The next morning, Soraya awoke with a headache pulsing behind her eyes and an annoying throbbing between her thighs, making her groan. Rolling over, she blindly reached for her nightstand drawer and pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen and her favorite vibrator.

She dry-swallowed the little pills before clicking on her purple silicone toy and laying the thick head against her clit, just the way she liked it. The sound of an electrical buzz filled the room, mingling with her stilted breath. Eyes closed against the sunlight pouring through her window, and she focused on the pleasure pooling low in her stomach. She lay there with her legs bent as she tried to reach her orgasm quickly when the unbidden memory of Tariq on top of her, pushing into her, filtered through her mind. Her release was instant.

Her body locked up as the intensity of her orgasm ripped a gasp from her throat. She lay in bed, shocked at her body’s reaction, before shaking it off. Forcing herself to get out of bed, she cleaned up before throwing on her robe and heading to the kitchen for a much-needed glass of water.

She nursed a cup of filtered water, willing the throbbing behind her eyes to disappear when a rotten smell reached her. She covered her nose, looked at the empty trash bin, and determined the smell was coming from somewhere else. Following the smell of rotting leaves, she threw open their communal bathroom door.

Soraya crouched down and opened the cabinet under the sink and was immediately overwhelmed. Using the crook of her elbow, she covered half her face and peered into the dark corner of the cabinet where something was growing on the wall. It was black mold.

Stupid old student dorms. She would have to make a report to housing to get it fixed right away. She needed her phone to make the request.

Back in her room, she found her phone lying on her desk and let out a sigh when she discovered it was dead. After plugging it in to charge, she went to her closet to throw on some clothes. She pulled out a shirt that felt too scratchy and hung it back up before grabbing a pair of jeans that felt too coarse under her fingertips. Smacking her lips in annoyance, she soon realized all of her clothes felt the same way. Frustrated, she threw a pair of leggings she was holding back into the closet when her eyes snapped to the bag of new clothes she got yesterday lying by the foot of her bed.

A couple of minutes later, Soraya stepped out of her room dressed in a pair of comfy new jeans and a plain white shirt.

She looked over to Jesmine’s closed door when the events of last night struck her. Soraya cursed under her breath; she hadn’t thought about Jesmine until now. Ahvi was supposed to be watching her.

She looked across from her room to see Ahvi’s door cracked open, revealing an empty room with the bed perfectly made.

With an annoyed sigh, she walked over to Jesmine’s door. Ahvi better hope Jesmine didn’t choke on her own vomit. Otherwise, Soraya would have to hunt Ahvi down and kill her for neglecting their friend.

Knocking softly, she heard a gurgled moan come from the other side of the door. Taking that as an invitation, Soraya opened the door to reveal a groggy Jesmine. Laying on her bed with her arm thrown over her face, she mumbled something incoherent.

“Good morning to you too, love bug,” Soraya cooed with relief. Glad to see her friend awake and somewhat coherent. “You had me scared last night, ass. How do you feel today?”

Kicking off her bedcovers, Jesmine dramatically threw her arm over her head and tossed her face to the side. “Like I’m dying.”

Chuckling, Soraya lowered herself to the edge of the bed before becoming serious. Eyeing the nature poster hanging up on her wall, she asked, “Do you want to talk about last night?”

Jesmine closed her eyes and shook her head. “I actually don’t remember last night,” she said with a frown.

“That tends to happen when you drink yourself stupid,” Soraya admonished. “On a Tuesday night, too. Is there something going on with you I should know? Does it have to do with those men you met at the bar—you can tell me anything you know.”

Jesmine groaned again and turned onto her side. “Stop your nagging, woman. I’m fine, other than dying from a massive migraine, I’m the picture of health.”

Soraya pinched her lips together. If Jesmine didn’t want to talk, she knew very well there was nothing she could do to get her to speak. It was high school all over again. The dream she’d had last night popped into her mind—a memory from a time near their senior year, a particularly rough time she had no business bringing up now.

Soraya closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. “Alright, keep your secrets. But I think you should stay put for today. Don’t see those men either.” Soraya was quick to notice she didn’t deny seeing them last night. “You need to rest.”

Jesmine nodded. “That’s the plan.”

“Do you need me to call you off of work?”

“Nope.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Do you want breakfast? I can go pick up something.”

Jesmine squinted at her.

“What?” Soraya frowned.

“You do realize it’s dinner time and not breakfast, right?”

Shocked, Soraya stared at the time Jesmine was showing her on her phone. It was around six in the evening.

“Looks like we both slept in today. Were you drinking last night?” she mocked.

Soraya shook her head, perplexed she slept for over fifteen hours.

Jesmine noted the distress on Soraya’s face and was quick to say, “You haven’t been sleeping right for the past couple of days. Understandably so, might I add,” she said with a wink. “Your body must be catching up on some sleep. No big deal.”

Soraya nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah, that must be it.”

“But you should definitely get us some food,” Jesmine yawned. “It will definitely help us.”

Soraya snorted. “Uh-huh. I’m sure it will.”

“Good. Bring me back something tasty and save the receipt. I will stay here and guard the fort.” Jesmine burrowed further into her blankets while Soraya rolled her eyes.

Leaving Jesmine in her blanket burrito, Soraya went to her room to pick up her phone. She saw several missed calls from work and quickly sent an apology to her boss, explaining that she was sick and wouldn’t be in tomorrow either. Then, she texted Ahvi, asking for the name of the restaurant she’d gotten food from the other night before heading out the apartment door.

“Come on, Ahvi. I’m starving, pick up.” Soraya said to her phone.

Walking along the sidewalk during golden hour, with cars passing by on the busy street, she was determined to find the restaurant Ahvi had introduced her to. Soraya couldn’t remember the name and had been trying to contact Ahvi for the past twenty minutes with no success. At this rate, she was going to starve, and Jesmine would waste away in bed.

On top of that, her frustrating libido was acting up again, as if her quick release less than an hour ago hadn’t been enough. She could feel wetness pooling in her underwear at an increasingly uncomfortable rate.

She sighed into her mask the shopkeeper had given her for free. It really helped to keep out the smog and other nasty smells she’d been dealing with for the past couple of days. At least she had that.

As she turned the corner to head down an alley for a shortcut, Soraya was relieved from the noise of traffic until she heard voices up ahead. Walking into the alley out of a side door, three men chatted with one another.

Walking closer to the wall, she kept her eyes forward, picking up her pace. They were good-looking men, but trouble can come from anywhere.

Just as she was about to pass them, one of them sniffed the air. “Hey, wait a second, cutie. Where do you think you’re going?”

Choosing to ignore them, Soraya kept walking, but a hand suddenly gripped her elbow and yanked her around roughly. Her heart jumped into her throat at the abruptness. She tried to jerk her arm free, but the man’s mouth twisted into a cruel grin when she couldn’t.

Keeping her voice level, she commanded, “Let me go, or I’ll call the cops.”

She was going to call them regardless, but she needed to scare them off first.

The other two men flanked their friend, standing behind him on either side. Smirking down at her, the man holding her arm laughed callously. “Call out to them, sweetheart. Your warriors won’t be able to hear.”

Warriors?

Her heart pounded harder against her ribcage at the strange phrasing. It wasn’t a good sign that they weren’t scared of her calling the cops. Even if she managed to call them—then what?

“Okay, you can take my wallet. But you have to let go of me first so I can get it,” she said, annoyed, trying to mask her fear with indifference.

“Oh, we’re not here for your money,” he sneered.

“She’s fucking terrified,” the goon on the right snickered.

“Gods, human fear really does something for me,” the one on the left muttered, grabbing at his pants. To Soraya’s horror, he adjusted his hardening dick.

This was about to get very bad, very quickly.

Before she could open her mouth to scream, the man holding her slammed her against the concrete wall. Stars burst in her vision, and her breathing sounded muffled in her ears. The bastards’ laughter echoed distantly, even though they stood right in front of her.

She tried to open her mouth to scream again, but a hand clamped down over her lips, silencing her. She struggled wildly, which only made them laugh harder. Even with her muffled cries, no sound escaped loud enough to draw help. Her heart hammered violently in her chest.

“Can you smell that?” One creep said to another.

“Yeah, she smells ripe and ready.”

Soraya did not like the sound of that.

Gathering her waning strength, she drove her knee into the groin of the man holding her. A guttural grunt escaped his lips, and she took her chance, bolting down the alley.

Before she made it far, a hand seized her by the back of her hair and yanked hard, pulling her off her feet. She slammed back into his chest, and despite her desperate, hoarse cry, her struggles were in vain.

Then, suddenly, the man let her go.

Stumbling forward, her hair in her eyes, Soraya whirled around to face her attacker head-on. Her gaze darted around the alley, her breath ragged and chest heaving.

There was no one there.

The alley was empty.

Straining her ears for retreating footsteps, all she could hear was the blare of a car horn from the street beyond.

“Are you alright?” A calm voice asked behind her.

Jerking around, Soraya took a stumbling step back as her eyes landed on a broad chest. Her gaze traveled up, and up, and up until she had her head tilted back to meet the eyes of a very attractive stranger. She was looking at a man who was easily twice her height, and he was gazing down at her with gentle, deep-set eyes that seemed to pull her in. With her wildly beating heart, she also noted his high cheekbones and full lips. His long blond hair was pulled back, away from his elegant face. Tucked below his mouth and in the corners of his eyes, she could see hints of roughness that had her taking another step back.

Soraya wasn’t sure if her reaction was because she had just been assaulted by three men or if the stranger himself exuded such a quiet power that it left her feeling thoroughly intimidated.

His eyes softened further. “I’m Alkimos of Lunosis. May I help you, fierce one?”