Page 44 of Feast

Would they continue on their mission to the south? They had heard rumors from other ukkur packs that there was a great gathering there, that the ukkur were building a tribe, an army to challenge the nith for control of the planet.

The idea of fighting the nith always appealed to Thusar.

Even now, as he thought of the scaly bastards, the old scar on his face seemed to pulse with heat.

And now there was an opportunity to defeat the nith completely. It was an opportunity that was too good to pass up.

They had all agreed up on it as a pack.

Now it was Thusar’s role as leader to see that decision through.

Gunnar returned to the cave with Ika in tow. Her small stature was accentuated by the almost comical way the fur cloak engulfed her tiny frame.

So where did Ika fit into Thusar’s plans?

Already, the pack leader felt a bond with her. It had been there from the start, before he even laid eyes on her. From the first time he’d caught a whiff of her scent back at Rolf’s den, Thusar had been enthralled.

What they had done earlier had only served to tighten that bond. And afterward, as they had lain tangled up together by the fire, Thusar’s mind had conjured the image of two trees grown together until their trunks and branches were welded together. Until they were one.

And it was not just Thusar. He knew his brothers felt it too.

Now that they had found Ika, they could never let her go.

Outside, it was nearly dark

There would be a storm soon. A winter storm. Thusar could smell it in the air.

Muk and Slaine were returning now as well.

One of the metal pots that Slaine carried was slopping with cold water from the river. He hung it from the tripod over the fire to heat up. After a few minutes, the water was steaming but not boiling. Slaine took it off the flames.

Thusar watched as his pack brother undressed Ika of her furs. Her naked body was a mess, still stained with the dried sap with which all four of them had marked her.

At the sight of Ika’s naked, firelit flesh, Thusar’s cock raised and spilled a few bubbling drops of that sticky syrup down his shaft.

Gods, what was this power she had over him?

Slaine began washing Ika with a rag. He brushed the warm water over her skin, gently scrubbing away the sap stains.

Thusar knew what violence Slaine was capable of.

He had seen him rip the arm off a nith and beat the bastard to death with it. Another time, he had seen him tear a nith’s heart out of its chest and eat it while it still lived. Slaine’s ferocity frightened even Thusar sometimes, and Thusar was not easily frightened.

But now, the mute ukkur was as gentle as Thusar had ever seen him. Slaine was cleaning Ika as if she were as delicate as a flower, and he was taking great pains not to harm her.

For her part, Ika was compliant.

When Slaine softly nudged her to turn around, Ika did so, stopping when he gently touched her shoulder. When he raised her arm to clean underneath, she obediently held it there until he was finished.

She was exhausted. The hot defiance she had displayed earlier had drained out of her.

For now, at least.

Thusar smirked and growled softly as his brain conjured the image of Ika staring up at him, her blunt little teeth bared as she bit down none too lightly on the shaft of his cock. That had hurt something fierce. Even now, there was a little half-moon imprint to mark where she had bitten him. But the pain only served to heighten his arousal.

Thusar knew that Ika had been holding back. He had seen what she had done to Gunnar’s hand. He knew what kind of damage she could do if she really tried. Those little teeth of hers might be blunt, but they could break ukkur skin.

He had trusted her not to go that far.