A man of impressive stature towered over me by a head and a half. This giant with developed muscles and frighteningly erect horns looked down at me from all his height.
He spoke, but I did not understand. His words were harsh, in a tone so low I could barely make out the syllables.
I looked ahead, but the guard who had come out of the tent was staring at me, ready to pounce at the slightest movement. As for running to the side, that was now unthinkable. The giant at my back could only reach out and grab me and crush me with his hands.
I turned to face him, judging him to be a far greater threat than the beast in the distance.
—I… I don’t understand,” I stammered after swallowing.
He seemed to be analyzing me and to my surprise he spoke in my language with a thick accent:
—What is a human doing so far into the forest?
I remained silent, my vocal cords silenced by fear. I could hardly breathe and dared not move. He seemed impatient and asked me again.
—Are you alone? Where are your companions?
When I didn’t open my mouth, he became angry and shouted at me.
—Answer me!
I took a step back, as if struck by his command.
The black-robed demon of the camp had approached us without my noticing and spoke in a softer voice with cheerful intonations.
—You scare him.
He had deliberately spoken in my language, probably with the intention of not frightening me any further.
—Hey, what’s your name?
He gave me a reassuring smile. Although I was wary, he seemed less dangerous than the giant. I swallowed and replied, trembling.
—Jeizah.
—Okay, Jeizah. Relax, we’re not going to hurt you. Right, Keir?
He looked knowingly at the monster in front of me. So that’s his name.
—As long as he doesn’t attack us or try to run away.
The furry man approached me and put his hand on my shoulder. I was startled by his touch, a shiver of disgust and fear ran through me. But he didn’t seem to mean to hurt me. His hand just stayed where it was, not crushing my bones with its grip. I looked at him with worried eyes.
—Don’t listen to him, he only knows the language of fists.
His face approached my neck and he smelled me like a cat meeting one of its mates.
—Your smell is sweet. You are an Omega, no doubt about it.
He looked at his companion and spoke to him in their language. After a few grunts and dry answers, the one called Keir took a step back, giving me rough freedom.
The other then turned back to me and smiled.
—You may call me Adrik. You must be cold and hungry. Keir will take you to the campfire.
Although he did not say it as an order, his tone was clear. There was no way I could refuse. I didn’t know what they planned to do with me, but it was far too late to think about running now. Were they trying to entice me with food to lower my guard, only to attack me later?
No. That was not possible. I was already defenseless, while they had deadly weapons, of course. The giant’s horns, not to mention his huge hands, or the claws the black panther had retracted to appear less threatening, were proof of that.
I thought about it very quickly, but I had no alternatives. I could either run and risk death, or I could cooperate and look for a way to escape undetected. Given the threat they posed, my choice was obvious.
As Adrik led the way with a sweeping gesture of his hand, I accepted this fate and set out for my doom. I had no illusions about what awaited me in that camp.
The horned beast, Keir, followed me closely and his menacing shadow engulfed me, daring me to run from him. Whether it was my reason or my instinct for self-preservation, I don’t know what stopped me from running. Instead, I walked on, joining the warmth of the flames dancing happily under the starry sky.
This spectacle would have been distracting if it wasn’t for the dozen pairs of curious eyes that were focused on me. One of them was licking his lips. I felt like a piece of meat being offered to hungry animals. That must have been it.
—Sit there and don’t move.
I obeyed and dropped to the spot he indicated. When he saw me sitting down, fearing what would happen next, he turned away and disappeared. A few seconds later, he returned and handed me a bowl of oatmeal with raw meat on top and what looked like stale bread.
The smell of the mixture was foul. I didn’t know how long it had been prepared, but it couldn’t have been edible. As for the meat, just the thought of eating it raw made me gag. So the only food I could think of to eat was this hard bread. Although my stomach rumbled, I had no appetite. I was sure I would get sick if I ate what I had just been given.
The looks of the surrounding demons weighed on me. They were watching me without hiding, and I truly felt like prey about to be attacked.
As I pushed the bowl in front of me in disgust, Adrik joined me. His eyes went to the plate. He didn’t say a word, just picked it up, removed the meat and sniffed at the rest. A grimace crossed his face and he threw the contents into the fire.
He scolded Keir in his own language and then continued in mine, probably so I could understand him.
—You can’t give him this. Do you want him to get sick?
—There’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve never gotten sick from eating it.
—He’s human. He doesn’t have our bodies. So think about it.
Finally, he grabbed a spit, slid the meat onto it, and placed it over the fire. Soon fat dripped from it and rekindled the flames. They licked the bloody meat, which began to cook quickly. Adrik took the rest of a fresh loaf of what looked like cheese from one of the beasts and prepared generous slices of bread for me, to which he added the lightly cooked meat.
When he had finished, he gave me two.
—Eat now. You’ll need your strength.
The food in my hands made me hungry, but I couldn’t decide. My stomach seemed to clench with fear.
—What are you going to do to me?
I stammered so much that I had to clear my throat and try again when he looked at me in disbelief.
—What do you want from me?
A malicious smile came over his lips. His tone became deeper, losing his cheerful accent.
—What do you think we’re going to do to you?
My stomach churned. Bile rose in my throat and my breath caught in my throat. They were going to kill me, no doubt about it. They wanted to feed me for some reason. They must have liked to play with their prey before delivering the fatal blow.
—You… You’re going to kill me?
He looked at me confused before he laughed.
—Kill you? Really, is that what you think?
I nodded, speechless. He looked at his companions and made a joke in their language, and they all laughed in unison.
Finally, as I crouched in on myself, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them, his attention returned to me.
—Of course not. We’re not going to kill you. You’re much more valuable alive. Enough talk, eat and join me in my tent as soon as you are done. You will sleep with me.
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