Page 28 of Warlord's Mate

“She’s not your property!”

The Draegon’s mate was once again yelling at him, her venomous words shouted across camp. He should have pulled her tongue out the night before when he’d had a chance.

Vikram and Grynn grabbed the dragon and started hauling him toward the forest, Kyre and Zyhk following behind with the female who was fighting them every step of the way. His human lunged for them and was held back, her outburst echoing through camp.

He turned away, putting them all out of his mind. He had things to do and worrying about a couple of upset humans wasn’t one of them. He still had to find Aris and he wouldn’t stop looking until he did.

Marcy stopped screaming Sara’s name when her voice started to crack and her throat became so raw she knew she was on the verge of losing the ability to speak. Screaming was doing nothing for her anyway other than making her head pound harder than it had been.

She slumped back against the alien holding her, her heart aching as she watched her friend being forced away from camp. As much as she hated seeing them leave, the alternative was unacceptable. The warlord didn’t have to let them go. Him doing so meant he wasn’t completely heartless. He could have killed them last night but hadn’t. She wasn’t sure why he didn’t but was grateful for it—even if she hated that she was still here, held against her will.

Marcy pulled away from the alien holding her. He was an odd one. Tall and lanky, his skin was white as snow, the area around his eyes black. She wasn’t sure if it was naturally like that or if he smeared something around them, either way, it made him look more phantom than alien. She watched Sara and Toren until she could no longer see them, then kept standing there long after they’d gone.

The entire time she’d been on this stinking little moon, she’d felt beat down but nothing compared to the emptiness now in her chest. Her eyes burned as tears filled them and it was the first time since being abducted that she felt like crying.

The alien at her back eventually wandered off, another that lingered near the tree line stepping into view. She turned and headed for the crude bathroom in the trees. Luckily it was unoccupied. She closed the curtain behind her and silently cried as she took care of her business and headed back toward the other female’s. The two horned aliens she thought were old men were once again sitting by their hut, whispering as she drew near. A single look was all it took to make them jump up and run, turning away from her as if she were the hideous one. They were a strange pair but watching their antics forced the rest of her tears away.

The females looked at her when she approached them, but never said a word once she sat down. Sabera pushed a basket filled with purple blooms toward her and told her to pick the small pink centers out. She had no idea what they were used for and couldn’t find the energy to care at the moment. As horrible as she felt, she wasn’t sure she ever would again. The rest of her life would be nothing more than this—a servant for a group of overbearing aliens. A “thing” the warlord possessed until he grew tired of her and killed her or let his men have as a plaything like the other females were. If her future looked no different from it did now, then maybe death would be a blessing in disguise.

Chapter Ten

The twin moons had risen and lowered in the sky nearly an entire rotation around the planet they orbited and the little human was still acting as if he’d killed the dragon and his mate instead of let them go.

Jorrick folded his hands over his stomach and crossed his feet at the ankle as he watched her. She’d done nothing for days but sulk, her shoulders so low it was a wonder she was even able to walk without her hands dragging the ground.

He’d not seen her smile once since the night she’d done so with the dragon’s mate. Nor had she watched him like he’d caught her doing when he first brought her to camp and he wasn’t sure what bothered him more—her being so unhappy now or her acting as if he wasn’t even there. Why he cared, he'd never know.

Liar.

He scowled as the word whispered through his head.

The human was his and that fact alone should warrant the occasional glance from her if for no other reason than she was angry at him. He’d once again made her stand by his side while he ate and not once had she acknowledged him other than to fill his cup when he slid it her way. Nor had she spoken when he forced her into his lap and made her feed him again. She’d just—done as told and woodenly walked to his hut at night as if she were marching to her execution.

And he was damn tired of all her sulking. Tired of her ignoring him. Tired of feeling guilty when he had no damn reason to!

He pushed up from the chair and stomped across camp. He’d put a stop to this nonsense once and for all. The other females moved out of his way when he neared them, scattering in multiple directions when he reached out to grab Mar-see's arm and roughly turned her toward him. Her face showed not an ounce of shock at his rough treatment of her and that pissed him off even more. “You will stop this behavior or I will give you a reason to be so unhappy.”

She did nothing but stare at his chest as if he hadn’t even spoken. He grabbed a hand full of those luscious red curls, tilting her head back until she met his gaze. “Have I not provided for you? Clothed you? Seen that your belly was full before you laid your head down at night?” When she said nothing, he growled deep in his throat. “Answer me.”

“Yes.” Her tongue darted out, his attention drawn to her lips as she licked them. His hold on her hair tightened as he tilted her head a fraction more.

Of all the females he’d seen dropped off on this little moon, this one had lips made for kissing. They were plump and rosy pink and more than once he’d thought about rolling over in bed and tasting them. He’d had thoughts of those lips wrapped around his cock, too, but tried to push the images away whenever they popped into his head. Thinking like that only led to more thinking and when it came to females, the less he thought of them in general, the better off he was.

But this one—she made it almost impossible to not think about. Her being constantly on his mind made him want to kill things to distract him from thoughts of her. He didn’t want to think about her. Didn’t want to imagine her draped over him under his furs at night, laying those plump lips against his flesh. And he certainly didn’t want to care she was upset with him.

But he was.

And that angered him even more.

He didn’t want to feel anything where she was concerned. He wanted to get back at Allok, have his damn war, and go on living his miserable life as he had been. He didn’t need a female destroying what semblance of order he had and with Aris still missing, he’d had very little of that as of late and her attitude was doing nothing to make his life any easier.

He lowered his head, his voice soft enough only she could hear. “You will cease this behavior at once or I will be forced to rectify it myself. Is that understood?”

Her jaw clenched, her eyes narrowing a fraction. “You can’t tell me how to feel.”

She was getting angry. Good. “I can and I will or so help me—”

“—What? You’re not going to kill me so—”