by Merel Pierce
Shame filled Kasi. She’d growled at this male, let him touch and taste her, and she didn’t even know his name!
“Stop, Omega. No shame. You are mine, as I am yours. I know you feel the pull to me.” Her Alpha lowered his head to touch his forehead to hers. “I am Ander.”
His purr rolled through her once more, and her muscles softened as she relaxed into his chest.
“My name is Kasi.” Before she could succumb to his purr, she raised her eyes to his again and whispered, “Mate.”
Chapter Five
Ander
Lucius walked in front of Ander and Kasi as they left the dimly lit tunnel and approached a transport shuttle on a landing pad. The male who had cautioned against letting Ander keep Kasi for himself descended from the shuttle’s ramp. A snarl wanted to rip from Ander’s throat, but keeping his little mate under the influence of his purr was more of a priority.
He didn’t like anything about the environment surrounding his mate. They were still naked, and while he didn’t have a care for his own flesh on display, he sensed the lascivious eyes that roamed her bare skin. Walking from the tunnel’s entrance to the shuttle put her too much on display. He wanted to rip the eyes from every male or female that dared to rest their lustful gaze on his Omega.
Reining in all these primal emotions and urges took more of an effort that he would have believed. When his brother had claimed his mate, Ander had tried to get a closer look at the female who’d enthralled his imposing older sibling. His brother took exception to Ander’s curiosity and almost took a chunk out of Ander’s skin. Later his brother told him how those first days before his mark rested on her neck made him feel like a vicious beast needing to destroy anyone who so much as breathed in the direction as his female.
Ander understood his brother so much better now. The female resting in his arms had become his whole world in the span of an hour. He didn’t know anything about her except her name and that she was his. That she was his mate was undeniable; he felt it in his bones.
Upon reaching the shuttle, Ander narrowed his eyes as the other male nodded to Lucius before striding away towards the marketplace. Lucius continued up the ramp without looking back to make sure Ander and Kasi were following.
Ander ran a hand from her nape, down her bare back, and up again to the soft skin at the back of her head. Purring so strongly he could feel the vibration through her flesh, he followed his new owner up the ramp.
In a modified cargo hold, Ander noted at least seven other males from a variety of different races and species. They turned to look at him and his mate as they reached the top of the ramp. There were no other female slaves in the hold. He was surprised to see the other slaves walking around without chains in the open space, but a thin blue band encircling their necks glowed with a soft light. If it was the same tech that had brought him to his knees on the stage, he understood Lucius’ arrogance in letting them roam free.
“When Oolan returns, he’ll insert your trackers and program your new collars,” Lucius said before a commotion from the base of the ramp drew his attention. Walking down the ramp to see what was going on, Lucius left Ander near one of the sloping walls of the shuttle.
At a hiss and click from his left, Ander’s gaze tracked several of the larger slaves edging closer to where he clutched Kasi to his chest. Unable to turn his back on the approaching males and needing to shield her, he shifted Kasi so that she rested against his back.
He slid his hands under her thighs, gently applying pressure to have her release her hold on his torso. Easing her down until she stood under her own, then taking two steps back, he pressed Kasi into one of the shallow storage alcoves that lined the exterior walls of the modified cargo hold.
He let up on the intensity of his purr to help her clear her mind. She needed to be able to stand on her own and focus on his commands. Ander knew she’d come back to her senses when she flexed her fingers on his hips and settled more behind his bulk.
He returned his full attention to the other males in the large room. Two of the males who looked enough alike to be brothers hadn’t moved. From the pheromones in the air, Ander deduced they were Betas. Neither of them was as large as Ander, nor they didn’t seem interested in challenging him for the Omega clinging to his back.
At slight nods from the pair, Ander turned his attention to the other five males who had stepped even closer to his mate.
He let a growl rumble out his chest. He’d already killed one Beta for her. No matter their dynamic—of lack thereof—if any of them thought to challenge him for his Omega, they would not live long enough to regret it.
Three of the five stopped in their tracks when they heard his fierce call. His growl warned them all that he was an Alpha with a mate, and to continue to challenge him would mean their deaths. The three who stopped seemed to understand his unspoken promise, and while they didn’t return to their former positions, they didn’t advance.
The final two, however, continued to edge closer to Ander and Kasi. She must have felt the tension in his muscles because she released a smothered whimper. The scent of her fear burned the inside of his nose and tinged his vision red.
He started to shift his stance to engage the foolish challengers, but before he did more than tense his muscles, Lucius clattered up the metal ramp. The calculating gleam that Ander had noticed on the stage returned to Lucius’ eyes as he recognized Ander’s defensive posture and the males who were still edging closer to where his mate trembled behind him.
Ander snarled again, this one even louder than his first warning. While the boldest males hesitated this time, one of them, who Ander noted as the only other Alpha in the room, lifted his head and inhaled a lungful of pheromone-laced air. His pupils had dilated until just a ring of hazel showed around the black. At the sight of the other male’s obvious arousal, Ander let his own senses taste the air around him.
He’d been so consumed by the acrid scent of fear coming from his mate that he’d missed the other scent filtering into the room. He growled again. From behind him came a small whimper along with a rush of jasmine. His mate was aroused.
Before he could stop himself, he let out another long low growl. This time a muffled cry of desire accompanied the rush of jasmine-scented slick.
Kasi’s small fingers clutched at his hips as she rested her head against his back. Her warm breath caressed his flesh, but the Alpha male in front of him dared to take one more step towards his mate.
Before he could take a second, the collar around his neck changed from blue to red, as did those of every other male. The Alpha in front of Ander strained under the collar’s influence, but all the others had simply frozen in place.
“Enough,” Lucius ordered.
He ran his fingers over the device on his wrist. Six of the males immediately began moving towards a set of safety seats on the other side of the room. The male in front of Ander bared his teeth as he tried to fight what must have been a compulsion from the collar. His face turned red with the effort, but no matter how he strained, he was unable to move even a finger closer to Kasi.
Finally, with a growl of frustrated anger, he gave in and retreated to the other side of the room. Even while his feet carried him to the jump seats, he scented the air. Ander didn’t relax from his defensive stance until all seven of the males were seated and strapped in.
He turned his focus to Lucius, who still looked at him with a covetous shine in his eyes. According to him, his species had given up sex, but Lucius obviously had his own pleasures he craved. The look in his eye was greedy, but not for Ander’s Omega, whose aroused scent layered the air with her perfume. No, Lucius’ plans involved Ander and the blood he’d spill in the fighting pit for his new master.
“Oolan has been delayed and the market authorities insist that we have to move to allow for other transport shuttles. Luckily, I love flying almost as much as fighting. Your collars and trackers will have to wait until he returns,” Lucius said.
His gaze flicker
ed to Ander’s side, and Ander felt Kasi’s soft hair brush against his torso. He looked down. She was peeking around the side of his bulk.
Gently but firmly, he swept out his right arm to return his curious mate behind his much larger form. Lucius might claim to not desire his female, but Ander would take no chances with her.
“This delay actually works out in my favor,” Lucius continued. “We’ve been invited to a fight on the outskirts of Rathsimia Proper. A new promoter wants to take advantage of the festival, and I’d like to see my latest acquisition in action.” He gestured to some jump seats on the side of the hold closest to where Ander had made his stand. “Secure yourself and your mate.”
Chapter Six
Kasi
The flight ended so quickly it seemed like they were no sooner airborne before her ears started to hurt from the pressure of the descent. Before the shuttle stopped moving, Ander unbuckled himself and reached for the straps on her seat.
As he pulled her back into position on his lap, Kasi once again straddled the male with her naked front pressed to his warm, muscled chest. Her slick-covered thighs slid against his and her face heated with the obvious proof of her desire smeared across his legs. When she risked a glance up at him, she was relieved to see his attention rested on the males across the room.
Turning her head, she was able to see that the others were still strapped into their seats. They made an effort to look in any direction but hers while the Alpha who had challenged her mate earlier boldly ran his eyes over her body.
She met his gaze and he opened his mouth to let his tongue rest on his lower lip. His nostrils flared, and Kasi knew that he was able to taste her arousal on the air. His mouth quirked into a lewd grin, and when he released a low hum and licked his lips, she buried her face back in her mate’s neck.
Another warning growl emanated from Ander, but instead of striking fear in Kasi, it caused a stab of piercing desire to roll through her and settle at the apex of her sex. Her Omega nature responded to the call from her Alpha mate by sending slick to prepare her passage for his possession.
Their brief flight only delayed her arousal from when Ander had protected her from the other slaves. She’d been scared but watching him defend her had caused her core to pulse and dampen her thighs. She’d been unable to keep the arousal at bay even when the other Alpha scented her desire, and now again he scented her need, but it was the rumble coming from her mate that made her squirm.
Whimpering, Kasi opened her mouth on his skin. His musky flavor and sandalwood scent swamped her senses. Vaguely she felt the eyes of the other Alpha roaming over the naked flesh of her back, but she didn’t care as desire sent more of her pheromones into the air.
She let her tongue seek another taste of his skin, but Ander’s hand around her throat urged her from his neck with a gentle pressure. When she lifted up enough to see that Lucius had joined them once again, she startled at how close he stood.
Lucius bent at his waist to meet Kasi’s eyes. Unlike the other Alpha male in the room, she didn’t feel any desire coming from him. His pupils weren’t dilated, but his gaze was bright and curious. Kasi could almost feel the excitement and greed emanating from him.
She pulled her arms in to block Lucius’ view of her body. When his eyes then ghosted over Ander, she barely held back an unexpected growl. She’d never really believed that Alphas and Omegas just knew their mates, but there was no doubt that Ander belonged to her.
This male needed to keep his eyes to himself.
She must not have been as successful as she’d hoped in holding back a snarl as Lucius’ eyes widened in surprise. Ander’s chest lifted under her hands and a husky chuckle sounded from his throat, causing her gaze to snap to his. His hands on her hips pressed her down onto his erection against her thigh. The pressure on her sex made her stomach quiver.
“Possessive mate,” Ander purred into her ear as he lowered his head to brush his cheek against hers.
Kasi’s view shifted as Ander once again pressed her head against his chest. A shiver traveled down her spine as Ander’s hand ran down the length of her bare back, but she forced herself to listen as the two males talked above her head.
“Oolan is still delayed. We need to leave to make it to the fight, but while you’ve behaved so far, you haven’t yet proven yourself. So, I’m left with two choices: I can leave your mate on board my ship to guarantee your return, but she’ll be left here with them…”
Lucius stood to his full height and tilted his head towards the other males. Kasi could feel the other Alpha’s eyes on her from across the room while they waited for the second option.
“…or she can sit with me in a private box. She’ll be on a leash, of course, since she doesn’t yet have a slave collar.” Lucius paused. “Hmm. You know, I’ve never asked a fighter’s opinion on anything, but I’ve also never had an Alpha willing to fight with so much at stake. I think your mate will be proper incentive, but if you’re concerned about her safety here, you won’t focus on the fight.”
Ander made a noise that to Kasi sounded like agreement. “She’ll need something to wear.”
“Clothes for a slave? Why?”
“You may not be interested in her flesh, but there will be plenty who are. I don’t like her being exposed there, but it is better than the alternative. Plus, she’ll be more comfortable with clothes. I fight because of her. If she’s threatened or fearful, I won’t be able to concentrate on the fight.”
“Alphas are that in tune with their mates? Fascinating. I might need to study this further. Imagine a whole stable of Alpha fighters who’ll fight with proper coercion.” His voice trailed off as he turned to rummage in one of the storage alcoves near the front of the cargo hold.
Kasi lifted her head enough to meet Ander’s emerald gaze. She fell into their depths so easily that when the first cramps seized her stomach, she didn’t even register the discomfort. She lifted her lips to taste his flesh again when a stronger cramp caused her to inhale with a sharp breath. Between her thighs, her sex started to pulse in time to her heart and a small rush of slick coated top of his thighs.
Ander’s eyes widened as another whimper, this one of painful arousal, escaped her. “Are you starting—”
“Here.” Lucius cut him off.
The lightweight pile of fabric falling between them broke Kasi’s concentration on her mate, and she shook her head to clear it. Her hands automatically went to the folds of cloth as she tried to make some sense out of what was obviously a gown, but a heavier piece landed on top of it, followed by a pair of boots.
“Something for you for the arena. Get dressed and we’ll head for the pit.” Again, Lucius walked away, assuming their obedience.
Ander lifted her from his lap and Kasi watched as he stood before her. Other than his torso, she hadn’t yet seen the heated flesh she’d felt under her thighs. On the stage she’d been so terrified by everything going on that she hadn’t really seen anything beyond the burning light in his green eyes as he’d laid claim to her.
She couldn’t help the tiny gasp that fell from her lips as she dropped her gaze to the bar of flesh jutting from between his massive thighs. She’d lived in a tiny cottage with her family, including her brothers. As youngsters they’d bathed together and swam in the pond, so she wasn’t a complete innocent when it came to the male form, but what rose from between Ander’s thighs was so much more than what she’d seen before.
The mushroom-shaped tip was purple-red in color. It was so large that if she tried to wrap her fingers around it, they wouldn’t be able to meet. The shaft itself was the same hue, but gradually it darkened to a rich crimson as it reached the base where it connected to his pelvis.
At the bottom of his shaft, a thicker bulge made a ring around his considerable girth, and Kasi swallowed hard as she realized that’s where his knot would form to lock them together once he was inside her.
A trill of anticipation and fear started in her chest and flowed through her sex. He
was so large she doubted he would fit, but the strange need that filled her still wanted to try. Another cramp had a trickle of slick running down her leg in a small rivulet, and when his shaft flexed in front of her, she let out a whine at the same time he groaned.