Dawson's P.O.V.
The damp forest came to life as the moon rose high above the trees. Creatures scurrying in the night filled any silence there might have been, but of course the rain gently pattered at the leaves. It was never truly quiet here. Sometimes I imagined returning home and being unable to sleep in the deafening silence of my old life because I've grown too accustomed to the miserable sound of constant rain.
Entrusting Thomas to watch over the girl, I left my tent to meet with my men, who were waiting up to find out what the hell we were doing with our newest prisoner. And as I met them in the center of the camp where a big fire blazed to keep the bugs away, their conversations dulled to a low murmur. They looked at me expectantly as I approached, and I offered a thin lipped smile as I crouched down by the fire.
"You fed her... right?"
Henry's question filled the lapse of conversation. He stood by the pot of stew that was barely simmering now as the small fire below quietly burned out.
At first his question had me bristling. As if I wouldn't feed the girl... Please. How heartless did these men think I was? But then I felt the same concern and intrigue from Henry that encouraged Grayson to linger and watch the girl, and I shook my head, exasperated with the absolute fuckery of this situation.
How would this ever work?
Twenty something dominants, all desperate to feel connected to that former version of themselves; before they were hardened and made miserable from war. They needed to remember why we were here. I needed to be reminded... It wasn't for her. It was for the peace of two nations that shouldn't have been at war in the first place.
"The girl was caught spying in my tent," I began.
"What was she looking for?" someone interrupted.
"She was looking through the paperwork on my desk," I continued diplomatically. "When I caught her she had the list of clans we've been trying to locate."
"What could she possibly need that information for?"
"To warn the others, she said," I answered before taking a deep breath to unveil the rest of the story. "She's with a clan that's been following us, and listening in on our conversations. They determine which clan we're traveling to next, and then they run ahead to warn them, giving them enough time to pack up and move. Then there's nobody there when we turn up."
A low murmur rumbled up from the men around me. They were displeased.
"So, that's why we haven't found anyone!"
"And to think we could have been home by now if not for her!"
"What a distasteful thing to do!"
"Is it though?" I addressed the last bark that came from somewhere in the crowd, unable to determine who said what as the questions came flying in. "Isn't she doing what any of us would do in order to win this war? She's just on the other side of it."
"The wrong side of it..." Grayson murmured thoughtfully from the opposite side of the fire.
"Yes," I agreed gently. "The wrong side of it." Then my eyes lifted to the others. "She's going to stay with us until we finish this thing. In that little head of her's are the whereabouts of the last camps standing. We will utilize the information she has."
"How will you ever convince her to help us?" Peter, someone who didn't live far from me back home, stepped forward to ask.
"I think she can be bribed," Grayson commented, arms crossed, his gaze zoned in on the fire. Just observing him at that moment, I knew he was already hung up on the girl.
YOU ARE READING
Unconditional Dominance
Romance"You're safe," I assured her while lifting the heavy hair from her neck and moving it over her right shoulder. "I would never let anyone hurt you." My lips moved against her bare neck, and slowly, she eased herself back against my chest. I kissed d...
