Zephyr
"Dressed to seduce you?" she exhaled, eyes wide. "Are you insane? No. You must be. Why else would anyone go through all the trouble to keep you here–"
I reached forward and yanked up the hem of her skirt, pointing at the black lace contraption around her tush. "What, then, is that, if it is not to rouse a man's desire?"
"My panties, you fucking pervert!" she screamed, slapping my hand off her.
She stormed out of the cavern, her tiny body vibrating with anger with cheeks red like roses.
I blinked.
Panties. What a strange, interesting word.
I followed her out, sheathing my sword. "I have never seen one before. It must be some new fashion." I paused. "You must not be from around here if you think it is a good idea to call your Alpha a pervert. From what pack do you hail?"
She murmured something under her breath that sounded like, "...got stuck with a mad man."
"You are rather uncouth for a woman," I stated, frowning at our surroundings. I remembered entering this cave only a couple of hours ago and the entrance had been right here, but it seemed to have been walled off. Sealed. As if Maren had also ensured no one stumbled in by accident.
My jaw clenched. Maren and I would have a very long conversation about where her loyalties lied as soon as I found her. Still, I suppose I had the woman in front of me to thank for waking me and setting me free.
I pulled my best, charming smile to my lips. "You are beautiful and have a pleasant figure and would make for a good bed mate. If you will come home with me–"
She threw a rock at my head, clearly irritated by my advances. Which was bizarre. I was yet to meet a woman who told me no.
"Shut. The. Fuck. Up," she said.
I caught the rock before it could hit my nose. My lips thinned, as did my patience. "Do you not know who I am? I am the ruler of–"
"I don't care if you rule the heavens and earths and the stars beyond," she snarled. "If you make one more comment about my body or making me into your bed slave, I will kill you."
"Bed slave?" I frowned. "Do my people still keep slaves? I had that tradition abolished when I became Alpha fourteen years ago. I am merely asking, lass, that you be the chosen woman to spend the night with me before I head into battle on the morrow. It is tradition and an honour. I could be a fantastic lover, if you would allow me."
A sardonic laugh escaped her and with more muttering I didn't quite catch, she continued ahead. After several minutes of walking upward, we reached an exit.
"How did you know where to go?" I asked. I had played in these caves as a child and knew every corner, but I could've sworn I was seeing all of these for the first time and if the woman hadn't been present, I might have been lost.
She shrugged, traipsing gingerly out of the cave. "I don't know. I just did."
"You are headed the wrong way, lass. That path leads towards the borders. Towards rogue territory." I pointed at the path I stood on. "This way leads to the pack."
"I know," she grunted, climbing down the steep rocky path.
My eyes narrowed. "You are fleeing from something."
"More like someone," she muttered.
"It isn't safe for a woman to be wandering these woods after dark, lass. If you will come home with me, I will have your injuries tended to and you will have a roof over your head, and you may well set off on your journey by dawn."
She turned. "How about I go this way and you go that way and we never see each other again? Splendid idea, yes?"
She disappeared down the path.
I stood at the fork and watched the dark swallow her, and told myself very firmly that I did not care. Time was of the essence. I had a war to return to, warriors to account for. I did not have the time or the patience to shepherd a reckless, foul-mouthed Omega through a forest at midnight.
I turned and started down the trail back to my pack.
I made it perhaps thirty paces.
The howl of a hound split the night, followed immediately by the shrill scream of a woman. That specific pitch that I had already learned to identify in the last hour.
An urgent pull tugged at my chest.
I turned around, cursing softly under my breath at the complete lack of control I had where she was involved, and I ran.