Page 33 of Meat

But it hadn’t taken Jale long to discover there was far more to the woman than her meat.

She could understand simple language, and she showed an eagerness to communicate.

She was sentient.

That was reason enough not to eat her. But her body’s transformation gave them even more reasons to keep her around. Those soft, squeezable curves stirred an almost painful desire in Jale’s fluid laden sacs. It was a desire that he longed to explore.

But he couldn’t do that as long as Ravnar was spanking the poor little creature half to death.

The woman cried out extra loud as Ravnar’s hand struck her rump with an especially rough blow. At the sound of that helpless scream, Jale felt a scorch of protective anger behind his breastbone.

Ravnar raised his hand to spank her again.

Jale stepped forward, catching his comrade’s wrist.

“She’s had enough!” Jale growled.

He tugged the woman off Ravnar’s lap. She stumbled to her feet and hid behind Jale, shivering and clinging to his arm with her tiny hands. She was so small and so weak, and he wanted to protect her at any cost.

Ravnar jerked his hand free from Jale’s grasp. He stood, skinning his teeth in a menacing snarl.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, boy?” Ravnar barked. “I’m not finished punishing her yet.”

“She’s had enough,” Jale repeated.

“No,” came Kroggs voice from the other side. “No she hasn’t.”

The bearded ukkur was seated on the dirt by the packs with a wooden bowl in his lap. He had been mixing a thick concoction of iji berries and raw, milky ksh. Something for the woman. Something that didn’t require cooking since they had no fire. Now, however, he set this aside and rose to his feet, wiping off his hands against his bare thighs.

“You’re too easy on her,” Krogg said, jutting his chin at the woman cowering behind Jale’s protective body. “Fact is, we were all too easy on her last night. We should have been more careful with her, shouldn’t have let her sleep so close to us with our knives. It’s our fault she escaped, and that mistake nearly cost the woman her life.”

Jale still refused to back down. He kept his body positioned defensively between the woman and Ravnar.

“If it was our fault,” he said, “then why is she the one being punished.”

“Because she needs to learn there are rules, boy.” Krogg’s voice was low and level. “She needs to learn there are consequences if those rules are broken. And most of all, she needs to learn who is in charge here.”

Jale shook his head.

“You know why she ran away,” Jale said. “She’s afraid of us. Afraid we’re going to eat her.”

“And that fear was not unfounded,” Krogg replied. “Yesterday that was the plan. But that was yesterday. Today is different. Look at her, youngblood. Look at the woman. Do you want to eat that?”

Jale glanced over his shoulder and the shivering, naked woman with her sumptuous new curves.

He did not want to eat her. At least not the way that Krogg was talking about. But he wanted to do something with her. Something he couldn’t fully explain.

“No, this little creature is special,” Krogg went on. “Precious. One of a kind. We must protect her, all three of us together. But in order to do that, she needs to learn how to obey. She needs to learn who is in charge. And you are going to teach her, Jale.”

“Me?” the young ukkur stammered.

Krogg nodded.

“That’s right, boy,” Krogg grunted. “Bend that woman over your knee and spank her.”

Jale hesitated.

“It’s for her own good, boy.”