Kailin's Keeper

Trigger warning: Violence, blood

OooO Bump in the Road OooO

For what seemed like a long time, Kailin stared at the sooty little pile of evidence by the fire pit; all that was left of his and Lukin’s official bonding license. Burning Suns, there was no way Lukin would believe he had reduced it to ashes by accident. Rek, he wouldn’t even have believed it himself if he hadn’t just done it.

The horizon was starting to lighten to violet. The suns would dawn soon. Lukin would wake any minute now.

On cue, he heard the flaps on the tent rustling and looked over to see Lukin’s head and shoulders appeared in the opening. “Kailin?” The dominant’s eyes scanned the environment before zoning in on the prince next to the fire. “Kailin, what are you doing?”

The loudly called words stirred Zaks. Captain V’Ox woke on his bedroll by the fire, leaning up on his elbows. Running a hand over his scarred face, Zaks rubbed his eyes, scrubbing the sleep from them. “Wha -?”

Kailin shook his head minutely, “Don’t ask.”

“Kailin…” Impatient, Lukin started to get up and step out of the tent.

“Uh, maybe you should go take a walk.” Kailin spoke quietly to Zaks. The coming confrontation with Lukin wasn’t one he wanted an audience for.

Zaks pushed his blanket off, standing up. His huge body dwarfed the prince’s. The captain angled that big body so Lukin couldn’t see his expression. He stared down Kailin, a faint glimmer of concern in his muddy eyes. “Everything okay, Your Excellency?”

“Kailin!” The name came out sharper this time. Kailin and Zaks both looked over to Lukin. He was a few feet from the tent, hands patting down his jacket, searching for something.

Uh-oh, Kailin fidgeted. Well, apparently it hadn’t taken him long to realize the licence was missing.

“Your Excellency…” Zaks said the title with a probing tone, sharp gaze sliding from Kailin to Lukin. Maybe some part of the submissive drive included the intuition of knowing when other submissives were in trouble with their dominants, Kailin mused bleakly.

“No, go ahead, take a walk. It’s fine,” Kailin insisted. He forced a small smile, at odds with his next words, “In fact, consider it an order.”

Zaks nodded, but didn’t look all that enthusiastic about it. “I will go fill up the canteens again and make sure the trudgers get something to drink. Call if you need me. I will hear.”

Kailin watched the giant walk away. When he turned back, Lukin was in front of him.

“Kailin… where’s the licence?”

“Well…Um…”

“Kailin…” Lukin’s tone made his name seem like a threat.

Automatically, Kailin’s eyes drifted down to the scorched remains in the sand by the fire. Lukin looked, too, and quickly put two and two together.

The commander’s body went rigid with anger, the muscle in his jaw clenched particularly hard. His voice took on a growly, reproachful timbre. “What the rek, Kailin!?”

“I didn’t mean to but, see, I woke up early and I started thinking about so I wanted to look at it, that’s all, but I couldn’t see it that well in the tent!” Kailin barely stopped for a breath, holding his hands out, palms up. His gut twisted guiltily. “I brought it out here to use the light from the fire, but then I heard something. An animal. I got distracted – I thought it might be a longfang – and the paper must have dipped too close to the fire, because the next thing I know it’s up in flames and then it just disintegrated. I didn’t mean to burn it, Lukin, I swear.”

In a quick motion, Lukin’s hands grabbed the blonde’s, each one locking around a wrist. Painfully tight. He had never used corporal punishment on Kailin before. As a keeper, the avenue had been open to him. Many children were chastised by dominant parents or keepers with a swift swat, but he never had because whenever he had considered it, he remembered Kailin as he had first met him – a tiny 4-year-old with watery eyes and welt-marked hands. All the same, at that moment, his muscles tensed with the effort it took to stop from bending the younger man over right then and there and swatting the prince’s pale ass until it was on fire.

As it was, he settled for squeezing each wrist forcefully, glaring down at Kailin. “Bad.”

Kailin recoiled at single, low reprimand. He tried to twist away, but Lukin held him firmly. The dark-haired Arlonite’s hands might as well have been bonding cuffs for all the give they had. Submissive drive churning in his gut, Kailin gulped in air, fiercely resentful. Lukin had snapped the word ‘bad’ at him as if he was naughty pet. “Let me go!”

“No!”

“Lukin, it hurts!”

“Good.”

Kailin tried again to twist his wrists free, almost whining, “I didn’t burn it on purpose…”

Lukin said nothing, just stared at him with that rekking disapproving, authoritative glint in his eyes.

“I didn’t!” Kailin insisted, growing desperate.

“I know you didn’t.”

“Huh?” Kailin blinked at the unexpected response. “You do?”

“Well, you said you didn’t. I can tell when you’re lying and when you’re telling the truth, Kailin. I’ve been able to discern that since you were five and tried to convince me you didn’t have to take baths because of a royal decree.” Lukin rolled his eyes, “Rek, if you had burned it out of spite, I have no doubt you’d just come out and say it.”

“Then why are you so angry?” Kailin questioned. He stopped trying to yank his hands free.

“Because you snuck out the tent while I was still sleeping, when it was still dark. What if you had run into a real longfang? Or worse? What a lovely wake-up call that would have been for me – your screams as you’re mauled.” The dominant drive flared up again, anger and overprotectiveness blending together. “If you wanted to see the license you only had to ask, Kailin. I won’t have my submissive going behind my back and putting himself in danger.”

Kailin frowned up at Lukin, stubbornness overriding good sense. “I’m not your submissive.”

Lukin squeezed his wrists, his eyes turning as black as night.

“But…” Kailin continued, more contrite. “I am sorry for sneaking out the tent, and for burning the stupid paper – even though it was only an accident.”

The apology seemed to do little to appease Lukin, his grip remained tight, crushing around the bones in Kailin’s wrists. Body language distant and dominant.

Kailin’s submissive drive increased his body’s production of adrenaline and cortisol; his heat rate picked up, his anxiety levels rose, his vision narrowed to a tunnel. Whoa…He had always those instincts to please dominants in his life, to feel shame and guilt when displeasing them. This was worse though. Suns, he had heard the urges got more intense with bonding, but he and Lukin weren’t even bonded yet.

Lukin sensed Kailin’s distress immediately. “You’re shaking.”

“Are you…are you going to punish me?!” The question escaped Kailin’s lips before he could think better of it.

After a moment of silence, Lukin responded with perceptiveness, “You want a punishment?”

Kailin recoiled defensively, “No!”

“Maybe that was the wrong question: Do you need a punishment, Kailin?”

Rek, no. But then… he had taken the licence without asking, he had burned it carelessly, he had snuck out of the tent without telling Lukin where he was going…

A punishment would be cathartic. It would quell the guilt the drive was magnifying. It had worked at the manor house when Lukin had tied him up. Just the thought of it made the tight bands of remorse around his chest loosen slightly. Damn his drive. He was not one of those submissives who got off on being disciplined.

At least he had never been before. He had gone out of his way to avoid punishments from his father…and his keepers.

“Even if I wanted a punishment…if…we can’t really go back in the tent with some rope and…you know.” Kailin lowered his voice, flushing hotly with embarrassment that someone might hear them talk about binding.

Something heated and a little ominous glittered in Lukin’s stare, “So you do want it. Need it.”

“Lukin, I just told you…”

“I heard the words coming out of your mouth, Kailin.” Slowly, one finger at a time, he released Kailin’s wrists. “You go see what you can find for breakfast. I’m going to get the men ready to go. Leave the punishment to me.”

“Lukin…”

“Not the time to challenge me, Excellency.”

Kailin fled with a soft, “Yes, Sir.”

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Kailin barely ate any of the stale durpas and dried fruit that was available for breakfast. He felt a little nauseous from a combination of drive-induced guilt for burning the licence and apprehension about Lukin had meant by ‘leave the punishment to me’.

He busied himself by taking down the tent and rolling the bedrolls while the other men finished eating and saddled the trudgers.

When it was time to head out, Lukin lead two trudgers over, one was saddled, the other wasn’t. A rope stretched between them.

Kailin looked at them, with a puzzled frown.

“Your trudger is limping this morning.” Lukin announced. “He might have turned an ankle or have something stuck in his hoof. You’ll have to ride with me today.”

Kailin opened his mouth to tell Lukin he didn’t see anything wrong the trudgers gait, but something in Lukin’s expression stopped him. He responded instead, “Yes, Lukin.”

Lukin gave him an approving nod. The commander tied the bedrolls and tarp to the unsaddled trudger and Kailin mounted up the other one. Satisfied all the supplies were in order, Lukin swung up himself, behind Kailin.

For a moment, Kailin stiffened self-consciously. Then he relaxed slowly when it became clear the other men weren’t paying attention to them. Lukin reached around him for the reins - trapping and surrounding his body. Kailin shuttered softly. Every breath he took pulled the scent of Lukin into his lungs.

Lukin’s broad, solid chest pressed against his back, it felt like leaning back against a solid wall. With a tug of the reins and a soft ‘haa’ vocalization, Lukin started the trudger down the snaking, wind-swept path. The soldiers rode ahead, as scouts, and Zaks stayed in the back of the convoy.

It was dry, sandy scrubland as far as you could see in all directions. So really there was no one to notice when Lukin pulled the extra length of rein from his pocket.

Kailin’s breath caught in his throat as Lukin’s chin pressed down on his shoulder, mouth close to his ear. “Put your hands together in front.”

He did as he was told. His legs were astride the trudger, so his hands rested on the saddle horn between his parted thighs. Lukin looped the leather around his wrists and pulled it tight.

Kailin’s heart pounded. It was…obscene. For Lukin to bind him like this, in the open. For him to let Lukin do it – when they weren’t even a bonded couple! Humiliation flooded him. In a moment of panic, he pulled at the leather.

“Settle.” Lukin’s gruff voice ordered softly in his ear. “Take your punishment.”

Kailin released a muted whimper. What they were doing – it was wicked. If any of the other men were to turn and look they’d see…They’d see what exactly?

Lukin’s arms around him? That was fine. The leather wrapped over his wrists? It might look like he was just holding the reins and steering the trudger, unless they looked closely.

Kailin calmed a little, concentrating on the solidness of Lukin’s body, the leather binding his wrists, making him vulnerable, restricted. He leaned back into Lukin, one vertebra at a time relaxing.

“Good.” Lukin crooned against his ear.

Kailin released a soft breath that was almost a sigh. He was so concentrated on the settling of his drive, he barely acknowledged Lukin’s next words – which was fine, because Lukin said them mainly for his own benefit,

“That’s right, give it up to me. Burning that licence changed nothing.”

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Burning the licence hadn’t changed anything. Even though he knew the truth of the statement, throughout the morning, he was uncomfortable aware of the loss of the physical paper - the reassurance of having it on his person.

Having Kailin seated in front of him was soothing the sting a little. His drive was appeased by the position, arms wrapped around Kailin, one hand on the reins on the trudger, other hand on the leather ties binding his submissive. He gave the second strap a twist, tightening them around Kailin’s wrists. In response, the prince’s head dropped back against his shoulder with a little more weight.

Rek, this could get addicting. He wondered how often they would engage in bondage after they were bonded. Could he convince Kailin to do this every night? Tied in their bed… or out of it. He’d have hooks to hold ropes and chains installed in every single room of their suite just in case.

Those characteristics that defined him as a dominant – the aggressiveness, the arrogance, the possessiveness, the need for control – had always been deep-seated in him. But with Kailin, his drive was different: deeper, darker, unwavering.

Things were different since Kailin’s return. He wasn’t just a dirt-digging soldier, an worthless Arlonite whore.

He was Kailin’s dominant.

And that’s all he wanted to be.

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Dusk was settling, but they were so close to home, it didn’t make sense to set up camp for the night. Kailin, however, was squirming like crazy. They had ridden all day, with only one stop around noon.

The prince was still riding with him, though he hadn’t put the leather ties back on after lunch.

“Do you need another break, Excellency?”

Kailin shook his head slightly, strands of his short blond hair caught in Lukin’s stubble, they were so close. “I’m okay. My leg is just cramping a little. It’ll be fine.”

Lukin whistled, a signal for his men to hold up, guiding the trudger to a stop.

“Lukin, what are you doing? I said it was fine.”

“You’re in pain.” Lukin swung off the mount, boots crunching in the sand. “Taking a small break won’t make a difference.” He held his hands up and helped Kailin down, steadying him when his legs waivered.

V’Ox pulled up beside them. “Commander?”

“Just giving Excellency a moment to stretch his legs, Captain.” Lukin explained briefly.

“Aye, Sir.”

The outrider came galloping back. “Commander, you should see this. Up ahead about a half mile, there’s a turn off. I like it might lead to the perimeter road. If it does, it could shave an hour off the journey home.”

Lukin gave a nod. “I’ll check it out.” He untied the rope leading the second trudger, and swung back up on his mount. “V’Ox, stay with Kailin. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Aye, Sir.” The giant slide off his trudger, holding the reins. Lukin gave Kailin a look before wheeling the mount around and taking off with the outrider.

Alone, Zaks regarded the prince inquiringly, “Everything okay, Your Excellency?”

Kailin nodded, reaching down and rubbing the cramp in his thigh. “I’m okay, but really, if I never see another trudger after today, I’ll be a happy man.”

“Just walk around a bit, get the blood flowing.”

Kailin nodded and did just that, embarrassed that he hobbled a bit.

They should have picked up on the first clue; the trudgers stomped the ground uneasily, letting out nickers and short whinnies. The shadows in the long dried grass flanking the path seemed to move on their own.

Out of the brush prowled four large men. Dark skin and darker hair. Arlonites, Kailin realized. And they were well armed. Three held long blades and the fourth a wicked looking bullwhip.

Like the well trained soldier he was, Zaks moved swiftly to position himself in front of his prince, drawing his own knife.

“Stand aside. Only want him.” The man with the whip pointed to Kailin, speaking a stilted Arathrian dialect.

“Well, that’s not going to happen.” Captain V’Ox stared at them unwaveringly.

“Stand aside.” The man repeated, uncoiling his whip and snapping it against the ground. Dust flew.

“Never.”

The man with the whip charged forward and cracked it, Zak’s arm came up to protect his face, he grimaced but didn’t show another other reaction, which was shocking because Kailin could see the bullwhip wrap over his forearm, his skin split under the lash, blood escaping the welt.

“Zaks!” Kailin cried out in alarm. He tried to move out from behind the captain but Zaks flung an arm out, pushing him back.

The man whipped again and again, Zaks stumbled but held his ground in front of the prince. Arms getting lashed to ribbons as he held his position.

“Zaks, don’t!” Kailin’s cry was frightened, he tried again to help by moving forward.

Again Zaks stopped him, shouting, “Shut up and stay back, Kailin!”

A second man lunged forward. Kailin shouted in alarm, unable to do anything but watch as the second man attacked Zaks with his knife. The captain’s blade clanged as he tried to fight the rebel back.

A third man launched himself into the fight, brutally slamming the handle of his knife against Zak’s head. The huge solider swayed from the blow, eyes rolling back.

“ZAKS!” Kailin’s scream nearly drown out the sound of pounding hooves. A trudger careened past him.

Lukin didn’t even slow it down, jumping from the saddle at full speed, landing between Kailin and the strangers. His dagger was already out.

The men regrouped, leaving Zaks who staggered and collapsed onto the sand.

Lukin faced them fearlessly. “Leave.”

“Pejord!” The man with the whip, the apparent leader, spat. It was the Arlonite word for traitor. “You protect him over your own people.”

Lukin showed no reaction to the man’s words. “Leave. Now.”

The whip-holder, gestured to his men. “Get the boy. Kill the traitor.”

The three men fanned out in a semi-circle, approaching. Like vicious pack-hunting animals, they attacked as one, coming at Lukin from all angles.

Lukin fought hard, and ordinarily, he would be able to dispatch three men in a fight without breaking a sweat. But in this particular battle, he had one glaring weak spot – Kailin. Half of his attention was on the prince. Lukin did manage to drive his dagger into the tallest man.

That man flew back, howling in pain. He staggered several meters and then he crumpled in a heap, blood covering his chest. The other two attackers continued to slash at Lukin, undeterred.

Terrified, Kailin started to run forward.

“Stay back!” Lukin’s yell ended in a grunt as he deflected another hard blow.

Kailin skidded to a stop near the fallen man. Lukin had given him an order, but no way under the Burning Suns could he stand by while those rebels tried to kill Lukin. He had to do something to help Lukin, he had to.

Something gleamed to his left. Something from the dead man’s chest. Burning Suns, Lukin’s dagger! Kailin could see it catch the light of the setting suns. He was unarmed, but with the dagger he might be able to do some damage.

He just needed to get to it.

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Standing on his tip toes, Kailin peeked up on the counter. His keeper was in the living area, and Kailin was supposed to be sleeping, but he couldn’t. He had a bad dream about a white-furred monster with hundreds of needle sharp teeth under his bed.

Ah, there it was.

He had seen Lukin take the dagger off earlier, leaving it on the counter to sharpen.

Lukin had warned him away from the jagged metal blade several times in the past, and had staunchly refused Kailin’s every plea to hold it. But the six-year-old knew there was no way that any monster would dare come out if he was armed like his keeper usually was.

He reached up onto the counter over his head, but the dagger was pushed back too far to grasp. Undeterred, Kailin pulled a chair over to the counter and climbed up on it. Small fingers grabbed for the unadorned, leather wrapped hilt.

“Kailin K’Or! What are you doing!?”

Kailin jumped at the bellowing yell, wobbling on the chair.

Lukin came in from the other room, with a furious expression. “I’ve told you not to touch that!”

The little boy froze, head turned to watch his teenage keeper approach. Lukin reached around him and snatched the dagger up to slide it back into the holster at his waist.

Strong hands grabbed under Kailin’s armpits and lifted him off the chair, setting him down on the ground. The white socks he wore matched his pajamas, but they offered little protection against the cold floor.

“But…I needed it, Luk.”

His keeper brushed a hand back through his black hair, clearly aggravated. “You needed it?”

Kailin nodded solemnly.

“Needed it for what?” Lukin dropped down to one knee to face Kailin face-to-face.

Throwing himself against the warmth of his keeper’s chest, a small sob escaped Kailin’s mouth, “Monsters.”

Heaving a sigh, Lukin collected the little boy in his arms and stood up. “There are no monsters in this suite.”

“Yesthereare.” Kailin mumbled into his shoulder.

Lukin carried him back to bed, setting him on the covers. Then the 18-year-old dropped to his belly on the floor. He checked under the bed. He checked the wardrobe, the toy chest, the balcony. He checked every square inch of the room under Kailin’s watchful gaze. Finally he spread his arms wide, slightly exasperated, “See, no monsters.”

“Well, no. Not when you’re here.” Kailin pouted. “They don’t come out when you’re here.”

“Then you don’t need the dagger, Kailin, because I will always be here.” Lukin pulled a chair out from the small desk by the door and turned it around so the back was against the wall. He sat down, stretching his legs out and crossing them at the ankles lazily, hands resting on his stomach as he slouched, settling in for a long night.

“You’ll stay the whole night?” Kailin implored.

“Not going anywhere.”

Kailin crawled under the covers and yawned, eyes drifting closed at once. He didn’t need the dagger. Not when he had Lukin to keep the monsters away.

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Moving slowly to avoid drawing attention to himself, Kailin crept closer to the fallen man. He wrapped his hand over the hilt of the dagger and uprooted it from of the dead man’s body. He held it close to his side protectively.

“Give me the knife, boy.” It was the man with the whip. He was approaching Kailin from the other side.

Kailin heard Lukin roared in fury, but there was nothing the commander could do to protect Kailin from the man; he was too busy fighting the other two Arlonites, and he was too far away.

“Give it to me. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

There was something telling about the way the man said it that caught Kailin’s attention. He glanced up; the man was advancing slowly, as if Kailin was a skittish animal, his whip at his side.

The man was dominant. Kailin processed that in an instant. And he apparently sensed that Kailin was submissive and was coddling him instinctively. That was good. He could use that.

He hunched his shoulders, trying to make himself appear smaller, more helpless. “P...please, Sir. Don’t hurt me.”

He man stepped closer and Kailin let out a fearful little squawk, making a show of flinching back. “P…please, I’ll do whatever you want.” He looked up then, keeping his lashes lowered, his eyes timid and pitiable, his lips soft and slightly parted, his head tilted slightly to the side. Submissive posturing.

The man leered and practically licked his lips.

That’s right, just a harmless submissive. Kailin forced himself not to move as the man stepped closer, forced himself not to look over at Lukin either, though he could hear the man yelling.

“Just give me the knife before you hurt yourself, submissive.”

Kailin nodded slowly, obediently. He reached out with the dagger, Lukin’s dagger, holding it deliberately clumsily; the blade loose in his hand, turned in slightly.

He man leaned in to take the blade and as his arm reached out leaving his middle exposed, Kailin lunged forward into the space.

He stabbed the dagger into the man’s gut. The man yelled and twisted, trying to get a hold on Kailin, blood sprayed from his wound.

Knowing his life and probably Lukin’s depended on it, Kailin fought. Stabbing and tearing with the knife until the man wheezed, blood sputtering from his lips.

The man went down into the sand and Kailin sprang away. Wasting no time, he spun and ran towards Lukin and the two men on top of him. One man was poised bring his heavy boot down on Lukin’s head.

Kailin launched himself onto that man’s back, plunging the dagger in; stabbing down under the shoulder blade. The man roared, staggering back. He fell, or threw himself back on the ground. Slamming Kailin between him and a boulder in an effort to knock Kailin off. The full weight of the man forced the air out of Kailin’s lungs, trapping him.

There was an inhuman cry from behind them. The sound of a body hitting earth and then the man on top of Kailin was being hauled up. Kailin’s saw Lukin’s hands grab the man’s head and wrench, breaking the rebel’s neck with a sickening crack.

Kailin scrambled up, dagger still clutched in his hand. Pain radiated from his back and chest. It hurt to breath. He had never felt pain like that before.

The blood-spattered blade was shaking. He was shaking he realized.

Bodies littered the ground all over the clearing. Lukin must have dispatched the other man.

He was responsible for one of the bodies, too, Kailin realized, seeing the whip-wielder lifeless form on the ground. He had killed someone…and now he was going to pass out. Was he weird he could feel it coming? Light headed, the terrible pain was fading, his muscles slackening.

He felt the dagger slip from his fingers. But that was okay, because Lukin was there now. Lukin wouldn’t let the monsters hurt him.

He slumped back on the ground, hearing Lukin call his name in the distance.

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Lukin pushed his rage down. It wouldn’t do Kailin or himself any good. He needed to be calm.

He checked Kailin’s pulse; the beat was a little fast, but steady and strong under his fingers. His colour was horrible though, his pale gold skin was ashen and clammy.

“Come on, Kai, open those eyes for me,” he coaxed urgently.

He heard stamping of trudger hooves and looked up, grabbing the dragger off the ground in the same motion.

Thankfully, it was his own men – the outriders coming back – and not friends of the rebels on the ground.

The soldiers took in the scene with abject horror, reaching for their own weapons automatically.

“The immediate danger is over.” Lukin took charge immediately. “Though we don’t know if there are others in the area, so remain alert. P’Os, check on the captain. His injuries are sever, just try to stem the blood loss and get him ready to travel. N’Iv, I want you to take care of the rebels. Ensure they are dead, and check for anything they have on them that might tell us who they are.”

Kailin whimpered then, distracting him. He looked down in time to see the prince’s lashes fluttering, big, aqua eyes opening up.

“There you are.”

Kailin look up blearily, trembling from the pain, “Lukin…Are you okay?”

Lukin waved off his numerous contusions and cuts. “Surface wounds. Most of the blood isn’t my own.”

Kailin leaned back on an elbow, trying to sit up despite the pain radiating through his ribs. “And Zaks?”

“He’s still breathing.”

“I…” The pain took away Kailin’s breath. Lukin watched tears well up in his eyes.

“Kailin?”

“My ribs…”

Lukin’s deft fingers probed his torso. Kailin let out a pathetic moan, his stomach rolling and threatening to expel its contents.

“I don’t think they’re broken, just cracked.” Lukin announced.

Kailin nodded, trying to be stoic, but truth was the pain was almost overwhelming.

“I’m going to get some blankets to use as bandages.”

“No!” Kailin voice broke from the pain. He wheezed out the rest, “We should get home as soon as possible. Get Zaks help.”

“You’re not riding with those ribs. We’ll get you patched up and go.”

Moving quickly, Lukin found a blanket on the back of a trudger and used his dagger to rip it into strips. He dropped down to his knees in the sand by Kailin, supressing the pain of his own injuries, which, despite what he had told Kailin, were rather extensive.

“This is going to hurt,” Lukin warned grimly. Though probably not the most comforting thing to say, he couldn’t lie to Kailin about it. It was going to hurt.

Kailin nodded, his eyes were unfocused. Lukin slowly pulled Kailin`s shirt up, revealing his trim waist and torso. Already the skin was turning a mottled pattern of reds and purples. Kailin gasped as the movement shifted his ribs. His hands were balled into fists, quivering.

“I’m just going to wrap your ribs,” Lukin explained, “To stabilize them for the ride. Hold your shirt out of the way.”

Kailin did as he was told, letting out another slow hiss of pain.

Lukin started winding the fabric around Kailin’s chest, noting grimly this wasn’t the sort of bondage activity he had expected to engage with Kailin that that day.

When it was all done, Lukin carefully helped Kailin straighten his shirt back in place over the bandages and lifted Kailin up onto his trudger, mounting behind him, signalling the others to move out.

Zaks was riding with one of the other men. He was still in and out of consciousness, breathing laboured. The solider, P’Os, had wrapped Zaks’ arms in makeshift bandages to try and stop the bleeding, but the gashes there and over his right brow were still weeping blood. It wasn’t ideal, but it was best they could do without a hospital or a real doctor.

“Lukin…” Kailin’s voice was reedy, Lukin had to duck his head closer to hear.

“Yes?”

“I…I’m sorry I burned it.” The licence no doubt. “And I’m sorry about the dagger.”

“The dagger?” Lukin asked in surprise.

“I know I’m not supposed to touch it.” The words were mumbled, Lukin doubted Kailin even knew what he was saying.

“Well, seeing as how you saved yourself, and you saved me.” And Kailin had, his gorgeous, brave, strong submissive. “I guess I’ll just have to forgive this once.”

Kailin grimaced, the rough jostling of the trudger’s gait was excruciating. “You can…you can punish me later if you want.” With that, Kailin passed out. It was a blessing, Lukin knew, his body’s way of escaping the pain.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of Kailin’s dirt streaked hair, leaving a smudge of blood off his spilt lips. “I’ll keep that mind, Excellency.”

He snapped the reins of his trudger, pushing it just a little bit faster. They could not get back home soon enough.

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OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooO

Sorry for the wait, this chapter was a little bit a struggle for me.
I wasn’t sure about the flashback: originally I had it where it is now, then I changed to go at the end so the flow of the fight wasn’t broken up, and then I changed it back. I know that the flashbacks throw some people off, and I apologise for that, I just like writing them so much :P Maybe once the story ends I’ll post a flashback-free version for those who don’t like them.

Next up: Some recovery, reactions, and rash judgements. We’ll see if Lukin replaces the license and how Kailin will react to his decision. And maybe we’ll meet Zaks’ dominant.

As always, please review if you have a moment, let me know what you think, and enjoy!