Stolen (Tribes #2) - Milana Jacks Page 0,20

goddess of fire and lies. As I sit by the raging fire, I listen to the thunder and hear rain starting up again.

Mae is said to have been born of fire on a night when snow covered the lands. The villagers gathered around to witness her birth, not knowing who she was. Frail and thin, with long black hair and pitch-black eyes, she lured all the females into the fire, leaving only the males, who served her till the end of their time. She had many males, but never stayed with one, until one seeded her with a boy with orange eyes. She named him Ka, and when he grew older, she took him as a lover too. The legend says they had a baby girl together, almost a replica of Mae, but crueler. Her name was Aoa.

Aoa tried to seduce her father, and when he refused, she directed a firelight bolt into his heart and burned him alive, then went on burning the males in the village. She claimed the territory for her own. Mae, grieved and disappointed in Aoa, left the village. Aoa claimed her victory the following morning, naming the new tribe after her father, Ka.

I slip outside and grab a bucket attached to the water tank. Back in the tent, I empty it over the fire. Mas stirs, and I feel him watching, but don’t care about him witnessing my moment of madness. I worship Aoa, for she is the protector of my tribe, but I will not be a servant to her, in this life or the next. If I am to breed Aoa in her new flesh, she will be marked and belong only to me until the end of our time, not the end of my time.

Fire put out, I crawl under the covers with the female. I know she’s awake and deliberately won’t acknowledge my proximity. That’s fine. I envelop her body with mine, noting her temperature. Like Mae and her daughter Aoa, she could have a frozen heart.

Chapter Ten

Michelle

The parted tent flap allows both light and wind inside. During the night, Nar put out the fire along with my hope this is some sort of bad dream I’m gonna awaken from and find my brother’s face hovering over me, looking worried sick why I stayed in a dream-induced coma for so long. I chuckle. My brother would worry, all right. I’m his ticket to Mars.

While National Security reigns over Earth, it’s Mars where the glamour and society had moved to. Those of us left on Earth are regarded as a different class, a secondary class, and my brother hates the notion that he’s anything besides primary. If someone could get him to Mars, he’d trade his position in National Security. He’d also trade secrets, and has traded them for months, while I sat on pins and needles wondering when any of the gentlemen he met up with in secret would betray him and destroy us all in the process.

A burst of wind whistles through the tent, and I shudder under the covers. I don’t want to leave the warm fur and face the day on the platform, where Gur’s gonna parade me around like an animal to be acquired. Nar will do whatever it takes to win me, but what if it’s not enough? What if I end up with someone who hurts me or worse?

Sucking Nar’s dick didn’t bother me as much as it should have. Touching his body definitely didn’t bother me at all. And there’s the taste of his semen. It’s sweet and spicy, pleasant tasting, and as I recall the flavor, my mouth waters. Oh God, I’m gross. My thoughts are gross. Who is this person inside me? I don’t recognize myself anymore. I’m not a lusty confused idiot. I’m Michelle, and I want to get up, get dressed, and face the day.

“Okay.” I nod to reassure myself. Standing, I secure the large pelt around my body and rub my eyes as I walk outside. In the distance, toward the main camp, males march in military formation, their boots sloshing though mud. I pass the tent and hear chuckling. I tiptoe to the back of the tent and peek around it. Nar and his friend, Mas, stand before a large tanklike object, out of which water pours from two holes. They’re nude, facing each other and chatting as if it’s perfectly normal for two men to yap about bullshit while nude and hard and showering.

Nar’s body entraps