Tributes

Chapter Fourteen

Tyreol walked into the common room and smiled lightly at the scene. His four tributes were curled up together on the rug in front of the fire, sleeping peacefully. An open book upside down beside Julia where it had fallen when she had fallen asleep. A book of myths, he noticed idly, a tug of his awareness looking at the old tome. Julia was the only one who could read properly at the moment. Silas and Abel had known their basic letters but nothing past that. Kayden seemed pleased with their abilities given their ages but the man had only been tutoring them a few days. 

As for Paul, the boy had no chance. It made Tyreol burn inside what the child had been through, but there was nothing he could do other than try to ensure the damage was fixed. Tyreol was not unaware that Paul had taken to curling up with the twins at night, much like he was currently.  The twins curled either side of Paul, Silas playing a big spoon while Abel played the small. It was sweet. It did also seem to be keeping Paul's nightmares away so Tyreol kept his mouth shut about it. No point disturbing the boy if it helped him. 

Tyreol pulled himself away from the scene and walked to the currently locked door. The reason he was there was not to gawk at his tributes. He had received a new one. And this one hadn't been cooperative. 

Especially when it came to having his private parts locked away. Something Tyreol insisted for all of the older tributes until he had been with them. Julia wore hers with grace. The twins and Paul were far too young for a chastity belt and Tyreol felt uncomfortable with the idea of getting them to wear one until they were at least full-grown, or more likely, interested in sex. That was always a delicate matter to deal with when he took on younger tributes. Paul was verging on the age he had put some of his previous tributes in a belt but things were complicated with him. If possible Tyreol would prefer just to have people keep an eye on the boy rather than make him potentially live through more trauma. 

Exhaling, Tyreol cleared his mind of those thoughts. That wasn't for now. He could only hope that the man would accept his new place in life quickly. It would be nice to have someone he could actually play with. 

Only, it seemed fate was not yet being kind. Walking into the room, Tyreol growled viciously as he had to block a hit. Grabbing the man's wrists, he glared at his new pet before throwing him to the other side of the room with a heavy thump. This was no lean teenager. This was a fully grown man with muscles and mass to prove it. 

"That was not smart," Tyreol rumbled dangerously, taking in the human as he pushed himself on to his hands and knees. The man glared up at him, defiance and fight in every thrumb of his body. A short but distinctly rough cut of blonde hair. Dark green eyes. Muscles that suggested heavy work. Tyreol's inner wolf grinned. This one would be fun once he had the man tamed. Problem was, this was not the time. "Stand!" Tyreol ordered angrily, more than a little annoyed at having been attacked by the human.

Not all of his tributes accepted the idea easily, but most showed him some form of respect. It had been a while since he had a fighter. That was not a good thing. Tyreol wasn't concerned at his own welfare, a human could do very little to harm him, even with magic. The concern was Tyreol could seriously harm the man if his instincts were allowed out. His instincts were already demanding that he teach the man his place. Only. His eyes flashed back to the doorway, where his now awake tributes were watching. Abel and Paul looked very pale, Julia and Silas just looked cautious. Taking a deep breath, Tyreol pulled his instincts in, not wanting to scare them any more.