Sounds had me raising my gaze as the other female let out a sob and stumbled away from the animal. She struggled and shouted something when Sorkyl prodded her to go back. The female I realized must be the leader got to her feet and tried to go to them, saying something in their tongue.
I grabbed her, pulling her around. “Finish.” I pointed at the nolykh whose blood had finally washed clear from its fur.
“She’s scared. Let me calm her.” She tilted her head back to look up at me, to meet my gaze. “Please.”
I flicked my glance up at the other female. Zyvar had her pinned against his chest and she clutched at his shirt, fisting it as she cried. I sent him a warning glance. He rippled his wings. He knew they were the enemy.
“Finish.” I said again. A sound of frustration rose from her throat and would be amusing if not for the circumstances.
It took them nearly two hours to finish the work carefully, the way we instructed. When they were done they all looked haggard and sadness deepened the lines around their eyes. For their misfortune at being caught? They had better hold their self-pity, there was a lot more to come.
“Time to fly.” I told my warriors. They gathered up the bags and equipment the humans had left.
I snaked an arm around the female’s tiny waist, pulling her soft body against me. She made a little noise in her throat at the contact. Her body molded to mine, all soft little curves giving way to my hard edges. Everything about these humans was soft. She tried to push against me, attempting to put distance between our bodies, but I cinched her tighter to me. She would not be pushing me away when we were in the air. Her breasts, though small, brushed against my chest, her nipples were pebbled and I had the urge to run a claw over one. I pushed away the strange thought and without giving her any warning, I launched us into the air. She cried out, snaking her arms around my neck, clinging to me.
When we reached the height where we could fly most comfortably, she craned her neck around to look down. With a gasp, she jerked her head back toward me and wrapped her legs around my waist. I would have laughed, but with her thighs clenched around my hips and the apex of her body pressing so close to mine, I found my cock hardening instead. Duty had kept me so busy it had been a few weeks since I had rutted a female, that was the issue. Not that thishumanwas attractive. She was small and weak, and the enemy. At least she was blessedly silent as we flew.
It took us several minutes to reach the ship that would take us home, and by the time we got there the little female was trembling from the strain of clinging to me like an ishigah’snewborn. She grunted as I landed, the sudden contact with the ground jolting her.
Twisting her body, she looked around. Those strange eyes of hers, the darkest brown like the sweet nectar the little pyrolih made, were wide with…more than fright? She actually lookedcurious.
I grunted. “If you’re going to keep your legs wrapped around me like this at least take off your clothes so I can enjoy it too.” Mywords had the desired effect, and she nearly fell on her ass as she scrambled to get away from me.
I smothered a smirk. Gripping her arm, I pulled her along toward the ship.
“Wait.” She tried pulling back, digging in her heels, a laughable attempt when it was a human versus a vorpyr. “Where are you taking us?”
I tightened my grip, giving her a warning pinch with my claws before retracting them again. She flinched, but it unfortunately didn’t deter her. “At least tell me your name. Mine is Jacqueline.”
“The name of a dead human is of no importance to me.”
“Then tell me yours.”
A yelp and sobs got my attention. The other female was on the ground, crying again. Sorkyl looked uncomfortable, his hand out as if he would grab her, but he didn’t move.
A series of derisive sounding words came from the human male, the fool who we’d dragged out from under the rock and had jumped to his feet, swinging his fists at us. He struggled against Pyravor, who looked like he was wondering it if would kill the human if he cracked him over the skull.
Zyvar stepped over to the little female who was still crying for whatever reason. If I thought she had information I needed, I wouldn’t even need to interrogate her with persuasive methods. I could just glare at her and she’d tell me whatever I desired. As it was, I was keeping her to ensure cooperation of the female in my arms, the leader.
The female jerked away as Zyvar reached for her, scrambling away and crying out something in her language.
“Don’t you touch her.” My feisty little beast tried to twist free, lunging for him. When I didn’t loosen my grip she turned on me, her tiny fists flying at my chest. “Stop scaring her!” she yelled, panicking.
I shouldn’t care that she assumed he’d hurt the little female. Or maybe humans had an instinct to panic if they saw another upset. But it offended me that she was acting like we were the monsters whentheywere the ones desecrating our burial site,theywere the ones who had killed ours at the first contact of our species.
“Enough.” I snapped, gripping both of her arms and giving her a little shake. “She is upset, not injured.”
Her face was pinched in fear as she tilted it up toward me. “Please, whatever you think of us, she’s young and she’s only here because of me. Don’t let him hurt her.”
I curled my lip at the inference and she stiffened, eyes on my fangs. Vorpyr males weren’t like human males. Our females were our jewels, only the females of our enemies who attacked us were treated in kind.
“Zyvar will not harm the little female.” I bore my fangs into my lip, pricking it. I didn’t owe the human comfort. I gave orders, I didn’t concern myself with others’ feelings. “Not yet, at least. Come.” I tugged her around and pulled her toward the ship. Zyvar scooped the other female up.
We boarded. Zyvar glanced at me. My second in command knew we hadn’t planned to bring prisoners, and the ship was made for speed, not for containing anyone.
I jutted my chin toward the chairs. “We have energy chains. Hook them to the base of the chairs.”
Zyvar gently lowered the female who was curled into a ball in his arms, her hands clutched to her chest, to the floor. Sorkyl brought him a chain and then tossed one at Pyravor who was none too gentle as he forced the male to his knees and wrapped the chain around his wrists and the single metal base where the chair attached to the sleek black floor. My eyes lingered on Zyvar, who was gentle with the female, carefully pulling her hands away from her chest to wrap the chains around her wrists.
