Taken by the Enemy (3 page)

Emeline rolled her shoulders, trying her best to ignore their ache as she nodded again. “Yes, he did.”

“Wow.” The young woman’s voice sounded surprised, her deft fingers working at the knots in her hair. “I thought Lucian didn’t touch any of the women. Honestly, I’d begun to think he preferred men – not that it would be particularly strange, just odd for a man in his position.”

“His position?” Emmie turned slightly towards the girl, but Alice pushed her head forward again to continue removing the tangles.

“He’s the leader. Of all of them. Of this place.” She blew out a breath. “That’s a big deal.”

“What do you mean?” Emmie winced as Alice caught a particularly stubborn tangle and tore it free.

“Well, from what I’ve been told, he’s never taken one of the new captives. Even for a punishment.” Alice started to draw her fingers through her hair, pulling it back and over Emmie’s shoulders, and the sensation was soothing, but her words were creating a new tension under her skin. “He just doesn’t take any of the women for himself.”

Emeline opened her mouth to tell the girl what had happened, how he had pressed her down over the log, spanked her until she was pleading, and had
taken
her. Been the first man to have her – but the cover over the doorway fluttered open and a woman with dirty blonde hair stormed in, huffing and puffing.

“Alice! Did you hear—” The woman stopped short, bent over under the low roof of the structure. “There’s a new girl...”

She met the woman’s blue eyes as she stared for a moment and then moved towards the back of the space. A moment later, she returned with a shallow bowl, sipping at it. Alice answered her quietly. “Yes. She’s nice, Clara, she just had a bad day today.”

“A bad day?” Clara huffed and sat down, taking another drink from the bowl. “Haven’t we all?
Years
of bad days. Talk to me about bad days when you’ve dealt with them as long as I have.”

“There’s no need for that,” Alice mumbled, and Clara scoffed.

“She looks fine to me, and trust me, being here is better than being
out there
where everything is trying to kill you – or back in the damn city where those sons of bitches —”

“Clara!” Alice tugged Emmie’s hair sharply as she chastised the other woman, and Clara finally seemed to calm down a little.

“
Fine
.” She rolled her eyes. “So, what did you do to end up out here with the rest of the riffraff?”

“Nothing.” Emmie went still, ignoring the gentle tugging of Alice’s hands as they worked to tether her unruly hair into a braid.

“Don’t pull that innocent victim routine with me, no one gets exiled without reason. All I did was hit some asshole over the head when he refused to pay me for services rendered, and suddenly
I’m
the criminal,
I’m
getting kicked out of the city,
I’m
some whore.” Clara snorted. “As if half the town council had never been to that brothel before. Bunch of hypocritical, lying—”

“Shut up!” Emmie snapped, and both of them went still. Her own reaction had surprised her, and she did her best to suppress the surge of anger inside her.
Answer
, her mind urged her, but she had never even thought up a reason as to why she’d be outside the city walls. In all her preparations, she had never expected to be thrust into the company of the enemies of the city, but now she was effectively surrounded – and she needed an answer. Her mind whirled, trying to dredge her memories of previous offenses that had resulted in exile, but she’d never paid much attention to it. It was a footnote in the gossip she’d been surrounded by, and suddenly it was the most important information to her.

Great.

Clara stared at her with an eyebrow neatly raised, her bowl held in the air like an offering, and even Alice was peeking around her to listen.

“I—” She started to speak, but her mind was empty. Empty of any valid excuse that would ring true, and suddenly a partial truth left her lips unbidden. “I refused a man who wanted me.”

“Let me guess, the asshole claimed you stole from him?” Clara huffed.

“Something like that,” Emmie mumbled, turning away to hide the hot flush in her cheeks.

“That’s terrible!” Alice piped up, returning to the braid until it was finished, before tying it off once more – only this time Emmie could tell it was much straighter, more confined, and probably a lot prettier than she’d been able to manage on her own.

“Men are dogs. All of them.” Clara raised her voice. “ALL men, even the mutt outside this place!”

Alice made a sound of distress, shifting until Emmie could more easily see both of them. “Clara,
please
, don’t make them angry.”

She just laughed. “Listen to me, Alice is still new, but you’ll figure out pretty quickly that there’s a short list of what they can do to you. Once you know that, you’ll feel a lot better. Just don’t run, and you’ll be fine – hey, what did you say your name was?”

Their eyes bored into her, and she relented. “Emmie.”

“That’s pretty!” Alice chimed, and Clara shrugged.

“Well, hello, Emmie. Welcome to the rest of your pathetic life, however long that is.”

“Why do you have to be like that?” Alice asked, turning towards Clara with a frown.

“Because I’m not an idiot.” The blonde muttered under her breath for a moment, and then she held out the bowl casually. “Are you thirsty?”

The question immediately drew Emmie’s attention to the dryness in her throat, and she nodded. Alice took the shallow bowl and brought it to her lips, but Emmie pulled back. “Can’t you untie me?”

Clara laughed, but Alice just looked apologetic. “No, Emmie, I’m sorry. We’ll all be punished if we untie you, you’ll have to earn that right.”

The girl moved the water towards her lips again, and although she was thirsty, Emmie turned away from it again. “How? How do I earn that?”

Alice sighed, lowering the bowl. “You have to obey. Behave. Don’t run.”

“Right!” Clara laughed. “What happens when you run, Alice?”

The girl fumed, the first anger she’d seen in the mousy brunette. “They catch you.”

“And then?” Clara prompted.

“They punish you,” Alice finished. With a deep breath, the girl composed herself and raised the bowl again. “Here. Take a drink, you’ll feel better. They’ll feed us something soon.”

The lukewarm water passed Emmie’s lips and she almost moaned at how good it felt, but the bowl was empty too soon. Alice nodded at her as she moved to refill it from some place at the back of the structure, but Clara just grinned at her.

“You don’t get anything here without earning it,
Emmie
. Remember that.” The words sounded like a threat, but she didn’t have the energy to think it through and greedily drank the next bowl of water that Alice lifted to her lips.

There would be plenty of time to figure out the rules, and figure out a plan to escape. Regardless of what the other women thought – there was
always
a way out.

She just had to find it, and take it.

It was a couple of hours later when a different man moved the animal skin aside and beckoned for them. “Come on. It’s time to eat.”

“Going to make the girl get up on her own, Theo? That’s rude,” Clara commented as she stood up in the low space, keeping her back bent so she didn’t brush the ceiling.

“Be quiet, Clara.” The man moved forward, his head shaved close so that there was only the barest beginnings of hair across his scalp. He gripped Emmie’s arm and helped her to her feet, supporting her as they all moved back out onto the path. “Don’t run. Don’t try to escape. I promise we’ll find you, and the punishment will be worse than whatever you’ve experienced.”

“She won’t run. Will you, Emmie?” Alice appeared to her left and she just nodded.

“Fine, let’s just go eat. I’m starving.” Theo kept a firm grip on her arm as the other girls led the way down the path, and steadily the sound of people filled the forest around them. Light from fires danced across the trunks of trees, laughter echoed among the branches, and Emeline once again felt like an intruder. Only this time no one paid attention as they stepped into the broad center of the village – a large cleared space with a huge pit dug for roasting the boar. Several fires fought back the cool air of the night, with people gathered around them talking.

“Theo!” a man cheered, moving towards him with a broad grin showing through his beard. “Looks like you finally joined us! I’d heard we had a new one…”

“Sure, you watch her. I haven’t eaten yet.” Theo let go of her and walked towards a low flat piece of wood that seemed to be serving as a table. A few small piles of meat were left, and Emmie’s mouth watered as she looked at it.

“Hello,” the man spoke and she pulled her eyes away from the food to look at him. “I’m Evan. Who brought you in?”

“Lucian,” she mumbled, and he laughed quietly.

“All right, then let’s take you to him and see what he wants.” Evan gently grabbed her arm and led her through the groups. She saw families, flirting couples that kissed with abandon, and individuals who sat with their small meals on narrow pieces of wood. Her world spun as she tried to keep track of the voices that filled the air, drifting up into the clear night, moving among the stars as the moon crested the tree tops.

Emeline had watched the moon trace a path across the inky black many nights as she struggled to sleep, but out here, away from the city, it seemed brighter, bolder. It was the crescent of the moon that distracted her as they first approached the sound of Lucian’s voice, but then his words made their way into her consciousness.

“ – no idea, I just couldn’t help it. She’s different, you’ll know what I mean when you see —” Lucian stopped mid-sentence. “Emmie,” he finished, turning away from Ben and another man she didn’t recognize. She tried to pull back, but Evan pulled her even closer to them.

“So, this is the virgin?” The unknown man laughed, and Lucian hit him in the chest. He knocked Lucian’s hand away and shouted, “Shit! What’s up with you, Lucian? She’s just a newbie.”

“She’s got quite an attitude though, I can see why the others are calling her a hawk.” Ben laughed.

“Hawk?” Evan asked, his hand releasing the loose grip he had on her arm.

“According to one of the guys, they found this little bird treed by a boar, and when Lucian brought her to the ground, she hit him, bloodied his nose, and took off into the woods.” Ben grinned. “Sounds to me like training a hawk!”

“Could both of you just go away?” Lucian growled, and the others only laughed harder.

“So, we’ve got a virgin hawk on our hands.” Evan looked over at her.

She bared her teeth in a vicious version of a smile. “I’m
not
a virgin.”

The men laughed harder, cheering, and the unknown man slapped Lucian on the back. “I guess not! Well, you’re not
my
problem, that’s for sure. I’m going to find my mate. Good night.” He wandered off into the crowd, his chuckling lingering amidst the others, but Lucian’s hard gray eyes found hers quickly.

“Are you
trying
to attract attention?” he hissed as he leaned towards her, but she leaned away from him.

“Let me go and I won’t be attracting anyone’s attention.” Emmie raised her voice a little, confidence building with the presence of so many others nearby. “And where is my pack anyway? You stole it from me.”

“I didn’t steal anything from you. You’re in
our
forest, which means anything that’s yours belongs to all of us. That’s how this works.”

“I never agreed to that,” Emmie spoke softly.

“You probably didn’t consent to being exiled either, but how well did that work out for you?” Lucian asked in a cocky voice, but she just wanted to slap him and scream the truth in his face.

If only her hands were free.

“You don’t know a thing about me.”

“I know what you feel like when you come under me,” he whispered dangerously close to her, and her rage boiled over. She wanted to hurt him, to make him feel the pain and the shame that filled her – but instead she turned and walked away from him. No one even gave her a second glance, people parted to let her pass, and she moved steadily away from the bright light of the fires and off into the darkness of the forest.

“Stop!” His voice sounded from behind her in a clear command, but she didn’t falter. Keeping her gaze low, she stepped carefully through the underbrush, listening to the fading clamor of voices and the rising noise of the leaves crunching beneath each step. “Emmie!” he called, and his use of her nickname just drove her forward.

It was foolish. She was still tied too tightly, unable to loosen the rope around her wrists in the hours since he’d left her, and her skin was raw from her efforts – but she wouldn’t let him treat her like some poor wretch he’d rescued from the wilderness. She had been doing just fine, just fucking fine until
he
had found her.

“Stop!” he called again from behind her, but she blocked him out. There was enough light from the moon to see the shadows on the ground, and although the leaves were an ever-treacherous cover, she’d rather trip than voluntarily turn back.

Her eyes adjusted to the moonlight as she walked, and she felt pride surge through her. She could just walk away from the raiders, from their insane little commune, and continue like she’d planned. There would be water somewhere, she could find shelter –

Lucian tackled her hard, sending her to the ground in a twist of limbs, and she screamed. Her voice echoed off the trees, and she fought him, kicking and twisting as he struggled against her until finally she was on her back with her bound wrists pinned painfully underneath her. His weight was over her hips, his strong hands pressing her shoulders as he shouted down at her, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Emmie kicked, futilely driving her heels into the ground to try and buck him off, but he remained, dropping his weight until she collapsed against the ground and her wrists ached from the pressure. “GET OFF OF ME!”

“No!” Lucian shouted right back into her face, and she tried to twist away from him ineffectively.

“Let me go! Just let me go, I don’t want to be here!
Please
!” she screamed, surprised by her own pleading, but he just released the pressure he had on her shoulders and sat back on her hips.

“You were about to walk right into the river, and I doubt you’d survive the drop, or swim very well with your hands bound if you did.” His level voice made the low rush of the water more apparent when he went silent, and Emmie groaned inwardly as she looked to the side and saw the very clear edge that signified a drop-off.

How had she missed that?

He had distracted her, that’s how.

“Maybe I wanted to drown, anything is better than being under
you
again.” Her words were meant to be harsh, but the expression that passed over his face surprised her – he actually looked wounded for a moment, but it didn’t last long.

“Is that right?” Lucian leaned close, his light brown hair catching in the moonlight as it fell over his forehead. “You don’t care if you drown, if you die, as long as you’re not with
me
?” One of his hands moved to wrap around her throat, slowly squeezing off her air, but she shook her head defiantly even though the words themselves wouldn’t come.

His grip tightened across her throat and immediately all she wanted was to breathe, but her stubbornness pushed back the urge. Tightening her hands into fists, she dug her nails into her palms and did her best to glare up into those heather gray eyes. Lucian looked beyond furious and she wanted him to see that she wouldn’t just collapse under his threats, under the threats of letting her risk her life in the forest around them.

There were so much worse things to fear.

“Lucian?” a voice echoed off to their left, and he broke their stare off first.

“What!” he snapped, and a man broke through the branches to stop short. It was Ben, and he froze in place as soon as he took them in.

“I—” he cleared his throat, and Emmie wished for just a fraction of space to breathe. Jerking against the ground, and twisting her wrists beneath her to try and loosen his grip. “I saw you come after her, and I just wanted to see if you needed help, but it’s clear you have it under control. I’ll —”

Lucian released her throat and she choked, gasping in air like someone starving. His voice was disturbingly calm as he spoke. “I was just about to bring my little bird back to the feast, I don’t think she’s eaten yet. Are you hungry?” His eyes landed on her again.

“Fuck. Off.” The words were broken, and her voice sounded weak, but the message was received and Ben pulled back a little.

“You’ve clearly got this.” Ben started to back away, but Lucian raised his hand.

“No, we’ll return together. Won’t we, little bird?”

Emmie glared up at him as he began to lift himself from her. As soon as he’d cleared enough space, she did her best to knee him hard, but he was watching and blocked it. He held her leg until he was able to step to the side out of her reach. She screamed in frustration, letting loose a tirade of expletives that made Ben’s eyes go wide, but Lucian just smiled a little.

“Such fight, maybe you
are
more of a hawk than a little bird,” he muttered before reaching down to grab the beautiful braid that Alice had made of her hair and used it to haul her painfully to her feet. “But here’s the thing,
Emmie
, whether you’re a hawk or a bird – both need training to be useful.”

She tried to pull away from him, but only rewarded herself with pain. “You’ll never
train
me,” she hissed.

“We’ll see, won’t we?” Lucian threw her forward, and Ben caught her against his chest. “Make sure she eats, then return her to the stable. No one touches her without my permission.”

“What?” Ben steadied her on her feet, but didn’t remove his hand from her arm.

“No one touches her,” Lucian confirmed.

“Right, okay. I’ll make sure.” Ben nodded and then Lucian moved away towards the firelight, and they seemed to both take a deep breath as he left. “You’re sure under his skin, little bird.”

“Hawk.” Emmie corrected him, and he laughed, but she liked that term. If they were going to mock her, they were going to mock her with a word that suited who she was – and she’d never been weak, she’d never gone easily. Lucian may be their leader, he may be a powerful force inside this forest, but she’d gone up against forces much more powerful than him.

And ran
, a voice inside her added.

Escaped
, she answered, and it quieted.

No matter what, she had always been true to herself, and this strange little community of wayward exiles was not going to deter her. She wasn’t a criminal, she hadn’t betrayed their city.

Not really
.

Doubt echoed wordlessly inside her and she flinched. Too many truths threatened in the shadowy, flickering light of the woods, but the bright light of the makeshift village didn’t promise safety. No, Lucian just wanted her to submit in a different way – and she refused to submit.

He’d learn that soon enough.