught sight of a man holding their queen captive.

  “I did what you should have known I’d do. I’m running for my freedom.”

  He refused to let her move to even turn and look at him. “You have no freedom. You belong to me.”

  Rage filled her and she did fight him this time. “I belong to no one! I am a free woman and I have the right to choose!”

  “Once I brought you to Raynar, you became my responsibility. Don’t fight me on this. We’re going back.”

  He grasped her wrist and pulled her along, but she dug in her heels, her feet sinking in the soft earth. “No! I will not go with you!”

  “Your opinion no longer matters to me.” Lycan picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, the abrupt punch to her middle effectively knocking the very breath from her. She not only couldn’t take in any air, she couldn’t speak.

  Nor could she scream.

  But as she raised her head, she saw they were surrounded by five Dognelle warriors, swords drawn and pointed at Lycan.

  She heard the voice of Jonara, one of the captains.

  “Let go of our queen, or die.”

  Chapter Ten

  Starr felt the coiled tension in Lycan’s body as he froze.

  “Put me down,” she commanded him, still struggling for breath so that only a whisper came out of her mouth. Her warriors could not hear her.

  “Why? So you don’t get any of my blood on you when I’m run through with their swords?”

  “They won’t kill you unless I command them to. Now put me down. For your own safety.”

  Still holding one arm firmly around her, she saw him reach for the sword at his side.

  “Lycan, don’t. They’ll kill you.”

  “Then I’ll die fighting, as a warrior should.” He dropped her to the ground abruptly, and pulled his sword from the scabbard at his belt.

  Starr rolled and hurried to stand, trying to find voice loud enough to tell her warriors to spare him.

  Before she could utter a word, blood appeared on his shoulder as he was pierced from behind. His eyes widened and he dropped his sword, turning his gaze to her.

  “No! Do not kill him!” she cried, finally able to speak. Before she could get the words out, one of her warriors had delivered a blow to the side of his head with the flat side of her sword. Lycan fell in a heap on the ground.

  Without thinking she hurried to him, hoping against hope that he lived. His pulse was strong, so none of his vital life forces had been wounded. She quickly tore a strip of cloth from the bottom of her skirt and pressed it to the wound on his shoulder. Looking up at her warriors, she said, “Get him to a balon and back to Dognelle.”

  They stood there, mouths agape as she tore off yet another piece of her dress to staunch the flow of blood. “Now!”

  Like an arc of lightning, they shot through the forest to do her bidding.

  Lycan was heavy, even with a half dozen women dragging him. But they managed to pull him over the back of a balon. She climbed on front and sent the beast into a fast gallop The gates of Dognelle opened and she sped through, stopping in the dusty courtyard and shouting out orders to bring him to one of the chambers.

  Starr didn’t even know what she was doing. By rights, she should have let her warriors kill him. But he had spared her life in the desert skirmish, and she would give him the same.

  In no time at all his wounds had been sewn and dressed. But he had not yet awoken. She knew it would most likely be some time before he regained consciousness, considering the hard blow to the head he had received.

  Ordering two of the guards to stand over him, she hurried to her chambers, desperate to change clothes. She wanted no reminders of her time in Raynar.

  Unfortunately, the biggest reminder lay asleep in the chambers next to hers.

  Starr had washed off the blood between her legs and dressed in her breeches and tunic just in time. Rhia burst through the door, a worried expression in her grey eyes. She hugged Starr fiercely.

  “I thought you were dead. We all thought you were dead.”

  Starr nodded, touched by the look of concern on her cousin’s face. She offered a smile to her Mistress of Warriors and closest friend. They had trained together, schooled together, done everything together. Rhia was her confidante, her friend, and the one person Starr would want by her side in battle.

  Clutching Rhia’s long, raven braid, she tugged it, grinning when Rhia yelped and jumped back.

  “I have missed you, cousin,” Starr said with a wink.

  “You are still the most annoying little monster in the land, too.” Rhia tossed the braid behind her with a grumble, but Starr knew it was all bravado.

  “Tell me what has happened in my absence.”

  “There have been no raids. It has been quiet. Almost too quiet, if you ask me.” Snatching some dates from the table centering Starr’s room, Rhia looked out the window. “The Centuri are plotting something.”

  “I know. Lycan said as much the same thing.”

  Rhia turned from the window. “When are you planning to tell me what happened to you?”

  Never, if she could manage it. But she knew her cousin, and knew Rhia would badger her for the details until Starr told her everything. She motioned to the chairs and they sat.

  “During our battle with the Raynar in the desert, I was knocked out by Lycan’s sword. He took me back to Raynar with him.”

  “I gathered that when we rode up on the massacre. You were nowhere to be found. I held tight to hope that you still lived, but we were afraid the Raynar had discovered you were the queen and had taken you to their lands for formal execution.”

  “No, I was treated well. Like the other women in their land.”

  Rhia sniffed. “Yes, I know how they treat their women. As slaves.”

  She could not discount her cousin’s claim. “Very well fed and pampered slaves.”

  “What good is food and pampering when you aren’t free?”

  Starr nodded.

  “And what of the Raynar whose life you just spared? I don’t understand. He was trying to kidnap you. Why didn’t you let the guards kill him?”

  She couldn’t meet her cousin’s sharp gaze. How could she answer without explaining her feelings for Lycan?

  Standing and walking to the window, she peered out at the gathering night, wondering when the Raynar warriors would come hunting for their king. “He is Lycan, King of Raynar.”

  Rhia gasped. “That is Lycan?”

  “Yes.”

  “No wonder you were in no hurry to get back here.”

  Starr whirled and glared at her cousin. “I did everything I could to escape while I was there! You think that I would give up my people to live the lazy life of a slave?”

  Rhia stood and reached for Starr’s hands. “Forgive me. Of course not. I just meant he is…incredibly handsome, no doubt virile, too. What woman wouldn’t want to spend a little time with him? He is nothing like our men.”

  “Our men are loyal to us.”

  “And simpering fools, too. No match for our strength and intelligence. I can well imagine Lycan is more than a match.”

  Indeed, he was. Which made her dilemma all the more difficult. “I tried to convince him to let me go. But he, like all Raynar men, feel that women can’t survive out here without a man to take care of them.”

  “Bah. Ridiculous, backward notions.”

  “He has a point. At least where the Raynar women are concerned. They would never make it here.”

  “Because they haven’t been given the opportunity to be educated, trained as warriors. We could turn any woman into a warrior.”

  Starr didn’t answer.

  Rhia continued. “If only we could turn our men into someone like the King of Raynar. We could breed very strong male babies, then.”

  Babies. Merging with the Raynar would produce incredible children, both male and female. Starr’s hand automatically strayed to her lower stomach, wondering if Lycan had planted his seed there today. Would she have his child?

  “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

  She turned at the sound of Rhia’s voice behind her, and tried for a smile. “Nothing.”

  Rhia crossed her arms. “I’ve known you your entire life, cousin. I know when you’re happy, sad, and angry. I also know when you’re hiding something. Out with it.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it, Rhia.” She brushed past her cousin, intending to check on Lycan.

  “It’s Lycan of Raynar, isn’t it?”

  She stopped and closed her eyes for a second, knowing Rhia wouldn’t be satisfied until Starr told her the truth. “Yes.”

  Turning, she hoped the pain she felt wasn’t reflected in her eyes.

  “Did he hurt you, Starr?”

  “Hurt me?”

  “Yes. You know. Force you to do something you didn’t want to do.”

  She didn’t understand her cousin’s question. “He forced me to stay there when I wanted my freedom.”

  “What else?”

  “They bathed me, shaved me, and made me wear the clothes of their concubines.”

  “And?”

  “And…that is all. Isn’t it enough? I need to go check on him.”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why do you need to check on him? He’s well guarded.”

  Anxious to see how Lycan fared, she didn’t want to get into this conversation with Rhia. “I know our guards are competent. But I want to see anyway.”

  “You feel something for him!”

  “I do not!”

  “Yes, you do. I can see it in your eyes. You worry about him.”

  She started to protest, but then realized it would do no good. Rhia was right. Her cousin knew her better than anyone. It would only be a matter of time before she figured out that Starr was keeping her feelings about Lycan a secret. Slumping into a chair, she nodded. “Yes, I worry about him.”

  “Have you been intimate with Lycan?”

  “Yes.”

  “I see. And how do you feel about him, exactly?”

  “I have no idea. He infuriates me, his entire way of thinking is the opposite of mine. He thinks women are weak and should be pampered.”

  Rhia crossed her arms. “But?”

  She smiled at her cousin, suddenly grateful to have someone to voice the things she had only thought of. “But he’s also warm, caring, intelligent. He even allowed me to sit in on a strategy session with him and his master of warriors.”

  Arching a brow, Rhia said, “Well, that’s progress, I guess. And how was the sex?”

  “More than I could ever have dreamed of. He’s an amazing lover, Rhia. And he knows how to pleasure me, seems to know exactly where to touch me, or kiss me, to bring me to climax.”

  Rhia plopped into the chair next to Starr and let out a sigh. A purely feminine sigh. Starr couldn’t hold back her grin. “You’re jealous.”

  “Of course I am. Do you think any of the Dognelle men have the slightest idea how to pleasure a woman? You may have been a virgin, Starr, but you’ve heard the stories that women tell. Our men are inept with sex. Yes, they get hard and they come, but they seem clueless as to what to do to arouse a woman. They wouldn’t know where a woman’s clit was if we drew them a map.”

  “Lycan knows.” And definitely needed no map to find the spots that gave her pleasure.

  “So now what?”

  “I don’t know. I hadn’t intended for him to follow me and end up here. Now that he is, and assuming he survives, I have no idea what to do with him.”

  Rhia shrugged. “Do the same thing to him that he did to you. Make him your slave.”

  “We don’t have slaves in Dognelle.”

  “You owe him a taste of what it’s like to lose his freedom. Maybe it’ll change his mind about how he treats women.”

  After Rhia left, she headed to the room next door to check on Lycan.

  “He hasn’t so much as moved,” the guard reported. “It’s like he’s sound asleep.”

  She dismissed the guards and sat on the edge of the bed, smoothing his hair away from his head. She peeked underneath his bandages, pleased that neither wound was open or bleeding. Hopefully he was merely sleeping and would wake by tomorrow.

  And then what? They had no provisions for this kind of thing. In war, there were no prisoners.

  But the more she thought about it, the more she relished the thought.

  Why not show him what it was like to lose his freedom?

  She left the room, motioning to the guards.

  “Tie his wrists and ankles to the posts, but be careful of his wounded shoulder. Tie that arm down to the iron on the bed. I don’t want him waking up and causing any trouble. I’ll be back in the morning.”

  Pushing back the twinge of guilt at her plan, she headed downstairs in search of Rhia, figuring it was time she started acting like the queen again.

  Chapter Eleven

  There had to be a boulder sitting on his head. Something had to account for the pain stabbing through his temples.

  Lycan shifted, but found he couldn’t move. His head felt twice the normal size, and as he fought through a mental fog, he couldn’t remember what had happened before he’d gone to sleep.

  Forcing his eyes open, he blinked, then blinked again. One window faced him, but it was obscured by a dusty film so he couldn’t see outside. It appeared to be daylight, though.

  The bed he found himself in was little more than an expansive cot. Rough blankets lay underneath him, and a stiff, thin sheet covered his naked body. The room was bare of any other furniture.

  He wasn’t in his own room. In fact, he wasn’t even in Raynar, of that he was certain. He struggled to sit up, only to discover he was bound at the wrists and ankles.

  Now that his eyes had adjusted, he surveyed the room, his gaze focusing on two female warriors glaring at him.

  Fires of hell! He had to be in Dognelle.

  Bits and pieces of memory came back. Finding Starr at the edge of the forest. Sword-wielding warriors surrounding them. He remembered reaching for his sword, recalled a piercing pain at his shoulder, then everything had gone black.

  He winced as he tried to move that shoulder. Looking down at it, he saw bandages covering what must be a wound. And on his head, too.

  “Where is Starr?” he asked the guards.

  They didn’t answer.

  “Are you mute? I asked where Starr was. Tell her I’m awake and I wish to speak with her.”

  They responded by smirking.

  “They don’t answer to you. You are not a king here.”

  Turning toward the sound of a familiar voice, he saw Starr at the doorway. She sauntered in, then turned to the guards. “Leave us. Stand outside.”

  They nodded and left. Starr circled the bed, stopping at the foot. “I kind of like you all tied up like this.”

  “Let me go, Starr. I’m warning you.”

  She arched a brow. “You? You’re warning me? You’re hardly in a position to do anything other than talk. And I can remedy that easily enough by having you gagged.”

  He fought the bindings at his wrists, to no avail. All it did was aggravate his shoulder and head. “This is how you pay me back for how well I treated you at Raynar?”

  “You mean by enslaving me? Chaining me to your bed? Denying me my freedom, no matter how much I begged you? Is that what you’re talking about?”

  How could this be the same woman he had made love to only yesterday? She was dressed in her warrior’s garb. Tight breeches that hugged her long legs and hips, and a loose shirt with laces. Not too loose that he couldn’t see the outline of her breasts, though. She was as compelling dressed as a warrior as she had been in her skirt. “You were treated well. You were fed, bathed and clothed.”

  “And you will be fed and clothed also. I’m afraid we don’t have the same bathing luxuries you enjoy in Raynar. Desert here, you know.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “You entered my lands. The price of war, Lycan. You now become my prisoner.”

  “My warriors will come for me. You have to know that.”

  She shrugged, but not before he saw the worry cross her face. “I’m well aware of that. My guards are prepared to defend Dognelle.”

  “You will all be killed. Just let me go and no one will be harmed.”

  “No.”

  Frustration welled within him. He struggled against the bindings despite the pain slicing through his shoulder. When he had no more strength left to fight, he fell back onto the pillow, sending murderous thoughts to Starr.

  One corner of her mouth lifted as she approached the side of the bed. She sat on the edge, her hip nudging his, and swept his hair from his face. Her fingers were cool, her touch enticing.

  “How does it feel to be a slave, Lycan? To know that your destiny, your very life, rests in my hands?”

  “I am no one’s slave.”

  “I said the same thing to you not too long ago. You scoffed at me then, and told me my new life would be as a Raynar concubine. Perhaps I will do the same to you.”

  She leaned over him, pressing her lips lightly against his. He tried to turn his head away, but there was no escape, bound as he was. She licked his lips, her tongue warm, wet and tantalizing. “Would you like to be my concubine, Lycan? Would you pleasure me night and day, whenever I wanted you?”

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