The next morning, I woke up with my cheek crushed against the ground and my mouth full of grass and dirt.

How I had even managed to sleep with such a giant on top of me, I had no idea, but sleep I had. Now, my whole body ached and I stretched greedily, arching my spine and lifting my hands over my head.

I paused with a gasp as I caught Eryk staring, nostrils flared. My breath hitched in my throat when I saw the need in those gray eyes of his, and it made me freeze with my hands still stretched over my head. I realized my midriff was showing between my white tunic and my pants and I dropped my arms quickly as he turned his attention back to his horse.

He was gearing up.

In fact, they were all gearing up. A fifth horse, a gray mare with a white nose, was off to the side waiting patiently for her rider. It dawned on me that I was to be her rider.

“Come on, then, Princess, let’s go,” Dimitri said, grabbing my elbow and hauling me to my feet as he passed. He paused to hand me a bladder full of water, waiting as I drank until the grit was washed from my throat. Once I’d had my fill, he took it back and stuffed it into his leather pack.

His boots crunched over the branches beneath our feet as he led me to the mare. She stood proudly as he took me by the waist and lifted me up onto her back. I couldn’t deny that his strong grip sent a ripple of something wild through me that I instantly railed against.

It was nothing. My body’s reaction to the stress of the previous day and all this adrenaline. Fear was a tricky beast, that was all.

Once on my horse, I shifted in the saddle, settling in, but I couldn’t deny my heart was still pounding.

I could bolt, right then and there. My mare looked lithe and fast and I was a hundred pounds lighter or more than each of the males, which meant I’d be swifter on horseback. I thought back to the archery contest and frowned, recalled Dimitri’s bond with his horse. Man and beast had been so in tune, they looked like one entity. Worse, they might forgo the horses altogether and try to shift to run me down.

I regarded them with a slow and steady gaze, sizing them up. Up until now, I hadn’t given much thought to what kind of shifters they were. Mathias and I were the same. I wondered what he looked like in his lion form. Golden and glorious probably, I thought with a scowl.

I watched Titus as he tightened the saddle on his own massive warhorse. He was big. Burly. All the makings of a bear shifter, and after being so close to him all night, despite him being in human form, I had no doubt of it. He had that lush, musky smell that marked him as a bear. It was almost hypnotically and unapologetically male, much to my dismay.

Eryk and I hadn’t been skin to skin but the way he moved, like a slinking predator, told me that he was most certainly a big cat of some sort. Not a lion, though. He was far too lithe for that. The dark skin and bright green eyes suggested he might be a panther. As I watched his lean muscles ripple beneath his shirt as he climbed atop his own black stallion with such easy grace, I became certain of my suspicion.

And lastly, Dimitri. Proud, cocky, one-man show Dimitri, who had also mounted his horse.

All tiger, of that I had no doubt.

“Don’t even think about trying to run,” Dimitri shot back to me over his shoulder, like he’d been reading my mind. “Luna is a good horse. She won’t go where we aren’t leading. You’ll just make an ass out of yourself and irritate us.”

He drew up on the reins and twisted fully around to look at me with that maddening crooked grin of his. “Or do, if you like. I always enjoy a good show.”

I scrunched up my nose at him and then, like a child, stuck out my tongue.

He threw his head back in laughter before digging his heels into his stallion’s sides, leading us deeper into the forest.

My horse lurched forward, falling into line behind Dimitri’s. I couldn’t help but admire the broad lines of his shoulders as he swayed side to side in the saddle. Muscle lurked just beneath the thin fabric of his navy-blue tunic, and I wondered what sort of physique was hidden from view…purely for practical reasons, of course. His strength and the strength of the others was of paramount concern. The other three men rode behind us.

Clever.

This way there were three pairs of eyes on me. They weren’t taking any risks.

“Why ride horses?” I called after we’d been riding in silence for more than an hour. “Why not shift and run?” I said lightly. “We’d make better time, and it would be far more pleasant than sitting in this bloody saddle.” It was true enough. My narrow hips made riding long distances jarring after a time, but my aim wasn’t comfort. It was freedom.

“Shift and give you the chance to run off?” Titus hollered from behind me. “What kind of idiots do you take us for, Princess?”

I rolled my shoulders to shake off the irritation at being called princess for the hundredth time since waking the previous evening. At this point, it was the very least of my problems. I cast a glance over my shoulder at Titus and the others. The big bear shifter waggled his fingers at me and gave me a crooked grin. I scrunched up my face in a scowl and whirled back to face forward, only to find Dimitri twisted in his saddle, not trying to hide the fact that his eyes were lingering at the collar of my tunic. His gaze fell lower to follow the line of my leg pressed against Luna’s side.

He could try to play it easy and charming, but the fact was that he liked what he saw. He wanted me.

And that meant power.

My heart began racing in my chest. I couldn’t shift. I couldn’t fight. But I could use what I did have.

I waited until the sun was high above us in the sky and everyone’s energy seemed to be flagging just a little before putting my plan into motion. As the time passed, I sighed more loudly and made a show of shifting uncomfortably in my saddle.

“I’m sorry, I’m trying to muscle through this but I can’t ride another second without a bath," I said, scratching my scalp with a wince. "My whole body is itchy and I smell like horse and wood-smoke. If your job is to get me somewhere in one piece, then you will fail because I'm about to launch myself off the nearest cliff if I can't get clean and wash the stench from my hair.”

I didn’t give a rat’s ass about my hair, now or any other day for the past year, but if they thought I was a princess, I might as well act like one if it got me what I wanted. I was half thinking it wouldn't work. That they'd brush off my idle threat for what it was and press on, but instead the horses slowed to a stop and I could feel all eyes on me.

They were actually considering my request.

I bowed my head and bit down so hard on the inside of my cheek that my eyes began to water. When I looked back up, I saw that I had achieved exactly what I wanted. Dimitri caught sight of my tears and the reins went slack in his hands.

“I’m so sore and tight,” I whispered, “if I could just rinse off so I can feel a bit like myself again.” I forced a tremble into my bottom lip and looked away as if I was ashamed, dabbing the corners of my eyes with my fingers.

“There’s a creek fifteen minutes from here,” Dimitri started, his gaze guarded as he turned to the others, “I can take her-”

“No,” Mathias said calmly, riding up beside me. “She can wait like the rest of us. There will be plenty of time for bathing when we reach the ship.”

Ship?

I could feel my shoulders stiffening at this bit of news but I tried to stay loose and calm despite my racing thoughts.

Dimitri shrugged those broad shoulders of his. “I don’t see any harm in taking a little break. You three can catch some more rabbits and cook them up for a meal, I’ll take the princess here to the stream. I won’t let her out of my sight or give her a fork, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

I could feel the tension between the men. It hung in the air for maybe another half a minute before dissipating entirely.

“Fine,” Mathias agreed, before looking over at me. “A quick bath. No funny business. All right?”

“No funny business,” I agreed with a curt nod.

Eryk’s gaze remained hooded but eventually both he and Titus agreed. “Fine.”

Dimitri whistled sharply and Luna stepped in behind his horse. He guided me through the trees until we met a slope in the terrain. He dismounted and helped me down, and then tethered both horses to a tree.

“We go on foot from here,” he said, “it’s just down the ridge and to the right.”

We half stumbled, half walked down the ridge. The earth was loose and my boots sank in past the ankles once we reached flat ground again. The sound of running water reached my ears as we rounded a bend.

The stream was there, as he had promised, and it was a sight to behold. The water was crystal clear and frothing. It bubbled and gurgled over rocks and down small one-foot tall waterfalls. The middle was wide and deep.

Dimitri stepped up beside me and pulled his shirt off over his head. It took every ounce of self-control I possessed not to steal a peek at his bare torso. When he undid the strings at the waist of his pants and yanked them down, I swallowed hard.

“You getting in first, Princess, or do you want me to go first?” Dimitri asked. His voice was lower than before. He was aroused. I could feel it in the air. Sense it in the tension rolling off him.

With a sharp breath, I realized I was, too. His closeness, and his nakedness, was doing something to my body that I had never felt before. There was something gathering below my belly; something fierce and tight. Something exciting.

The promise of escape. That’s all it is, you fool. He is your enemy…they all are, and don’t forget it.

But I could use this sensation to my benefit. If he believed I wanted him as well, it could only serve to help my cause.

“Together,” I said, remembering he had asked me a question. “And you will keep your eyes straight ahead, got it?”

Dimitri chuckled. “Sure thing, Princess. But don’t let that stop you from stealing a peek or two if you like.”

I shook my head, biting back a surprised chuckle as I stepped out of my pants. They got caught up around my ankles and I nearly pitched forward onto my face. Dimitri grabbed my elbow and steadied me as I grumbled out a half-hearted thank you before pulling my shirt over my head.

The air had grown warm but the breeze made me instantly self-conscious. I knew my nipples had gone hard to match the goosebumps covering the rest of my body, but I couldn’t let the thought derail me. I had an opening here, and I wasn’t about to let false modesty blow it. Shifters were naked in front of one another all the time. This was no different.

I crossed my arms over my chest as I began to take a few cautious steps forward.

I watched Dimitri out of the corner of my eye, making sure to keep my gaze far above his hips. I wasn’t prepared to see what waited between his legs, despite the curiosity gnawing at the inside of my belly. He was keeping his word and staring dead ahead as our feet hit the water. The heat of the sun had taken the bitter chill away, leaving it pleasantly cool, and I picked up the pace and plunged forward until my head was beneath the surface.

When I came up for air, I couldn’t touch the bottom. I was a good swimmer, so I tread water, turning around to face Dimitri as he stayed closer to the shore. He stood, the top of the water level with his midriff and ran both hands through his hair.

That burning inside me lit again and I chewed the inside of my cheek. He was beautiful, that was for certain. His body was tight and tanned, and as my eyes wandered all over him, my legs started to feel weak. With the intent of self-preservation in mind, I swam closer to the shore until my feet hit the rocky bottom. If I continued staring at him while treading water, I was going to drown and that would put a definite damper on my escape plans.

“It’s nice, hey?” Dimitri asked, dropping lower into the water until it covered his shoulders.

“Um, sorry?” I asked, my attention still focused on his body and my thoughts considering what it might feel like to run a hand over his chest.

“The water,” he said, his lips tipping upwards.

“Oh. Yes. It is,” I said. “It would be nicer if I could get this collar off my neck for a bit. It’s chafing and making me feel claustrophobic, but, hey, what’s a captive to do, right?” I added dryly.

After all, if I was too nice, he’d surely put his guard back up.

“Come here, then,” Dimitri said, his hand lifting out of the water. He curled a finger towards himself. As I waded through the water, I pondered the likelihood of Dimitri actually freeing me from the metal binding around my neck. If he did, he was a fool.

His face was tight as I drew up in front of him. “Turn around,” he said, his tone clipped.

I did as I was told. He drew my wet hair over my shoulder. It was cold on my shoulders, and I shivered as his fingers wandered up the back of my neck. I was giving him a lot of power right now. He could easily have wrapped his fingers around my throat and squeezed, and left my body in the water.

But somehow, I knew that wasn’t what he wanted to do and my pulse pounded a little harder.

His fingers worked at the iron at the back of my neck until I heard a pop. Then, all at once, I was free, and the light weight of the collar was gone.

I turned back around to face him, rubbing my neck with one hand. “Thank you,” I said with a smile as he slipped a tony key into his pocket. I was still surprised that he had even gone for it. I had expected him to deny me, especially considering the whole fork incident. But that was the thing about the male ego sometimes. Even after all he’d witnessed, he didn’t view me as a worthy opponent.

Now to make him pay for underestimating me.

“This is a one-time thing, Princess. Don’t get used to it,” he warned, his gaze narrowed. “It goes back on as soon as we get out of the water. Don’t make me regret it, yeah?”

“Of course not,” I said. I waded back out where the water was deeper, running my fingers over the rippling surface. “I haven’t been swimming in ages. Anaya likes to keep me close.”

“You poor thing,” he said, a wry grin tugging at his firm lips. “Princess stuck in a palace all day.”

I shot him a look over my shoulder. I couldn’t touch the bottom anymore, so I gently kicked and tread my arms through the water. This man didn’t know me or how hard things had been for me before the Revolution, or my struggles after it. He didn’t know who my father had been, and how he’d treated us. Like milk cows, bred to produce for him. Things hadn’t been easy.

And then, just like now, I’d done what I’d needed to in order to survive.

Heart pounding, I took a deep breath and disappeared beneath the surface. I made out the pale outline of Dimitri under the water. Had I been closer, I was sure I would have been able to see him a little more intimately, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was my freedom.

I dragged my gaze away from his blurry form and kicked hard, swimming in the opposite direction. I was a good swimmer, and always had been, and I was going to use that to my advantage. Who knew if I’d have another opportunity to get away? This was it, and I had to make it count.

As soon as I could touch the bottom on the other side of the stream, I was going to shift and come out of the water at a full sprint. I was small and fast, always had been, and I was going to put everything I had into escaping my captor.

I could just make out the other side of the stream now. The rocky bottom was coming into focus. In three more seconds, maybe five, I’d be able to touch the bottom.

I called out to my inner lioness. She was always there, at the edge of my consciousness, waiting to be brought to the foreground of my mind. I felt a great pulse in my body, like a giant heartbeat, before all the welcomed feelings of my shift broke over me.

My strokes slowed as my back paws pushed me forward, scrabbling for purchase on the rocky ground beneath the water. I planted myself firmly and then launched myself upward with one, mighty leap, breaking the surface with a gasp. I didn’t waste a second to look behind me as I landed on the bank, taking off at a full speed towards the tree line.

My claws sank into the earth to give me traction as I raced around the first couple tree trunks. I found my momentum after ten or so great, unimpeded strides, and then I was really moving, the trees blowing by me in a blur on either side.

I had a head start. The question was, would it be enough?

A sound rent the air behind me, jolting my heart into overdrive. It started as a low rumbling and morphed into an angry roar that vibrated the ground beneath my paws as I ran. I could hear the splashing of the water as he broke free and knew he was in hot pursuit.

As I ran and the sound of his rage trailed behind me, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had made a terrible mistake. I had provoked the man who had shown me the most kindness of all my captors. If he caught me, would he punish me for such a thing? Titus’s punishment for attempting to stab him with the fork had been silly but effective, nonetheless. For some reason, despite his easygoing demeanor, I suspected Dimitri would be less forgiving.

I gathered my strength and my wits and lowered my head, pouring it on, running as fast as I could. My back paws landed beside my front ones before I straightened out my body again, springing forward, bounding over fallen branches and tree roots and mossy grass that I knew would be slippery.

But despite my efforts, I could hear him gaining on me. Panic clawed at my throat, threatening to choke me.

With his size, I hadn’t expected him to be so fast. That assumption might cost me everything.

Shoving back my fear, I feinted right, skirting around a tree, trying to shake him off with some sharp maneuvering. A low hanging branch whipped across my cheek, drawing blood, but I kept going. I lurched left and picked up the speed again.

Please, god, let this work.

Dimitri’s roar shook the earth once more and there was no mistaking its meaning.

Stop running. Final warning.

Part of me wanted to obey. If I gave in now and surrendered, maybe he’d go easy on me. But the other part knew that wasn’t an option. If I had even a tiny chance of making it, I had to try.

For Anaya.

These men had the power to ruin everything she had worked so hard for with me as their captive, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if this hurt her. I had to get back home.

I’d barely completed the thought when a sharp swipe on my right flank sent me spinning out of control. I extended my claws in an attempt to grip the earth as I tried to steady myself, but I lost my balance and tumbled rear end over front into the ground before sliding to a stop in the dirt.

Fear gripped me as I struggled to get back to my feet and face Dimitri, but before I could, he pinned me down, his teeth closing over the scruff at the back of my neck. My muscles tightened in protest but I didn’t move. His growl was low and demanded that I stay still. All he had to do was bite down a little harder, and I’d be done for. I chuffed in response, hoping he would back down at my show of surrender and release me.

He didn’t.

A crushing sense of defeat settled over me as I slumped forward. There were no moves left for me to make. He had outrun me, and there was no doubt that he could overpower me in a one on one fight. I had taken my chance and failed. Now I had to face the consequences like the soldier I had begged to become.

I shifted back to my human form and he instantly released me, allowing me room to roll over beneath him.

I stared up at him, startled. In my fear, I hadn’t gotten the chance to see him in his tiger form and there was no denying, he was magnificent. His face was wide and bright amber, streaked with black stripes that made him look ferocious but beautiful at the same time. His fangs were bared and he was panting.

His gaze held mine as he shifted back to his human form and I became acutely aware of our nakedness. He was still poised above me, body damp, his hands planted on either side of my shoulders in the dirt. His shoulders were bunched up in anger and I couldn’t help but admire the muscles there.

The heat of his anger radiated from his body and seeped into mine. Instead of fear or anger in return, though, the adrenaline that had kept me going turned into something else. Something dark and needy and hot and hungry. Something desperate and completely unfamiliar to me. My body seemed to override my protesting mind, aching for something I couldn’t name, and my nipples went tight.

Touch. Closeness. To taste his lips.

I thought back, for a brief moment, to the secret book I saw in Anaya’s chambers. I could see the images of naked men on the creamy pages, their cocks between their powerful thighs and surrounded by dark hair. I could also see the images of what these men did with those cocks. I knew how a man fit inside a woman. I knew, through words, what sort of pleasure it was supposed to bring and, god, my body yearned for it.

But if I didn’t get away from my captors, I’d never have that. What I knew Anaya had with her mates. Because this man was still my enemy and I would do well not to forget it.

Dimitri’s breath was still harsh, and I could see a battle raging behind those eyes of his. His gaze fell lower, to my breasts, and I knew he was admiring me the same way I had been admiring him, despite my fear of him.

A fear that was rapidly fading in the wake of this other feeling I couldn’t shake.

I couldn’t deny it. Just as they’d said the night before, if he wanted to hurt me, he already would have. Moments ago, he had my throat in his tiger teeth. And now, with no clothing between us, he could have me if he so chose.

“You know,” Dimitri finally spoke, the desire in his eyes swirling with warning as his nostrils flared, “I’ve always liked a good hunt. I’ll deny it to my dying breath to the others, but I was half hoping you would run, Princess. The view alone was worth the struggle. That’s the first and last time, though. Next time, you’ll pay for trying to escape me.”

His crude words shot me back to reality and I struggled beneath him.

“Stop playing games with me,” I growled. I was tired of being afraid. I was tired of being treated like a toy.

“Seems like you’re the one playing games. You act as if you hate me, but your body says something else entirely.”

He flexed his hips, and I bit my lip hard to swallow a groan as his thick member ground against my pelvis.

Dear god, that felt good.

“Dream on,” I managed, cursing the breathless quality of my voice. “I-If you wanted me not to hate you, you shouldn’t have kidnapped me. You shouldn’t have bound me in a collar like a wild animal and-”

“Still playing hard to get, are we?”

“Not hard to get,” I spat, “impossible to get. It will be a cold day in hell if I ever respond to you.”

“Well then, Princess, you’d better get a coat, because I can assure you that day is coming.”

Dimitri winked before he climbed off of me and got to his feet. He held out a hand to pull me up, which I slapped away.

I stood on my own and brushed twigs and branches out of my hair. I knew he was still staring at my naked body. I covered myself with my arms as best I could and forced my eyes to remain level with his. I was scared that if I looked down I might never look away.

Dimitri arched an eyebrow. “It’s a long walk back, Princess. You not even going to try to steal a glance? Just a little one?” He held his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart teasingly. “I won’t blame you. Besides, I’ve seen all of you, might as well make it even. And, might I add, all of you is pretty amazing.”

I swallowed and lifted my chin higher, wishing my pulse would stop pounding in my ears.

“Suit yourself,” Dimitri said, grabbing me by the upper arm and turning me back around again.

As he walked me back to the stream to retrieve our clothes, I fought off the swirling feeling of excitement in my belly. Was I seriously attracted to Dimitri? To one of my captors?

It was wrong and I knew it, but I was powerless against it. My body called to him like a bird to the sky. Just the touch of his hand on my arm was electric.

Guilt washed over me in one, massive wave.

How could I be having feelings like this when my sister was surely worried about me? She would have no idea where I was, or who had taken me. She would be terrified, as I would be if our roles were reversed. As I had been when she and her suitors had disappeared, abandoning their posts to overthrow the tyrannical Sebastian Du Monde.

The hot sting of tears came, and I prayed that Dimitri wouldn’t look over at me and see me crying. I didn’t want his attention. I wanted to be alone. I wanted to cry until there was nothing left.

I continued walking, planting one foot in front of the other, tears streaming down my face, until we reached the water’s edge. We waded in and crossed it. I dipped my head under to wash away the tears.

The iron collar was sitting in the grass when we got out of the water. We dressed, not speaking to one another, and then he turned to face me as I did up the lacing at the front of my tunic. He stooped and plucked the collar from the ground.

“When you’re ready,” he said. His voice was gentler than usual.

I bit my bottom lip and turned around, lifting my hair for him to put the collar on. It clicked closed and the weight around my shoulders was immediately uncomfortable. I stepped away from him and started walking back to camp, and towards the others, as if nothing had happened.

Dimitri followed, his footsteps silent behind me.

My escape attempt had failed but my resolve to get away had strengthened tenfold. Because now, not only did I have to fear what my captors might do, I also had to fear what I might do.

God and my Queen forgive me.