Chapter 6 She's a virgin

I once read that you lose the ability to scream at the sight of something truly terrifying. In that cave, I realized whoever wrote that was right.

My scream did not make it out of my throat.

The Heathrown Alphas stood at nothing below eight feet tall. Their shoulders were broad enough to block the light coming from the cave’s entrance if they had been standing straight on.

And their faces… my eyes stung just from looking at it. The hot light shining from their faces made it impossible to look long enough to see their features.

The rumors were true. These were not humans, they were gods. Monster gods.

If my body could move, I would have fallen flat on my face in worship, or terror, or both. But I was a lifeless lettuce, as Gianna called it, with control only over my eyes.

I lowered those to the floor now, pinning my gaze on the debris around me.

The first footstep hit the ground with a thud that reverberated round the cave. I winced. And another followed, closer, louder. The closer he got, the darker the cave became.

Nervous tears ran down my cheeks again, but I pressed my lips hard, shutting off the faintest whimper.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the giant lower to a squat beside me, and lean close. He smelled like burning embers with a faint hint of that metallic smell of blood.

How did they know I was here? Why were they here? I had yet to tell Dad and Mom that I accepted the offer, and everyone knew the Hearthrown Alphas did not take a woman who did not consent to the position.

The giant touched me, and my world went still.

My heart rate slowed to a normal rhythm, and my blood ran cool in my veins. For the first time since my fall last night, I could feel my body.

But the sensation was brief.

I looked up to find him pulling his thumb away from my cheek. He placed it against his lips, and sucked my tears off his thumb.

I stared, transfixed, even as my belly knotted at the sight of his face. Like fog over a mountain, that harsh light drifted away to reveal his features. My breath caught as his eyes held mine.

His eyes shone like polished gold bars. But just like the rest of his face, they were on fire, churning like a gooey lava mountain.

I tore my eyes away immediately, uncomfortably aware of too many things. Disturbed by the odd look in his eyes, as if he was staring right into my soul.

“Just as I thought.” His voice sounded different from the first one who killed the cobra. “Weak!”

My cheeks burned even as my teeth chattered at the sound of his voice. It was loud as thunder. The other man still standing at the entrance made a sound that would have been a laugh if it had come from any mortal.

“Delicate is what I’ll call her. Tender as a lily. A fairy if you’d prefer.”

I wanted to look up, see the face of the man who had shredded a cobra with ease, the face that was now saying words that made something in my heart kick.

But the other man was right, I was a weak coward. I did not have the courage to look up again.

“Leave a note. She will like that,” the one closer to me said, and that immortal laughter returned.

“I think they call that stalking in this generation. Writing love poems to a woman who has rejected you,” the laughing voice responded.

The moment felt surreal, being in the presence of these creatures who had lived longer than anyone I knew, but squabbled and bantered like ordinary men.

Abruptly, my brain caught on the last two words they just said, and my gaze jerked up.

“No, I changed my mind.” I stared directly at them, much more terrified of them abandoning me than their looks. “I agree. I’ll be your…” I sucked the awkwardness off my tongue. “Your sex slave.”

The monstrous faces stared back at me, silently.

I paused, wondering what I had said wrong. The one closest to me stood up with a grunt. The other man, no doubt the rumored werewolf Alpha between them, walked towards me as his partner headed to the other end of the cave.

“Lys,” he said, and there was something about the way he said my name that made my heart jump.

“Queen. Not sex slave. You’ll be our queen. My apologies for the rumors you may have heard. Draki over there seems to enjoy the rumors about us bathing in virgins' blood and whatnot, but I can assure you we’re not barbarians."

Unlike his partner, he had a cooling aura around him. There was still fire, no doubt, but his was layered with a cooling peppermint feeling. Fresh.

It made my body relax, it made my heart want to trust him.

Trust was meaningless in my situation though. I was not changing my mind on this. I’d be their sacrifice, queen, sex slave, it did not matter.

After feeling my body just now when the dragon touched my cheek, I knew they could heal me. The thought of remaining like this after that brief taste of what I could have, was unbearable.

“I’ll be anything you want me to be,” I whispered, and a low groan came from the spot where the dragon stood.

“What do you want in return?” The Alpha, still beside me, asked.

I swallowed. How could they not know what I wanted? The only thing I wanted. I verbalized it anyway.

“I want my body back. I want to dance again.”

“More.” The dragon boomed, and my teeth chattered.

My eyelids fluttered rapidly as my thoughts raced, but I could think of nothing more. Twelve months were not enough to do much anyway. And the Grand Ascension had been my life for as long as I could remember.

“More.” The Dragon repeated, stomping forward. Nervous sweat ran down my eyebrows as the floor of the cave vibrated beneath his feet.

I really could not think of anything else, but he sounded angry, and I did not know how to tell him I had just that one wish.

The gloved hand that killed the cobra covered mine, and for some unknown reason, it transported me back to my heartbreak four years ago. An event I thought I had completely moved on from. The sudden memory was like a knife in my ribs and I would have pulled my hand away if I could move it.

“That’s her only wish,” The Alpha said to him finally, and I exhaled.

“OK, wolf-girl,” The Dragon said. “Let’s be certain you know what you’re agreeing to. An annulment is not an option. Do you consent to having more than one lover?”

I swallowed hard. “Yes.”

“Think carefully. This is not going to be your conventional vanilla." His voice was still angry. “You would be cuffed, whipped, humiliated. Nothing on your typical BDSM list is off the table.”

I blinked up at him, confused. He inhaled sharply.

“She’s a virgin.” His voice was thick with disgust, like he had just found out I had STD. The Alpha pulled his hand away immediately.