AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mine, mine, mine.
The words repeated over and over in my mind, marking each thrust of my cock. It was her, only ever her. Trembles wracked my legs and spine as I closed in on my release, imagining her perfect pink center dripping for me as she begged me to finish inside her.
The image of her belly swelling with my child drove me over the edge, and my hot seed spilled across the bed where we’d lain together only days before. She may not have wanted children, and I might have gone along with it, but no longer. I would save her, impregnate her, and then she would be mine, in every way, just as I had imagined it for so long before rescuing her from that dark cave.
***
The summer sun beat down upon the three Night Fae males walking along the crowded beach. Waves crashed against the pebbled shore, dragging the stones against each other in a soothing, repetitive motion that allowed the males to think and process what they had overheard only moments before.
A trader from the Iron Realm had planted himself among a group of females bathing in the sun and sea, not so subtly flashing his wealth and wares as he glittered in the light. Two large diamonds adorned his earlobes, and gold hoops looped through the point of his ear. He had bragged to the group attracted to his shine about a recent adventure he’d taken through the Agrenak Mountains. He told them he’d seen new mining shafts popping up beneath the harrowing peaks and revealing new precious stones, like the one that adorned his pinky finger – a stone that looked like black smoke curled inside it, undulating as the stone was moved from left to right.
But it wasn’t the stone that caught the Nighthounds’ attention – no, it was the mention of new tunnels being carved into the mountains over the past twenty years and the new cavesbeing discovered along the way. Throughout the years they had searched for the lost princess, the one place that had eluded them was the Agrenak Mountains. Flying among the peaks was deadly, and with the vast majority of them in the sovereign territory of the Iron Realm, searching them was nearly impossible.
To hear this Iron Fae bragging so obscenely about their successes was rare, as the Iron Fae were notoriously secretive, and if something of this magnitude was happening, there must have been more to the story. Their suspicions raised, the three continued down the beach, returning to the rocky outcropping that provided a path up the cliff and back to Vaenor.
Only once they had returned to the confines of their apartments at Este Castle did they speak. The broadest male with neatly styled hair said, “This is definitely a lead.”
“Where are the twins and Kriztof and Vadim now?” the one with the messy hair asked.
“Last my father heard from them, they were near the Iron Realm border,” the emerald-eyed leader replied.
“We need to tell Cazius what we’ve learned, then have him send word to them, telling them to ask around about these new tunnels and caves. If the Iron Realm has been having success with this endeavor for the lasttwentyyears, that means they must have started digging before then. We’ve never been able to search more than a few places in the mountains, which means they could have hidden her there all this time without us being able to find her,” the broad one concluded.
The other two nodded their heads in agreement.
And the one with the emerald green eyes knew, deep down, that this was the information they had needed to find the lost princess all along.
II
8
Much to my disappointment, I rode in front of Ruslan every day as we entered the Agrenak Mountains. The path narrowed with each step we took, winding between high cliffs, dipping briefly into a rocky valley, but always steadily climbing. The biting wind tore at my hair, and I grinned smugly each time my hair whipped Ruslan in the eye. The air grew colder the higher we climbed, and I wished for some furs to cover my achingly cold legs. At least I had thick wool socks covering my toes, though I’d lost feeling in them long ago. Ruslan’s muscled front pressed firmly into my back, especially as our path steepened and we had to lean into the angle to assist our horse’s climb. His body was hot on my back, and he wore only a light jacket despite the chill.
“How long until we pass through to the other side?” I asked through chattering teeth.
“We’ll camp tonight, then we have a few days of long rides before we break through the pass that leads into the Iron Realm,” he explained.
Ugh, more days of this endless chill.
I hoped my fingers wouldn’t freeze off beforethen. A shiver wracked my body as the uncontrollable clacking of my teeth grew louder. Ruslan abruptly pulled his massive mount to a stop, the procession behind us nearly smashing together to avoid hitting us. With a lethal grace, he dismounted, holding his hand to me. “Let’s get you in the wagon where it’s warmer. I can’t have my mate freeze before we arrive at our home.”
I made a face at his suggestion, but I was too cold to argue. My legs were too numb to move, and I huffed as I allowed him to lift me from the saddle. His strong arms carried me to the wagon where I had awoken caged like an animal over a week before, and I squirmed in his arms as the idea of being locked in the dark flooded my body with fear. “On second thought, I’d rather ride.”
His smoky gray eyes searched my aquamarine ones, and I schooled my expression to one of cold aloofness. He would not see my fear of being chained, stripped of control, and victimized once more. A hopeful grin spread across his face. “I can ride in the wagon with you, keep you warm? Then we won’t have to be apart,” he offered.
Pressing my lips into a thin line, I debated my options.
Ride in the freezing cold and possibly lose a limb, be locked in the darkness of the wagon, or allow Ruslan to ride with me?
I sighed, resigned to my fate. “That would be lovely, My Prince.”
What could possibly go wrong?
He set me gently on the rocky ground, his hand wrapped around my upper arm to steady me as my numb legs wobbled. Placing his palm against the small of my back, he directed me to the wagon, and I flinched internally at the intimate touch. He dropped it when he went to open the doors, and I released the breath trapped in my chest. Sucking in a handful of icy breaths as he unlocked them, I steeled myself for whatever may happen with the two of us sharing the small space. Images of him shirtlessand then naked flitted through my mind, and I quickly clamped down on those obscene thoughts.
The doors swung wide, then Ruslan lifted me into the wagon without asking. “I’ll be right back,” he promised, and strode off. As light illuminated the interior of the wagon, I took the opportunity to study it. My cage was merely one of many boxes that lined the sides of it, some holding piles of furs while a few overflowed with food and one contained metal jugs of water. I discovered a small metal lantern and was fumbling around for something to light it with when Ruslan returned, closing the doors behind him and bathing us in darkness.
The wagon jerked forward a moment later, and I lost my grip on the lantern. It crashed against the closed doors, only to ping off of the metal of Ruslan’s armor. Dim light sputtered to existence, and Ruslan’s devastating face was cast in shadow as he held the lantern and sauntered toward me. My back hit the smooth wood of the wall as I crawled away, Ruslan’s predatory grin following me. Once he was within arm’s reach, he glanced upward and placed the lantern on a hook hanging from the ceiling.
