Exile Amongst Beasts Ch 03

Author's note: I'm back! Sorry for the year long wait and thank you for your patience! I have at least two more chapters planned, and I hope you're enjoying this series so far! I also might have drawn a little something for this chapter, I'll upload it later. As always, I appreciate your comments and suggestions! Feel free to suggest creatures you want to read about, whether in this series or a stand alone story.

Disclaimer: Rape and non consent/reluctance sex are one of the themes in this series. It is also exclusively either anthro or feral furry male on a humanoid female protagonist. That said, everything written is strictly fantasy and I do not condone any sexual violence.

***

Following Dusk, the jaguar, we headed deeper into the woods. The sheep seemed to weigh as much as a feather with the way he moved, and judging by the way his long tail swung in big arcs, he was in a good mood. Me however, clothes tattered, barely keeping my tail off the ground, looked like I just survived a war. My whole body ached with every step, a slickness ran down my thighs, but I just bit my lip and kept up.

The jaguar's strides were long, and we soon arrived at a small, secluded pond. He gestured for me to jump in, put down the sheep and went to look for the herb he said could prevent pregnancy. For a second, I worried that he might not return, then laughed at myself for having such a thought. If he does return, I will have a partner in crime, for better or worse. If he does not, I have survived this long alone. My instinct told me that the jaguar was trustworthy enough, for a criminal as least. He could have just walked away without a second thought, or worse, finished me off so there was one less competition.

Having settled my mental debate, I quickly took off my clothes and waded into the pond. The water was chilly, and I sighed in relief as it soothed the fatigue and pain. Now alone with my thoughts, I realized that my feelings for the jaguar was mixed, though leaning towards the possitive. I offered a deal for him to spare me, and he honoured it, even though the process was more painful than I hoped. Plus, it wasn't all pain and no pleasure for me, either.

Maybe I even enjoyed the pain a little.

Shaking my head to chase that strange thought away, I finished cleaning up and put my clothes back on behind a tree. When I came back out, Dusk was back with a red flower and some green leafy herbs.

"Chew and swallow both. The leaves will help with the pain. They're save to eat together." He said.

I arched an eyebrow, but did not ask how he knew this, just shoved everything into my mouth and started chewing. My nose immediately wrinkled from the bitterness, but I forced myself to swallow. He then tossed me a green fruit, sat down in the shade and started eating one himself. The fruit was sweet and juicy, which quickly washed away the bitterness.

I joined the jaguar in the shade, at a polite distance. "Thank you." I said.

The jaguar's motion paused for the slightest moment. "No need."

I swallowed, too ashamed to ask my next question, but I must find out for my own peace of mind. "Theoretically, would this herb you just gave me work on already established pregnancy?"

Dusk's ear flickered in surprise. "I'm not sure."

My heart dropped, and my stomach churned. The fear that I have suppressed ever since the night of the full moon resurfaced.

I hope it's a big litter. The alpha wolf's voice rung in my ears.

"But a healer probably does, there's a few on this island." The jaguar continued.

I turned towards the jaguar in shock. At that moment, his yellow fur seemed to be glowing in the setting sun.

"Whatever you want, I'll do it. Just tell me where they are." In my mind, I knew nothing could be worse than forced to carry children I don't want, on an island like this. It would not end well for either of us.

The jaguar flicked his tail, and from what I knew about cats, he was annoyed. He turned to me, narrowing his eyes. "Woman, you need to stop making promises to men you barely know. Besides, I've already accepted your deal to work together. You would have no use to me being six months pregnant."

I could not contain my smile. "Call me Zephyr. I'll make sure you don't regret it."

The jaguar seemed uncomfortable under my intense gaze. He nodded, turned back towards the lake nonchalantly and started explaining what he knew about this island.

To my surprise, there were a few bigger settlements, not quite towns but it all had somewhat permanent residents. They were controlled by various gangs, and one could say those places were more dangerous than out in the wild. Those settlements, however, were a more reliable place to trade, providing you pay a fee to the gang for enforcing order. That was also where Dusk got his short swords forged.

"The authorities let criminals forge and trade weapons?" I asked.

"How else could they solve the over population of criminals on this island?" Dusk replied.

I understood what he meant. Exile was but a slower death sentence out here. The more criminals there were, the bigger the possibility they would cause trouble. Why not let us do the culling ourselves while they stay in their safety and call this a merciful sentence? They might have even helped with supplying things the island did not produce, too. No one was beyond corruption.

Dusk gave me a few moments to process all the information, then started explaining his plan for escape.

Portals from the outside opens in random locations every time, and they would only open when a patrol comes through. The soldiers patrol this island on griffins, so all the portals are in the air. However, Dusk learned that certain corrupt soldiers would split off and trade with the gangs, usually in groups of threes, at a different, predetermined location each time. Obviously, the gangs would not harm these soldiers as they were their only link to the outside world.

"What could the gangs possibly offer the soldiers to trade?" I asked.

"Gold. There's a small gold mine that was discovered long after exiled criminals populated this island. Not big enough for people on the outside to move everyone and mine it themselves, but big enough to be a stable source of income for the gangs."

"And I'm guessing the exchange is where you're planning to strike?" I asked.

The jaguar nodded. "Yes and no. Killing the soldiers won't do us any good. They do, however, each carry a distress beacon, which connects to the other side of the portal. When one is activated, the portal will open, and the cavalry will come. All we need to do is find two sets of soldiers' armours and make sure the calvary sees the gang members along with the dead bodies of their comrades."

I managed to follow his thought process and remembered that the soldier's helmets were entirely enclosed for safety, hiding the face. "And when the fighting begins, we'll replace two of the soldiers. The gang members won't stand a chance, and we can 'go home' victorious along with the others. What if they check our identities immediately before or after we go through the portal?"

Dusk raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You caught on quickly. Tell me, what do you do if your comrade is bleeding and dying, screaming for help? "

"I get them to a doctor immediately." I blinked slowly. "Right, checking our identity probably won't be their priority then."

"Precisely. This is in no way a perfect plan; a lot of things could go wrong, and what happens after we go through the portal is largely dependent on our luck. But this is what I've come up with after gathering information for the past few years." He nodded.

I went over his plan in my head, and could not come up with anything better, especially with how little I knew about this place. "I understand. What do you need me for?"

"Firstly, we need to get you some real weapons. Then, we need the location of the next exchange, without the gang realising or they will change it. You have a bigger chance in succeeding in that. As far as I know, they trade every month or so and the last one happened last week, so we have time. Lastly, we need the soldier's armours. I know who has them but I can't get it alone." He answered.

"Sounds good to me. Where do we get the weapons?" I asked, excited to get started on our great escape.

The jaguar looked at the orange and golden sky. "I know a minotaur blacksmith; he doesn't live far from here. We'll rest tonight and head there tomorrow."

That night we cleaned and skinned the sheep, and Dusk found some herbs to sprinkle on it to cook on the fire. It was beyond delicious. We did not talk much, or bring up the whole ordeal leading up to our partnership, or the fact that this very sheep started all this. Nothing could make people forget their past grievances faster than having a common goal. As we slept under the stars, I missed my little den, but I comforted myself with the fact that if things go well, it will only be a few more weeks of this until I am off this island for good.

The night passed without incident, and thanks to Dusk's herbs, it was painless. I woke up to the first ray of sunlight feeling refreshed, but that only lasted until I tried to get up, and found out that every muscle in my body ached. The jaguar, however, was already up and looked energised as ever. He even made a net from vines to carry the rest of the meat, which we smoked throughout the night. He clearly has it all figured out in the time he has been here.

"Sorry I slept in. How long is the walk?" I yawned, forcing my sore legs to stand up.

"About a day. "The jaguar answered.

And walk we did. Dusk refused the few times I offered to carry the net of meat, perhaps because he could tell from the way I walked that my insides were still raw and aching. We talked here and there, but never anything personal, just details about the plan. The following night was not that different, and I woke up the next morning feeling a lot better, thanks to the dragon's excellent healing abilities.

The blacksmith lived in one of the settlements, a place called Deep Valley. Because it was in a deep valley, I realised when we arrived. You can't expect criminals to be creative. It was not particularly big, only about the size of a bigger village. Dusk stopped before we walked down the hills and into the valley, and pointed to one of the houses on the outskirts, a short distance from here.

"That is where the blacksmith lives. I can't come inside with you, because I recently killed one of his customers, in front of his shop. He is trustworthy enough, as long as you have the gold to pay. Don't wander and you should be fine. Meet me back here once you've made the order. I'll go into the village and get some supplies, it should only take an hour or two." He said as he fished out some gold bits from a small pouch on his belt. It must be the currency of this island, because each gold bit was the same shape and size.

"This should get you two daggers. Your choice of weapon are daggers, correct?"

"Right on. Don't worry, I know how dangerous it is here." I pat the stone daggers on my thighs. They weren't much but they were sharp enough.

Dusk frowned. "Right. Here, take this just in case." He handed me one of his short swords.

I knew the importance of a good weapon, just having it was enough of a deterrent for most. So, I simply accepted and thanked him, and we walked side by side towards the settlement.

Deep Valley was bussing with people of all shapes and forms coming in and out. Humans, dwarves, elves, lizardmen, pigmen, you name it, most of them carrying games or goods to trade. The few female I saw could clearly easily mulch whoever dares to cross them. I soon started drawing attention, but I walked with my head held high and the short sword in hand. My skin crawled from the heated gaze travelling along my body, but I stared right back at them. Showing any weakness could be fatal, as I learned from growing up in slumps not much better than this. If that was not enough, one look from the tall jaguar beside me helped change their mind.

As we approached our destination, bangs made by a hammer smashing on metal grew louder. It came from a shed around the corner, beside the house Dusk pointed to earlier. I stopped us when we were a few steps away.

"I'll be fine." I smiled to Dusk reassuringly.

Stoic as ever, the jaguar just nodded and went on his way. I took a deep breath and rounded the corner towards the half open shed.

The shed and the house it extended upon were surrounded by a short fence. In the shed was a tall, broad-shouldered minotaur working away on the anvil. Like all minotaurs, he had the head of a bull, with an impressive pair of white horns extending forward and curving up, a deep brown mane running down his back, and big hooves. He only wore an apron with trousers, his tail sticking out, and sweat was dripping down the bulging muscles covered by brown fur. Scars adorned his body, signifying his troubled past. He was so focused on his work that he did not see me until I was in front of his gate.

"I'll be right with ya." His voice was deep and booming. I haven't seen a lot of minotaurs, but judging from his voice, he was probably around forty, or the minotaur equivalent of it anyways.

He soon finished up the work on his hand and beckoned me inside. I closed the short gate behind me and put the short sword away on my makeshift belt out of respect. In the meanwhile, the minotaur grabbed a cold, wet towel from a bucket full of water, took off his apron, and started wiping away the sweat and smoke.

"Come inside and take a seat, no need to stand in the sun." He waved at the open door to the house.

I thanked him and confidently walked inside. I trust Dusk's judgement on him. The house was not big, a few weapons of different kinds were mounted on the walls, and there was only a minimal amount of roughly crafted furniture. The room separated by a wall and drape in the doorway was what I assumed to be his bedroom. The minotaur followed me in, and considerately only half closed the door. We sat down at a rectangular table with only two chairs on opposite sides. For a second, I was afraid that the chair wouldn't be able to hold his small mountain of a body.

"So, what can I get ya?" The minotaur asked, his gaze never wandered like the other men outside.

"I'm in need of two daggers. For me." I said as I fumbled with the gold bits in my pocket.

"Absolutely, that will cost you four gold bits, and it will be done in two weeks." He scratched the base of his horn.

I winced. Dusk only gave me three bits, and we did not have that much time. "I was told by one of your past customers that three should be enough. I was also hoping to get it quicker."

"I'm sorry, lady, but the gang controlling Deep Valley recently raised their protection fees. I have to eat too. Ya can go ask around to see if I'm telling the truth. They also made a big order for weapons, so I'm a little backed up." The minotaur said apologetically.

I bit down on my lower lip, and thought about my options. From the way Dusk's money pouch looked, he didn't have a lot of gold left. Besides, ever since I became his partner in crime, he has been the one pulling all the weight, both figuratively and literally. Perhaps I could try my luck with hunting and hope to get enough gold in the next few days. I need these daggers if we are planning to infiltrate a gang base and cause a small-scale war.

The minotaur must have noticed my struggle. "Of course, I don't mean to offend, but a pretty lady like you have more than one way to pay. I could be persuaded to lower my price a little and put your order higher in my list. I can even throw in a set of lockpicks for you. You look like you're good with one." He swallowed but kept his gaze on my face.

I looked up in surprise, and took a few seconds to digest what he was implying. He was right to assume I was better at picking locks and getting into places unnoticed than fighting. I was hoping it didn't have to come to this, but I need to have something to show for myself. If I couldn't even get my own weapons with most of the money given to me, I am not a valuable partner. A person without value will be left behind in a place like this. Who was I kidding. At the end of the day, my body was one of my assets, if I'm willing.

I wonder what it's like to be pounded by a minotaur. My dragon whispered.

Shocked by my own thought, heat rose to me cheeks. I have started calling my deepest desires, my boldest thoughts, and all the primal yearnings I did not know I had as my dragon, since they stemmed from instincts I probably inherited from my dragon father. The minotaur was patiently looking at me, waiting for an answer.

Fuck it.

"You flatter me. I'm no lady. How about you throw in some iron arrows for me as well?" I laughed. I've been called half-breed, monster, mutt, but never a lady. The arrows would be an upgrade for Dusk, which would probably come in handy if our opponent were not just animals.

"Deal. The down payment would be one gold bit." The minotaur nodded.

"Pleasure doing business with you. How soon can you finish everything?" I took out one gold bit and put it on the table.

"Three days." The minotaur took the bit and answered with a hint of a smile. He produced a contract, filled in the deal we agreed upon, to which I read and signed.

"Very well." I put the contract into my pocket and closed the door. It was one of my rules to only make decisions I won't regret, and once I make them, I will fully commit. For some reason, the biggest challenge I had to overcome was the idea of Dusk looking at me differently after he finds out about this deal.

"Would you like to show me to your room? My friend is expecting me to be back in an hour." I had to let him know that I have someone expecting me. You can never be too careful with men, especially ones that could easily crush you.

"I would love to." The minotaur stood up and held the curtain leading to his bedroom open for me. His bedroom did not have much other than a bed, a nightstand, and a wash basin, but it was clean and smelled faintly musky, like him.

I took my weapons off and put them on the nightstand. A furry body radiating warmth came in touch with my back, startling me, but I quickly recovered and turned around.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare ya. I haven't done this in a while." The minotaur backed away slightly.

I laughed nervously. "Don't worry, I've been through worse. I don't do this often either." To fight the lustful nature of dragons, I have always been reserved and careful when it came to sex. Unfortunately, I have made another deal that involved making a man feels good, so I had to show some initiative. I closed the distance and grabbed the minotaur by his waist.

"I belief we have to take your trousers off first." I gently laid my hand on his chest muscles, felt the vibration of his powerful heart pumping in his chest, and slowly slid down until my hand rested on the growing bulge. Gods above, he was big.

The minotaur shivered under my touch, his breath became heavy, and I could almost feel him twitching under my palm. He towered over me, and I could not help but feel small, even though I was on the taller side for females. He loosened his belt, and I helped him get out of the now useless fabrics.

The large cock that sprung out was similar to that of a bull's. It was pink, fading to black near its base, and proportional to the eight feet tall body of his. It was thick, yes, but not as surprising as it was long, which was the length of my forearm and hand combined. It was slightly curving up, narrowed towards the tip, with a pointy head that was the same width as the shaft. Big, heavy testicles, almost the size of my fists, hung beneath in a dark brown sack. I swallowed and wondered if I have bitten more than I could chew.