The Alpha's Concubine (Historical Shifter Romance) (7 page)

The conversation continued for a short while, and Khelt seemed to be growing impatient. When the taller man finally spoke it was in gentle tones as he interceded between the other two. His companion immediately objected, but Khelt raised a hand to silence him, then led his quieter, more reasonable guest over to the table. When they spoke again, it was in Netya's language. Whatever they were saying was clearly not intended for the ears of the other man, who wore a grimace and a blank look while he waited for them to finish.

"He is not right, but he's only voicing what half the pack are thinking, Khelt," the newcomer said, glancing in the direction of the bed. "You shouldn't have taken her."

"They took Cera from us. I saw her skull there next to the others. Now I have taken one of theirs in return."

"We don't have to be like them."

"Would you rather I killed the girl?"

"Perhaps you should have let them think you did. A death can be mourned, but how can they mourn if they know she is still alive, and with their enemies?"

"They would not have the courage to come looking for her."

"And what if she has a mate of her own? Men can do foolish things in the name of love." The newcomer spoke steadily, and without the emotion of his companion. He was not trying to argue with Khelt, Netya realised.

"She does not. No man had laid claim to her."

"Good. But did you consider that before you took her?"

Khelt rubbed his forehead and sighed. "You cannot always be there to be my good conscience, Caspian."

The other man smiled. "If you have finally decided to take a female, I will not question your choice. Just know that this one has brought more danger than most, and the pack would have preferred to see you return with fresh kill instead of a consort from among our enemies."

Khelt nodded, pondering for a moment. "One way or another, we have reminded her people that they should fear us. What's done is done. I cannot change my decision now."

"Nor would I want you to, but we must be ready for the worst." Caspian inclined his head in Netya's direction. "And make sure the girl does not cause problems within the pack. Adel has already—"

"Let the witch think what she wants. I am alpha, not her." Khelt glanced at the man still waiting by the door and slipped back into his own language. Netya recognised her name being said, and some of the words almost seemed close enough to her language to make sense, but the direction of the conversation quickly lost her, and she waited patiently until the men were done speaking. Khelt threw a fur cloak over his shoulders and made to leave with the others, but just as they were about to depart he caught Caspian's arm and murmured something to him, nodding toward the bed.

Caspian said a word of agreement and remained in the den while the other two left. Netya bit her lip anxiously, already unnerved by the lack of a familiar presence.

"When you are ready you may wash in the pool," he said, picking up Netya's gown from where it had fallen beside the bed and laying it next to her. "Once you've stopped being asleep, of course."

Her cheeks warmed. She thought she'd been well hidden beneath the fur.

Caspian turned his back to her and gathered cooking supplies from the alcove behind Khelt's throne, before filling a clay pot from the gently trickling pool and resting it in the coals of the fire to heat. He paid her no more attention after that, focused on the task at hand rather than the strange girl curled up in the alpha's bed.

Netya waited a few minutes before plucking up the courage to rise from the furs and gather up her gown. Still Caspian paid her no attention, though whether it was out of respect or indifference she couldn't tell. Rather than trying to engage him in conversation she slipped out of bed and hurried over to the other side of the den, where the smaller cave with the pool hid her from view.

The water was cold, but it seemed fresh and clean, and Netya was glad for the opportunity to wash herself before dressing. Crouching in the waist-deep water, she reached down tentatively to explore the aching space between her legs. Only then did she realise that she had bled the previous night, and once again she vividly recalled the pain of Khelt's entry, and the pleasure that had then followed.

She bathed the scent of the alpha and the traces of his lovemaking from her body, then realised that she had nothing to dry herself with. She stood awkwardly at the edge of the pool, wondering whether Caspian's back was still turned. Bathing in the presence of other girls was as natural to her as being naked by herself, but the men and women of her people did not often reveal their bodies to one another out in the open. She brushed the droplets from her shivering body and waited for her skin to dry a little before throwing her gown over her head, wishing that she had something more practical to wear now that she was no longer dressing to entice the alpha.

Caspian was stewing fruit in the cooking pot when she stepped back into the den, sprinkling in more of the nut meal that Fern had served her the evening prior. Netya crept over to the fire and sat down, warming her wet feet by the coals as she shivered. Caspian carved a slice of apple with the flint knife he was using and popped it into his mouth, before handing a second piece to Netya.

"I thought your people would eat more meat," she said after a moment of silence had passed.

"Hunting has been bad. Even the alpha eats poorly when there is little to go around."

"I heard you giving advice to him. Do you help lead your people too?"

Caspian paused his chewing and looked at her for the first time. "Only the alpha leads our people, and I am not him."

"But he seems to listen to you."

Caspian smiled. "He does. Perhaps he finds value in some of the things I say. But the decisions are his to make."

"Is my being here going to cause problems?"

"Yes," he said plainly, "at first. Whether those problems are small enough to be forgotten in a day, or large enough to last for weeks, is up to you."

"You said you were worried my people would come looking for me?"

He lifted the steaming pot out of the fire with a pair of sticks. "Will they?"

"I don't know," Netya admitted.

"Then we should both hope the Sun People keep to their forest."

"Is that what you call us?"

"Of course. Is it so strange to hear?" he said as he scooped the mix of meal and fruit on to a flat stone and handed it to Netya. She accepted it gratefully.

"I suppose not."

"Fear is not the best way to keep the peace," Caspian said. "But sometimes it is the only way we have."

"What do you mean?" Netya said in between mouthfuls as she scooped the food up with her fingers.

Caspian murmured something in his own language and shook his head, tossing more wood on the fire now that he was done cooking. "Nevermind. I catch myself discussing the business of men with the females far too often. Worry about showing the pack that you are one of them, and let Khelt deal with the consequences of bringing you here."

The back of Netya's neck tingled with unease. She did not want to be responsible for putting anyone in danger, but she was forced to accept it. As Caspian had said, leadership was the business of men. Her duties to the Moon People had been fulfilled the previous evening in Khelt's bed. It was clearly not her place to concern herself with anything more.

"How do I show your pack I am one of them?" she asked, turning her thoughts to more immediate matters.

"Obey those of greater status than you. The seers, the hunters, the mothers. You have the alpha's blessing, but you are still an outsider, and you have no rank among our pack. Speak plainly, be obedient, and listen to those who offer you advice. Once they see you are no threat to them, they will quickly forget about you."

Netya nodded as she ate. It was simple and practical advice. There was much she had to learn about the Moon People and their ways, and she was eager to discover it. Unlike Fern, Caspian did not seem one to talk much, and they passed the rest of the meal without speaking further.

The sun had already risen half way by the time Netya stepped out of the cave. She had wondered where she would be staying from now on, but Caspian made it clear that nobody, not even her, was allowed to remain in the alpha's den without his permission. Even those of the highest status were only welcome via invitation, and most of the pack had never even glimpsed the inside of Khelt's private chamber.

For a short while she wondered whether Caspian was to be her companion for the day, but as soon as they were outside he left her on her own and strode off to attend to his own business.

The entrance of the alpha's cave was in sight of almost every dwelling on the slope below, and a waving hand quickly caught her attention. Fern was climbing to her feet from outside her tent, and she hurried up to greet Netya. When the other girl emerged from between the rocks it was with a grin on her face, and she took Netya by the hands immediately.

"Well?" she asked. "What was it like?"

It didn't take much thought to guess what she was talking about.

"It was very..." Netya paused as she searched for the words, feeling an unbidden smile spreading across her lips.

Fern giggled. "It's like nothing else in the world, isn't it? I felt the same my first time."

"I was afraid, but it made me feel like a woman. A real woman. I think I would want to do it again, even if it still hurt."

"The pain will not be as bad, and soon it will be gone completely. Are you still feeling it?"

Netya nodded. "A little."

"Come, I will fetch you something to sooth it. And I have washed your clothes, they will be dry by now."

"Thank you." Netya held on to Fern's hand as she led her down the slope to her tent. It was a great easing of the emotions inside her to be able to share them with another woman. Better still, she hoped, a new friend.

"What kind of a lover was he?" Fern asked in an excited whisper as she sat her down outside the tent and began to boil a bowl of water to make tea.

Netya swallowed, running her tongue across the inside of her teeth as her breath quickened at just the thought of Khelt's muscular body pressed up against hers. "He was firm. Very strong. Heavy. I am not sure. Are other men different?"

Fern let out a wistful sigh. "Oh yes. Poor Netya, you are spoiled for men now. The rest of us only get the chance to lie with an alpha in our dreams!"

Netya pressed a hand to her mouth to contain a titter. "I suppose it is difficult to think of many other men I would want as much as him."

Fern gave her a coy look. "I can think of one."

Netya's brow furrowed in confusion, before following her companion's gaze over her shoulder. On the other side of the slope, just visible between the rocks, Caspian stood on a raised boulder shielding his eyes from the sun as he gazed at something out on the plains. An unbidden twinge came to her belly at Fern's insinuation. Caspian's remarkable good looks hadn't been lost on her, but she'd still been too preoccupied with memories of Khelt to think of him in that way.

"Surely he has a mate?" she said, finding herself whispering now too. It was a giddy new thrill to talk about men in this way, now that she had been exposed to the pleasures they could bring.

Fern shook her head. "He takes a female occasionally, often on nights of celebration, but it is rare he brings the same person to his bed more than once. Did you speak with him?"

"Only a little. The alpha left him to keep watch over me, I think."

"Do you think he took a liking to you?" Fern teased.

"How do I tell?"

The other girl laughed. "Oh, I will have to teach you so much about the desires of a woman! Watch a man's eyes, especially at times when they should be busy elsewhere. Does he look to the parts of your body that men's hands long to touch? Does he say things that he would not say to other women?"

"I was not paying attention. I think he looked at the food more than he looked at me."

Fern seemed a little disappointed as she crumbled a handful of dry herbs into the bowl of water. "Well, perhaps we will be lucky. Maybe when the summer nights are hot he will take an eye to one of us for an evening."

"Khelt said that no other male would lay claim to me."

"Not as a mate, no, but pleasure can be shared freely. Even he would not deny you that during times of celebration."

"Perhaps I should ask him, in case it happens." The twinge in Netya's belly tugged harder. She was unsure of how she felt about going to someone else's bed, but the prospect made her curious. Were there different kinds of pleasure to be had with different men, as Fern had suggested? She thought about the way Layon had kissed her, and how it had differed from Khelt's kiss. Both had been pleasurable, one intimate and one intense. She thought she had preferred Khelt's kiss, but she hoped one day to relive the tenderness of Layon's as well.

Again her thoughts drifted toward home, stealing away the excitement and fascination of the present. She wanted to carry on living in the moment, but was that wise?

Fern tugged at the hem of her gown, distracting her from the sinking feeling in her chest.