Free Warrior by Cara Bristol Page B

honeyed nectar, then to revel in the other delights of her body. His morning tumescence throbbed, heavy and achy.
    Urazi rolled to wake her—and flailed his arm in empty space. Probably she had stepped into the woods to relieve herself—after the discipline he’d administered, he was confident she would heed his admonition by remaining close to camp. He stretched and then reclined with his hands behind his head to await her return.
    Minutes mounted. What could she be doing? He recalled her defiant insistence on gathering more firewood. They still had a small stack even after he’d fed the flames in the night. He eyed the ashes of a fire gone cold. Why hadn’t she stirred the embers and tossed another log onto the coals before venturing into the woods?
    She had been gone too long for a simple constitutional.
    Urazi bolted to an upright position. What if Qalin’s guerillas had stumbled upon her? “Anika! Come here, now!” he bellowed, scanning the tree line and their makeshift camp. A lone carryall rested against the boulder. His. Hers was missing. Qalin’s forces would not have taken Anika’s pack but disregarded his. Nor would they have left him to slumber—they would have killed him in his sleep.
    Anika had fled. Again.
    Urazi flung off the sleep covers and riveted on the red-brown stain spotting the uniforms upon which they had slept and mated. Denial had him shaking his head until the stunning truth caught hold.
    Anika had been pure, unbred. She and Jergan had never—
    Had Marlix known? He must have had an inkling. No wonder he’d insisted on presenting her to Ilian. Alphas sought females who had never been mated, to assure paternity. With the Breeder Containment Facilities dismantled, finding such a female had become hit or miss. No wonder Ilian had been willing to accept her. It made sense now.
    That Urazi unwittingly had usurped an Alpha’s rightful claim thrust them into greater peril. When Marlix recovered Anika and sent her to Ilian, the Alpha would discover he’d been presented with tainted goods. Serious repercussions would result. Anika might be flogged then sold to another alpha. Marlix’s alliance with Ilian would shatter.
    No doubt Anika had fled because she feared retaliation. He had to find her! Urazi leaped to his feet.
    Or did he assume too much?
    Perhaps she had sneaked away because she did not wish to be with him ? He’d presupposed she shared his regard, but perhaps she did not. Perhaps he’d also erred in his assumption she’d experienced the same passions as he.
    Urazi donned his wrinkled, stained gray uniform. It was a disgrace, but he wanted to save the others he had appropriated from Qalin’s guerillas for more needful times.
    Doubts rolled over memories like a regiment of Qalin’s guards storming a village: her cries, her thrashing movements, the anomalous wetness. Had he mistaken distress for pleasure? He’d lost control, had been quite forceful when he’d driven into her. He eyed the stained bedding. She’d bled . What more proof did he need of scientific fact that mating caused physical injury to females—one more reason for the limitations on sexual behavior. He fingered the stain on his shirt. He would wear it as a reminder of his brutality. Anika had suffered abuse at the hands of others—and, in his selfishness, he’d joined with the lot of them.
    Urazi eyed the sleeping mats. Her discarded uniform remained atop them. So intent on getting away from him, she’d abandoned her clothing and a sleeping mat—critical survival items. He stooped and picked up her uniform, scrunching the garment in his hand. He hung his head in remorse.
    He could not have worsend the situation. In self-disgust, he tossed her shift onto the mats and rolled them up.
    Anika traveled alone—fair game for the worst sorts of predators. Alphas and betas alike. Urazi knew the resentments and roiling emotions betas suppressed. Hadn’t he felt them? He had witnessed his peers erupt in fits of rage