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Catalina

 

Catalina takes slow, fearful steps backwards as Hasan advances, pulling his shirt off at the same time. Her eyes dart wildly around the room, looking for a way to escape. There is none. One large bed sits in the center of the small cave. Ropes are tied to the headboard and footboard, other instruments of torture lie on a bedside table, such as hoods, harnesses, pointed metal instruments, and clamps. Most things she doesn’t recognize, but they look painful. The cave walls are thick enough to hide her screams, not that anyone will come to her rescue.

Hasan kicks off his boots, one by one, his eyes never leaving hers. “I have waited a long time for this.” He drops his trousers, giving her a good look at his large dick that stands hard and erect. He must get off on torture and fear, Catalina thinks. The sick bastard. “I have listened to your mouth, watched your eye-rolls, and now I hear you are causing unrest with my females. I cannot have that.” In horror, Catalina watches as he grabs some type of cock ring and slides it down his dick. Long spikes protrude from the cock ring, and she knows it will tear her apart on the inside. Possibly kill her. By the look in his eyes, he has no thoughts of letting her live.

With a step backward, her legs press against the bed, and she has nowhere to go. With labored breathing, she spins around and takes a giant leap and dives over the bed. His hand strikes out, catching her ankle and dragging her back. She falls face first on the bed. Her fingers dig in, trying to claw her way out of his reach.

“Let me go!” she screams while kicking at him, but he only laughs while yanking her back.

Hasan crawls over on top of her and straddles her hips, effectively pinning her in place.

Total fear flows like an ocean through her icy veins. If he takes her in this position, with her lying face down, she can’t fight back. Not only can she not reach the secret weapon, she can’t reach him.

He lifts his hips just enough to shove her dress up to her waist. His hand cups her ass and squeezes with intense pressure, making her cry out in pain. She feels his length press against her ass cheeks, and her panic builds more than ever as she tries to thrash and move away. He smacks her ass so hard that Catalina whimpers slightly. Leaning down, he whispers into her ear. “Do not worry, I want to see your face twist in pain when I rip you apart.” Then he bites down hard on her ear.

“Aww…” she cries out.

He laughs.

Without much effort, he grabs the hem of her dress and splits it up the middle.

With a flick of his wrist, he turns her onto her back, leaving her body exposed. “I tie the others to protect them. But I like a good fight.” She knows with his admission that he intends to either leave her broken or kill her.

With his strong hands, he spreads her legs and settles himself in the middle. Using his hand, he cups her center. She tries not to panic, not to lose focus as her arm stretches out to her side, her fingers crawling to reach the discarded dress.

She feels his cock at her entrance.

Panic ensues…

Her hand clasps the petals, and with a mighty force, she slams her hand against his bulging bicep.

His eyes widen, his body instantly going rigid. “What. Did. You. Do?” he hisses out in pain as his neck strains with pressure.

With a hate-filled look on her face, she holds his gaze. “I ended your reign of torture. Goodbye, asshole!”

His muscles twitch uncontrollably, his mouth waters, and his copper-colored skin turns almost yellow. Catalina struggles as she tries to climb out from underneath, but she can’t manage.

He collapses on top of her.

Using all her strength, she struggles to roll him enough to crawl out from beneath his massive body.

Heaving, she stands naked over him, praying he’s dead. For good measure, she works quickly with nimble fingers as she ties his hands to the post with the rope already hanging there.

Standing with her hands on her hips at the foot of the bed, she needs a plan. The enforcers will come eventually, and it will be hard to get the drop on both of them.

“Think, Catalina…” With one hand on her hip, biting her nails on the other, she paces with a nervous energy.

Glancing down at the torn and scattered flower petals, she scoffs. “It can’t be that easy.”

She paces, but her eyes keep darting to the discarded petals.

“Can it?”

She paces some more, her eyes still darting to the petals. “Not so easy for them, but for a human…”

A calculating smile spreads across her face. She doesn’t want to kill anyone else, but today she will either die or escape. There’s no other choice.

Kneeling down next to the petals, she gently scoops them up in her hand and carefully rubs them over her forearms, her stomach protesting as she gags.  It takes a few minutes before the sickness fades, leaving her feeling weak as sweat beads her forehead. 

“Why didn’t I think of this before?”

It wouldn’t have worked, and it makes you sick, she thinks. She also had no way of knowing when Hasan would come for her.

The last thing Catalina wants is to parade around naked in front of the other males. Her gaze slides back and forth between her torn dress and Hasan’s clothes.

“Well, shit!”

She wants nothing to do with Hasan, and she certainly doesn’t want to smell like him…But what choice does she have? Hastily, she grabs his shirt and slips it over her head. At least it’s long and covers more than her dress did. She makes sure to roll the sleeves up enough to expose her forearms.

Beating her fist on the door, she starts screaming. “Hey! Something’s wrong! I need help!” She pounds with more force and with both hands, trying to get someone to hear her.

When the door cracks open, Catalina jumps to the side and presses her back against the wall. She tries to sport the scared, I don’t know what happened look, as they rush over to Hasan. When they find him dead, they both turn in unison, deadly eyes staring straight at her.

“What did you do?” the one on the right accuses.

“Nothing. I don’t know what happened.” She holds her palms out in defense.

“We do not believe you,” the one on the left says as they take a menacing step forward.

Catalina throw her arms in the air, her forearms guarding her face. “Please don’t hurt me.” Her voice sounds scared, like a frightened little girl.

When they each grab an arm, she watches as the same horrible reaction happens to them. It doesn’t take long until they fall to the floor, twitching before all movement ceases.

With a look of disdain, she sneers at the bodies while stepping around them. Easy for a human, hard for a Curazin female.

With a confident stride, Catalina walks back to the female Commons, knowing that today she is leaving here. All the males stop and stare, but no one tries to stop her as she marches forward with her chin lifted high, her confidence and determination daring anyone to mess with her. She’s untouchable, and she knows it.

When she enters the Commons, she searches out Tabia and finds her in Cara’s room.

When she enters, they both jump to their feet at the sight of her. “Catalina, are you okay?” Tabia’s eyes hold so much worry.

“I’m good. Get your things; we’re getting out of here.”

“Really?” Tabia says with breathless excitement.

“Really.” Tabia races from the room as Catalina’s eyes land on Cara. “Come with us?” Her eyes beg, but she already knows the answer.

“I cannot.” Cara rubs her swollen belly. “I have to think of my young.”

Cara steps forward for a hug, but Catalina jumps back and laces her hands behind her back. “Don’t touch me!”

Cara’s face transforms from relief to devastation, but Catalina is quick to reassure her. “It’s not like that, Cara.” She glances around, making sure no one can hear. In as low a voice as she can muster, she whispers, “I have that deadly flower all over me.”

Cara rears back and plasters herself against the wall, as far away from Catalina as she can get. “Hasan?” she mouths, looking frantically at the door.

“Dead.”

With surprise, her mouth forms an O before she closes the gap. “The protectors?”

Catalina knows who she speaks of. The ones who allowed the tyrant to rape all the females. “Also dead.”

Cara swallows hard and is about to speak when Tabia rushes back into the room. “I’m ready,” she announces with a look of urgency on her face.

A wicked grin spreads across Catalina’s face. Freedom is only steps away, and nothing will stop her now. “Take care, my friend. I will miss you.”

Cara smiles and gives her a tiny wave. “Bye, Catalina.”

Cara then throws her arms around Tabia’s neck. “Please be careful.”

She leans back, and for the first time since being with Hasan, true excitement shines on Tabia’s face. “I will.”

“Tabia,” Catalina says in a stern voice. Tabia turns, catching Catalina’s serious expression. “This is very important. You can’t touch me. At all. Understand?” She nods vigorously. “I mean it, Tabia. Even if I start to fall, you let me face-plant on the ground.”

“Got it.”

Catalina grabs her backpack, the one she has stored away in case she ever found a way to escape. Inside, she has a change of clothes, and thanks to her night with the design-o-pad, she even has a knife or two hidden away.

Outside is chaos. News that Hasan and his protectors are dead has spread. No one notices the two of them as they head for the gate that bars the entrance. At least Catalina doesn’t think anyone notices them.

“Stop,” the guard orders as he steps in front of them, blocking the way.

Catalina pierces the guard with cunning eyes. One side of her mouth tips upward when she says, “Make me.”

“Step away from the gate, Rieo. You are dismissed.”

Catalina spins around and sees Jove slowly walking up behind them with a gamel in tow. “Don’t try and stop me,” she warns.

Jove studies her before his eyes slide to Tabia. They linger on the vanishing bruises around her neck before sliding down to her wrists. Addressing Catalina once again, he says, “I thought you might need some help.”

Her eyes narrow, and she cocks her head to the side. “Why would you help me now?” The fact that he did nothing to repay her kindness for saving his life still sticks in her craw.

“Before, I was helpless to do so. All along, I had planned to help you escape, but you managed it on your own.”

She scoffs and shakes her head. “When was that? After Hasan raped me?”

“I never thought he would touch you,” he grimaces and averts his eyes. “It was a calculated mistake.”

“Then how did you plan to help?”

“When he offered you to someone, I had planned to step forward. Then I planned to take you back to the Southern Clan.”

“Oh.” That actually made sense, and Hasan did say in the beginning that he wished she was Curazin. “Hasan’s dead.”

“I heard.”

“So are his two goons.”

His lips tip upward, transforming his face to something more at ease. He tilts his head forward as he says, “I am in your debt.”

She furrows her brow. That is the last thing she expected him to say. “I don’t understand.” Her eyes dart at the scene behind Jove, expecting an ambush. She feels antsy and needs to get away as quickly as possible.

“Hasan and his enforcers are my older brothers.” She gasps and takes a quick step back, her hand flying to her chest. Did she just kill his entire family?

He holds up his hand when she starts to speak. “Everyone has been living in fear, and there was no way to kill all three of them by myself.” His eyes slide to Tabia, who stares at the ground, before sliding back to Catalina once again. “When you risked yourself,” he grins, “when you killed the graset and hauled it back to where I was injured,” he shakes his head in disbelief, “it changed something inside me, something I had forgotten a long time ago. You risked everything for me and saved my life. I will never forget that.”

“Thank you for saying that.” Catalina glances around at all the frantic people, still expecting an ambush. You can’t just kill the leader of a clan and expect nothing to happen. “What will happen now?”

“I am now the leader of the Northern Clan, and things will be much different.” He turns toward Tabia. “If you will stay, I can personally promise that you will be safe. All females will be safe.”

With a skittish look, Tabia keeps her chin tucked but raises her eyes. “Safe from everyone? Even you?”

Jove nods. “Even me.”

Tabia searches Catalina’s face, looking for answers. “What do you think I should do?” Her eyes remind Catalina of a frightened child.

Catalina softens her expression before slowly blowing out her breath. “That’s up to you, Tabia.” Her eyes touch on Jove. “But I do believe he’s telling the truth.”

Tabia licks her dry lips and with a small voice, she admits, “I do not know what to do.”

Jove takes Tabia’s hand, his thumb circling the marred skin on her wrist. She jerks slightly but doesn’t pull her hand away. “No one should endure my brother’s torture. I vow that this will never happen to you again.”

At that moment, Catalina knows that Jove will make a good leader.

A fair leader.

Since killing Hasan and talking to Jove, Catalina knows in her heart that Tabia will be safe, and she will be better off staying with the Northern Clan. Hopefully one day Tabia will find a mate, not someone she is paired with but someone she loves.

Her mind drifts back to Theon, and she’s anxious to get back to the Southern Clan.

The look in Tabia’s eyes lets her know that she will not be making this trip with her. Catalina smiles at her friend. “I will miss you.”

“I will miss you too.” Tabia leans in, but Catalina quickly steps back. “I can’t give you a hug. I’m sorry.” She holds up her hands and forearms that are lightly stained with the colors.

“Oh, right.”

“You used the Jia plant?” Jove raises an eyebrow.

“The one with orange and black petals.”

He nods with wide eyes as he too takes a small step back.

“Yeah. Turns out it only makes me sick, but it doesn’t kill me.

“That plant will be the first thing to go.” Jove shakes his head in bewilderment. “Why Hasan let it grow, I will never understand.”

Jove hands the reins over to Catalina. “No one will follow you,” he reassures her.

“Thank you.”

Jove holds his hand out for Tabia, and after a reluctant moment, she places her small one in his. With a peaceful smile, Tabia waves, “Bye Catalina.”

Catalina mounts the gamel, and with one last look, she stares at Tabia, knowing that she will be okay. She offers a smile and then turns the gamel away from the Northern Clan’s domes.

As she rides away, her face stretches wide when she realizes what a difference she’s made. It feels good, at least for about fifteen minutes. And then she thinks about what she’s done. She’s killed three people.

Catalina rides in silence as her mind touches on everything that’s happened. Knowing she would’ve killed anyone who stood between her and freedom scares the hell out of her. What will Theon think once he finds out that she killed the leader of the Northern Clan? Should she tell him? Her thoughts tumble endlessly as she quickly heads for the mountains that separate the two clans.