Ravagers needed sex the way they needed to feed. A rapacious hunger filled the species, which was probably why nature had made so few Ravager females. With the amount of fucking they did, Ravagers would take over the universe if not held in check.
Packs of four now grew to packs of six and seven, to better the chance of new offspring. Fucking humans and other Voiders wasn’t a concern. Ravagers took care of sexual desire with whomever they wanted, race and gender mattered not. But bringing mixed-blood offspring into this world screamed of heresy, an abomination the last king had tried so hard to end by disallowing permanent unions with non-Ravagers.
Eric knew this, yet he kept in his own pack two pureblood females and took neither to mate! The male was not only a fool but an illogical beast without the intelligence to lead. How he’d garnered so much support within the Ravager community remained a mystery to Nev. But no matter. Given time, Nev had every intention of taking back what was rightfully his.
He flexed his fingers and stared at his bloodstained claws. Power thrived in hisguer, in the animal strength of primitive right. Who were the Savages to thumb their noses at tradition?
No one. They are nothing more than the crusted blood beneath my fingers.A strand of blond hair caught in the jagged end of a nail. He stared at it and wondered if Eric’s new female had such light-colored hair or if Dominic remained the token blond in the clan.
He was still holding the strand when Will reentered the cave.
Chapter Twelve
Monday morning, after a useless day and night spent arguing to go free, or to at least see her cousin, Vicki sat across from Eric and Dominic in Eric’s study. She’d had free rein of the house yesterday, but anytime she tried to leave, Ravagers blocked her. Despite the comfort of the bed they’d offered her, she’d spent the night twisting and turning, unable to sleep.
She shifted her gaze from Dominic—no, he preferred Dom—to Eric and back again. She’d had sex not just with any Ravagers. “Prime” wasn’t just the title for the head of the household, but for theking.
Eric and Dom studied her, making her more than uncomfortable while she waited for someone to speak. Logan and Jesse had gone, seeing to other matters as ordered by Eric. Thankfully, yesterday Eric had given her one of his shirts to replace the one he and the others had ripped. She’d knotted it at the waist and tried to pretend she wore a bra beneath, that the thin fabric didn’t highlight the peaks of her hardened nipples. Logan, the ass, had refused to give her any of her own clothes when she’d clearly seen him toting her duffel bag through the house.
She crossed her arms to hide her breasts, annoyed she remained in a constant state of arousal when around these two.
Bad enough she couldn’t help her reaction to the arrogant Ravagers sitting across the table from her. At least they’d dressed before meeting her this morning. Some part of her had feared they’d show up naked again, insisting on more sex. The clothes were a nice attempt at civility she appreciated, except for the guards they’d posted at her door while they’d changed.
Annoyed the prime and his stubborn guard remained mute, she broke the silence, feeling as if she’d lost round one of a game she didn’t know how to play. “So tell me what this marking means to me.” She stubbornly refused to be any man’s possession. No matter how that insane little part inside thrilled at the word. Freaked that she secretly liked the thought of becoming Eric and Dom’s love toy—sonot normal—she ignored her inner longings and concentrated on the matter at hand.
Namely, her life.
“You’ll stay with us for a while.” Eric drummed his fingers on the table, his gaze intense.
“How long is a while? I have a life to lead, you know. A business to run.”
“Right.” Dom nodded. He pushed a file at her. “S&V Retrievals. You have a stellar reputation, which is probably why Tommy Chen is after you.”
She clenched her jaw. “Exactly. And why my being here could be very bad for you and your pack. Or clan. Whatever.”
Eric grinned. She blinked, not having seen that small dimple in his left cheek before. Her heart raced. Hell, this man was lethal whennotin Ravager form.
His eyes twinkled. “You now belong to me, part of my family. We’re pack, but we’re also all part of the Savage clan.”
“Okay.” Sean had gotten it right, for once. “So what about my cousin? You said those females were your packmates too, right?”
“Yes. They are.” Eric frowned.
“Diana’s marked Sean as hers,” Dom answered. “Which technically makes him ‘ours’ as well,” he said to Eric before turning to Vicki again. “Diana, and maybe Kate, seem fascinated by your cousin. So I don’t see him leaving anytime soon.”
“You don’t seem to understand that he and I have a business to run.”
“Oh?” Eric’s low growl should have threatened her. Instead, it made her wet.
“Look, it’s not that I didn’t like what we did yesterday.” She flushed, trying to concede them something. “But kidnapping me and just, well, taking me away from my life, that’s not legal.”
“It is where we come from.” Dom raised a brow, as if questioning her right to refuse them.
Damn it, blondie’s turning me on too.“Well, you’re in Cross Step, now, wolf-boy. While I’m not fan of the Salinas, even they don’t allow human kidnappings.”
“Wolf-boy?” Dom said as he and Eric exchanged glances. “Tell you what,Foxy, why don’t you accept that you don’t have a decision in this one and sit it out? Once Prime decides what to do with you, we’ll let you know more.”
“Prime, my ass.” She shot to her feet and glared at both males. Angry energy swelled inside her, and she took pleasure in watching both men tense. “Yeah, you feel that don’t you?” She slammed a hand on the table and cracked the solid wood. “I’m giving you one damn hour to figure out the nicest way possible to sayI’m sorry. Then I’m taking my cousin and we’re getting the hell out of here.”
