by Jorja Kish
“Oh sweetie, you fell for them, didn’t you?”
Mackenzie reluctantly nodded and pinched her lips as she fought the urge to cry. “I overheard Setti tell Braydok and Keene that I didn’t belong with them. That I wasn’t the one and I was to be sent to this audience chamber.”
It was then, for the first time, Mackenzie took a good look at her surroundings, now that the shock of seeing her friends eased. The room was elegantly furnished and completely filled with females of various shapes, sizes, even colours ranging from pale, effervescent ivory to bright yellow and pink to serene blue and stately purple. A few women glowed and shimmered, while fewer were a dusky, deep red that was strangely sexual and erotic. They all wore the same garment draped over their nearly nude bodies. It was a menagerie of women.
A cold dread slithered down her spine. Why would they gather the women in one place? Her heart beat faster when it dawned on her. They were on display.
Chapter 26
The lilting feminine voices hushed to a mere whisper when ten men towering over six feet four strode into the antechamber by a side door that hissed shut behind the last giant. They stood quiet and lethal. All eyes were on them, blinking back shock, a fair dose of unease, and a growing wave of lust.
Okay, this is something new, she warily thought, not liking where this was going.
Mackenzie regarded the imposing soldiers with a practical eye until she landed her wide fuchsia gaze on Setti. Her stomach cramped and a cold dread jumbled her insides. Was this the argument Setti had with his bond mates? She glanced around and found many appraising eyes feasting on the handsome men. Her skin prickled with a fierce surge of possessiveness that almost had her baring her newfound fangs at the interested females.
So, this was his plan. To have her on display and have another male claim her while she watched as he chose another female. The pang of hurt stabbed in her gut. How dare he?
Back off bitches, this bastard is mine!
Her lip curled an ugly sneer as her muscles bunched, coiling to strike when the perfumed feminine wave of arousal infused into her heightened senses. Her low, menacing growl had a few of the males on the dais swerving their stoic gazes at her before turning their stony features to focus at a lone point across the room. Mackenzie trembled with disbelief when Setti barely glanced at her display of ownership. Instead, he focused on the approaching soldier who strode across the hushed audience chamber in a commanding gait.
Fear entered her gut as she watched her lover’s immobile stance. Why are you doing this, Setti?
“The ten men you see before you are the Alpha males of our bonded pods. Each man is a decorated warrior worthy of his Alpha status, proven repeatedly to protect what is his and to fight the oppression of the Horde. Tonight they are here for your inspection, and if you choose, you may spend a night with one of them to see if you are compatible.”
A wave of shock and intrigue flittered across the chamber of women. Their frightened and nervous eyes drained to a curious and lingering look at each of the uniquely handsome Alpha males.
Mackenzie’s hair stood on end from the speculative appraisals of the surrounding women, sending her stomach to twist in horror. The urge to scratch out all their eyes, even Milly’s and Beth’s, had her softly panting. She was as furious as she was devastated.
Didn’t Setti want her? Of course, that was why she was here and he was on the dais, parading for other women to have a go at him. A crimson film clouded her vision.
They had marked her. Didn’t that mean anything? She was theirs. She was Setti’s woman!
A light hand touched her shoulder, swirling her around as she bared her elongating canines at Milly and snarled menacingly, causing the woman to yelp.
“Whoa there, girlfriend, there’s no need for that. I just wanted you to know that you were growling and sporting some wicked-looking teeth. Damn girl, you look like you’re ready to kick some ass. Just not mine okay,” Milly said, hoping a little humour would ease the quiet fury that rolled underneath Mackenzie’s skin. Damn, she was pissed.
Mackenzie narrowed her eyes at her friend who could possibly be a threat to her claim on her Alpha. A fierceness overtook her common sense. Unable to stop the growing need to stake a claim on Setti, she boldly stepped away from the group. She snarled and hissed at the few women who took a few tentative steps toward the raised dais, flashing them a deadly glint that had many backing away. The few braver females stood their ground, but they didn’t advance.
Mine!
Chuffing a low cough of animosity, Mackenzie stalked the dais and mounted the stairs until she stood in front of the ten Alphas. They were all a wondrous sight. She couldn’t help but be impressed with the strength and power that emanated from them. However, only one male made her burn with lust, and now with fury. How dare he give himself to another for a night? Setti would be in the arms of another woman.
The pang of anguish clouded her pretty features before settling into cool appraisal. It hurt to look at her lover, so she didn’t.
Offer yourself up to another woman? Not in this lifetime, baby.
Mackenzie slowly walked the length of the stage, appraising each man with her bright eyes, but barely giving Setti a cursory glance as she passed him. From the corner of her eye, she saw him slightly flinch from her coldness, but remained stoic and calm. Clenching her teeth, a reckless part of her wanted to teach him a lesson and choose another male for the night. As soon as she thought it, a horrible sensation in her gut twisted her insides.
She couldn’t.
They had marked her, deeper than they knew, deeper than she knew until now. There was no doubt that she claimed the one Alpha male who made her soar with abandon each time he stroked her skin or softly commanded her to do something. She needed Setti. She needed her entire pod like the air she needed to breathe.
Strolling back from the end, Mackenzie settled in front of Setti’s impassive features and boldly stared up at his six-foot-eight height. He towered above the rest of the Alphas and that made her smile. He was such a prime male specimen, and he was hers.
In a clear voice that rang across every corner of the antechamber, making sure every female here heard her claim, Mackenzie declared what her heart always knew.
“I claim this Alpha male as mine, but not for a night. I claim him for all days.”
Setti’s swift intake of breath was the only visible change to his hard features. Mackenzie shared a slight smile with her lover and listened to a few other soft gasps from the ten Alphas, as well as a few females in the room.
The man who had announced the Alphas to the group of women earlier stepped forward. Mackenzie’s eyes widened when she recognised him as Captain Sturgoi, the commanding officer of the Solace Dawn. His sharp eyes stared at her, but she refused to flinch from the grave expression. He gave a curt nod as if he found something in her bright eyes.
“So be it. You have claimed Alpha Setti Prime. Now claim your mate.”
Mackenzie jerked back and gave him a confused look.
The captain sighed and stepped closer, keeping a respectable distance from her as he leaned closer to whisper in her ear, “I don’t think you realise what you have just done, my dear. When you publicly claim an Alpha in such a manner, you must claim him in front of the others. He must submit to you sexually and display his prowess to keep you satisfied, or another Alpha may stake his claim on you. Your bold claim demands this from Setti.”
Mackenzie’s eyes bulged at the thought of getting sweaty and naked in front of a room full of people. A darker part of her shivered from the delicious image it invoked. She swallowed hard and licked her lips to wet their sudden dryness.
“You may rescind your claim on Setti Prime. However, if you do so, you will not be able to claim him later. He will be lost to you,” Captain Sturgoi carefully stated, sending her a compassionate look before striking a hard expression. He leaned away, but softly muttered for her ears only, “Chose your path well, Mackenzie Chambers, or you will lose
everything.”
Chapter 27
What have I done?
Queasiness churned her stomach. She glanced at Setti, only to find his features stony, almost cold, until she saw a gleam of vulnerability flash in his striking eyes.
Something in her heart loosened. It brought a sensation of belonging. She belonged with this Alpha, just as much as she belonged with his bond mates, Braydok and Keene. She was their woman in every sense. Peace filled her entire heart.
Taking a step back from the captain, Mackenzie stood in front of Setti with her shoulders thrown back. She watched the muscles in his jaw clench and unclench and waited a few breaths.
“Look at me, Alpha Setti Prime,” she commanded softly. She said it loud enough for everyone to hear, but gently enough to have him look in her clear eyes.
She watched as he turned to look at her with his composed features. He didn’t fool her, though. Her enhanced senses could scent his interest and his need to possess her. She shivered at the thought, knowing he would send her to a darker paradise that she craved from him. She needed all three of her lovers. There was never any doubt about how much she needed them.
He was hers, body and, eventually, soul. For now, she could accept that little part of him. In truth, Mackenzie wanted all of him. She wanted all of her men completely.
Without another second to waste, Mackenzie slowly unclipped the broaches that kept the sheer garment covering her body in its place. Once the last broach unlaced, the silky material fluttered to the floor like butterfly wings.
There were gasps from some of the more shocked females in the chamber, but Mackenzie ignored them. She also ignored the sharp inhales from the Alpha men on the stage. All she focused on were Setti’s exquisitely carved features. He was so handsome, a harsh beauty that made her blood sing and burn.
Naked, Mackenzie stood proud in front of her male.
She didn’t want him to submit to her. She wanted to submit to his strength, dominance and heart. Her heart thundered against her chest and delicious chills ran through her body.
Gracefully dropping to her knees, she wrapped her arms around his hips and buried her face on the growing bulge in the front of his tight-fitting breeches. His musky arousal made her pussy drip. She would claim him in a way only for him to understand.
She rubbed against him and placed a soft kiss on his bulge, grinning when it jerked against her lips. She pulled away and looked up at her man.
“I claim you, Alpha Setti Prime. I submit to you freely and give you everything that I was, I am, and I will be for all days.” Her ringing voice carried the vow throughout the chamber.
Anticipation and a fierce amount of lust had her untying the front of Setti’s trousers. Her fingers shook as she reached inside his breeches and gently released his hard, smooth cock from its confinement. She boldly stroked the velvety steel length and loudly moaned, not caring who heard.
Licking her lips, she gazed at her man and leaned forward. Her pink, wet tongue peeked out and lightly brushed against the creamy red tip, tasting the spicy pre-cum that made her mouth water, and a deeper growl released. She felt him shiver from her lick and from her periphery, she watched him clench his hands by his hips.
“You are mine, Setti,” she whispered for his ears only. “You are my heart,” she added, releasing all the longing, need and love in her eyes as she stared at him from her knees.
Setti’s stony features faltered from her passionate claim. His eyes softened as he took in her beauty, seeing her heart that shined from her stunning eyes.
Together they shared an eternity in one heated look.
Mackenzie gave Setti a wicked smile. She inhaled his spicy, musky scent and opened her mouth to submit to her lover. She gently licked his mushroom crown and slowly swirled the tip with her tongue. Her hot breath blew against the sensitive skin, casting chills throughout his body. Opening her mouth wider to accommodate his thick girth, Mackenzie gently sucked him in, holding his ridged length in her mouth as she swallowed him deeper into her throat.
Working her throat muscles and stretching her mouth wider, she moaned when his tip jerked and a wet pool of pre-cum slid down her throat. He tasted like ambrosia, making her shiver with growing lust. Her pussy, wet and hungry, dripped her own juices down her smooth inner thighs.
Oh, he tastes so good, like a cinnamon treat, hot, spicy and delicious.
Mackenzie leisurely bobbed her head, keeping tight suction on the cock that gave her so much pleasure that her head swirled with the sensation. Her hot, wet mouth worked his length, forcing a soft moan from deep within his chest.
Mackenzie hummed when she heard his moan and surrendered herself to his taste and pleasure. She used every skill that she possessed, which wasn’t much, but on her knees, she had never felt more sexually powerful in all her life. It was her heart and love for Setti that made each pull on his cock or gentle swipe of her tongue along his length a violent and tender need.
You are so mine, she thought furiously, wanting him to brand her.
She grinned around the cock in her mouth when she felt Setti pump his hips, pushing his shaft deeper into her mouth. She listened to the increasing harshness of his breath and his hungry, haunted eyes that glowed like a barely contained beast. Mackenzie knew he was close. She shivered with lust and devoured his cock with abandon.
The tightening of his balls that curled to his body had Mackenzie pulling off his straining cock and opening her mouth close to the tip, her breath ragged and needy as she waited, hungry to receive his seed and pleasure.
Setti growled at her surrender, guiding his cock to her open mouth while she stared at him with eyes filled with her gentleness and desire.
The sight sent him over the edge as he harshly cried out and spewed his seed into her waiting mouth. Spurt after spurt, she claimed his seed, moaning in pleasure as his sticky essence rolled down her throat while a few spurts covered her lips and dripped down her chin.
Her arousal spiked from his taste, and the weight of his hot stickiness on her skin and in her mouth was too much for her to bear. She arched her back and let loose a hoarse scream as an orgasm erupted from her body. She bucked and squirmed, collapsing forward into the arms of the man who owned her body and soul.
Panting raggedly in Setti’s powerful arms, Mackenzie gently stroked her lover’s softening cock, slipped him back into his breeches, and knotted them closed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close.
The room was silent except for the rough pants of the Alphas and the soft moans of the females. Oblivious to the heightened state of arousal in the chamber, Mackenzie turned to look Setti. She cupped his smooth shaven jaw and pulled him down for a sweet kiss.
Their lips touched and a shower of explosions swept through their bodies. They moaned as their lips lingered before pulling away.
“I vow to cherish every day with you, Sheeala. I claim you as our bond mate, Mackenzie Chambers of Terra. This claim I vow,” Setti vehemently promised to Mackenzie and to the Gods.
His fangs elongated from the special pockets in his gums as he gently pulled Mackenzie’s head to the side and sank them into her warm neck. He growled when she cried out and clung to his limbs, panting her own pleasure. Her fresh, heady scent and sweet-tasting blood had him moaning with ecstasy as he drank his fill. He pulled away, licking the stray drop of blood that trailed down her neck, and licked the twin pricks on her neck with his velvety tongue, causing more ripples of pleasure to shudder through her limbs.
He grinned when she sighed, nuzzling his neck, and placed a soft kiss to his rapidly beating pulse.
“Thank you,” she dreamily whispered, succumbing to the heady enzymes in his saliva that made her drowsy.
Chapter 28
Satisfaction and a deep-grounded need to shelter the woman he claimed from prying male eyes had Setti rumbling from his chest. His eyes bled their usual paleness into dark cobalt that appeared black to the untrained eye. His skin prickled with energy, cascading in wa
ves as the build-up of his primal Tromere filled his essence.
“Mine,” he growled to the other Alphas on the dais, curling his lip and exposing his elongating canines that dropped from the slits in his gum line specially designed to house the deadly incisors.
The Alphas on the dais took a step back from him in respect to his claim and change, as a claimed Alpha and his rank as prince. He gruffly chuffed at the Alphas as he carefully redressed his woman, keeping guarded and sharp eyes on the males on the dais. They respectively averted their eyes.
Satisfied, Setti carefully gathered the pool of material fallen by Mackenzie’s feet and gently covered her naked limbs. He clasped the broaches with a firm click, then gathered her in his arms and stood. She sighed dreamily and snuggled closer to his warmth and spicy musk. Setti briefly closed his eyes when she cuddled closer like a kitten. He snapped them open, not wanting the rest of the Alphas knowing how infatuated and taken by this woman he was.
He turned to his commander, Captain Sturgoi, and stiffly inclined his head.
“Permission to tend to my claimed woman?” he reverently asked, his eyes clear and sharp almost daring Captain Sturgoi to say no.
The captain narrowed his eyes, then chuckled as he bowed. “She has claimed you, Setti. Go back to your chambers and give your bond mates the good news.”
Setti let a half-grin slip to his mouth before nodding and thanking his captain. As he stepped off the dais, the chamber fell silent as the curious, subdued and reflective eyes of the females followed his powerful swagger. He ignored the women. The only one who mattered now was in his arms where she belonged.
She would always belong to him and his bond mates.
“I’m taking you home, baby, where you always belonged.”
It seemed to take forever when he finally crossed the threshold of his private domicile. Mackenzie’s slight weight still felt wonderful in his arms, and he knew he could cradle her forever if she allowed it. He frowned at this softer side of him that rarely came out. His mind reflected on the evening’s circumstances when he crossed the open living space and entered the private library to find Keene and Braydok sitting silently on the couch.