Craving Red: Paranormal Erotic Retelling of Red Riding Hood (Erotic Kingdom) (3 page)

B
eing
the youngest member of the pack— and therefore the lowest ranking and least
threatening— Dane was ordered to visit the newest human female daily to coax
her arousal and reception of the pack for the big event.  Not having been
considered old enough to mate, priming the young maidens which they captured
during each changing of the moon for the breeding ritual had been his duty for
the past two years now.  But lately, his frustration was quickly becoming
exasperated.  He didn’t know how much longer he could stand it.

Of course, at first he was thrilled for the
chance to get at some female flesh.  But after a while, he realised he would
have rather not done it at all, rather than to get all worked up just to be
left with no warm place to relieve his throbbing cock.  However, this time
things would be different.  He could actually allow himself to get worked up
since he now had something to anticipate.  For
this
was to be his first
time to participate in the breeding ritual.

Dane was given free rein to do anything and
everything in his power to rouse the new female’s receptiveness, so long as he
did not actually penetrate her.  The privilege of deflowering all of the
females automatically belonged to Thorin, his Alpha.

He had been eagerly anticipating his first mating
for so long now.  The night he would be officially considered as a man.  But
now that it was imminent, he was not so sure anymore.

Perhaps it was this particular female which made
Dane feel differently about the whole thing.  He probably should not have lain
by her side in the night.  But he just couldn’t stand by and watch her
shuddering in the cold as she was.  He told himself that he had only done it
for the sake of the pack.  Had he not, she surely would have been dead by
morning. 

As Dane strode around the corner to head for the
human woman who was their latest captive, he stopped dead in his tracks, taken
aback by her beauty.  It was as though he was seeing her for the first time—
which he was, as a man.  Her golden hair cascaded down the ivory skin of her
back, and over her shoulders, veiling her rounded breasts.  Beholding the soft
curves of her body produced an instantaneous thickening of his organ, something
which by now, rarely occurred, as it was nothing new to see naked females about
the camp.  

And sure, he had been around countless fresh
females there, and many of them had indeed been beautiful.  But none of them
could compare to this one.  For with her, he instantly sensed that her beauty
was far deeper than that which enticed his eyes. 

Dane swallowed in attempt to gain control of
himself before moving towards her again.  The girl’s eyes flared and she
wrapped her arms tight about her legs, cowering into the corner of the cage.  For
a reason which was entirely unfamiliar to him, her frightened reaction troubled
him.  He forced himself to shake it off and moved forward to do what he was
sent to do.

K
aia’s
attention was suddenly alerted to a man walking towards her, one which she had
not seen before.  His towering, muscular physique put even their leader to
shame.  He had stopped dead in his tracks several metres away and was just
standing there staring at her, the strangest expression upon his face.

She gasped.  Knowing not what his intentions
were for her, her first reaction was to protect herself.  She pulled her legs
into herself and wrapped her arms tight about them, shrinking into the corner
of the cage, the coarse iron bars cold and abrasive upon her bared skin.

As though wounded by her defensive reaction, the
man grimaced, only further perplexing her. 

What does he care if I am frightened of him?  Is
that not what they want, after all?

Even in her present state, Kaia was not blind to
the fact that he was attractive.  To be truthful,
gorgeous
would be more
accurate.  She couldn’t help but notice the way his muscles rippled enticingly beneath
his bronzed skin with every move he made.  But still, more than that, he was strangely
familiar somehow, though she was certain beyond a doubt that she had never seen
him before.

Reaching her, the man crouched down to unlock
the cage, his coal black hair falling into his face so that it shielded his
light blue eyes.  The fear magnified in her, even as his looks inspired
something else entirely conflicting with her defensive response. 

“May I ask your name?” the man asked, carefully
opening the cage door.  She could not help but be put at ease under the low softness
of his tone.  

She was surprised by his civil manner.  “Kaia,”
she answered hesitantly in response, peering into his eyes in attempt to assess
him.  They had to be the deepest eyes she had ever seen on anyone.

“Kaia,’ he repeated, the smoothness of his voice
soothing her more.  She quickly reprimanded herself for falling for the cunning
ruse.  “Lovely name.  It means
‘pure one’
, does it not?”

She nodded her head with a slight snort.  The
irony of it all was not lost on her.

“I am Dane,” he returned, offering his hand out to
her.  She looked to him, her eyes filled with confusion.  His crooked half-smile
lit up his pale blue eyes making them shimmer, tugging at her heart without her
consent.  Kaia’s unwanted reaction to the man-wolf instigated her to stiffen
against the unexpected emotion.  The last thing she was going to let herself do
would be to fall for one of
them
.

Hesitantly, she placed her hand within his still
out held one.  Dane closed his large hand over hers.  The intense warmth of it
travelled up her arm, seeming to penetrate her whole body. 

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my
Lady,” Dane said.  “If you will, come with me.”

Come with him?  Where is he taking me?  Has he
been sent to kill me?  No, I cannot believe this man means to harm me.  But
what does he want with me?

Powerless to do anything else, Kaia crawled from
the cage and rose to her feet to follow him.  The other men about the camp leered
at her, making lewd remarks as Dane led her through the camp.  Coming to a
small tent, he pulled the entrance flap aside and motioned her inside.   Upon
the ground was a makeshift bed.  Grasping the apparent significance of it, her
stomach twisted anxiously.

Does he mean to have his way with me?

“Lie down,” Dane directed gently, yet firmly.

Kaia raised her eyes to him, trying to discern the
intent upon his face.  But she could not. His face beheld a strange mixture
which she could not quite decipher, as though he, too, had conflicting feelings
about something. 

Though, about what?  Me?  His status on the
pack?  What he is about to do to me?
 She exhaled in frustration.

Her hands still shackled, Kaia knelt down and
twisted sideways to lie upon the bed as directed, groaning at finally being
able to stretch out fully.

Dane smiled at her as though he understood,
giving her a moment to become comfortable. 

She studied him for a long moment.  He truly was
quite beautiful.  By far, the most attractive man she had ever been in the
presence of.  And now, here she was without a shred of dignity, naked.  But
then, so was Dane.  Yes, he certainly was.  And God, what a build the man had! 
She endeavoured to divert her eyes from his prominent manhood, but suddenly
they seemed to possess a mind of their own, and kept reverting their gaze to
his thickening groin. 

Yes, indeed.  He was the prime specimen of male
perfection.

Then Dane sat down beside her on the bed.  Him
being so close to her caused a strange feeling to infiltrate Kaia’s belly. 
Whatever it was, it was something she had never experienced before and,
therefore, had no words for.  But she knew it was something which she should
not be feeling for a man she had only just met, not to mention a man who was
not her husband.  Shame at her own thoughts washed over her, causing her defenses
to bristle.  She had to resist him. 

Dane reached out to touch her and she recoiled
from him, anger filling her eyes. 

“No!  Stay away from me!” Kaia screamed.  “You
have no right to touch me!”  She realised she was powerless against this man,
but she felt she had to do something.  If nothing else but for her own sanity,
she had to know that she had at least
tried
to fight him off.  What she
didn’t expect was his reaction.

Needing a moment to decide how to best handle this
feisty maiden, he drew in a deep breath, though he did not move from her side. 
Dane was saddened by her reaction, though he understood it completely.  He was
certain he would have behaved in the same manner were he the one locked up
naked in a cage like an animal.  He knew that was no way to treat a woman. 
Especially
a woman like Kaia. 

But he also knew he did not have any say in the
matter.  He was a mere inferior in the pack.  If Dane uttered a single word of
defiance, Thorin and his pure-bloods would obliterate him.  His role was to
carry out the orders he was given, which was exactly what he intended upon
doing.  Not that he minded one bit having to spend time with the soft and fair
human female.

“I know you are scared, Kaia, but I promise I am
not going to hurt you,” he expressed softly.

“You do not understand!” she retorted, the hot tears
pooling in her eyes.

“You’re right, I probably don’t understand anything
you’ve been through,” Dane responded, softening his voice the best he could.  “So
why don’t you tell me about it.”

He remained by her side patiently as she glared
at him for a long time.  Eventually her expression softened, again becoming one
of fear.  She looked like no more than a scared little girl.  It stirred
something in him, something other than that which stirred his loins.  Then he
comprehended just what it was. 
Protectiveness.
  Dane wanted to protect
her.  Suddenly, he could not imagine allowing anything to hurt her.  But how
was a man of his inferior status to do that?

Finally the maiden spoke.  “I have never been
seen, let alone
touched
by a man before.  I come from a fine family and
I am to be married in two days’ time.  Now if I return home un-pure, I will not
be fit for any husband.” 

Not knowing quit what to say, Dane rashly
blurted out, “You do not need to worry about husbands.  You will not be
returning home.  Your place will be with the pack now.”

The look she gave him made him feel positively dreadful. 
After all, what right was it of theirs to rip away a young woman’s life?  But
the other pack members did not share his views, and until now, he had been plenty
wise enough to keep them to himself.

“Please, Dane!” she pleaded.  The sound of his
name on her tongue only made it worse for him.  “There’s more.  You see, I was
on my way home with a remedy for my ailing mother when you and your wolves
attacked me and brought me here.”  She had to swallow back the tears which
shook her voice.  Kaia took a deep breath before continuing.  “Now she may be
dying.  Please, you seem to be a nice man.  Just let me go.” 

 “I am truly sorry for what has happened to you,
Kaia.  It was not my decision, just as it is not in my power to let you go
now.  If I were to, you and I would both be executed.”

No longer able to hold back the tears, they came
coursing out down Kaia’s face.  The sight of this beautiful woman weeping was
more than Dane could bear.  He had to turn away to maintain his resolve, his
duty to the pack. 

“It would be much easier on both of us if you
just went along with what I was sent here to do,” he said, his tone hardening.

Kaia glared hard at him, making him lose his
words.

“They are going to mate you in a few days either
way, Kaia.  You may as well allow me to help you learn to enjoy it.”

“So your advice to me is just to simply lay back
and enjoy it?”  Her tone was dripping with aversion.

“Yeah, I am,” he responded, not really getting
what was so wrong with that.

“And I should not have any concern for the fact
that to do so would be going against everything I have been reared to believe
in.  Don’t you see, Dane?  I couldn’t just lay back and enjoy it even if I
wanted to.  For me to do so would be virtually sacrilegious!”  Of course she
would never admit to him that she thought she might just actually enjoy it— particularly
not when she could hardly admit such a thing to herself.