The Darkest Wolves - A.K. Koonce Page 0,14

don’t peer back at the man on the ground behind me, but I can just sense the irrational mutt nodding along with his besties like a happy little triad of stupidity.

“If three lashes of the Weak Whip aren’t used, the Prince will know. And it will be much worse, I promise. So just walk on over to Avian, put your pretty blonde head in his chest, and don’t look back, beautiful,” Roman instructs, as if he’s giving a meeting agenda.

My hands fall to my side from the mere sound of his defeated voice.

That’s it? He just…he fucking takes it? This is what their life is here? This Prince takes friends and makes them abusers? And everyone’s just supposed to accept it?

That’s why I’m here.

That doesn’t mean I can just leave him though. Who the hell just walks away when someone broken is being shattered?

My attention slips to the red-hot whip blazing in Zilo’s fist. He too looks frantic beyond repair. It’s clear he doesn’t want to watch his friend be tormented either. Much less be the tormentor.

For now, he doesn’t have a choice.

None of us do.

It never crosses my mind to do as Roman told me. I can’t turn away from him.

And so I don’t.

My legs slowly give out, and in all my glorious nudity, I wrap my arms around him chest to chest. His body is hot against mine. His heartbeat is a slamming, furious thing along my cold flesh. He stiffens against my touch. Several moments pass as I nuzzle my face into the warm crook of his neck, and only when I breathe in the scent of his fear do his rough, calloused hands skim down my slick ribs. It’s the slowest caress that shakes through my soul. It skitters across my body in waves of teasing adrenaline. Until his fingers stop just at the small of my back, and he holds me hard against him, bracing himself for what’s about to come.

I hear the arch of the whip before his body jolts against mine. I flinch from the whisking sound of it, and dampness stings my tightly closed eyes when a low growl of agony stifles against Roman’s lips.

He holds me harder. His arms tense around me so tightly he trembles.

Something akin to a desperate, anguished kiss brushes along the side of my throat. The sound of his pain hums over the side of my neck as he buries his head in my hair, and I just hold onto him like I’ll never let him go.

I’ll never let him suffer alone.

I will never let that motherfucker get away with this.

I refuse.

The third and final lash of the whip comes down, licking my fingers with the feel of hot stabbing pain, washing over me in a muted agony of what this strong and beautiful man is feeling.

What he’s been feeling for probably all his life.

And I vow, Prince Ravar will die for what he’s done to these men.

Five

Puppy Training

When I wake the next morning, I find myself in a similar position as before; I’m still clinging to Roman’s hard chest, and he’s still holding me like I’m the only thing in the world keeping him together. His breathing is no longer frantic like it was then. His heartbeat is a mellow sound that’s soothing to feel so near to my own.

I don’t know when I curled up on the edge of the enormous black clad bed, but at some point, the three men joined me. I peek over Roman’s scarred shoulder and find Zilo spread out in the middle, his biceps carved hard as he lies with his hand behind his messy black locks. His braids are scattered across the onyx silk pillow, and I can’t help but recall how much they emphasized the importance of those braids… Avian lies far against the other edge of the bed, his back to me, and the middle part of his chestnut hair is still pulled back into a single braid that ends in a short knot at the back of his head.

My fingers twitch as they graze the smooth feel of Roman’s short shaved hair.

No braids.

That’s all I think about while my fingers trail up and down, my arms wrapped loosely around this strong but beaten man. His body is beautifully tan but nicked all over with lines of wounds now healed.

“You’re startin’ to be real sweet to me, beautiful,” he whispers suddenly, startling me with his eyes closed and his body still completely at rest against my own.