Branded (10 page)

Chapter
Fourteen

They’d
been running for so long that Greta’s legs burned fiercely. Her feet ached, and
when she stumbled
Tolcan
had her in his arms, thrown
over his shoulder, and kept running far faster than she could even comprehend.
Jayce was behind them, his focus intense,
the
sword in
his hand still at the ready.

They’d
left the arena, didn’t even stop at
Tolcan’s
pod for
fear they’d be waiting for them there, and had set out to go deep within the
woods. She had no clue where they were going, and she hated that things had
ended this way, that she hadn’t rescued the rest of her people, but she knew
she wouldn’t stop until the world was better, and until they were safe.

“We
need to rest and form a plan,” Jayce said from behind them, his breathing
labored, but his expression still hard.

“We
need to keep running,”
Tolcan
said without emotion,
and with focus in his voice.

“I
know a place we can hide out for the time being.” Jayce turned off to the side,
and it seemed
Tolcan
wasn’t going to follow, but then
he turned and made his way through the underbrush of the forest. Ten minutes
later they were moving deep within a cave, one she knew from the past because
they’d hidden here, trying to stay in the dark from the Rogues.

Once
they were in the cave
Tolcan
set her down, but as
soon as she winced, as her feet were torn up and sore from running without
shoes on, he immediately had her cradled in his arms. He leaned down, inhaled
deeply from her hair, and then kissed the top of her head.

“What
the hell are we going to do now?” Jayce asked, gripping the weapon so tight his
knuckles turned white.

 
“We run and hide,”
Tolcan
said. “Until we can make a plan, maybe find Rogues and humans that might be
willing to fight beside us, we are at the mercy of time.”

“Fuck,”
Jayce said, and started pacing. “I’m tired of running.”

“Then
by all means, go back out there and fucking fight the Rogues, but I won’t put
Greta in any more danger.”

“We
wouldn’t even be in this mess if you wouldn’t have captured us.”

Tolcan
growled. “Watch yourself, human.
I may have saved you from a fate worse than death, but it was only because my
mate asked me to. As far as I’m concerned you’re in the way.”

“Your mate?
Your
fucking mate?” Jayce sounded
outraged as he stared at Greta. She knew how this was going to go if things
didn’t calm down. Pushing on
Tolcan’s
chest until he
set her down, she put herself between him and Jayce, and looked at the man
she’d grown up with, the man she saw as a brother.

“Please,
no fighting, no beating chests like cavemen. We don’t need to be fighting with
each other. We have enough against us right now.” She breathed out and moved
over to a ledge, sitting down and bracing her hands on her knees. She was
scared, tired, and didn’t know how things would play out. They had no supplies,
no food or water, and all of the Rogues, or it seemed as much, were hunting
them.

“We
can’t stay here for long. I want to keep moving, get far away from the Rogue
soldiers. They won’t stop, not since they know I’ve mated Greta, took you from
Redon, and killed Rogue officers. They’ll be hunting us. We need to find a
place deep enough their scans can’t detect us, or get far enough away
that
we can buy ourselves some time to formulate a better,
more airtight plan.”

God,
this had gone from bad to horribly worse.

****

Tolcan
kept an eye on Greta, and
although he knew she was exhausted, she wouldn’t let him carry her. Jayce and
he had calmed the rage burning between them, because they had more important
things to worry about. The soldiers hadn’t caught up with them yet, but being
an Enforcer,
Tolcan
knew their strategies, and knew
what they’d think of doing before they did it. It was how he’d outsmarted them
for the last few days they’d been traveling. Hell, he’d taught them those
strategies, and now he was using it against them.

They
moved through the forest, around the thick trunks of the trees, and through a
small creek. But his superior senses picked up on a twig snapping in the
distance. Instantly he had Greta beside him and on the ground. He gestured for
Jayce to do the same. They were silent, and
Tolcan
listened, waited. He heard nothing for a minute or so, then heard another
rustling, this time closer. He unsheathed his sword silently, slowly rose, and
scanned the perimeter of their surroundings. And then he saw him, the Rogue,
partially hidden behind a tree, camouflaged.
Tolcan
moved
closer, used his training to have the upper hand. But he was surprised when the
male that stepped out from behind the tree was none other than
Stellan
.

Stellan
held his hands up in surrender.
“I have no weapons and mean you no harm.”

“Why
are you tracking us?”
Tolcan
asked, keeping his body
between him and Greta. Jayce was beside
Tolcan
, and
he was surprised at the strength the human male showed.

“I
couldn’t find you after the arena incident, and I’ve come here to offer you a
safe haven for yourself and your mate, and of course the human male.” He
gestured to Jayce. “I’ve also come to ask for your help.”

Tolcan
stared at him.
“Help?
I can’t be any use. I’ve been banished from the
Rogues,
that’s
clear from what I’ve done.”

Stellan
moved closer, his hand still
outstretched. “I am not who you think I am.”

This
had
Tolcan’s
curiosity and interest piqued. He
lowered his weapon. “And who exactly are you?”

“Let
me show you.”

****

“This
way,”
Stellan
said in a deep voice.

He
led them deeper and deeper into the cave, the air chilling, the earth smelling
damp, musty from dirt. They must have been traveling for the last couple of
hours, moving deeper into the cave, and going hundreds of feet below the
surface of the ground. The air was chilled, and Greta pressed closer to
Tolcan
, knowing she had nothing to fear, but her awareness
picking up at the unfamiliar situation. She reached out for
Tolcan’s
arm, curled her hand around it, and breathed out. Jayce was on the other side
of her, and when she looked at him he gave her a smile of reassurance.

They
walked for another ten or twenty minutes, but she honestly didn’t know how long
it actually was because her nerves were a wreck and all she could think about
was what the future held. And when the narrow tunnel opened up to this large
cavern with many different caverns branching off from it, she was stunned to
see the sight before her.

The
main cavern had crudely made tables set up, with electronic devices on top of
them. But they weren’t the advanced technology that she’d come to see with the
Rogues, and instead looked homemade, different pieces put together to create a
large object. But it was the Rogues and humans working together that shocked
her.

Stellan
walked into the center of the
cavern, turned to stare at them, and held his hands out. “Welcome to the
underground resistance.”

“
Stellan
, what the hell is this?”
Tolcan
asked, still keeping her close to him.

“I’ve
been working with the resistance for the last decade. I bring
intel
back to them while working on the inside. We’ve
rescued many humans, recruited Rogues that wanted change, and it’s an ongoing
fight that we won’t give up on.”

This
entire production was being worked on deep underground, right under the Rogues’
feet.

“Ever
since I realized the Rogues didn’t want to live with the humans peacefully, and
that they wanted the enslavement and abuse to continue, I knew I wanted to make
a change. It’s been slow going, obviously, and we’ve only been able to get out
a few handfuls of humans, but we won’t stop until things are different, until
the Royals are taken down and the earth can be co-habited by both species.”

The
room grew silent as the Rogues and humans stared at them.

“So,
now you know what I truly am,
Tolcan
. Will you join
us?”
Stellan
asked. “Will you help us take down our
kind, our
brethren,
the ones that mean to hurt your
mate and enslave her kind?

Tolcan
looked around the room,
then
looked down at her. “I want to be able to be with Greta
without anyone trying to stop us, to try to destroy her.” He looked back at the
male and female Rogues and humans. “And if that means joining the resistance,
then count me in.”

And
it looked like that was that. They were joining in this underground
organization to take down the Royals, and create a world that could be peaceful
for both species.

Chapter
Fifteen

Six months later

Time
had passed in a blur, and although they hadn’t been able to save all of her people
that had been in the cave, they’d at least started with Jayce, and they had
found a few more over these last few months. They’d taken them from their
captivity, but it was a slow, dangerous process, and they had to be careful,
and plan accordingly so no one in their party got hurt.

But
with
Tolcan
and
Stellan
working with a resistance of Rogue males and females, all of them working
underground to overthrow the Royal family and the depravity they stood for,
Greta knew the other humans from her camp would be free. It might not be
tomorrow, and would certainly be a long road, but she was glad they’d found
help in Rogues to help put a stop to this. For thirty years humans had been
nothing but cattle to the stronger species, and even in hiding, even knowing
she couldn’t walk around with
Tolcan
and show the
affection she had for him, she was thankful to be alive.

Tolcan
and
Stellan
couldn’t even be around their own kind right now, not unless they were part of
the resistance, and because of that they were hunted, tracked … just like
humans. It was strange how things had turned out, changed for the male who had
been the one going out and hunting humans.

She
looked over at
Tolcan
sitting at the table cleaning
one of his guns. It was an older model, one that had been tweaked by resistance
members to work differently, more efficiently. Although they didn’t have the
technological access that other Rogues did, not anymore, they made do with what
they had.

Even
now they lived in a cave that was deep in the mountains. They had come up with
strips of metal and wire to block out scanners and transmissions from Rogues,
so they were relatively safe here since they were hidden from detection.

But
life wasn’t easy still. They were hiding, running when they needed to, and
Tolcan
and the other Rogues, including the humans and
Jayce, were trying to fight the Royals and their plans to continue running this
world and the people into the ground. Things needed to change, and it wouldn’t
happen overnight, or even in the next couple of years, but they were trying.

She
stared at the man she’d grown to care for so much she didn’t even know how to
put it into words. That heat filled her, consumed her, and the longer she
stared at him the more she wanted him. Being with
Tolcan
meant she could give herself over to him for a short time, and not think about
what was happening on the other side of the mountain.

“The
way you’re looking at me is very dangerous, my female.”
Tolcan’s
voice was low and rough, like sandpaper moving along her body.

“And
what way is that?” Greta knew she was playing with fire, tempting his inner
beast that flickered, but she loved every minute of it, loved she could tempt
him and he’d want more.

“Like
the way
I’m
looking at you. The look
that screams you
need
me as badly as I need you.”

“It’s
only been a few hours,” she whispered, her body already lighting up. Her heart
pounded so hard that she felt like it would burst right through her chest. He
moved closer, so close that she smelled the spicy, masculine flavor that came
from this Rogue, and told her he was all male. His eyes were lowered and
trained on her lips, and she felt them part under the weight of his stare. He
was so ruggedly handsome, so brutal and raw in his appearance that Greta wasn’t
going to deny herself the one thing she wanted the most: him.

Before
she could lean forward, kiss him, and run her hands over all that muscle that
was barely hidden beneath his clothes,
Tolcan
was
talking in that rough timbre of his again, telling her what he was going to do
to her. “As much as I like the fact that you want to take control,” he lifted
his gaze from her mouth and looked into her eyes, “I’m not a male that takes
well to submitting to others. You know that, female.”

She
licked her
lips,
felt them warm from the blood flow
just beneath them.

He
leaned forward, and all she could do was sit there, motionless, waiting for
this potent male to have his way with her. And God,
Tolcan
was so going to have his way with her. She could see it in his almost white
colored eyes, feel it in his words.

“Just
tell me how much you fucking want this, too, Greta. Tell me you want me taking
control.”

Her
heart thundered harder.

“Tell
me you want my mark tingling on the side of your neck and want
my cum
filling your body.” His breath brushed along her
lips, and a small sound left her.

Here,
now, she felt very helpless with this very dominant male. Her mind and body
were already in submission. She wanted to feel him slide his cock deep inside
of her. Greta ached to feel the stretch and burn of
Tolcan
claiming her.

“Tell
me you want me to do filthy fucking things to you.” He slid his hand over her
thigh, along her hip, and up her side to rest right by her breasts. “Tell me
you want my handprints on your body.” He slid his hand over her breast, very
slowly, giving her time to stop him if she wanted. “Tell me what I want to
hear.” When he covered the mound a soft sigh spilled from her.

“You
know I want that, and so much more.”

He
applied pressure to her breast, curled his hand around her sensitive flesh
until a sting of pain filled her and mixed with the pleasure. She let her head
fall back slightly, and instantly
Tolcan
had his
mouth on her exposed throat. God, she was going to come before he even fucked
her.

****

Tolcan
groaned deeply against Greta’s
neck. She tasted sweet, addictive … his. He flattened his tongue and ran it up
the length of her throat. Her breasts were more than a handful, and her nipple
was a rock hard bead in the center of his palm. His cock jerked against the
zipper of his pants, and he felt wetness coat the tip. He wanted her, and he
was going to have her, over and over again until she couldn’t see straight.

“You have no idea how hard I am
right now.”

She moaned, and the vibrations
that came from her neck went right to his mouth.

“I’m so wet.”

Her words had a low rumble
leaving him.

“I want to see your ass in the
air, your cheeks spread, and your pretty cunt on display.” He knew he sounded
fierce, angry, but he wasn’t upset with her. This was just how he sounded, how
his kind spoke when they were deep in need, thick with arousal. He pulled back
enough to look in her face, but she was already watching him.

“I’ve never felt so alive,
Tolcan
...”

Her desire was piqued. He sensed
it, smelled it.
Tolcan
grinned, knowing it wasn’t
pleasant looking, but not able to stop the predatory desire in him. This was
his female, his mate, and she wore his brand to prove it. He wanted to devour
her, wanted to eat her alive. That’s how aroused he was, how hard he was for
her. All he wanted was them naked and on his bed, her on her back, him between
her thighs.
Tolcan
took her mouth again, fucked her
between her lips with his tongue, and groaned deeply.

He pulled back, cupped her cheek,
stroked her soft, warm flesh, and moved his hand down to cup her throat again.
“The things I’m going to do to you will have you screaming out my name and
begging for more.” He leaned down and kissed her, and swallowed the gasp that
left her. Kissing her harder, he didn’t give her time to take any control. He
was the male, the predator, and he’d take care of her in all ways.
He
would be the one that would be doing
the fucking.

He slipped his hand to the collar
of her shirt, and without giving her a chance to realize what was happening he
tore the material. The sound of fabric rending filled the small place they
called home. It may only be one
room,
with a bed
barely fitting him let alone both of them, but it was perfect,
absolutely-fucking-perfect. He smelled her rising lust and loved that she was
so open to him.
Tolcan
pulled back and looked at the
work he had done. The front half of her shirt hung open, but it was the sight
of her bared breasts, free of any confining material, that had his mouth
watering. Grabbing her and lifting her easily, he turned them around and moved
them toward the bench in the sitting area of their home.

Once she was on the bench, he
lowered his head and latched onto one of her nipples. Moving his tongue around
her areola before sucking the taut peak in his mouth,
Tolcan
felt her tremble beneath him and took her flesh harder and more fiercely in his
mouth. He alternated to the other breast, sucked, licked, and nipped until both
of her nipples were wet from his saliva, hard from his mouth, and red from the
erotic abuse he’d just given her. But her little pants and soft mewls for more
wouldn’t stop him from escalating this.

“
Tolcan
,
God, I can’t take anymore. I need you.”

He loved she was like this, loved
that she was his submissive in all things, but also had that little fiery spark
in her. “As much as I’d love to take you right here, I want you spread out
completely on our pallet.” He leaned forward, placed his mouth right on hers,
but didn’t apply any pressure. “I want to slide my dick into your pussy so fast,
so hard, you can’t sit comfortably.”

She breathed harder.

“I want to see you stretched for
me.”

She leaned forward, and the
minutest pressure was applied to his mouth with hers. He wanted to kiss her
again, but this was about him taking control. He pulled away, moved his hand so
it was wrapped around her throat, and bared his teeth.

“I’m in control, my female.” He
ran his tongue along her bottom lip, but kept his hold on her throat loose.
This wasn’t about frightening her, but about dominating her. He was the alpha,
and she was his mate.

The scent of her pussy becoming
wetter filled his nose, and he nearly let his eyes roll back in his head from
the pleasure of it. “You already gave me that power, didn’t you, Greta?”
Burying his face in the crook of her neck he inhaled deeply. Yes, she was his,
and they were just getting started.

“Yes. God, yes, I did.”

He placed his hand right over her
pussy, through the material of her pants, and pulled back to look into her face
again. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth was slightly opened as she breathed
in and out heavily.

“This is mine, Greta.” He added
pressure between her thighs. “
You
are
mine. You’ll always be mine, no matter what.”

Slowly she opened her eyes, and
her lust was so strong her pupils were fully dilated.

“I’ll always be yours,” she
whispered.

He added just the slightest
pressure again to her neck, just enough to show her he was serious, and just
enough to have her get wetter from his domination. “I have no problem breaking
necks, slicing throats, or killing anyone that thinks they can take you from
me. I don’t care if those that think they can take you from me are Rogue or
human.
You.
Are.
Mine.”