He shrugged mentally. Let them, then! Many would envy him his prize; for certainly none among the women of the tribe was half so fair. He hoped that between now and the time Dylara and he arrived home, she would prove more tractable. Were she to repulse him in front of the others.... He dropped the thought as though it were white-hot.
An hour later he descended at the edge of a small natural clearing. A spring bubbled in one corner, and beside it the girl was lowered to her feet. The man and the girl knelt to drink, then sat up.
Tharn glanced at her, and grinned when she promptly turned her back. She was angrily rubbing her wrists to restore the circulation his strong grasp had partially cut off.
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded, her head still turned away.
"To my caves and my tribe," Tharn replied. "You shall be my mate. Someday I shall be chief."
The quiet words brought the beautiful head quickly around, and the girl glared at him hotly.
"I would sooner mate with Gubo, the hyena!" she snapped.
Tharn's grin required effort. "I think not," he said calmly. "I will be good to you. You shall have the finest skins to warm you, the best food to eat. Your cave will be large and light, and no one will tell you what to do. Except me, of course," he added slyly.
She searched wildly for a telling retort. "I—I hate you!"
Tharn met the angry eyes with a serenity he secretly was far from feeling.