Slave Gold 4: United Alliance (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  “Whoever shall find the slave gold will know much turmoil until love unfolds.

  The voices will sing their hymn and pull you from within.

  The paths you take will be divided and the choices you make

  will be forever united.

  No time, space, or age will withstand or endure, unless the love you feel is pure.

  Love is a gift from the gods and will last through the ages

  for those who will discover love untold.”

  River didn’t know what the chanting meant or why this was happening to her, but she was too tired to even try to figure it out, so with a sigh of accepting resignation she gave into the exhaustion sweeping over her and let sleep claim her.

  * * * *

  Palk leaned back in his chair and sighed. The negotiations with the leaders of the three other planets had gone far better than he expected and although he and his brothers had had to explain to the Zennoxians about the Pendags, Froz, Drac, Lowl, and Cark Bim had tentatively agreed to join all of them in the alliance.

  “Thank you.” Stryk met each man’s gaze, nodded and smiled. “It’s been a long day and I have no doubt you are all as hungry as I am. Please, join me and my brothers for the evening meal.”

  Stryk stood, walked to the office door and opened it. They followed the other world rulers out into the corridor and into the great hall.

  Palk had wanted to ask the Zennoxians about their mate and he wondered if the other potentates had mates too, but he’d kept his mouth shut. It hadn’t been time to ask such personal questions, not with their enemy so close, but now that the congregation was over maybe they wouldn’t mind after they’d filled their bellies with food and drink.

  The noise in the feasting hall was raucous but that was to be expected when there were so many single men abounding. He liked sitting up higher than the rest of the warriors seeing them talking and laughing but it would have been so much better if they still had females. The only females they had left were a few older ones who were way beyond their breeding years. None of their medics had been able to determine why those females hadn’t died when the Pendag had putrefied their water, and although the medics and scientists had found a cure not so long ago, it had been too late for their race. Now they were desperate to find compatible females, but as of yet that hadn’t happened. However, Palk had a feeling that things were about to change, and although he was excited at the thought of maybe finding a female to mate with, he was also concerned because of the sightings of the Pendag.

  Just as the young males began to bring in the food, the air just above the table where he and his brothers were seated began to shimmer. When the table began to shake he placed his hand on his stun blaster and pulled the weapon from the holster on his hip. As he drew his weapon he saw his brothers doing the same from the corner of his eye, and the warriors closer to their table on the raised dais stood and they, too, palmed their weapons. The glasses toppled, cutlery rattled, and a jug of water was knocked from the table.

  Palk had his stunblaster aimed and was about to fire when the shimmer began to solidify and the form began to take shape. His mouth dropped open as a female materialized right before his eyes. Her lower legs were bare and although the things on her feet were strange he couldn’t stop his eyes from tracing those creamy limbs up further. She had some sort of fitted garment wrapped around her hips which ended just above her knees and the material above that looked soft and shiny but stark against the black of the other garment. The fabric covering her upper half was a bright blue and although not fitted it couldn’t hide the generous swell of her breasts. Her neck was slender and long and when he took note of her hair he drew in a ragged breath.

  Under the luminesce of the white glow crystals her hair looked to be a live burning flame as it rested against her shoulders and the blue of her top. He realized his mouth was gaping open and quickly closed it. When he inhaled he nearly groaned at the sweet, intoxicating scent of the female asleep on the table. Without even thinking about what he was doing he reached out and stroked a finger down the silky smoothness of her amazing soft fragile feeling skin and his whole body came alive.

  Tingles and warmth raced through his blood, and desire shot from his gut, straight down to his cock, but when his birth-ident mark began to heat, he knew without an ounce of doubt that this female was his.

  Stryk’s, Hakk’s, and Toak’s voices joined his when he claimed the female. “Mine.” Their voices echoed simultaneously through the now silent room and he met the eyes of the warriors with a fierce possessive stare.

  “Where did she come from?” he asked quietly and gently pushed a few strands of her fire colored hair from her cheek. She sighed and muttered and he quickly removed his hand not wanting to scare her if she woke and found him touching and staring at her, but when she rolled over and was in danger of rolling off the table he carefully slid an arm beneath her shoulders and the other beneath her knees and lifted her up against his chest.

  He glanced at Stryk when his brother said, “You know as much as we do, Palk.”

  It took him a few moments to remember that he’d asked a question but he was too intent on savoring the way the female felt in his arms and against his body to care about anything else.

  Just as he was about to turn and carry her from the feasting hall she sighed and her eyelids fluttered open. He stared down into the most amazing green eyes he’d ever seen. His breath caught in his throat, his heart thundered in his chest, and his cock jerked in his leather pants.

  Her eyes widened and filled with fear. Palk spoke to her in a soft crooning voice but with each word he spoke her fear seemed to escalate. She pushed against his chest and wriggled, her legs flailing and he slowly lowered her feet to the floor. The moment she touched down, she shoved against his chest and backed away from him. She was breathing way too fast, her body wracked with tremors, and her face seemed to drain of all color.

  “What the fuck?” she whispered as she continued to back away. It wasn’t until she came up against the wall that she stopped moving and her eyes darted from him over to his brothers and beyond as she took everything in. “Where the fuck…Who… Oh. My. God.”

  Palk could hear her heart racing in her chest, and he became concerned when he realized she was panting. Sweat glistened on her brow and upper lip and she started to shake even harder. When he took a step toward her she tried to push back into the wall and she wobbled as if her knees were weak.

  “Don’t be afraid, we won’t hurt you,” Palk said trying to reassure her but when he saw the black dots in her eyes get bigger he knew he hadn’t succeeded. It took a few minutes for him to realize that she probably didn’t understand a word he was saying. Lucky for them they all had universal transplants which allowed him, his brothers, and all of their kind to understand any language ever spoken, but he couldn’t remember ever hearing her dialect before. He would have to ask the medics later but right now he needed her to calm down. He was worried that she was going to hurt herself.

  “We need a medic,” Stryk said from behind him. “She can’t understand you, any of us.”

  “How the hell are we supposed to get close to her?” Hakk asked.

  “She’s scared out of her mind,” Toak whispered.

  “We can’t just leave her there.” Palk raised his hand to run his fingers through his hair but froze when she flinched. He had no idea why she’d done that since he wasn’t even close enough to touch her.

  “Froz,” Stryk said. “How far away do you think he is?”

  “He is too far to call back.” Hakk answered. “It would take him a few hours to get back here.”

  “Then I think we need to call in the chief medic,” Toak suggested.

  “Dryv.” Palk turned side on so he could see their security and communications chief, as well as keep an eye on the female.

  “Yes sir?”

  “Call for the lead medic and make sure he brings a universal translator injector.”

  “Yes sir,” Dryv
replied and then lifted his wrist to speak quietly into his coms unit.

  “She doesn’t look good,” Toak said as he moved to Palk’s side.

  “What the hell?” Palk snarled, glaring at his brother. “She is perfect.”

  Stryk placed a hand on his shoulder. “That’s not what Toak meant, Palk. The female looks like she's about to be sick, pass out, or both.”

  “Maybe we should back off,” Hakk suggested.

  “Good idea, but make sure that none of our warriors make a move toward her,” Palk glanced at Stryk. “She’s ours.”

  “Yes,” Stryk agreed with a nod and then turned to face the men filling the feasting hall. “None of you are to move or look at the female. She is ours.”

  Palk was glad that his older brother had just ordered their men to stay away from the female and that she was theirs. He wouldn’t have to worry about any of them making a move on her and since Stryk, Palk, Hakk, and Toak were the leaders of Safura and the surrounding galaxy the warriors knew what the consequences would be if they defied an order.

  * * * *

  River didn’t know how much longer she would be able to remain standing. Her stomach was roiling making her feel sick and no matter how much she tried to breathe regularly, she couldn’t. Sweat dotted her brow, upper lip, and even trickled between her breasts and her legs were shaking so much they felt weak. She didn’t have to be told she was having a panic attack and on the verge of passing out. Each time she drew another quick shallow breath her head swam with light headedness.

  She had no idea where she was or how she had even gotten here, but that seemed to be the least of her worries. The massive room was filled with tall, muscular men but it was the four large ones staring at her that scared the crap out of her, and although she knew the man with the dark brown hair had been talking to her, she couldn’t understand a word he’d said. From what she could see of those four and the glimpse of the others beyond them, they all wore some sort of leather pants and boots which ended mid-calf. None of them wore anything on their upper halves, but they all seemed to be armed. The holsters around their hips were black but the weapons nestled in those sheaths were something she would imagine seeing in a Sci-Fi movie.

  River knew she wasn’t going to last much longer when her vision began to fade and her legs buckled. She slid down the wall until her ass hit the floor and wrapped her arms around herself to try and still the quakes shaking her body. When she felt warm metal against her upper arm she stopped breathing, blinked a few times, and finally looked down. On her upper left arm was the glint of the golden bracelet encircling her limb and she remembered the woman bumping into her when she was about to enter her apartment building. But that wasn’t all. She remembered everything spinning around her and feeling as if she was floating on a cloud.

  “No,” she whispered and shook her head as she stared at the gold bracelet. “No, that’s no possible.” Her mind was spinning off in circles and the only scenario she could latch onto was that the jewelry was magical and had brought her to another time. She wondered if she’d fallen and hit her head on the counter in her apartment. That would make much more sense than the other option.

  River hadn’t even realized that her breathing had slowed after holding her breath for a bit but she was glad she was no longer panting like she’d just finished the hundred yard dash and her heart wasn’t beating so fast inside of her chest.

  However, that all changed when she saw movement in front of her and she looked up to see those same four men watching her avidly. The one that had been holding her crouched down onto his hands and knees and began to move toward her. She wanted to whimper but she’d already shown more fear in the last ten or so minutes than she had in her entire life. Nonetheless there was no way in hell she was letting him touch her again. The first time had been more than enough.

  “Stop,” she ordered and cringed when her voice didn’t come out commanding like she’d hoped. It pissed her off that her demand had come out so quietly and that her voice had trembled. When he moved forward a little more she held up her hand palm out and sighed with relief when he stopped. He shifted onto his haunches and although he was just out of touching distance, as she inhaled she couldn’t help but get a whiff of his scent.

  This time when her heart and breathing sped up it wasn’t because of fear, although she was still afraid, but instead it was because her body was reacting to the wonderful smell coming off of his big, warm, hulking body.

  Even though she tried to keep her eyes from connecting with his, the moment their gazes met she felt like he was drawing her to him. His eyes were brown just like his hair but in the middle of his orbs there was a bright purple pupil. Or what she thought might be a pupil.

  “What the hell are you?” This time her voice came out loud and she cringed when it echoed into the large cavernous room.

  The man titled his head to the side and said something and although she couldn’t understand a word he said, the deep gravelly cadence of his voice sent a shiver up her spine. When he moved closer she held her breath and her body still. She wasn’t sure why her fear of him was waning but she felt as if he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. His huge hand touched her forearm and she drew in a gasp when her body began to heat and tingles ripped through her frame.

  She caught something shining on his bare masculine chest and when she looked down at his left pectoral muscle she saw the tattoo-like circular swirl begin to glow the same color purple as his pupils.

  River couldn’t drag her gaze away. She felt like she was being mesmerized as the circles seemed to swirl faster and faster and with a deep inhalation she shoved his hand from her. The circles stopped swirling and the purple glow faded away. It took her a few seconds to notice that the heat and tingles were waning too and vowed to keep her distance from this man. When he’d touched her the desire burning inside of her had been so intense she wanted to grab a hold of him and see what happened next.

  Shit River! Are you crazy? Those thoughts are dangerous girl. What you need to do is find out where you are and then how to get the hell out of here.

  Chapter Two

  “Did you see that?” Toak asked with awe.

  “Yes,” Stryk answered. “Where is the fucking medic?”

  “Right here, sir.”

  Toak and his brothers turned as the chief medic, Damk, moved to stand between him and Hakk.

  “Is the translator for the female?” Damk asked.

  Toak turned to glare at the man when he heard admiration in his voice.

  “You will not touch the female other than to insert the translator,” he commanded in a hard voice. “Is that understood?”

  “Yes sir.” Damk nodded. “Who is she? Where did she come from?”

  “We will ask the female the questions after you have given her the shot,” Stryk said in a growly voice.

  “Will she let me get close to her?” Damk asked. “She looks a little frightened.”

  “We will hold her if necessary,” Stryk said.

  “That will only scare her more.” Palk sighed.

  “Do you have any other ideas?” Stryk asked.

  Palk, Hakk, and Toak shook their heads.

  “Palk, see if you can get her to come to you,” Toak said.

  Palk knelt down on the floor again and this time when he reached out toward her he didn’t touch her, giving her the choice of the physical connection.

  Toak wanted to move closer too, but he didn’t want to overwhelm the small female who was destined to be his and his brothers’ mate. When she lifted her arm he held his breath and it took everything in him not to shout with joy when she clasped Palk’s hand.

  With a slowness Toak had never seen from Palk before, his brother rose to his feet, helping the female up from the floor. Palk took a step back and when she followed took another and another.

  Toak, Hakk, and Stryk stepped to the side giving Palk freedom to move wherever he was leading their mate. When Palk stopped at the large table he drew a ch
air back and smiled down at the female, gesturing with his free hand for her to sit. She glanced back at Toak and his other brothers over her shoulder before taking a seat and when Palk sat beside her he didn’t relinquish her hand.

  “We should sit, too. Hopefully she will relax when we are seated and then Damk can creep up from behind and inject her without us having to restrain her,” Toak suggested.

  “Good idea brother,” Stryk murmured before walking toward the table.

  Toak and Hakk followed and when they were all seated and Damk had moved out of her line of sight, and as she glanced back over her shoulder, she sighed. Toak realized it was a sigh of relief.

  * * * *

  Once River knew the strange men weren’t going to hurt her and were in fact trying to help her, she relaxed. The smell of food caused her mouth to fill with saliva and her empty stomach to rumble. She stared at the steam rising from the laden plates set on the table and although she didn’t know what any of it was, it smelled delicious.

  The man with the brown eyes filled a glass full of a blue colored liquid and after taking a cautious sniff and smelling what she thought was some sort of juice, she took a sip. Flavor exploded on her taste buds and she couldn’t stop the moan of appreciation forming in her chest from escaping. River quickly drained the contents and handed the empty glass back to the brown-eyed man with a smile.

  She yelped when searing pain pierced her neck and clutched at her head as agony traveled from the side of her throat to and up into her brain. She’d never felt anything so bad in her life. It was way more than what she figured a migraine and brain freeze would feel like at the same time.