"Tim's going to marry me. Or at least he thinks he will."
Silence.
"If I'm married, we can't do this anymore."
Silence. A prim sniff.
"Have sex."
More of the same.
"Do --"
"Shut up, Miela. I do not bring you here to talk. I bring you here to sate my urges, nothing more. You speak of this Tim as if I should know who he is. I do not. You speak of marriage with hope in your voice."
Bruten gave her a look, eyes dark in the dim of the den.
"Do not fill yourself with false hopes, Miela. I will never marry a thrall. You will never be my wife. Once you are married, I will find another thrall to rut upon. The hybrid does nicely; she cannot have children, and so I do not need to worry about unwanted cubs."
Bruten had always been very careful with Miela. She was cunning, and he would not put it past her to attempt procuring his cubs in her belly in hopes of being his wife. He would not claim her cubs even if they were his beyond a shadow of a doubt. She was not the smartest lioness, but she was willing and eager, and that was enough for Bruten.
"I have no time for silly things, emotions, or females. I do not have time for a wife or children. I certainly have no time for your simpering and stupidity."
Bruten ignored the horrified look Miela gave him, rolling to his feet with a low grunt. He'd likely insulted her, but he didn't care. She was worthless, a thrall and an outlander, good only for sex.
Miela let out a low sound, moving to her feet. His words were hurtful, but he was not the nicest male. He certainly didn't love her, though perhaps once upon a time she'd fancied him. He was a fine male, and the Warlord's son, and so when he'd turned his attention to her she'd been over the moon. Miela hadn't hesitated in allowing him to do what he wished (and she'd convinced herself that she was allowing him to take her).
"I will leave." The words were not spoken as a threat, but instead filled with resignation. He had taken her down a peg, and Miela had to wonder why she'd ever thought there might be a possibility of more. She knew he had high aspirations, hopes of someday becoming a Reaver and then Captain. Perhaps it had been foolish of her to dream of being a Captain's wife. She knew that Tim did not have these aspirations. He survived day to day; his whole family was a little strange, but he was good lion that worshipped the ground she walked on. There was a sudden pang of guilt, and Miela struggled to stifle it.
"Stay."
Bruten's voice took on a silky edge, and he approached her only to rest his head against her hindquarter. Miela closed her eyes briefly before glancing back at him. His eyes were dark and full of need, despite the fact they'd only finished tumbling about the floor of his den.
"I'll stay."
She cursed herself for being so weak.
---
She woke up fighting tears. Emotion clogged her throat, but Miela did not cry. It was earth-shattering, really, how she really felt about Bruten. He was not handsome, he was not likable, but there was an intensity about him that drew her. Perhaps, too, she was drawn to the fact that he had plans to climb the social ladder. He'd never discussed it with her, but thralls in the pride did so love to talk.
"If you cry, I will beat you, Miela."
His tone was serious, and Miela had little doubt that the words he spoke were the absolute truth.
He'd allowed her to get too close to him. Bruten knew it to be true. He did not even particularly enjoy the company of the lioness, but other thralls tended to weep when he took them, and it was something that he could not stomach. He did not approve of those who might take a thrall against their will. For this very reason he did not like Kjar, despite the fact that the Thrallbreaker was quite skilled at what he did.
No, Miela had always been welcoming and warm, despite her motivations behind it. He knew what others said about him. He knew, and he didn't care. His strange eyes, his large size, his inherent cruelty, his lack of concern over what others might think of him. Bruten did not care. It was what it was, just as Bruten was what he was.
"You try my patience." He reached out with a broad paw and struck Miela across her haunch, causing the female to rise to her feet with a loud cry. "Leave. I will never call for you again. Marry your freeborn outlander. Have his cubs." Bruten rolled to his feet with a low, warning hiss. "I am finished with you, Miela. For all time."
Miela was not able to hold back the sob that had been lodged in her throat, and it broke free from the lioness with a painful-sounding cry. She lurched forward without a word, and took her leave.
She'd been so foolish. An idiot. Why she'd ever thought that Bruten might take her to wife, Miela would not know. She would do as he'd said. She would marry Timorien, and she would be a happy wife despite the fact that Tim was a little odd. Perhaps with the proper grooming, she could train him to be what she wanted him to be. A Reaver. A Captain. Something other than what he was. That thought soothed Miela's wounded ego, and she did not look back as she scurried out of Bruten's den.
Bruten did not bother watching the female leave. She was foolish, and he did not have time for foolish females.
Moving towards the mouth of his den after a few moments, Bruten stretched before making his way to the sands. A spar seemed like the best way to relieve any irritations that currently plagued him.
WC: 1025
