The women were there, you know, like a living wall—Ada, Kerry, Hina, Vera, Kina—such closeness of their bodies and the heat of them almost suffocating me. Their eyes were bright, not with tears as one might expect, but with something wilder: relief so sharp it was almost violent.
Hina was the one to open the ball, certainly. Her glance pierced Ryan and Mitt, and her voice, like a knife, only just taken out of its sheath, said, "Dexter isn't leaving this tribe again." The words were accusing, toying with her fingers like she wanted to grab someone's throat. "This is all your fault. We lost him nearly because of your stupidity."
Then her expression crumpled. One second, she was a storm—the next, she was on me, hands roaming my chest, my arms, my sides, searching for wounds. "You're not hurt, are you? Those filthy bitches from Ravina's tribe—they didn't touch you, did they? Didn't bully you?" Her voice cracked, but her grip tightened, as if she could hold me together by force alone.
I caught her wrist, stilling her frantic movements. "I'm fine, Aunt Hina." She didn't pull away. Instead, her palms flattened against my chest, claiming, mapping—like she needed to prove I was real.
Ryan stepped into the circle, his voice low, measured, but his eyes flicking between me and the women—assessing, calculating. "Hina. He's safe. I made sure of it. I brought him back in one piece from Ravina's territory."
Hina snorted, her nails digging into my skin just enough to sting. "Oh, how noble of you." Her glare skewered Ryan. "Who let him go in the first place, huh? If we'd lost him, who would make me a mot.....—" Her voice broke. A fake cough, rough and forced, to hide the tremor.
"Who—" She swallowed, forced the words out. Her fingers twitched against my arm, digging in. "Who would treat our women's diseases—think about the pregnant ones—the bleeding—" Her voice broke again, but she shoved through it, feral. "Dexter can take care of us. We can't lose him."
The words landed like a stone in still water. The other women nodded, their expressions feral.
Ada clutched her waist, her knuckles white. "Yes, we can't lose our healer." Kina's jaw locked, her voice a growl. "The tribe needs him." Kerry's eyes burned, her voice raw.
"No more hunting. No more risks. Not him." Hina stepped closer, her hand brushing my arm—a silent claim.
Ryan's nod was slow, deliberate, but his gaze lingered on me a second too long—testing, waiting. "From now on, Dexter stays in the tribe. Protected. No more following us out—it's safer this way."
A beat of silence. Then— Kina's hand slid onto my shoulder, her touch possessive, her voice a purr. "Yes. Much better." Her fingers tightened, just shy of painful. "Isn't it, Dexter?"
Fuck.
If they caged me here like some tamed beast, how the hell was I supposed to slip through the trees to Ravina?
No. I'd have to find a way.
Hina's voice pierced my thoughts, in a tone that was cold and yet strangely sweet, like a poisoned honey. "Dexter... you must be hungry, right? Come, Aunt will feed you." She grabbed me by the wrist, her grip tight, authoritative, and she pulled me along to the firepit as if she were a wolf bringing her prey to the den.
The fire was warm underneath me as she forcefully pushed me down, her legs against mine, and she leaned in—too close, too intimate—and hit a piece of raw-roasted meat into my hands.
The lard shone, melting on my fingers, the aroma quite rich and bloody. "Here take it... eat as much as you want," she uttered, her voice going down to something low and hungry.
Kerry and the rest came nearer, their laughter too loud, their eyes too bright, like jackals around. Ada tore at her meat with her teeth, juice going down her chin, giving me a quick look—not only food she was hungry for. Kina slowly, purposely, licked her fingers, her tongue pink and wet, her eyes fixed on my mouth.
And then—
Hina's breath was the first thing that hit my ear—hot, uneven, as if she had been running. Her lips grazed the surface of it, only for a moment, her tongue quickly going out to taste the sweat on my skin before her voice came in, low and drenched:
"Dexter... " On her tongue, my name sounded like a broken note, not fractured, but rough, as if she had been restraining it for too long. Her fingers went into my wrist, her thumb tracing the blood spot—not loving, but figuring out. "I can't—" A quivering intake of breath, her chest bumping against my arm. "I can't wait any longer."
"Tonight." A pause. Her teeth grazed my earlobe—not a bite, a warning. "I'm talking to Ryan. About you making me a mother. And you—" her grip tightened, "—are coming with me. After eating. Do you understand?"
Her thumb pressed harder into my vein, like she could feel my heartbeat spike. "I almost lost you today." Her voice wavered—just once—before it hardened.
"I almost lost my last chance to carry a child because of his stupidity." A sharp exhale, her breath burning my neck. "But not tonight. Tonight, I take what's mine."
Her hand shifted higher, her palm cupping the heavy weight of me through the leaf skirt. "You're hard already." A dark chuckle, low and knowing.
"Good. Because I won't be gentle." Her lips pulled back from my ear, but her voice dropped even lower, a growl: "After we eat, you follow me. No excuses. No delays. Or I'll—"
She stopped. Swallowed.
Her fingers that had a tight grip on my wrist went gently down my arm, but only to go slow, possessive, and after that, she moved away with a grin that seemed to be for the fire in her eyes only.
"Eat, Dexter," she announced, her voice carrying just enough to let the whole firepit hear. "You'll need your strength."
I tore into the meat, ripping flesh from bone with my teeth, the juices running down my chin.
After the last scrap of meat was gone, I stood up and wiped my greasy hands on my skirt, the stains dark against my skin. I took the bones, still making a clattering noise, and threw them near the fire—
"Dexter."
Kina's voice came out of the mess, uncertain, as if she was gauging the heaviness of her words before casting them. I slowly swivelled, giving her my undivided attention—not because she was worthy of it, but because knowledge was power, and Kina always had some.
"What is it, sister?" I said, my voice soft and silky.
She looked at me nervously, and her hands were twisting the worn-out hem of her skirt. "Did Tusk—" She took a deep breath, her throat working. "Didn't he tell you anything yet?"
Kina's voice was barely audible as she said "squirting," but the change of atmosphere, the heat that connected with the base of my stomach, could very well be felt. Her fingers were moving faster around her twist; her breath was sharper, and her nipples were erect under the thin leaf. She needed it. Very much.
Nevertheless, I pretended that I had not caught the signal, and with a frown on my face, I acted like the idea was the last thing that had entered my mind. "Oh..." I let the word go on, looking at her discomfort. "Yeah... Brother Tusk asked me to teach him..." My voice became low, hoarse, as if I were recalling something indecent. "Said Sister Kina was nagging him to learn it."
Her self-conscious stare turned her face scarlet, and her thighs clenched together under the skirt. "Then do..." The word was out, catching the desperation in tone.
I breathed against her ear, my breath just a whisper. "Don't worry," I said slowly and softly, "I've promised to teach him."
Kina gave this uncertain little laugh, as though she was amazed she could still laugh at all. "Seriously?! That is.... oh my god, Dexter, thank you.." She sort of buried her face in her hands, but I saw that spark in her eye and the way her mouth quivered.
"If I'm honest with you..." Her voice was barely audible and rough. "When Ruth told me how she felt... how it came out of her like—" She suppressed the urge to cry as her fingers clenched into fists. "I wanted to experience it too... So I asked Tusk to ask you....."
Deliberate, my knuckles brushed her cheek and my thumb under her chin hooked, lifting her face up. "It's alright, Sister Kina."' I looked at her and smiled. "The thing is, I will help Brother Tusk learn the right way... but I might need your help."
Her eyes went wide, and her tongue quickly wetted her lips. "What do you need my help with?" Her voice was so weak, and she was out of breath.
I opened my mouth to answer—
"Dexter."
The firelight rocked Hina's figure with its flickering gold color; her skin shimmered as if bronze from the molten was running over it while she was making her way towards me. She walked with such sway of her hips, deliberately, as if she were a woman that knew how she was the center of attention by the way her thighs shined with the sweat, the way her nipples stuck as if they were the only two hard promises to the wrap that was enveloping her.
Her hand gripped my arm, her nails digging into my flesh hard enough to make me bleed. "Come with me." The vibration of her voice swept through me, low and rough, the sort of voice that demands not because she was stronger but she knew what I could give her. And she was not going to wait a second more.
I got Kina's stare, just a second too long, darkened, velvet-toned, with my voice: "Ask Brother Tusk. I've already instructed him what to do..."
Kina's face blushed, her breath was short and quick, her thighs were pressing not to separate but to relieve the burning by force of will. She was twirling the wrap between her fingers, her mouth was open, and the tongue was darting to wet it with the saliva. Fuck. She had a dripping of it on, her desperation was so thick that I could taste it.
Hina held on to me like an ironclad grip - seriously, as if she was scared that I would disappear if she released her hold for a moment. Her body was almost like a stick to my side, and I could feel the fire coming from her, no lie.
Then Kerry appeared, coming beside us without any trouble, glancing between the two of us very briefly like she was observing a tennis match. The smile on her face? Yes, that meant trouble, giving it away unmistakably.
"Hina..." Kerry's voice was silky and insightful, her fingers grazing my arm of the other side, her touch light, teasing, and dangerous. "What do you need Dexter for?"
Hina grinned showing all her teeth and her voice was laced with false sweetness. "Not your concern, Kerry."
Kerry moved her mouth closer to Hina's ear, her breath hot, her voice a whisper, venomous, and hungry: "Are you... going to take his cock now..."
Hina was shaking but her voice was calm and cool. "Kerry, even if I wanted to, I cannot do that in front of Ryan... Ruining Dexter's reputation like that..." Her fingers on my arm grew even tighter, her nails dug in deeper. "It is just that I need his help with the herbs... You know... they are drying... so Dexter may have to work all night... to arrange them..."
Her voice was filled with so much unspoken meaning as the words lingered. Work all night. Arrange. Herbs.
Kerry looked at her, jealousy radiating from her like heat from a furnace, narrowed her eyes "Okay..." she said under her breath but her voice was sharp and edged "But don't let him work too hard... You know... He must be tired... from all that walking..."
Hina's smile was sweet but venomous. "Don't worry. He will be taken care of by me."
Kerry stepped in closer, her voice lowered to a whisper, her breath scolding my ear, her lips just touching the edge of it. "Dexter... I may also need your help with my asshole to be healed... It is pulsing like before... I have asked Sister Ada to have a look... when we went to poop together... in the morning..."
Her words triggered my lust in no time. Damn. Were they inspecting each other's assholes while they were shitting? The picture suddenly appears in my head—Kerry and Ada, lying side by side, their holes contracting, their breaths getting faster, their fingers maybe even—
"What are you guys talking about?"
Ryan and Mitt, suspicious and loud, walked over. Ryan glanced rapidly between us before clenching his jaw.
Kerry retreated, her voice pretending to be cheerful. "Nothing..."
Ruth ran into me, her arms wrapping around my waist, her face against my chest. "Dexter..." she said, her voice covered by my skin, "..."
Hina was very clear, no argument she would be accepted: "Ruth... I'm sorry but tonight... I need Dexter's help with those herbs tonight..."
Ruth stepped back, her eyes were wide and full of innocence. "It's alright... Aunt Hina... I'm glad that Dexter is alright... It's because you annoyed Uncle Mitt... and Uncle Ryan to go to Ravina's tribe to get Dexter back... Thank you, Aunt Hina... for bringing my Dexter back safely..."
Hina's voice mellowed but her grip was still on me. "Ruth, what are you talking about? Dexter is family... our tribe member... How can I sit back and watch when something happens to him?"
Liar.
I knew the truth. Ryan and Mitt were cowards. They must've wanted to leave me behind. But Hina? She needed me. Desperately. Because I was the only one who could fuck her raw, breed her proper, give her the child she craved.