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Damien and his Brothers greeted several men as we walked through the hall. They knew most of these guys and were tough enough to be well respected. We walked with smooth confidence through the crowds until our way was blocked by another family.
“You breed female offspring,” the lead Brother stated coldly.
Damien appraised the family in front of him completely before he spoke, “We all breed, but yes I’ve bred two females.”
“Your slave only produces females we have heard,” he said looking over Damien’s shoulder to eye me.
Damien didn’t answer the other man, but he didn’t like him looking at me like that. Damien stepped toward him and caught the other man’s eyes as they stood toe to toe.
“If you want to fight, keep at what you’re doing,” he threatened. “The breeder is not your concern.”
The room we were in was quiet. Everyone was waiting, hoping to watch what was probably going to be an epic battle. Tension rose and Damien’s fists clenched as he held the other man’s gaze.
The clattering of talons came from my left and right. Several women entered the room and the suspense just melted away. Fighting would be worthless; it was time to eat.
Damien watched as the other man’s face took on a slightly slack expression. He and his Brothers turned without another word and went back to their table. It was like they forgot what they were doing.
We felt the pull, too. Hunger was suddenly the most important priority and we really wanted to see what was for the evening meal. My group started to walk to our table before we realized what we were doing.
Nu-reeh was at it again. The compulsion had been almost undeniable. Kein cursed under his breath and ran an angry hand in his hair. Bane threw an arm around his Brother and shook him in warning.
“I know you are hungry, little Brother. We have not eaten well for days, but try to control yourself,” he said with a pointedly casual air.
Kein relaxed as soon as he realized how obvious he was being.
“Of course,” he smiled, forcing a calm demeanor, “been too long since we ate well. My stomach is weak like a shopkeeper’s.”
Bane grunted a response and released the smaller man.
It had them all bothered, though. The implanted ideas weren’t even subtle. Damien and his Brothers were furious they’d never noticed before. Now it was the most obvious thing in the world. Honestly, I should have told them before.
Christof pointed to my chair and settled me in it as Damien and Evan went to get food.
“You could have told me,” he said under his breath while sitting beside me. “You noticed when it happened last time and yet kept it to yourself.”Content held by NôvelDrama.Org.
“Naughty, little Sister,” Bane whispered from my other side.
He did like punishing me. There was so much they had not gotten to try yet, much of it he thought would excite me terribly. This was a good excuse to try some of Damien’s skill with the flogger.
For a split second I felt intense fear. I remembered the intimate pain they had inflicted on me and my breathing amped up. I did not want that again. The pain and loss of control were awful. Wide eyes met Bane’s and I saw the displeasure in his.
They had expected to teach and train with pain, not cause permanent fear. This was not the result they had wanted. I was just supposed to learn an important lesson and move on. It did not work that way with me, though.
Jumbled memories showed them flashbulbs of nightmares and many nights of lost sleep. Since they’d beaten me I’d feared them and buried my distrust for them. I had felt lost and very alone.
They stopped, all of them, and looked at me. Even Damien and Evan stopped and looked in my direction. I was family and this way I felt was wrong. It was not what they wanted.
“Ahh, you see what we did, Brothers,” Christof said.
It was like the other men in their compound had taught them. The men from the red mountains had it all wrong. Pain would bring fear. Humans could not be taught that way.
Bane’s urges cooled down and he smiled at me trying to comfort. My agreement and willingness had been cherished. Family was important and never distrusted. They would earn my trust back. It would be only pleasure between us.
I did not like the conflicting feelings between us, so I tried to release my fear and anger. The bond did not work well if those types of things interfered. My little girl needed this family to grow wise and strong.
I leaned over and touched my lips to Bane’s in forgiveness. He moaned low in his throat at the simple gesture. My family wanted me and was grateful for the pardon. With the matter done and decided we waited for our meal.
Damien set down platters of food and Christof poured us all a cup of drink. We were all about to dig in when Evan grunted.
“Left Ciara’s drink,” he said rising and walking back toward the food service area.
My eyebrows raised looking at the cup Christof had put in front of me.
“This isn’t good enough for me?” I joked lightly.
No, it wasn’t. The drink Evan was bringing me would keep my stomach settled. They’d planned to start giving it to me as soon as they knew. Nu-reeh had interrupted their plans by putting us all in that cave. They would have preferred I was taking it days ago.
My mind was bombarded suddenly with information about nausea and vomiting. Damien and his Brothers were sure this idea would work.
“No new bets, though,” Bane explained stoically. “You sided with Christof. We’re keeping the original wager.”
I grinned at Bane’s sense of right and wrong when it came to betting. You couldn’t change your side just because new information came up. That just wasn’t how it worked.
Bets were so far off my radar, I’d forgotten the wager we made outside the cabin. Christof and I had said I’d have morning sickness. The other Brothers had said I would not. They’d been working on it since then.
Evan approached the table with a confident swagger. He was sure he’d be on the winning side of this.
“Taste it,” he commanded, handing me the cup, “it should be very palatable for you.”
Grinning up at him I took a sip of the frothy liquid. It was not objectionable. I felt like I should know the flavor, but I just couldn’t place it.
“It’s the root,” Kein said grinning, “concentrated and made into a drink. We think it will stop the vomiting.”
Bane tore a chunk of meat and laid it on my plate. Kein handed me what resembled warm, heavy bread. They encouraged me to eat and the Brothers dug in.
The men were ravenously hungry. They’d been kept near starved for days. During our time in the cave they’d kept tight reign on their hunger. Conversation was ignored as they satisfied their stomachs.
Basin and his Brothers came in with Rose after the men had all downed one plate of food. Their bellies were closer to appeased, so they watched as their friends entered and settled at a table. Damien put a fresh helping on both our plates as the internal discussion got strange.
Rose’s head bowed so submissively was ridiculous. Men on this planet were strong and everyone knew that. Damien didn’t see the point in forcing someone to stare at the floor. It was not a threat to anyone if a human female looked around.