Chapter Eight

Cha pter Eight

I t’s easy enough to blend in with the people around me once I’m outside, even if most of them are orcs. The cool night air helps calm me after the small freak-out I had in the shop. The city’s streets are lit from above with torches and more glowing stones, each sitting atop a long wooden pole. They’re not that bright, but the fact that I’m human and wearing this blue shirt might make me a little easy to spot. I need to get off t he street.

Lucky for me, there’s an alley entrance on my left. Seedy parts of towns always have alleys you can hide in. I maneuver myself through some gaps in the crowd and slip into the dark unnoticed. Alright, first thing I need to do is get somewhere far away from here, the jail, and Ironstorm’s place. Then I need to find some new clothes because this shirt stands out too much, and I need to figure out some way to get this collar off me. Probably won’t be able to convince anyone to do it willingly, but maybe I can steal some bolt c utters or—

“Hello, David.” Captain Ironstorm stands before me in the middle of the alley.

I freeze in place, mouth agape. How... How did he get here?

“Well, I’ll be damned, you were right.” Brull’s voice and footsteps ring down the alley behind me. “Alright, I’ll knock five gral off your—”

A raised hand cuts him off, Ironstorm’s eyes still locked on me. “David,” he repeats my name. “Are you alright?”

I can’t hold back a snort of laughter at that. Am I alright? Is he seriously askin g me that?

“No.” I’m not sure I can unpack just how not alr ight I am.

“I know the last two days have been very trying, David.” Oh good, he’s patronizing me. Just gonna stomp all that baggage down. “You have been forced into a lot of unfamiliar situations. I know you are learning things about yourself, things you may not have been fully aware of before.” Oh, fuck off .

“I haven’t learned a fucking thing!” I snap. Who the fuck does he think he is? Acting like he knows me better than myself. He just met me two days ago!

“Seeing as this is escape attempt number three, I would be inclined to agree with you.”

For some dark, fucked up reason, the joke actually makes me laugh. I clamp my hand over my mouth in surprise. What is wrong with me? I’m losing it.

“We need to go back into the shop to finish a few things.” He takes a step toward me. “Can I trust you to come without fighting?”

My shoulders slump. What choice do I have? I nod my head yes. Moving around me, his hand on the small of my back guides me farther down the alley and then left into a second, smaller alley. The path between buildings winds left and right, stretching on far longer than I’ve seen an alley stretch before. We walk for nearly a full city block—right to the back of Brull’s shop. The orc in question squeezes around us to open his back door.

The room we enter is large and dimly lit. It’s bigger back here than in the front, though there’s also a small forge in one corner, so I get it. I’m led over to a desk that has small tools strewn about, the wood shavings and sawdust telling me they’re for woodworking. There’s also a pretty comfortable looking chair, which I am ush ered into.

“Do you have a—?” Ironstorm turns around to ask for something.

Brull makes a clicking noise with his tongue and holds out a chain and lock in his outstretched hand. “ I gotcha.”

My collar is pulled up through my shirt and the chain is looped through it and then down around one of the de sk’s legs.

“Be right back, puppy.” A hand is run gently through my hair, and with a sad smile, he steps away. I half expect Brull to make some crack about not screwing up his office, but he gives me the same look as the two of them head through the door to the front of the shop.

Fuck . He’s going to punish me for running away again. My ass is still throbbing from the last one. It’s go nna be even worse this time, isn’t it? Will it be another spanking? Or... There were other things in the shop, things we hadn’t looked at. Things like paddles and canes and...whips. I hoped that was on purpose. I was too scared to ask and risk drawing attention to them. I am so fucked.

I can hear voices talking through the door, but I wouldn’t have been able to understand them anyway. I really need to learn some Orcish if I’m gonna have any hope of surviving here. For a moment, I think about escaping, breaking the desk or maybe using one of the tools in reach to pick the lock. But my heart just isn’t in it. What if he catches me again and things get even worse ? How many times will I be able to pus h my luck?

So... I’ll wait. Just sit here with my hands in my lap and wait for whatever fucked up punishment he has in mind. Just like a good puppy, fuck. I sink back into the chair and sigh.

I’m not kept waiting for long. Ironstorm re-enters the room with Brull right behind him, though the other orc ignores me, walking farther into the room and picking up a wooden bench. He takes it out to the front as Ironstorm appr oaches me.

“Business has been taken care of.” Ironstorm speaks to me softly as he unlocks the chain from my collar. “Now we just need to deal with the matter of your pu nishment.”

I sigh. Told ya . “When we get home, ar e you go—”

“Oh, no,” the orc cuts me off. “We will be taking care of your punishm ent here .”

“What?” My stomach sinks. “Why do we have to do that?!”

“If you are going to misbehave in public, you can be punished in public,” he reason s with me.

“You wouldn’t.” I narrow my eyes, calling his bluff. He’s got to be fucking with me, right?

“I fucked you in front of a crowd of people not thirty hours ago,” the orc helpfully points out. He thinks for a moment. “Would you trust me if I told you that it will not be as bad as you are e xpecting?”

“Would you really expect me to believe that?” I can be he lpful too.

“Fair enough.” He sighs and stands up straight, holding his hand out to help me from the chair. With a sigh, I take it.

I’m marched back to the front of the store. There are three other orcs here now, including Brull and the orc that came in during the underwear show. He must have wanted to stick around and watch the human get punished. The third orc is another customer, paying me no mind while she peruses the shelves. I am led to a corner where Brull is bent over the piece of furniture he grabbed earlier, making ad justments.

It’s about as tall as my waist and all wood, except for a few spots that look covered in padded leather. I see a number of cuffs attached to its various posts, which is starting to give me some idea of its intended purpose. Pretty sure I’m gonna end up tied to this thing one way o r another.

“Alright, she’s all set up.” Brull dusts off his hands and turns to the two of us.

“Please remove your shirt, David,” Ironstorm requests.

I swallow my argument. Ironstorm is standing between me and the rest of the store, thankfully blocking most of the other occupants from my view. I know they can still see me, but whatever—let me have this. I unbutton and pull the shirt over my head, which he takes before I can drop it to t he ground.

“Thank you. Now please turn around.” He throws my shirt over his shoulder, twirling his fingers to get me to rotate.

I comply, coming face to face with a wall that is half underwear and half...paddles. Shit . Ironstorm walks to my side, his hand on my upper back pushing me to bend over the bench in front of me. I don’t resist, resigned to my fate. My arms are drawn up and placed into cuffs which are closed and tightened around my wrists. The same is then done to my ankles with a set on the bench’s feet. At least he’s letting me keep my pants.

I jump when the orc bends over my body, both hands going under my waist. I spoke too soon. The hands feel around for my belt, untying it and loosening my pants. Then, after hooking his fingers into my underwear, everything is slid down to my ankles, exposing my ass to the air. A sudden wolf whistle behind me has my cheeks burn with embarrassment— both sets.

“Breathe, David.” I feel a familiar hand on my back as Khazak walks back around to my left side and kneels down so I can see him. “How are you feeling?”

I can’t hold back the laugh before I answer. “Seriously? Why do you care?”

“I told you I would take care of you, David.” He looks thoughtful but serious. “I me ant that.”

“Then how about you untie me and let me go?” That at least earns me a chuckle. Can’t blame me f or trying.

“Have I been feeding you well?” I nod my head yes. “Other than a sore and slightly bruised rump, have you been injured?” I shake my head no. “Then what exactly is the problem?”

“I dunno, maybe that I’m naked and tied over this bench with three strange orcs behind me probably staring at my ass,” I deadpan over my stre tched arm.

“Oh, they are definitely staring at your ass.” A hand rubs my butt appreciatively. “I cannot say I blame them. It is a very nice ass. Why is that a problem?”

Is he serious? “Because in human cities we don’t strip naked in public!” Among other things we don’t do in public!

“We are not in a human city,” he points out. “You spent all day walking around on a leash. Other than deferring to me, did anyone treat you differently o r poorly?”

I mean, I guess he’s not wrong. I haven’t exactly had a ton of chances to talk to anyone by myself, but the people I have met haven’t been shitty. Most have acted as if there isn’t anything out of the ordinary at all. I even remember seeing those other slaves on leashes in the market...but so what? The city treats slaves well. Not sure that’s something I’d put in the travel brochure.

“I still don’t want to do this.” Nothing could make me want to be here, tied up and exposed like this.

“I know.” There’s that sad smile again. “But you are going to.” And then he’s standing and moving back behind me. “I think you may actually enjoy some of this.”

I snort. Fat chance. I close my eyes, tensing as I wait for the first blow. So when a cold, wet finger suddenly prods at my ass, I yelp. I try to swivel my head around and see what’s going on, but with my arms stretched like this, I can only see part of his upper body. After finding my hole, what I’m guessing is a finger breaches me slowly, something cold and slick helping to ease the entry. I hiss, the soreness bringing back the memories of yesterday I’d been trying hard to forget.

“What are you doing!?” Is he going to fuck me? Is that the pu nishment?!

“Hush,” the orc shushes me as he continues to push his finge r into me.

I whimper when I feel his bottom knuckle against my hole. Once it’s inserted to the hilt, he slowly pumps his finger in and out. That whimper turns into a groan at the burn of finger #2 joining the first, fuck . Not sure I prefer this over a spanking. Sure, there’s less pain, but there’s also three strangers behind me watching me get fingered. I’ve also only known the orc doing the fingering for less than a day and a half, which doesn’t exactly make him any less of a stranger.

At some point after the second finger, things start to feel good. My cock starts to fatten up, pointing straight down and trapped against the bench. If I didn’t know how big his dick was, I’d tell him to just shove it in and get it over with. Fuck, I’m trying to tell myself to be thankful for this, but when he scissors his fingers apart like that, it makes me wanna climb off the table. In a good or bad way, I’m not sure.

The fingers are pulled from me, and I brace myself for what comes next. So I yelp for a second time when instead of an orc cock, something cold and blunt is poking at my hole. Not that I want an orc cock pok ing at me!

“What is that!?” I futilely try to crane my neck again and receive another shush and a light smack o n the ass.

“I can get you a gag if you need one.” The threat has me keeping my grumbling to myself.

The object is pushed deeper inside me, growing wider as it does. I do my best to suppress a groan once it starts to stretch me more than his fingers, the rest of it suddenly sliding in, my hole closing around the other end. For a moment I’m worried I’m about to lose whatever it is up there, but there’s something wide and solid preventing whatever it is from going any deeper. Damn, do I feel fu ll though.

“This is a plug. We looked at them earlier,” Ironstorm explains as he taps on it, knocking it against something sensitive inside me and sending small jolts through my body. “They are made to help keep you stretched, among othe r things.”

I remember what he’s talking about now, next to all the fake dicks. It feels weird to be, well, plugged. Once the burn of the stretch is gone, I mostly just feel...stuffed. I think about trying to push it out of me, but not only do I get the feeling that the orc wouldn’t like that, I’m also not sure pushing something out of my ass is the defiant gesture I want it to be.

“How are you feeling?” My captor walks around so I can see him again.

“I don’t know.” Why is he asking me this? “Fine, I gue ss? Full?”

“How does your ass feel?” Is he fishing for something?

“Sore.” I narrow my eyes as best I can like this.

“Inside, or out?” The question makes me blush before I c an answer.

“...Both,” I mumble in to my arm.

“Thank you for telling me.” He gives me a warm smile. “We will put some more of the salve on when we get home. You will likely need it.”

I don’t like the sound of that, and I can already feel my body tensing up again when he leaves my line of vision. My hole clenches around the plug, which sends a signal to my brain that is half-pleasure, half-pain, and not at all confusing. Will he just hurry up and get this over with already?!

The first smack of what feels like leather against my ass isn’t a total surprise, but the way it hits the base of the plug is, and it forces a noise from my mouth I’m not sure I’ve made before. Somewhere halfway between a moan and a yell. I’m assuming it’s a paddle; the smack wasn’t that hard, barely even hurt. But that plug is sure making me pay attention. The second and third blows are delivered the same way, not a lot of bite but sure to hit me dead center on my ass and the plug.

When I expect to feel the smack of strike number four, I’m surprised again when a hand delves between my legs to grab ahold of my cock. I’m not fully hard, but still hard enough that I’m gonna have a difficult time explaining this away. The hand grips me firmly, a thumb running over the head of my dick and making me shudder, spreading the slick precum I didn’t realize I wa s leaking.

“Good,” is the only word spoken before the hand is pulled away, and I’m getting paddled again. The blows never quite increase in intensity, though the angle and areas hit do change. Still always seems to knock against the plug somehow, and when the hand returns to my now fully hard cock, I realize that’s by design. He wants me to enjoy this, even though it’s supposed to be punishment for trying to escape.

I do not unders tand orcs.

After another round with the paddle, I feel the hand once more, this time slick with lube. It holds me firmly, slowly pumping up and down my shaft, making me groan involuntarily. Another memory, this time from this morning, having my cock stroked in bed but rolling out before I finished. The sudden smack on my ass with his other hand makes me clench around the plug again. I rock forward slightly, which drags his hand down my dick. Gods, what is he do ing to me?

I turn back to look at him as best I can. He’s not quite facing me, bent over with his body turned half to me and half to the shop behind us. That’s all I can see. After the next spank, the hand doesn’t leave my skin, instead sliding across it to the plug. He presses against it, pushing it in farther and pulling a low moan from my lips. All the while, his other hand continues to stroke me.

“You look good like this, puppy,” he tells me, his voice low and husky. “Tied up, helpless, and spread open. Plug in your hole, ass a nice bright pink. I have half a mind to take you right now.” The filthy words make my stomach flip, and I have to bite back a whimper.

He pauses on the spanking, content to toy with the plug instead. His fingers hook under the base and it is slowly dragged out of me. Before the widest part exits, the plug is released and slides back into place on its own. He pulls it out an inch or two once more, and this time I can feel him push it back in himself, forcing it deeper than it would go naturally. He repeats this, slowly fucking me open on t he object.

Unable to help myself, I start rocking back into his hand. Small whimpers and moans fall from my open mouth, and my body heats with embarrassment when I realize that the other orcs are watching my reactions. But still, I d on’t stop.

“They are watching you,” the orc holding my cock reads my mind. “They want you. The only reason they are not approaching is that they know you are mine.” He gives my dick a firm stroke for emphasis.

“I like that you are mine, pup,” he continues, adding a couple of spanks. “Mine to play with. Mine to show off. Mine to ta ke apart.”

The plug is pulled from my hole again, this time completely. I only feel empty for a second, his fingers quickly pressing in to replace it and delve even deeper. They don’t stay there, as my Captain quickly pulls them back before settling into a steady rhythm as he fingerfucks me once more. He matches his strokes to the hand on my dick, and I am soon rocking back into his hands o nce again.

He keeps his pace steady for a minute, but I can feel things speeding up. The fingers inside me are pressing down as they move, each stroke passing over a spot that has me trying to hump down into his other hand. He has no trouble keeping his hold on me, the massive green fist encasing more than three-quarters of my length.

As things move faster, his tactics change. His hand stops stroking my full length, instead focusing his attention around the head. Similarly, his fingers no longer push into the knuckles, nor are they pulled out more than an inch or two. The pads of his fingertips continue to rub back and forth over that strange little button of pleasure, pushing me closer and closer to the edge. Fuck, I think I’m gonna—

“Cum for m e, puppy.”

I explode at the order, the muttered curse on my lips drowned out by a moan. The hand around the top half of my cock continues to steadily stroke as I shoot my load all over the floor and bench. My hole clenches tightly around the fingers inside me, fingers that are still pressing and rubbing, forcing even more sounds from my mouth. I don’t even try to count as each rope of cum is shot, too exhausted to do anything more than slump against the bench when I finish.

As I come down from my orgasm, the hand around my cock leaves me, a sticky strand of cum landing against my thigh as it moves. The fingers still inside me are removed gently, and I feel my empty hole clenching around the cool air. Damn, I almost want the plug back in. There’s a hand on my back before I’m left on my own, senses slowly coming back t o my body.

A towel is run along my thighs and ass, even carefully wiping the lubricant from my hole. The cuffs around my ankles are removed, then Ironstorm is at my side again, bending over to release my wrists. Once they are both free, I use my hands to push myself up and stand, legs shaky after our little pe rformance.

“You took your punishment very well,” the orc tells me while wiping his hands with the same towel. “You may get r edressed.”

I nod silently. I’m not exactly sure how that was a punishment, but I’m not going to disagree. I bend over to pull up my underwear and pants, pleased to see that they aren’t covered in the load I just shot. The majority of it seems to have landed on the bench, most of it already wiped up. I turn as I’m tightening my belt and meet the gazes of every orc in the shop, including two new ones who must have come in while. .. Oh god.

I try not to let the humiliation show on my face as I am handed my shirt. I pull it over my head maybe a little too quickly, staring at the floor while I fasten the buttons. Ironstorm steps over to the counter where Brull has moved, stuffing something into his pack. I notice the orc who walked in on me in the thong is also making some purchases. The other three are all badly pretending to browse the shelves while trying not to stare at me. Ignoring that, I move to join the group at th e counter.

“You boys just made me a sale,” Brull tells us while taking the man’s money. Looking down, I can see that he has purchased...a paddle and plu g. Oh boy.

“Happy to help, brother.” Ironstorm smiles a littl e cockily.

After exchanging a few words with Brull, the man takes hold of his purchases. Then after giving Ironstorm a nod and me an appreciative onceover, he exits the shop.

“I should have the boots ready next week.” Brull turns to us after pocketing the money. “And if there’s a problem with anything fitting, you let me know and I’l l fix it.”

“I am sure your craftsmanship is as stellar as always.” The two of them do their orc-wrist-handshake thing again. “Thank you for allowing me the use of your e quipment.”

“Pleasure was all mine, Khaz,” Brull responds with a smirk. “Thanks for letting me meet him.” Then he turns to me. “It was nice to meet you, David. When I watched you get taken down in the arena yesterday, I wasn’t sure you’d take to all this so well. I can certainly understand all the interest in the captain’s n ew puppy.”

Great, so he was in the crowd of people who got to witness my very public humiliation yesterday. And what does he mean by interest? “I... Thanks. It was nice to meet you too.” What else do you sa y to that?

Ironstorm already has my leash at the ready, and he clips it on before throwing his pack over his shoulder. With a nod to me, he turns and together we leave the shop. The streets are even more packed than they were before, and I’m almost worried the leash might turn into a liability by the time we’re clear of the crowds and onto quie ter roads.

“What did he mean by ‘interest’?” I can’t help it. The question has been nagging me since Brul l said it.

“It would seem that word of our match yesterday has spread throughout the city.” The orc turns his head to answer me. “The ritual is not a common occurrence. After one takes place, it is usually the subject of town gossip for at least a f ew weeks.”

I sigh to myself. Of course everyone would be talking about that. I only hope it hasn’t gotten back to my friends in the jail yet. The rest of our walk home is in silence, the glow of the streetlights illuminating our way. Away from the bars, the rest of the city seems to have gone to sleep with the sun. Just me, the captain, and my thoughts.

When we get home, Ironstorm leads me to the bedroom, turning on some lanterns o n the way.

“Go ahead and undress,” he tells me while moving to his chests and removing the items from his bag. “You may leave your undercl othes on.”

I guess that’s an improvement over being naked. In this set of underwear at least. I pull off my shirt and lay it on the bed before sitting to remove my boots and pants. After folding the two, Ironstorm picks them up and brings them to one of t he chests.

“Your clothes will be kept in here,” he instructs. “I expect you to keep them neat and o rganized.”

“Yessir.” I respond without really thinking, having been told similar orders so many times by so many people at t his point.

“Good boy.” He gives me a sly smile and I roll my eyes. “Come. We need to eat and maybe a little reading be fore bed.”

I follow him to the kitchen, opting to stand rather than sit on the damned pillow. I watch as he moves about gathering ingredients. Looks like fish tonight. The orc grabs a skillet and lights the stove, setting some vegetables to the side before he slices into the fish. My stomach growls. I really wish it would stop d oing that.

“There is something on your mind,” Ironstorm informs me over his shoulder.

He’s not wrong. There’re a million things on my mind. One thing in particular is still bothering me though.

“What was with that punishment?” I blurt out. Smoo th, David.

The orc considers me for a moment before continuing to clean the fish. “Despite what you may think, I am not a monster, David. I was not happy that you ran, but I understood why. I know a panic attack when I see one. You were overwhelmed after a long day of being forced into unknown situations. Situations you have been handling well, given the circumstances. I do not want you to be afraid of me or to hate the things we do. Even if you are not ready to admit you like them.” I stutter a protest, but he cuts me off. “Regardless of that, my intention was to show you that not everything we will do is something to be endured.”

“So you decided to tie me down and strip me in front of total strangers?” I cock an eyebrow at his reasoning.

“Bit of a simplification,” he smirks. “You still needed to be punished, and given the public nature of your transgression, a public punishment seemed appropriate. All day I noted your aversion to public nudity, among other things, which, given how we met, struck me as a little humorous.”

“I told you I did n’t know—”

“These are not concerns shared by the rest of the city,” he continues over my protest. “Public nudity—and in certain situations more than that—are not uncommon. And I am sorry to inform you that they will not be vanishing from your life anytime in the near future. The best way to get you over that was to...” He pauses, thinking. “…’Throw you in the deep end,’ is how Brull put it. I wanted to teach you that being on display like that in front of others is not always bad. And you were perfect for m e, puppy.”

“Why do you call me that?” I ask absent-mindedly, still processing the psychoanalysis he just dropped on me and ignoring the compliment even if it gives me a warm feeling in m y stomach.

“You remind me of the dog I had as a child.” He moves and lays the cleaned fish in the skillet. “Loud and impulsive, always getting into trouble, and frequently found where he was not suppos ed to be.”

I narrow my eyes at the obvio us insult.

“He was also very smart, and with a little training became the most loyal companion I could have ever asked for.” He smiles warmly and moves on to chopping carrots. “He was my best friend. He was with my family for more than a decade and a half—to the very end.”

I don’t have any more questions after that, or at least I’m too preoccupied to vocalize them now. I lean against the counter, thinking about his words, his actions. It’s clear that he’s training me. He even compared me to his old dog. But what we’ve been doing isn’t what you do with a pet. So what exactly is he traini ng me for?