Page 65 of Feast

“Yes,” she answered. “Many times.”

“How did that feel?”

Ika’s blush deepened until it felt as if her ears and cheeks might burst into flames. She felt so ashamed answering these questions with a whole audience of ukkur listening.

“Ika? I asked you a question. How did it feel when Slaine spilled his sap inside you?”

“Good,” Ika whimpered. “Gods, it felt so good.”

She glanced at Slaine and saw that he was smirking and nodding his agreement.

Thusar grunted again and dipped his gaze back to her spread lips and exposed hole.

“Huh. But it is so small. Gods, I’m surprised Slaine didn’t split you in half.”

A final unbearable surge of humiliation swept over Ika. When she and Slaine had done the deed, they had been alone together at least. It had been private. Secret. But now, being examined and questioned thus in front of an entire pack of staring ukkur, it was too much to bear.

Ika suddenly thought of how ashamed Rolf would be if he saw her like this.

That thought pushed her over the edge. Hot tears spilled from her eyes and streamed down her cheeks as her naked and insulted body was wracked by violent sobs.

“Ika?” Thusar said, sounding more perplexed than concerned. “Why are your eyes are leaking?”

“I don’t know,” she sobbed. “I don’t know why they do that. I just happens when I get upset.”

“Why are you upset?”

“I just want to go home.”

“You are home, Ika,” Thusar said sternly. “You belong to us now. You belong to my pack. Wherever we go, that is your home from now on.”

“No!” Ika cried. “I want to go home to Rolf.”

Ika couldn’t help thinking that she sounded like she had used to when she was little. When she would throw a tantrum because Rolf wouldn’t give her want she wanted.

Thusar leaned back and stroked his chin thoughtfully. He waited until she had calmed a little before he spoke.

“You care about Rolf very much,” he said.

Ika nodded and smudged the tears from her cheeks.

“Why?” Thusar asked.

Ika laughed incredulously through her tears. For all his apparent intelligence, the ukkur pack leader could be infuriatingly dense.

“Why?” she repeated angrily. “Because Rolf is my protector, that’s why. He takes care of me. I’ve known him all my life.”

Thusar considered this for a moment.

“Has Rolf ever put his stick inside your hole?”

Ika’s eyes shot open wide, and the blood drained from her face.

“Gods, no!” she shouted.

“Why not?” Thusar asked. “You say he’s known you all your life. Do you mean to tell me in all that time, it never occurred to Rolf to put his stick in your hole?”

“If it did occur to him, he never followed through on the idea,” Ika said. “And I wouldn’t want him to.”