“Drink,” he said again, more determined, his voice deeper, darker.
Audrey glanced down at the horn cup, her throat tight at the thought of drinking it.
He could have killed you easily already.
Audrey brought the cup to her mouth and took a small sip. Just like it smelled, the liquid was sweet, but had bitter afternotes.
“All of it,” the man barked out, and Audrey tipped the cup back and drank the rest of it. She handed the horn back to him, and he gave a grunt of approval. He stepped away from her, disappearing behind a rock outcropping, and she pushed herself up even more.
Glancing around the cave once more, she took note that there was a pallet set up across from where she was, placed on a raised rock podium. A few primitive-looking chairs and even a table were on the other side of that. To her left, she could only see the cave, and to the right it was no different, although light filtered from where the man had disappeared.
After a few moments, Audrey felt the pain in her side start to diminish, and she glanced down, pushing away the animal fur so she could see her wound. She didn’t have her auction gown on anymore, but she did wear a loose shirt-type tunic. The openings for her arms were cut larger than normal, and chilled air moved along her exposed flesh. Pulling the material aside, she could see an off-white bandage covering where her wound was. Gritting her teeth as she pulled back the material, she saw there were thick leaves and a grayish paste over the wound. A small amount of blood could be seen mixed in with the gunk on it, but there was almost no pain.
“More herbs and leaves from the Ekasha plant. It’ll cut down on the healing time and promote the wound to close.”
She snapped her head up and stared at the man, who now stood a few feet from her, a wooden plate in his outstretched hand.
“Eat,” he said in that gruff, deep, and slightly accented voice.
Audrey didn’t know what in the hell was going on, or who this man was, but instinct told her she needed to obey him if she wanted to get through this ordeal.
Chapter
Three
Styx watched the female eat, and when she went to push the plate away, food still on it, he barked out the order for her to finish it all.
“If I eat anymore I’ll be sick,” she said, looking at him with huge blue eyes. He’d never seen a female with eyes of that color. The males and females of his tribe had eyes the color of the ground: a rich, earthy brown. But this female, so small and fragile compared to him, to his kind, had eyes that were crystal clear.
Styx inhaled deeply, sensing she was telling the truth about not being able to finish the meal. He wasn’t pleased, however. She needed to eat more, to fill out more, not just for her health, but because Styx preferred fuller, thicker females. Once she gained weight she’d be able to handle the kind of mating he wanted and needed. She’d be able to carry and deliver his young without trouble.
Styx took the plate, disappointed that half of the food was left. But he had to remind himself she was healing, and that she’d been poisoned. He might be alone, left his tribe to be on his own, and hadn’t seen them in longer than he could recall, but he remembered the females of his kind well enough to know this human was far from what he was used to.
This young female had him curious.
He set her plate aside and just watched her. She was gorgeous, with a wreath of red waves that fell over her shoulders and down her back. Her face was pale, probably far paler than normal due to the blood loss and her obvious fear. And then he inhaled again, taking her scent into his lungs, smelling her innocence, the fact she was so close to being fertile. The primal beast inside of him rose up and took note that this was his female, and he’d have her eventually. But Styx didn’t take women by force, and he wasn’t going to start with the female he planned on making his mate and having as the mother of his young.
The silenced stretched on for some time, and Styx stoked the fire. The nights in the forest created a chill in the air that seeped into his bones. He wanted, needed this female to stay warm so she could heal. The herbs he’d given her would speed up her healing process and should have the pain diminished to almost nonexistent. She’d need to drink several more mugs before he felt confident enough that the toxins were completely flushed from her system, but he didn’t plan on letting her leave anyway.
“Why am I here?”
He looked over his shoulder at her and saw she had the blankets pulled up to her chest. He didn’t answer right away, just threw another log onto the fire, watching the flames lick at it.
“You’re here because you were dying.” He looked over at her again. “I couldn’t allow that to happen.” He turned and faced her fully. “Bringing you back to my home was the only way to ensure you survived.” She didn’t speak, but he noticed the way her pulse beat at the base of her neck rapidly. He could smell her confusion, and the slight scent of fear. The latter was a sharp aroma that had a tingling taking root in the back of his throat.
They didn’t speak for several more moments, but Styx was used to the silence, welcomed it even.
“Will you let me leave when I’m fully healed?”
Styx didn’t need to think about her question because he’d known the answer to that the moment he saw her in the forest. He grabbed the pot from over the fire. He poured two mugs with the scalding water, grabbed herbs, and let them steep for long moments.
“Will you let me go?” she asked again, her voice softer this time.
Styx handed her one of the mugs, looking right in her eyes. “No.”
She reached out for the mug, her eyes wide as she stared at him. “Why? What do you want with me?”
Styx sat down, facing her, and drank from the mug. The herbs made a tea that had calming effects. He drank it every evening before he went to bed. It also helped rejuvenate the body from the inside out.
“Because.” He could have elaborated, could have told her exactly why she wasn’t going to leave, but she was already upset. Telling her anything right now would make it worse. But clearly her anger rose inside of her like an angry beast. She clenched her jaw, and anticipating what she was going to do, Styx leaned to the side just as she threw the mug at him. Droplets of the hot liquid splashed on his bare arm, but there was no pain. The mug clanked against the cavern wall before falling to the ground and rolling back toward him.
He didn’t speak, wasn’t upset either. She was afraid and angry, and lashing out was her way of getting her fear out. But what Styx did do was stand, walk over to her, and stop when he was a foot from where she sat. He was a feared creature, had been in his tribe, but also in the outside world. He liked it that way. It gave him strength, let others know he was a predator. But he didn’t want his mate to be afraid. And she was his mate, his wife, and would be the mother of his babies.
“Tell me, you asshole.” She was on the verge of tears now, the scent of a cool breeze after it rained filling his head. “You might have saved my life, but keeping me here is wrong.”
Maybe it was, but Styx was a bastard in all ways, and he wanted this female with a ferocity that rivaled even the deadliest of beasts in this part of the world.
“You want to know why I won’t let you leave?” She didn’t answer, but he didn’t expect her to. Styx took another step toward her and crouched on his haunches so they were face to face. He lowered his gaze to her lips and watched as she licked them. “I won’t let you leave because I plan on making you my mate, on having you as my wife.” Her eyes widened even further, and although she was shocked, the scent lingering in the air was like sweet, dried fruit. It was that flash of curiosity that was the strongest. He reached out and cupped her chin in his hand, her skin warm, soft. She couldn’t move away, not with her back to the wall. “And here—” He lowered his hand down her neck, between her breasts, and placed his open palm right over her belly. “Here is where my babies will grow.”