Craving Red: Paranormal Erotic Retelling of Red Riding Hood (Erotic Kingdom) Page 7

  He wished like hell he could expel the image of her laying there naked, of them taking her, from his mind. It had to have been the most difficult thing he had ever had to endure. He kept telling himself he should have done something to stop it. But, he had searched his mind for several days leading up to the mating, tried to figure out something, anything, that he could do to keep her from them. But every time, he came up empty handed. He had never been so torn over anything before. Now he felt that he had failed her. And himself.

  Life had been pretty carefree until she had come along. Tonight was supposed to be his first mating. His first time knowing the full pleasure of having a female. His official initiation into the pack. The manhood rite of passage he had been waiting years for. It was supposed to be the first best night of his life. Instead it had proven to be the worst.

  Dane had tried to purge himself of his feelings for Kaia. He had no business having them in the first place. None of the other guys in the pack had ever developed feelings for the females. They just enjoyed fucking them whenever they wanted. To a guy on the outside, it sure looked to be the perfect setup. What guy wouldn’t want that kind of life? Dane thought he did. Until she showed up.

  Part of him cursed the night they brought her back here. If he had never seen her, he would have been a man by now, he would have been able to go through the mating ritual, he would have mated some other woman.

  But that was the problem. He didn’t want another woman. He couldn’t even think about it. All he thought about anymore was Kaia. When he tried not to think about her, he found it only made him think about her more. And he hated it. Hated feeling like he had no control of his own mind, of these damned feelings.

  Why did he have to have them in the first place? He hadn’t asked for them and Lord knows he didn’t want them. What was so damn special about this one female that she had managed to turn his life upside down? That was one question he asked himself that he actually did know the answer to that.

  Everything.

  Chapter Six

  When Kaia awoke in the morning, she was surprised to discover that she was not back in the cage. She vaguely remembered Astrid telling her that if she cooperated in the mating she would not have to see it again. With all that had happened last night, she had actually forgotten about it. She was at least relieved to see that they kept their promise.

  The room she found herself in was modest, but it was a room nonetheless, rather than a cage where she was exposed to the elements, not to mention to the eyes of everyone who passed by. If she wasn’t mistaken, it may have very well been the same room where she had spent so much time with Dane the past week. She chided herself for thinking of him. It was obvious he didn’t care for her. He had left her there.

  Alone. With them.

  Though her hands were still bound, having an actual bed on which to lie was indeed a luxury after what she had been subjected to. It was certainly far more comfortable than she had endured the past week. Grateful for that much, Kaia turned onto her side, burying her face in the thick blanket and let the surge of sobs which she had held back long enough rock through her at last.

  Later that day, she was sitting with the other women for the midday meal.

  “I am pleased to see how well you have come through this, Kaia,” Synnove said to her.

  Kaia was stunned that the typically brooding alpha female had spoken to her. Perhaps she deems me worthy of her time now that I have participated in the mating.

  “Thank you, Synnove,” Kaia replied, having not a clue of what to say to this woman. “It was… quite an experience.” Quite an experience is certainly an understatement!

  Synnove gave her a taut smile. “Then I expect you are eagerly anticipating the individual matings to come?”

  Upon hearing this, Kaia’s heart nearly stopped. “Individual matings?”

  Synnove’s tone grew more strained. “Yes… have you not been told?”

  The anxiety taking root deep within her belly again, Kaia shook her head tensely, wondering what more she was in for.

  “After the group mating, the new female is to take a different member of the pack to her bed each night for the duration of her week of ripeness. It is up to the males which order they will visit you and they may choose to come to you individually and other times two or more at a time.”

  Her stomach wrenched so hard that Kaia thought she was going to be sick.

  I thought I was done for now, I thought I had made it past the worst part! Now I find out that was only the beginning? I don’t know if I can take it again… so soon.

  “Do not worry, child,” Synnove said. “You will do just fine. If you survived the group mating, then the matings henceforth will only become easier. In time, you will find you even come to reap great pleasure from them.”

  In time? What then does the fact that I already reaped some pleasure from them make me? A whore, no doubt!

  That night, it was Arik who came to visit Kaia. She found she was actually a bit relieved, since if she had to choose the lesser of the evils, it would be him. That was, one other than Dane. And to her surprise, he was behaved quite civilly devoid of the presence of his pack mates.

  And though Kaia hated to admit it to herself, she even found her time with him to be rather pleasurable. Three times worth… But maybe that was only because she was thinking of Dane the entire time. Not that he wasn’t an attractive man in his own right. But then, none of them could ever hold a candle to Dane in her eyes, no matter how much sexual prowess they demonstrated. And she was positive that no one ever would.

  This lust which has been stirred within me will send me straight to hell.

  Racked with guilt for having so thoroughly enjoyed her mating with Aric, on the second day, Kaia began to lament that she had not so much as seen Dane in passing. Something deep in her felt vacant. She missed their daily visits, their feisty conversations.

  Kaia hoped he would put his stubbornness aside and visit her tonight. She would be sure to keep her emotions from overwhelming her and just enjoy their time together, making love to him, using her newly acquired skills on him to send him over the edge as he had so masterfully done to her.

  Not only was it not Dane that would come to her bed, it was quite the opposite. Tripled.

  When on the second night, it was Thorin, Jorn and Magnar who came into Kaia’s room, an immediate sense of dread filled her. She had outright feared each of their dominating, borderline violent styles at the group mating. And that was more one-on-one than this would prove to be. For, to her great detriment, they intended to mate her simultaneously.

  That night, the three pureblood man-wolves did unspeakable things to her which Kaia could only pray to banish from memory, though she doubted that would ever be possible. In addition, she quickly found out what happened to the females who attempted to resist them.

  Do you like it? Do you like hearing me scream for you, making me bleed for you?

  Stripped of any remaining human dignity she may have possessed, all Kaia could do was to strive to detach her mind from her body and just endure it until they were through with her. That is, if she even survived their torture of her. And she wasn’t sure that she would. And by the time they were through with her, they had seen to it that she wouldn’t even want to.

  Though my body may betray me with its instinctive responses, I feel my soul becoming numb, my blood frozen within my veins. Will I never be able to eliminate this pain which has become incarnate within me? I feel this truth driving me to certain madness. Since I’ve been here I’ve felt so hollow inside. Please, God, save me from the nothingness inside! Am I be even worthy of being saved? Or am I too lost, too evil to be saved? Did you turn away from my anguished cries once the first blood of my purity was spilt, deeming me a worthless sinner?

  The next morning when one of the women came with her morning meal, Kaia refused it. She did not look up or respond in any way. She didn’t even know which one of them it was. She didn’t care. Setting it down be
side her, Gisli stepped away. She did not eat. After all, perhaps if she starved herself, death would soon claim her. That is the only way she could see of escaping the nightmare her life had become in such a short amount of time.

  But death could not possibly come soon enough. For, with the state her body had been put in with the vicious incident by the three males, Kaia feared she would not be able to endure another one of their visits the coming night. Every one of her orifices pained her and she was still bleeding by the time the sun had set once again.

  She prayed for someone to take pity on her. To let her be. If only for one night.

  Kaia knew it would be either Viggo or Dane. They were the only ones left to breed her. She prayed that if this misfortune must befall her, that the child will at least be Dane’s. Unless he chose to opt out again. Then a thought occurred to her that she had not had before. What if he was not even allowed to do come to her for the individual mating after foregoing the group mating? Suddenly Kaia felt ill all over again.

  The promise of mating with Dane was the only reason I have been able to endure all of this, that I have made it this far. If that is taken away from me, I will have nothing left! I would rather die than to remain here serving as bitch to the other pack mates if Dane is not to be a part of it!

  When she spotted Dane walking through the camp after the evening meal, Kaia hoped her prayer had been answered. It was the first time she had laid eyes on him since the night of the group mating. And God, was he a sight for sore eyes! Her memory of him had not done him a bit of justice. Running his hand through his dark, wavy hair reminded her of how breathtakingly gorgeous he was. How could she have forgotten?

  Little did she know that he was destined to be her saving grace.

  Her heart raced as he was clearly headed for her tent.

  But then she cursed her present condition. Great! He finally comes to make love to me and here I am, a bloody mess. I won’t even be able to enjoy it properly.

  But what Dane did surprised her even more.

  When he brushed the flap aside and saw her, a look of horror came across his face.

  “Oh my God, Kaia! What the hell happened?” Dane asked, the concern painfully obvious in his sensitive blue eyes.

  Not sure how to tell him of all they had done to her, and not sure how he would receive this information about his pack mates and alpha, Kaia hesitated. Swallowing back the hard lump which had formed in her throat, finally she began. “Last night… Thorin, Magnar and Jorn came to mate me— all together…”

  Knowing he could not bear to hear what they had done to her, Dane held his hand up, halting her words midsentence. Already she could detect the rage boiling up in him, his hands shaking, his face growing tense.

  “Kaia, I am so sorry they did this to you… that I wasn’t there to stop it,” he whispered, the deepest sincerity in his voice. And then his tone turned surprisingly menacing. “Mark my words. They will pay for what they have done to you.”

  “Dane, please don’t do anything rash,” Kaia opposed. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “Don’t worry about me, Kaia. I can handle myself. Regardless of what happens to me, I’ll be damned if they are going to get away with what they have done to you.” It was plainly clear that he was determined to make it right by her. Even if it cost him his life.

  Kaia wanted to cry. All of a sudden the thought of something happening to him was nearly more than she could bear. And it was all because of her. But she also knew she was powerless to stop him.

  What the hell is he thinking? How does he think he is going to take on his whole pack and make it out alive?

  Needing to distract her mind before she went insane, Kaia kept talking. “Is it typical of them to treat the women this harshly?” She was still striving to ward off the tears which threatened like a dam about to collapse.

  “Well, it is typical for them to be fairly rough with their mating rituals, yes, but still, I have never seen them do anything quite like this.”

  Kaia frowned at that. It would have made her feel better to know she wasn’t the only one. Not that she wished this on anyone else, of course.

  He reached around her head and unlocked the shackles, freeing her hands. She sighed in relief.

  Pulling her away from her troubled contemplations, Dane lifted his hands to her face, taking it gently within them, his eyes gazing into hers evocatively. She swore it looked as though he was about to kiss her. God, how she wanted so badly for him to kiss her. She needed him to kiss her.

  Leaning his face in closer to hers, Dane’s lips made contact with her forehead. A wave of contentment washed through her at this seemingly simple, yet profound gesture. He proceeded to gently kiss every inch of her face: each eye, her nose, her cheeks, her chin, every bruise, every cut, until at last, all that remained were her lips.

  Kaia’s breath seized in her chest as she waited, prayed he would not stop there. His mouth was so near to hers she could taste his breath. Then her soul rejoiced when, at last, he pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her lips. Claimed them.

  But to Dane, he was not just claiming her body. He was claiming her. For his own. He didn’t know how yet, but he would make it happen. One way or another. He had never been so sure of anything in his life as he was that Kaia belonged to him— and only him.

  How he wanted to kiss her hard, passionately. But he wouldn’t hurt her. He was not like them.

  Thrilled that her hands were finally free to do anything they so desired, Kaia threw her arms around him, as he deepened his kiss, urging her mouth open so that his tongue could explore her. His hands travelling down her back, his tongue sought her mouth fervently, enticing hers to do the same.

  Kaia fell back onto the bed, hoping to encourage him to move himself onto her. But he did not. Instead he caressed his fingers over her skin lightly, careful to avoid the wounded areas, as he continued to kiss her. She never imagined two people could kiss for so long!

  Despite her condition, she felt her body responding. She was almost giddy with the thought of him finally taking her. When Dane’s lips left her mouth to explore more of her, she knew it would be soon.

  His mouth made love to her neck, every curve of it before he descended further to nibble at her clavicle. Ignoring her aching breasts, Dane began to plant little kisses along her body. She realised he was kissing every bruise and quickly became embarrassed for how dreadful she must appear.

  Then Dane lay down beside her and began to settle his body against hers, gazing into her eyes as his hand returned to caress her face.

  Kaia peered at him quizzically. “Are you not going to mate with me?” she asked, almost as though insulted that he would not.

  “I want you, Kaia, believe me,” Dane began, “but not like this. I can’t imagine the pain it would inflict upon you and I refuse to do that to you.”

  “I … I don’t know what to say,” Kaia spluttered, in shock that a man— especially one of their kind— would pass up the chance to bed a woman who was already laying there fully nude and vulnerable as she was.

  “You do not need to say anything. But, perhaps you will grant me the favour of being my first when the time is right for you,” he whispered, working his fingers through her silken blonde hair.

  “Your first?” she repeated in shock. “You have never bedded a woman?”

  “No, I have not,” he replied. She could detect the hint of awkwardness in his tone. “That night I walked away was to be my initiation to the mating ritual, as well as yours.”

  Kaia could hardly believe it. Dane seemed so confident, the way he touched her, his mouth upon her. Just thinking of it made her ache for him. She hated the fact that he was not claiming her tonight.

  “And you chose to walk away? Why?” she prodded.

  Dane laughed, but Kaia quickly sensed the bitterness which laced it. “Yes, I did. And believe me, I got an earful from the pack later. But, I just could not stand to be a part of something like that. I wanted you— trust me
, I wanted you— but I did not want to be just another one of them violating you like that. I would rather wait for my turn to be with you alone.”

  “And now you are putting my needs first and passing up your chance to have me again. You must be some sort of angel,” Kaia declared musingly.

  He snorted. “Hardly!”

  “Well, you are to me, anyway. And I would be honoured to be your first, Dane. I only wish that you could have been mine. Then everything would be so different.”

  “So do I, Kaia.”

  “How many women like me have there been that have been forced into this ritual? Is it just the ones here now?”

  Dane shook his head and said, “You really don’t want to know, Kaia.”

  Kaia countered, “Yes, I do. Please, Dane, I need to know.”

  His eyes turned up to look into hers. She could not miss the shame brimming in them. “I honestly do not know. Too many to count. I have seen them bring women here ever since I can remember. They have pretty much managed to capture one nearly every changing with the moon.”

  Dane was sure she would want nothing to do with him if she knew the real answer. Though he truly did not know for sure, he knew it had to be in the hundreds.

  “And where are all of them now?” Kaia probed, afraid of what the answer might be, and yet also afraid not to know. “Why are there only four others still here? Did the others escape?”

  “Well, that’s one way of putting it.” Dane couldn’t bring himself to look into her eyes as he said the words. “They didn’t make it.”

  “Didn’t make it?” Kaia repeated incredulously.