by Regine Abel
“No, Sen, I am not lost,” I said in a soft voice. “I am here to see Master Belduk.”
“The notary? On your own?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.
“I am expected,” I answered, noncommittally. “With your permission, I should make haste not to be late. It would be improper to have the man wait.”
I’d hoped my wording would mislead him into thinking I meant men plural, as in Master Belduk and my ‘male guardian.’
“Indeed,” he said, pursing his lips, his gaze lingering on my breasts. “You may proceed to the twenty-seventh floor.”
“Thank you, Sen,” I said, with a slight bow of the head.
The weight of his stare burned holes in my back as I made my way to the elevator. Once more, I had to silence the paranoid fear that the prosthetics between my shoulder blades, which hid my Veredian markings at that location, could have been damaged.
As the elevator flew upwards, I cast a brief glance at myself in the mirrored wall on the left side of the cabin. Reassured that the markings on my exposed arms and the sides of my legs didn’t show, I fixed the lock of hair that had gotten tangled in my left horn.
The elevator opened on the reception area of the legal firm, which also housed Master Belduk’s practice. A pretty hybrid slave greeted me as I entered. By her dusty blue skin, I could only surmise she was half-Avean, but I couldn’t figure out which other species she was mixed with. She escorted me to Master Belduk’s office, knocked, then opened when he bid us enter. She held the door, gestured for me to proceed, and then made a discreet exit once I walked in.
Master Belduk was well past his prime. Although I knew him to be in his early eighties, he looked closer to one-hundred. With an average lifespan of 140 years, Guldans usually looked more fit at that age. He rose to greet me, but didn’t move from behind his desk.
“Welcome, Sana Vrok,” Belduk said, waving at the chair in front of his desk.
“Master Belduk,” I said in greeting while settling on the chair.
It instantly adjusted to my size and height, the nanites in the leather-like material shifting slightly beneath me. Chic and sleek, the notary’s office boasted nothing but shades of black, grey, chrome, and white. Guldans took great pride in their technological and scientific advancements. They never missed an opportunity to flaunt both as signs of wealth and status.
“It is unfortunate that we should finally meet under such circumstances,” Belduk said, the intensity in his light grey eyes made all the more unnerving by the way they strangely blended with his uncommonly pale skin for a Guldan.
“Indeed. But that is the way of life,” I said with the proper level of calm acceptance.
By most cultures’ standards, neither my father nor my brother had been good men. But I had loved my dad. Even six years later, his death still broke my heart. My half-brother, though… That was far more complicated. Still, his recent passing haunted me. My heart knew that I had done the right thing by capturing him for the countless crimes he committed against Veredians, which ultimately led to his downfall.
Belduk harrumphed his assent, then summoned a holographic screen. Each side displayed the text in the right direction for us to read. I silently thanked my father for teaching me the Guldanese alphabet and language, even though I’d been raised according to Veredian beliefs.
The notary launched into an endless enumeration of all the assets that my father had bequeathed to my brother, as well as those personally owned by Varrek that now belonged to me. Despite his monotone delivery, Belduk failed to put me to sleep. My mind was reeling from the sheer magnitude of the wealth I had come into. But my self-preservation instincts also screamed in warning. The glimmer in the old man’s eyes, the way he licked his lips as he listed the mind-boggling sums held in various accounts, entire fleets of top-of-the-line spaceships, tech and medical patents—to name a few—clearly indicated he wanted a piece of it, if not all of it.
As he neared the end of the list, his eyes flicked to my neck and left wrist on multiple occasions, as if to re-confirm something he’d already verified multiple times. As per the law, unmated Free Women had to dress in white to broadcast their single status. A collar indicated she was promised to her future mate, while a bracelet indicated courtship with the sire’s blessing.
After what felt like an hour, Belduk finally stated the last item. Shutting off the holographic monitor, he leaned forward and clasped his hands on the desk before him.
“An impressive inheritance, Sana Vrok,” Belduk said.
“Indeed,” I said. “My father and brother were wise businessmen.”
He nodded slowly. “I imagine you have plans for all this wealth?”
“Of course,” I said.
I held his gaze for a few seconds, making it clear I had no intention of elaborating any further, then lowered my eyes to avoid the challenge. He would be too pleased to seize the opportunity. Belduk pursed his lips, a heavy silence hanging between us.
“So where do I sign?” I asked at last when the silence stretched too long.
“Well, it’s not that simple, Sana Vrok,” Belduk said with false sympathy. “As a Free Woman, you may only receive, withdraw or inherit sums below one hundred thousand credits without the oversight of a guardian. Yours ranks in the billions.”
Are you fucking kidding me?
My nails dug into my palms while I struggled to maintain a neutral face.
“I wish you would have made me aware of that fact beforehand so that I would have been prepared, which would have avoided wasting both our times,” I said.
The slight narrowing of his eyes confirmed that my voice had not quite succeeded at hiding my seething anger.
“Oh, no time is wasted, Sana Vrok,” Belduk said with a somewhat malicious smile. “I took the liberty of calling your guardian, as appointed by your father before his passing.”
My blood froze in my veins. Belduk’s thin lips stretched as his smile broadened. He knew this wasn’t good news for me.
“How thoughtful of you,” I said with a thin voice.
My mind raced as I tried to figure out who my father could have given me to and what his intentions might be. For the first time, I genuinely regretted not accepting my sister’s offer to send a small Tuurean fleet with me to Guldar to collect my inheritance. But that would have created a whole other set of problems.
Belduk reached for his com and informed his assistant to bring in their guest. I schooled my features to remain neutral. Whoever this man was, my father wouldn’t have appointed him if he didn’t genuinely believe that he would do right by me. I just hated walking in blind.
The door opened, the same hybrid slave walked in followed by a striking Guldan man. Broad and muscular, his curly, shoulder-length, brown hair framed a handsome face with full lips, deep, green eyes, and thick, dark-brown horns. Our eyes met. The glimmer of shock on his face, triggered by the sight of me, quickly hidden. Recovering promptly, he narrowed his eyes, and his sensuous lips stretched in a smile laced with malice.
Oh Goddess! Doruk!
As the assistant made a quiet exit, a slight frown marred Doruk’s forehead, making me realize I had not risen to my feet upon his entrance, as expected of females as a sign of respect.
“Doruk,” I said, standing up with my head bowed.
“Ravena Vrok,” he said, his deep voice sending shivers down my spine.
A million questions raced through my mind. Why in the Goddess’ name would my father appoint his twisted, former right hand man as my guardian? My father had operated the largest slave empire in the Western Quadrant. My mother had been his property. Despite that, an unlikely love had blossomed between them. Doruk, one of his crewmates, had always hated the privileged treatment my mother and sisters had received. Although we had never met in person, Father had shown me plenty of pictures of him. Had he shown Doruk pictures of me? How much of my existence did he know?
“Master Belduk,” Doruk said, stopping a couple of steps in front of me, “I would li
ke a private moment with my ward before we finalize our business.”
“Of course,” Belduk promptly said. He pointed to a motion sensor embedded on his desk. “Simply wave your hand above it when you are ready for me to return.”
Without another word, he walked out of his office, and closed the door behind him. Doruk’s eyes never strayed from me as he retrieved a small device from the pocket of his black dress pants. I recognized the military grade, high-tech scrambler. He placed it on top of the notary’s desk and activated the device. That he’d want to disable any microphone or cameras that might eavesdrop on our conversation gave me hope. But knowing the depth of his hatred towards my mother and sisters, and the depravity with which he’d abused the slaves on board my father’s ship dampened it.
Once more, Doruk undressed me with his eyes, this time burning with lust. He slowly licked his lips.
“I’ve got to give it to your mother. She played a masterful game.”
“My mother didn’t play any game,” I said, lifting my chin defiantly.
“Oh, but she did,” Doruk said, advancing towards me, invading my space. “She played your father all the way into his grave.”
I took a step back, but he continued his advance. The edge of the desk pressing against the back of my thighs prevented me from retreating further. He stopped in front of me, his pelvis pressing against my stomach. I leaned backwards and turned my face away from his.
“She loved him,” I said, looking at the right wall covered with abstract, monochromatic art.
“She made him weak,” Doruk hissed in a surge of anger.
Guldans respected strength and success. Among the many things considered a weakness, love ranked the highest. Emotions made people act irrationally. A Guldan would sell his own child or mother without hesitation if it made financial sense.
Doruk rested a hand on top of the desk, leaning further into me, his muscular chest squishing my breasts. I wanted to lean farther back but it would press my nether region even more against his.
“Maheva’s genes were always strong,” he said. Bending his head, he inhaled my scent. His lips almost brushed the side of my neck. “She’s stamped her features on each of her girls, except that deliciously submissive Sevina. Too bad that one keeled over.”
My face snapped towards his as I glared at him, my hands gripping the edge of the desk to refrain from clawing at his face. The malevolent glimmer in his eyes confirmed he was taunting me, daring me to act. I hadn’t known my younger sister, Sevina. As a hybrid Veredian-Guldan, my father had hidden me right after my birth, even from my own mother. He’d let her believe I had been stillborn so that he wouldn’t be forced to sell me to a collector. Forty-nine years had gone by before I finally got to meet my mother for the first time, and that had only been a few weeks ago. But I never got to meet Sevina. Because of her powerful kinetic abilities, my father had sent her on a mission to retrieve what he had believed to be a large shipment of celesium, a rare metal worth a fortune. Instead, she’d found kaledium, a highly radioactive metal. Sevina had died from radiation poisoning soon after.
I held Doruk’s gaze, this time refusing to be intimidated or to bow to those backwards Guldan protocols.
His smile widened. “You have the same fire as your mother and Sevina’s daughter. Those arrogant little bitches. As much as I hated them, I would have given anything for a chance to fuck them into oblivion. Especially the tight cunt of that niece of yours, Amalia.”
I stared back at him, silently, refusing to let him rile me up.
“Maybe I’ll just fuck you,” Doruk said.
His hand slipped under my plunging neckline to cup one of my breasts. I pinched my lips but continued to stare at him in silence. Doruk flicked his thumb back and forth over my nipple, and then gave it a brutal tweak, making me hiss, before letting it go. His gaze followed the movement of his fingertips as he traced a line from my neck, around the curve of my shoulders, and down the length of my arms.
“I bet this soft skin of yours is a graft hiding some lovely Veredian markings,” Doruk said before locking eyes with me again, daring me to deny it.
I had enough.
“What do you want, Doruk?” I asked. “You want to fuck? Is that it? Is that your price to put an end to this farce so that we can finalize this business, and I can get my ass off this rock?”
His eyes widened at my unexpected outburst and crude language. As my guardian, by Guldan laws, he could discipline me for behavior that would no doubt be considered disrespectful. But I was done playing his game. If he intended to expose me, nothing I did or said would change a thing. However, my father wouldn’t have put me in this situation if he didn’t believe Doruk would do the right thing. And my father didn’t gamble, especially not when it came to his only daughter.
“Want to know what a hybrid pussy feels like?” I asked, placing both my hands on his ass and thrusting forward against him. “I don’t think Belduk will approve, but I’m sure there’s a surface around here we can use.”
Doruk painfully grabbed a fistful of my hair at the back of my head and pulled my face inches from his.
“You think I won’t call your bluff, little girl?” he asked, his breath fanning against my lips. “You think I’d have any qualms plowing that tight cunt of yours on that old bastard’s fancy furniture?”
He crushed my lips in a brutal kiss, his hand releasing my hair to close around one of my horns in a gesture of control, of dominance. His tongue forced its way into my mouth. I didn’t fight it, but I didn’t respond to its coaxing. Despite Doruk’s cock hardening against my stomach, my initial fear upon seeing him enter the room continued to wane.
He broke the kiss and locked eyes with mine. His smoldered. Under different circumstances, I might have consented to a horizontal dance with him. While I didn’t care much for pretty men, I liked big and brawny. Judging by the kiss, unwelcome though it was, Doruk clearly had some skill. But he was a monster who had raped and abused countless slaves, and threatened every female in my family.
“To answer your question, Guardian, I think you came here to honor my father’s wishes.”
Although he tried to hide it, I didn’t miss his slight flinch. As expected, I’d struck a nerve. Doruk was a bully. He enjoyed exercising his dominance over others just for the pleasure of watching their distress. But for all his faults, Doruk had been my father’s most loyal crew member.
“Your father was a fool,” Doruk grumbled. “He had the world at his feet and threw it all away for a female. Any Guldan would drag you home, fuck you senseless until the interest fades, and then sell you for the fortune we both know you’re worth.” His gaze roamed over me. “Like all Veredians, you’re hot as fuck.”
“But you won’t,” I said, matter-of-fact.
Shoving away my horn he’d been holding, he tossed my head back and finally moved away from me.
“Don’t get cocky with me, little girl. Your father saved my life twice and gave me a far better future than I could have ever hoped for. I would sell you in a heartbeat, but I have always known the day would come when he would collect. And so I shall comply. But make no mistake, that debt of honor is now fully repaid. Once all this is signed, see that you leave Guldar before sunrise. As Gharah is my witness, if we cross paths again, I will make you my whore.”
Leaning forward, he picked up his scrambling device, deactivated it, and then shoved it in his pockets. He checked that his clothes weren’t a mess, then waved his hand over the motion sensor. I smoothed my fingers over my hair to fix it after the way Doruk had roughly handled me and glanced at my cleavage to make sure my breast wasn’t hanging out.
Belduk’s speculative eyes flicked between Doruk and me as he entered. I waited for both men to be seated before settling back in my chair next to my guardian.
“It is good to have you here to sort out this considerable inheritance, Sen Sidik,” Belkduk said.
I bristled but reined in my flaring temper.
“There is n
othing to sort out,” Doruk said in a clipped tone. “Gruuk Vrok has bequeathed his entire estate to his daughter, Ravena Vrok, my ward, who I duly recognize in the female sitting beside me.”
“But… but…” Belduk said, his grey eyes bulging in his long face. “She’s unmated! That’s far too much wealth to be left in the hands of a female. According to the records, Sana Vrok is days away from her fiftieth birthday. Her birthing years are fleeting. She must be mated and bred in all haste to ensure an heir to this substantial inheritance. Until then, this estate should be kept safe under the jurisdiction of a capable male.”
“And what male would that be?” Doruk asked. “You?”
Belduk licked his thin lips, greed flashing through his eyes. “Well, I’m not asking for the honor, but I most certainly am highly qualified for the role.”
“And next you’ll ask to court her, too, so that her birthing years don’t go to waste?”
Doruk’s voice oozed with sarcasm. In a different setting, that would have been my kind of response.
The notary’s face heated to be so brutally called out on his obvious plans.
Belduk sputtered. “I… I didn’t—”
“I have no time for this,” Doruk interrupted. “Give Sana Vrok the acceptance form to sign. Then proceed to transfer all the assets to her name and funds to her accounts. I want confirmation before we walk out of this office.”
My heart leapt in my chest. I’d feared an uphill battle and for Belduk to throw countless administrative loopholes devised specifically to delay or thwart my ability to take ownership of my inheritance. With Doruk’s demand, I would be free and clear to leave, especially considering his 24 hour ultimatum.
“Before you leave?” Belduk exclaimed, then shook his head. “That is not possible, Sen Sidik. Transactions of this magnitude take days to make sure they are put in the right accounts. There are tax considerations and—”
“Do not take me for an imbecile, Master Belduk,” Doruk spat in a menacing tone. “I’ve been the right hand to Gruuk Vrok—who ran the biggest slave empire in this Quadrant, if not in the entire known universe. I know how quickly large transactions are completed when processed through legal channels. We’ve bought entire fortresses and fleets of interstellar vessels with full ownership transferred within minutes. So don’t fuck with me. Now bring up that blasted form.”