Haulcon's Revenge (2 page)

The short choppy swaying of the rope and the harsh violent sound of her sawing at the tightly woven cords gave him something to focus on other than his deadening form.

“
Come on, come on, come on!” She screamed vehemently.

He laid there, silent. There was nothing left for him to do. He couldn’t even muster up a thought of hope or prayer to the
valf
Great Spirit for deliverance. Whatever was destined to happen would happen.

“
Aaaaah…” She sawed, screamed and fought with the rope. “Yes!”

His eyes popped open when he felt the weight of his left arm hit the ground free. Tilting his head up so he could make eye contact with his savior, he noticed there were streaks of dusty tears lining her face.

Had she wept for me?
No one had ever shed a single tear for him during his life. Even now, if reports returned to the pack complex that he was deceased he could picture many who would grieve for a moment, but none that would cry for the loss of his life. His parent’s, but that would be expected.

There was no time to waste on such thoughts, instead he urged the woman on. “The other now.”

“
Of course.” Shuffling across the ground over the top of his head, she immediately attacked the next line with more vigor and force. As if she had learned a technique working on the first lead.

Excitement ran through his blood like fresh rain to a dry desert land. “You can do it.” He did the only thing he could do in his helpless state, offered encouragement.

The second side didn’t take as long as the first. As soon as he felt his arm make contact with the hard forest floor he snatched the blade from her and called upon inner strength that he had believed left him hours ago.

Sitting up, he whacked at the restraint holding his left leg, keeping himself out of the direct sunlight as long as possible.

Moving up beside him, the woman watched him with concern. “Are you sure you don’t want me to do it? I doubt if you have enough—”

Her words broke off after three chops and he was free.

There was only one part of his body that remained tethered to the tree. The limb that had begun to die. It would stay that way, if he didn’t replenish himself.

Tilting his head toward her, he closed his eyes and inhaled as he allowed the utility device to fall to the ground.

“
See I knew you should have let me do it, you’ve used up your last bit of strength.”

She was wrong.

He could hear the rustling of her clothing as she moved in toward the last cord. But, in the last hour that she had been around him, he could think of nothing but the intoxicating scent that saturated the still air around him. She smelled sweet and spicy with a hint of musk from the sweat coating her skin from both her travels through the woods and her work at freeing him. It all combined into the most decadent of smells.

His hands flexed, tightening and releasing. Heat infused every cell of his body, not because of the morning sun that built in strength but because of her. This woman would be his savior in more ways than one.

“
Okay, you’re loose. Now let’s see about these woun—”

“
Forgive me.”

“
What?”

Not allowing himself a moment to hesitate or reconsider he took hold of her by her neck, his fingers digging deep into the bones of her jaw. Lifting her with him, he rose. He pressed her back against the side of the tree where dawn’s shade still rested. He used more force than he would have ever used on a human female had he been in his right mind. However, it was impossible for his kind to maintain any level of clarity drained of blood and baking in the sun.

She was taller than he had realized having viewed her full frame from the forest floor. Her height allowed his body to align perfectly with hers as he leaned into her.

“
Ahh—”

Her cry broke as he lowered his mouth to her throat and sank his teeth to her vein—pumping, pulsing…ready.

His grip spasmed and tightened more as the sweet elixir of her life source filled his mouth. Her thick, warm fluid coated his tongue. He consumed liquid fire with his first swallow.

That was the thought that entered his mind. The urge to pull away gnawed at the back of his brain. Something wasn’t right.

Yet, he couldn’t compel himself to move away from her, he drank again. Hunger took over. The burn was like alcohol to humans, the more he took in, the more he wanted. He was becoming intoxicated on her. It seared his throat while at the same time warming him from the inside out.

He began to crave not only her unique taste but also the burn of the sweet-tasting flame.

So good.

As he fed, his body became stronger. The sting and pain of the rope burns and cuts on him were nullified—he was healing.

One leg bore the weight of his body, while the other deadened limb remained uselessly leaning out away from him. But, now that he had fed and was out of the direct sunlight it would soon regenerate. Even now, he could feel a subtle tingling in his thigh. That sensation would continue to move downward until all strength had been restored.

Oh, yes, he was healing. As his body mended itself, he began to focus on other things like the sounds of the animals in the forest, the rough bite of the bark of the tree his forehead was pressed against as he drank from his liberator. Yes, she had delivered him from the hands of the valf reaper.

She held his side, her short neat nails digging into his flesh deep. It didn’t cause him pain but made him feel even more connected to her. It wasn’t odd for his heart to pick up the rhythm of hers. No, it was natural as a valf fed from a donor—willing or unwilling. What wasn’t natural was the sexual lust that began to ignite in his body. Valf’s were never attracted to humans. It was in their make-up…their DNA. Humans were only a sustenance source…nothing more, nothing less. The same as any animal in the forest.

They bred with their own kind. That was how the line stayed pure and unadulterated. It had been that way since they shifted away from animals and fed from their first Neanderthal.

He choked up. His response to this woman was a single isolated situation, because he had been so close to death, his system was out of whack. But, soon everything in his body and mind would operate as it should.

However that didn’t do anything for what was going through him now. The warm tingling began in his balls, spreading through them and drawing them up and finally crawling into the base of his shaft. He was aroused. Not semi erect, but his cock was pushing full mast. He couldn’t recall the last time. Even Nyca, his last lover of more than a year ago, had not turned him on as fast. Images of what it would be like to slip inside of her sex and feel her heat surrounding him filled in his mind.

He dragged his free hand down past her hip and gripped her thigh, pulling her closer to him as he pressed his length firmly against her. Even as his mind warred with him and attempted to halt his actions, something guided him from within. A force he couldn’t fight against.

A weak whimper slipped from her parted lips. However, he realized that she must be feeling the arc of the odd emotions raging through him, when she pressed her hips forward and the material of her shorts brushed against his hard cock.

Like a jolt from a live wire, heat, energy and desire shot into his core while his mind became flooded with confusion.

Enough
.

He yanked his teeth from the supple skin of her throat and released his grip from her neck and the tree. Thankfully mostly all of his strength had returned and he was able to step away and stand solidly on his own two feet.

His benefactor slid feebly toward the ground.

Quickly, he stepped in and caught her before she struck the hard-packed dirt.

He had taken too much of her blood. She was supposed to be dazed, but instead she was out. Still breathing, but weak.

“
Shit.” He could have kicked himself in the gut. He should have stopped a long time ago, when he felt the first sensation in his deadened leg. His body had more than enough to continue to heal him throughout the day. But, she had tasted so good he just kept convincing himself that a little more wouldn’t hurt.

Laying her on her side gently, he circumvented the sun now filling the entire clearing where he had lain moments before. Once he stood in the shadows closest to her bag, he searched the ground for something to assist him with reaching her pack. When nothing substantial was located, he stretched up his arms to a low branch. Clutching it tightly in his hands, he pulled down hard and snapped it away from the core of the tree.

Using it as an extension of his arm, he brought it down on top of the bag and used the branch as a hook to draw it closer to him. He swept her first-aid kit toward him as well. Gathering the supplies, he moved back to his savior/victim. He used the bag as a cushion for her head then opened the white plastic container to see what he could find to aid her. He didn’t want to leave her in the woods in this state.

Coming across a smelling salts stick, he snapped it under her nose. She mumbled incoherent sounds and turned away from the sharp smell but remained delirious.

He looked around hoping something would catch his eye, that he’d have some thought of what to do with the woman. They were too far from the city for him to hope someone else would find her. Hell, that was the reason the traitors had selected to place him here, there was no hope of anyone coming upon him and saving him.

But there had been one.

Returning his gaze to her face, he noted that even though she was unconscious from loss of blood, her rich mahogany complexion seemed to hold a glow and her features looked more at peace than distressed.

Refusing to take time to consider the oddity of her response on any level, he made a decision. Shoving the kit back into her pack he zipped it shut then scooped her up. To a human man, she was probably too much woman to lift and carry around for long, but her full, curvaceous figure was no burden to him and she felt right in his arms. Even though she shouldn’t have.

“
Evidently I’m still suffering from the events that happened to me.” He moved through the forest looking for a place of shelter. It was summertime and the day would be long, he would need more rest before he could take his other form.

Chapter Two

Roasted meat tickled her senses and flooded her mind with memories of spending the summer with her grandparents and going camping with her Pap-paw. She didn’t want to wake up from her dream. Her grandparents had passed away three years ago, six months apart, and she missed them both dearly.

“
Have you finally recovered?”

The deep, rough timbre filled the air around her. It wasn’t her grandfather.
Oh, no.
That kind of sound shot straight through her body into her core and surrounded her insides with warmth. Nope not her grandfather.

On a moan she opened her eyes and stared across the rocky ground to a man seated beside a small campfire.

Campfire
? That didn’t make sense. She didn’t recall going camping. Not moving she just took in everything about the man. He was huge. Even though he was seated she could tell by the width of his shoulders…six hands across at least. The man’s long, straight, jet-black hair was showcased in the firelight like ink being poured down his back.
Oh, my.
She started to question what could have happened that would have brought her into the presence of such a man, but then pictures and sounds began to flood her mind. She remembered who the man was…where she’d seen him.

How she had seen him. With a gasp she bolted straight up and scooted back.

“
You don’t have to be afraid, little one. I am not going to harm you.”

That was a lie, her brain shouted. He had already tried to eat her.

“
Not eat. Feed.”

“
What?” She hadn’t stopped moving backwards until her spine was pressed against the rough wall of the cave.
Why are we in a cave? Is this his lair? Are there others that would join him to finish devouring me?