by Lily Graison
Epilogue
MARCY
Falling off the side of a cliff and being snatched from the air by a dragon wouldn’t have been her first choice, but as Marcy was pulled across the hard, packed dirt inside the arena, she wished it would have been her.
She dug her feet in, her bare feet sliding across the ground as the guard pulled her to the platform. She’d watched so many of these fights she knew exactly how this one would play out and she was not going to stand up there like some simpering, screaming girl begging for help. She may be scared enough to piss herself, but she’d die before they knew it!
The guard yanked her up the steps and if he hadn’t been holding her clasped hands, she would have fallen on her face. The wide metal cuffs they kept on her were biting into her skin, dried blood crusted along the edges from where she’d tried to get them off. She was the only human to have them. She was also the only one of the girls held here to not sit along the back wall and cry. What was the point? It changed nothing about your situation.
Pulled onto the platform, she was centered and displayed like the others had been. She tried to jerk away from the guard’s grasp but managed to do nothing but stumble. She’d stood in those cells day after day watching girls get taken and put up here on display, those creatures that lived here fighting until death for the privilege of taking home their prize and they’d not take her without a fight. She’d rather they killed her to be honest and tried her best to get them to do just that. She’d caused enough problems to give them reason to but all they’d done was hauled her out of the cage and took her underground, locking her in a cell all by herself. Which was fine by her. Out of sight, out of mind, right? She didn’t have to try and sleep crowded around a group of girls who stank worse than she did or try to ignore the bucket of human waste in the corner. She’d been down there so long, she had begun to think they’d forgotten about her.
When they came and got her, stopping by a door on the opposite side of the platform, she’d been shocked to see Sara. When the main gates were opened and they were led outside, she’d yelled her name. Sara had looked back but never saw her.
The guard snarled his lip when she tried to jerk away from him again, his yellowed fangs showing as he snatched her back into place then cuffed her in the back of the head, ordering her to stay put.
Like an idiot, she spit in his face.
The laughs from the aliens along the lowlying planks they were standing on echoed inside the ring. The guard growled deep in his throat as he wiped away the spittle. When he brought his hand down, the back of it catching her across the side of her face, pain exploded inside her head as her knees went out from under her and she hit the floor. She was jerked to her feet, then dragged to the back of the platform and slammed against the wall. Her arms were lifted, the short chain that ran from each cuff on her wrist hooked on a sharp piece of metal sticking out from the wall and when the guard stepped back, the smile on his face looked feral.
Arms cuffed and raised over her head, Marcy was left to dangle, her toes barely touching the ground. The guard grabbed the front of her dress and jerked it so violently, her body flew forward, then swung back to hit the wall behind her when the material ripped, the dress coming away in his hand.
Marcy gasped and the noise inside the arena died in an instant.
It was the first time since she’d been brought here that she’d ever heard complete silence. It didn’t last long. As if the sight of her pale limbs and fire-crotch were enough to shake the world, the aliens started jumping off the planks they were standing on down into the ring.
The announcer’s voice boomed through the speakers as he informed them she was the next prize and made mention of her hair. The guard grabbed a handful of it and gave her head a hard shake before letting go, her head smacking back against the wall.
When the world stopped spinning, Marcy focused on the aliens who’d stepped into the ring. Nearly a dozen were leering at her. As aliens went, these were on the grotesque side. Bulbous heads, extra appendages, and she was loathed to even think about what the penis of that flat-headed, gaped-mouthed thing looked like.
The announcer asked for any others. Marcy scanned those still on the planks. More horrifying looking creatures were staring back at her. Every size and shape imaginable and one huge—thing—that looked a lot like the beast in one of her favorite book series. She didn’t think that ugly ass thing was going to shape-shift and turn into Jericho Barrons, though. She’d volunteer to be his human plaything if he did.
There were more than a few of them who could have passed for human if it weren’t for their skin color or the mere size of them. A tall alien in the back caught her attention. He stood a good head taller than all the rest and looked to be wearing a skull mask—she hoped it was a mask—with large white horns sticking up from the top of his head. Thick brown fur covered his body and even from this distance, she could see his eyes were the color of an unusual looking amber.
Movement to the right drew her attention back to the aliens in the ring. Half a dozen or more were facing the platform when an orange hulking—thing—stepped down. His head was bald, and overly large muscles lay beneath his skin. His eyes were black, his mouth lipless. When he joined the others, three aliens that had been standing in the ring scurried back to rejoin the others.
The huge orange thing smiled. Or at least she thought that was what he was doing. His mouth grew wider as he turned to look at the others standing there facing the platform.
“Destroy all,” he said, before lifting a beefy hand and pounding his chest caveman style. “Kr’Atek strongest!” He turned his head to look at her. “Prize mine.”
The remaining aliens in the ring looked at each other, two more heading back to the planks. The massive orange thing and three others remained. The orange alien faced the others and bellowed, “Crush you! Female mine!”
Bile churned in Marcy’s stomach at the prospect of being that creature’s plaything. It was four times her size and ugly as sin. The three other aliens were fairly large in size as well but were nowhere near as muscular as that thing was.
Commotion amongst the aliens drew her eye and her heart gave a powerful thump in her chest when the tall alien with the skull mask stepped down into the ring. The brown fur she thought was him was actually a cloak wrapped around his shoulders. He was bare-chested, his skin a golden bronze and he was nearly as thickly muscled as the orange alien. His thighs looked massive and as he crossed the ring, that eerie silence that had fallen over the arena when the guard had stripped her of her clothes fell again as he walked toward the platform.
To her horrifying disbelief, the orange alien looked almost scared.
The other three aliens scurried back to the planks when skull face stopped beside them and looked their way. The orange things’s forehead wrinkled enough for Marcy to think he was glowering at the newcomer and to her amazement, he shifted on his feet and looked between her and the newest challenger. Long minutes ticked by before he bared his teeth. With a loud roaring growl, he turned and walked away.
Skull face watched him until he’d joined the others, then looked at her. From here, she could tell he was definitely wearing some sort of mask. The cloak was attached to a headpiece that held the horns but the rest of him, every bulging muscle, was him. At least he looked human—in an overly exaggerated Dwayne Johnson kind of way.
When he took two steps toward the platform and held up his arm, Marcy could only imagine the fresh hell awaiting her at the other end of that outstretched hand. His gaze slid over her body, stopping briefly on her breasts before going lower, staring at those red curls between her legs for long moments before meeting her eyes again. When he smiled and bared his teeth and small fangs became visible, she wondered if he could hear her racing heart.
The guard grabbed her arms and jerked them from the metal spike she’d been suspended from. “Let me see you spit on him, human.” He pulled her across the platform and jerked her to a stop inches from that outst
retched hand. “I only wish I could be there to see how he breaks you.” He laughed and lowered his head to whisper in her ear. “Welcome to Prison Moon One, bitch. You belong to the Warlord, now.”
Look for Warlord’s Mate coming Summer 2018!
Authors Note
Dear Readers,
I hope you enjoyed the first look into this brand new series. The Prison Moon Series is a joint collaboration between myself and author Alexandra Marell. Each of our stories can be read in any order, as they each stand alone. What links them is the world we’ve created.
As you saw from the Epilogue, Marcy’s story will be up next for me. Her Warlord has been whispering to me for months now and I can not wait to tell you his story! In the meantime, take a look below to see what’s up next in the Prison Moon Series.
To be informed about upcoming book news, be sure to subscribe to our Prison Moon One Newsletter or visit us on the web at the following locations.
Lily Graison website: http://lilygraison.com
Alexandra Marell website: http://alexandramarell.com
Prison Moon Website/Blog: http://bit.ly/PrisonMoonOne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrisonMoonOne/
All the best,
Lily
Coming Soon To the Prison Moon Series
Books by Lily Graison
Dragon Fire (Sara and Toren’s Story)
Warlord’s Mate (Marcy’s story - coming soon)
Books by Alexandra Marell
Ice Heart (now available)
Dragon Stone (coming soon)
Want More?
For information about upcoming books in the Silver Falls, Willow Creek and Prison Moon Series, or any other books by Lily Graison, subscriber to her Newsletter or find her around the web at the following locations.
Website: http://lilygraison.com/
Newsletter: http://bit.ly/LilyNewsletter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/LilyGraison
FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/authorLilyGraison
Reader Group: http://bit.ly/LilyGraisonReaderGroup
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorlilygraison/
Email: [email protected]
Reading List
HISTORICAL WESTERN ROMANCE
THE WILLOW CREEK SERIES
The Lawman (Willow Creek #1)
The Outlaw (Willow Creek #2)
The Gambler (Willow Creek #3)
The Rancher (Willow Creek #4)
His Brother’s Wife (Willow Creek #5)
A Willow Creek Christmas (Willow Creek #6)
Wild Horses (Willow Creek #7)
Lullaby (A Willow Creek Short Story)
SILVER FALLS SERIES
A Soft Kiss in Winter ( Silver Falls #1)
SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCE
Dragon Fire (Prison Moon Series)
Warlord’s Mate (coming soon)
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Wicked: Leather and Lace (Wicked Series #2)
Wicked: Jade Butterfly (Wicked Series #3)
Wicked: Sweet Temptation (Wicked Series #4)
Wicked: The Complete Series (Books #1 - 4)
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
The Calling (Night Breeds Series #1)
The Gathering (Night Breeds Series #2)
STAND ALONE STORIES
Blame It On The Mistletoe (contemporary romance)
That First Christmas ( contemporary romance)
Anna: Bride of Alabama (historical romance)
About the Author
Lily Graison is a USA TODAY bestselling author of historical western romances who recently took a leap into Science Fiction Romance. She also dabbles in contemporary and paranormal romance when the mood strikes and all of her stories range from sweet to spicy with strong female leads and heroes who tend to always get what they want.
She lives in Hickory, North Carolina with her husband, a pack of wild Yorkies, and every stray cat in the county.
Website: http://lilygraison.com/
Or Email Lily at: [email protected]