Chapter 22

Heather running past us startled me.

“Heather?” I called, but she didn’t slow.

“Guards!” Noctus yelled and ran into the bathroom, blaster out, looking for whoever or whatever might have caused my mekarry to run out in a panic.

From deep inside my gut I sensed that nobody would be there though. Feverishly, my mind recreated Noctus, Lady Madeema, and my conversation. What had Heather overheard? What was said right before she rushed out?

We had been discussing Lady Madeema’s ploy of having ordered Sir Priough taken from his room while he was visiting here with the king of the Cryons. She claimed Sir Priough had surrendered himself to her, asking for asylum in exchange for information against his king. I had never believed that this was how it happened. I had no doubt that she had forcefully taken Sir Priough from his rooms, and tortured him until she had the confession she needed to find proof against the Cryons for the atrocities they were committing.

This is a fine mess you got me into. Are you sure nobody will suspect my involvement in the abduction? Those were the exact words I said to Lady Madeema.

Nobody will find out that you knew about this, Emperor. If worse comes to worse, we can make Lady Natoi the villain. Staphor knows she deserves it, Commander Noctus had suggested, not unreasonably, because it would be easier to accuse Lady Natoi of conspiring against the empire than abducting her own charge. Which would paint a bad picture of the whole project.

I hated spinning lies like this. Too many people were already involved in Lady Madeema’s fuckup to keep it quiet, but what choice was there? I could not let my top intelligence officer take the fall for this. She saw an opportunity and took it, no matter how ill-advised.

That didn’t matter right now though, as I puzzled out what could have caused Heather’s flight. Then it came to me. Put into a different context, what she had overheard could have made her suspicious of me. Did she really think I could have been involved in her abduction? Could have sat by as she got hurt?

The answer was simple and it hurt. Vra.

She had no idea what she meant to me, no idea what we had truly been talking about, and I couldn’t fault her for it.

So I did the only thing I could: I raced after her. Ordering my guards to, “Stay back!”

I didn’t need forty guards to follow me, watch me bring my mekarry back. This was something I needed to do on my own—as a man, not as an emperor.

Heather managed to get into an elevator before I could catch up with her and I had to stand back and figure out which level she got out on. When I realized that it was at the park, something flared inside me.

Something ancient and primal.

I jumped into the elevator I had been holding until I was certain of where she was going and pressed the same button she had. My entire body came alive during the ascent, my nostrils flared as if I was already taking in her scent.

Many, many centuries ago, our ancestors used to chase their mekarries through the wilderness of Pandrax to claim them as theirs. It was the final test in the ritual of assuring a male was deserving of his mekarry. The tradition died out long before we even forgot about our sacred mekarry bonds. That it surfaced now, only made it that much more clearer to me that it was once again Staphor telling us we needed to return to the old ways.

Thanks to Staphor”s guidance, my two best friends, who also happened to be two of the most powerful males in Pandrax, had already sealed their mekarry bonds with their human merrilies. I believed it was his way of pushing me into action and telling me that it was his will to take a human as my empress. And by Staphor, nothing would stand in my way..

With a roar, I raced into the park and lifted my head. With my nostrils flaring, I tried to get a read on her scent, then I broke out into a sprint that led me straight into the forest’s deep foliage.

With every step I took, I felt my cultured self falling away, felt a primal me rise. Her scent nearly drove me insane, fresh and alluring and… filled with fear. I roared again as the predator inside me took over, guided me over a fallen log, through shrubs, deeper and deeper into the forest, parts I had never been to.

My ears picked up noises I shouldn’t have been able to hear: gasping, as if somebody was running out of air, which I suspected she was. I didn’t think she would be able to keep this fast pace up for long.

Thankfully, this artificial forest didn’t harbor any of the dangerous animals that used to occupy Pandrax, so Heather wasn’t in any real danger, other than from me. Because I feared, as a long-forgotten part inside me was coming to life, what that part would be capable of doing.

Even though I knew I would never hurt her, a rational part inside me set alarms off to keep my deeper, ancient side under control.

I feared it was too late though. I ripped my cape off and tore through the forest, guided by her sweet scent. Every fiber of my being came alive like never before. My ears picked up sounds of her labored breathing and I slowed. She wouldn’t escape me and I wanted to savor each moment of this hunt.

How long had it been since my ancestors tore through real forests in pursuit of their mekarries to prove themselves worthy? Too long, way too long.

With every step I took that brought me closer to her, my desire for her grew. My cock protested against the pants restricting it, but I wasn’t that far gone yet to take them off too. There was still a part inside me that didn’t want to scare her, even though that part was getting drowned out by my far-deeper, primal instincts.

There—my eyes latched onto a torn piece of fabric, part of a brown dress, ripped by a branch. I grabbed it, brought it to my nose, and inhaled her scent. A shudder moved through me at the thought of her dress ripping, of her running half naked through the forest.

My cock thickened, making stalking her harder. But driven by the need to find her, I picked up my pace again, jumped over a fallen log, and ducked underneath an overhanging branch. I sidestepped a large tree and caught a glimpse of creamy soft skin, an arm, before it was pulled back with a small cry.

My heart beat faster, not from chasing her, but because she was so close now. So close. In my mind’s eye, I already saw myself tackling her to the ground, raising her skirt, burying myself deep inside her pussy, felt how glorious it would be to pump into her. The image was so strong, I caught myself moving my hips in anticipation.

With a hiss, I took off to where I caught the glimpse of her flesh. Driven by the need to feel that arm around me, to feel her clinging to me, crying out my name.

Her scent was all around me now, making it hard to distinguish where she had run to. I stopped and turned in a slow circle, finding another piece of cloth, ripped by the rough bark of a tree.

I placed my palm against the tree, knowing this was where she had leaned against. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, savoring every small part of her scent.

A noise, like a subdued sob, reached me. My head whipped around and I darted forward. With a cry, Heather whirled around the tree she had been hiding behind, large eyes regarded me fearfully before she turned and took off again.

With a snarl I would have never thought myself capable of, I followed, sprinting. She was so close now, all I had to do was reach out and grab her shoulder, pull her off her feet, and wrestle her to the ground. My arm reached forward; I could almost feel the silkiness of her strands.

Abruptly she veered to the right, so quick it took me a few steps before I caught myself and made the turn. She had gained a few paces with her little maneuver and I chuckled to myself for her effort. She wasn’t making this chase easy and my appreciation for her only grew.

Her head whipped around, and I readied myself to pounce on her, bring her to the ground, and take her the way my ancestors used to.

I didn’t want to hurt her though. The primal part inside me hadn’t fully taken over yet, enough of me remained to realize that I could very easily hurt her. She wasn’t of my ancestors’ blood; she was a human, a fragile human.

She stopped dead in her tracks.

In front of her was solid rock. A large mountain loomed to her right and left, barring her passage. I was too close to her now for her to choose to run left or right, she was caught and she knew it.

She held her hands outstretched in front of her so her body wouldn’t collide with the rock. Hesitantly, she turned around with her back to the solid wall.

Her breasts heaved up and down enticingly, her breaths were labored, her eyes wide and filled with weariness as they searched mine.

I slowed too, moved forward like a stalking predator toward her. She lifted her arms to ward me off, palms out. She stared at me and I roared in triumph for having cornered her. She was mine now. MINE!

I took her in as if looking through a haze, not really seeing her, only seeing her as my prey; prey I had chased through the forest, prey that was MINE. A small part inside me called for caution, but I feared I was already too far gone, had allowed my primal self too much control to be reined in now. I didn’t want to hurt her, I really didn’t, but I feared that part of me that was emerging, roaring its victory, had other intentions.

I stalked forward, savoring every click of this moment. My blood hummed in anticipation of devouring her, taking her. The smell of her fear only enticed me further. I wanted to yell run at her, but no words came out as my eyes pinned her to where she stood, frozen. My hand reached up to pull her forward by her waist, pull her against me. I was ready to devour her.

“Daryus,” her soft voice called out. She moved her small little hands up, pressed her palms against my chest, and it was as if a shell around me cracked.

“Heather,” I sighed, burying my face into the hollow by her neck, breathing in her scent, recoiling from the fear I smelled on her, fear of me. I had done that.