The Shifter’s Nanny

by T. S. Ryder

  Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, it happened. The flames burst, sending shockwaves up and down her spine, radiating into her limbs. Her eyes widened and her spine curved and a million choirs burst out singing in her brain. She was aware of Taliga moving her so she was fully on the bed. Then he was over her. Then he was in her, and the chorus reached a new crescendo.

  She didn't think it could possibly get better, but it did. And every time she thought she had reached the highest point, Taliga was there pulling her higher and higher. And when he was done, she lay on the bed, gasping for breath, her thoughts a scattered mess.

  ***

  Taliga's hand laid gently against her stomach, making her stir. Vanessa opened a sleepy eye and smiled at her T'shav. Her whole body still throbbed with the gift he had given her, and she had never felt so at peace. She snuggled deeper into his arms.

  "We've got a little baby in there. A strong baby," he murmured.

  Vanessa nodded. She yawned. "Do you know now?"

  "Know what?"

  "If I'm your Starmate. It's okay if I'm not… I know that not all T'shav have Starmates. And I'm not sure that I really believe it, anyway."

  Taliga chuckled in her ear. "I do. I've always believed in Starmates. And yes, you're mine. It's the only thing that makes sense. We were destined to be together. From the beginning of time to its end. I love you, and I will always love you."

  "I love you, too." Vanessa smiled as she drifted back into sleep. At last, she was home.

  *****

  THE END

  Given to the Barbarian

  Description

  Killing is never the answer. Unless you’re a T’Shav gladiator.

  T’Shav gladiator Gylden’s job is to kill. Sold to a television network, every second of his life has been filmed. As long as he kills and the public likes him, he lives. It’s a good thing he loves his broadsword so much.

  But who’s that delicious human he’s supposed to protect?

  Bianca is ready for a fresh start after her abduction from Earth. What she hadn’t counted on was being sold as a slave to a sexy gladiator’s every want. Least of all feel an intense desire for the ruthless alien.

  This is definitely not the moment to be feeling so turned on. But all she can think about is to let him throw her onto the bed and ravish her.

  But Gylden and Bianca have to do not just one, but two things to survive. First: fight to the death in the Freedom Games. Oh, and second? Kiss on camera to entertain the billions of viewers.

  The stakes are high. Desire even higher. It sure as hell isn’t easy to watch him take her whipping for her. Can he rise his broadsword once more to save her curves and their unborn baby?

  Chapter One – Gylden

  The artificial sun of the arena beat down on Gylden's head, making sweat drip down his shorn head. The wound on his arm, hastily bandaged with a slap of fleshseal, ached with every move he made, but that was his own fault for being so sloppy. He shouldn't have underestimated his opponent.

  The T'shav's devil-red body gleamed in the bright light, the pinkish hue of his traluthian steel broadsword muted with sand clinging to the blood he had already spilled today.

  His opponent, a hulking, hairy Ernesian was clearly not doing too well with the heat; but if he couldn't make it through a day of training, he wasn't going to survive during a battle day. Not that Gylden cared–in his opinion, they ought to be allowed to kill weaker opponents during training. It was less cruel that way. It would also save the Rayne Five Network some money on feeding and patching up the cannon fodder before they were sent into the arena to die.

  But then, the network's viewers liked to see these underdogs die, or be given cheats to help them survive in the arena. Just last week, another T'shav had faced off against a toady Rlabek. The Rlabek was given a blaster and sword. The T'shav was given nothing. But that was because the public loved the Rlabek and hated the T'shav. So, of course the network skewed it in the toad's favor.

  Gylden feinted to the left, his opponent clumsily following. The T'shav shook his head. This one wouldn't last more than five minutes in the arena. Unless, of course, he made himself a viewer favorite. But Ernesians were hairy, ugly things, with far too much muscle to be attractive. No, this one didn't have a chance. It was almost a pity.

  A long, loud whistle blew. Gylden glanced at the screens that surrounded the arena and saw that they were calling for the gladiators to stand at attention. He quickly took his place and strapped his sword to its place on his back. His heart hammered.

  Today was the day when the orders for the next few arena battles would be proclaimed. With any luck, he'd sit out, have a little while free from being forced to kill others–although it was doubtful. His youthful appearance and lean figure, unlike the T'shav's usual bulk, made him a favorite fighter. Not in the way that gave him extra privileges in the arena itself, but the public enjoyed watching him fight.

  The small camera drones that were constant to all of them buzzed around the gladiators as they lined up, waiting for the purple-skinned Suesue, Taskus Draw, who hosted the Rayne Five Network arenas, to descend in his usual flare.

  As Gylden stood at attention, a few of the drones left the lesser-known gladiators to focus on him. He tried to ignore them, but as the elevator slowly sank in from the sky, his own heart skipped a beat. He had lost track of time with the day in and day out fighting and training, but it was that time of year–these were going to be the Freedom Games.

  Once every standard year, various corporations put on their expos, unveiling new technology and the like. The expos always drew in thousands of millions of viewers. And if any of those corporations had human-based experiments, there were sure to be protests, perhaps even an incursion from the infamous Zon Sanctuary to stop them and steal the humans.

  Taskus Draw had implemented the freedom games to counteract these distractions a decade ago. During this time, the gladiators were faced with certain tasks. If they survived, then they were granted their freedom from the games and were put on as trainers instead of gladiators.

  But what would his task be this year?

  Doesn't matter. I will kill whoever I need to kill.

  Although most of the gladiators at the arena were condemned prisoners who chose this as their method of execution, there were others like him who had been raised here. Slaves, trained to fight and kill since they were first brought in. Only the slaves were allowed to participate in the Freedom Games.

  If he was right, he would be able to leave the arena battlefields for good.

  When the elevator lowered to eye level for the gladiators, Gylden frowned. Taskus Draw stood at the forefront, wearing his expected glittering, skin-tight catsuit that left nothing to the imagination, his three horns strung with garlands. But there were also dozens of women on the elevator platform behind him. There was a mix of species up there. They all wore clothing from their native worlds. Some had slave brandings on some part of their bodies, while the others had clear skin. Drones buzzed around them.

  The gladiators rarely saw women in their ranks. Was this Taskus Draw's plan, to have women slaughtered in the arena? Gylden couldn’t believe that would improve ratings. Certainly not when they all looked as terrified as these women did.

  The drones turned from emitting a pale blue light to dark red, indicating that they were broadcasting directly to the network instead of the side streaming broadcasts. Gylden attempted to wipe all emotion from his face.

  "Gladiators," Taskus Draw boomed in the deep, melodious voice that had won him no less than five awards that year, "you have fought long and hard to be the best you are, and for that, we have brought you rewards."

  Some of the women started to cry.

  "You each have the chance to choose one of these women as your mates for the next week's Freedom Games. She will be a slave to your every want, but she will also come into the arena with you. You will have to defend her with your lives… but if you both survive by the end of the w
eek, then you will both be given your freedom, and you will be made a trainer rather than a fighter, and you will be provided for, for the rest of your lives."

  Gylden's heart leaped. He tried to swallow down his hope. Who knew what sort of dangers they'd face? Besides that, all of these women looked useless. How was he meant to keep his alive?

  "Come choose your mate now," Taskus Draw said. "But be warned; if two gladiators choose the same woman, they must fight to the death for her!"

  Gylden cast another glance over the women. His eyes passed over all of them until Taskus Draw stepped to one side. The woman standing behind him looked as frightened as the rest of them, but her hands clenched and she cast a challenging glare at the gladiators. She was all curves from head to toe, breasts so full he would have trouble containing them in his hands, hips wide and lush, legs shapely and straight.

  But that wasn't all. Her skin was a peculiar shade similar to the sand beneath his feet, her hair thick about her shoulders. He'd only seen a species that looked like that on the network broadcasts he was permitted to watch when recovering from a bad injury.

  Human. She was human.

  He started forward, intent on claiming her as his at once, but the Ernesian he had been fighting earlier was quicker. The hairy ape bounded forward and grabbed the woman, flinging her over his shoulder. She screamed, flailing about.

  An irrational surge of anger flared in Gylden. The T'shav drew his weapon, narrowing his black eyes.

  "The woman is mine, Ernesian," he said. "If you value your life, you will choose another."

  The other gladiators formed a circle around the two, and the drones buzzed overhead, some focused in on Gylden's face, others on the Ernesian, yet others on the woman. Taskus Draw rubbed his hands, a gleeful look in his eye.

  "Let me go," the woman shouted, squirming against the Ernesian. She beat on his back with her fists. "Let me go!"

  The Ernesian spat and dropped her to the ground. He charged Gylden. The T'shav merely waited for the ape to get too close to change direction before putting his sword between them. The Ernesian impaled himself on the blade. He didn't seem to notice, hands reaching out to grasp at Gylden. The T'shav sidestepped the creature and withdrew his sword. With an easy stroke, he separated the Ernesian's head from its shoulders.

  The women screamed. Taskus Draw clapped his hands. The other gladiators broke their circle and went to claim their own mates. They were smart enough not to fight him over this one. Gylden wiped his sword off on the Ernesian's body and marched to the human, who lay on the ground with a horrified expression.

  She didn't fight against him when he grabbed her wrist and dragged her towards the barracks. Her eyes were wide and fearful. A few of the drones followed him, but the rest stayed behind, split evenly among the rest of the gladiators. Another fight had broken out, but Gylden ignored it.

  There had been a time when all the gladiators were kept in the same open barracks, but after a surge of gladiators sneaking about at night, cutting the throats of their competitors, the network had spent the money to give them each their own, private rooms.

  Gylden's was full of the luxuries he had been afforded for winning many of his past tournaments. He had an Air Cushion mattress, which adjusted itself to always support him perfectly as he slept, his own medicinal cabinet, a carpet, and an old holoscreen tuned into the Rayne Five Network so he would not need to be bored.

  All in all, a comfortable room.

  The T'shav turned to his new human mate, eyeing her again. She backed away from him, her pulse beating in her throat. When his eyes met hers, the pupils seemed to expand, but Gylden wasn't about to mistake it for desire. She was terrified of him, as she should be. One did not survive as long as he had in the arenas without gaining a reputation.

  But if they were going to be mates, he didn't want her to fear him this much. He cleared his throat. "What's your name?"

  Chapter Two – Bianca

  Holy cow, I should not be feeling so turned on right now.

  Bianca swallowed hard, her hands shaking as she stared at the massive–but not too massive–T'shav that stood before her. His two black eyes were like candles igniting flames deep inside of her, the hard contours of his body begging for her hands to run over them, to feel every inch of his impressive body.

  She had watched the gladiator games after she had been stolen from the little farming community she had been living at, but up close she saw the multitude of black tattoos on his skin weren't just for decoration. They all covered up scars.

  "What's your name?" he asked again.

  Does that matter? The question was on the tip of her tongue–at that moment she would have been more than happy to let him throw her onto the bed and ravish her.

  Not that those types of thoughts were new to her, but she had thought that she had gotten over the self-destructive behavior of going for the bad boys who would use her up and leave her high and dry.

  When she had been pulled from a stasis pod and learned that she had been abducted from Earth and was billions of years in the future where Earth was a dead planet and humans were a rare species, she had promised herself that this time she wasn't going to mess things up. She was going to apply herself to her studies, she was going to build a good life for herself. No more drugs, no more boyfriends that didn't respect her, no more letting anybody tell her she wasn't good enough.

  The T'shav stepped a little closer, making her mouth go dry. "My name is Gylden."

  She found her voice. "I know. When I was sold to the network, they made me watch the gladiator games."

  The bloody images she had seen on them were seared to her mind. At first, she hadn’t believed they were real. She had outright refused to believe it. But they were real, and now she was going to go into that arena herself.

  All amorous feelings towards the T'shav before her vanished. She swayed on the spot as her stomach roiled. Gylden caught her and led her to the bed. It was only when he sat her down on it and let his hands linger on her shoulders that she remembered where she was and what this whole situation meant.

  If he started undressing her, would she resist? No… in this situation, she would willingly cling to whatever familiarity she could find, and whether he was an alien species–or a subspecies of human, depending on how you looked at it–or not, sex was familiar. Even if he was utterly talentless, it would still be a great distraction, wouldn't it?

  A drone whizzed around his head, reminding her that they were being watched right now, and she shied away from him. Scratch that. She might have sunk pretty low at times, but she wasn't going to participate in some sort of live-action porn. Especially if she wasn't getting paid for it!

  "Are you ready to tell me your name now?" Gylden asked. He seemed unaware of the drone.

  "Bianca," she said, eyeing the drone. A lot of the technology that she had seen was still electronically-based. With the right electromagnetic field, she could wipe out all of these drones. But where would she get the components she needed? "Bianca Forrester."

  Gylden sat beside her. "And you're human."

  "Yes."

  The T'shav hesitated a moment before putting his hand on her knee. "They say that the human womb accepts seed from all the species since we are all descended from humans."

  "Which also means that you could be my direct descendant, and we don't want to get all creepy here," Bianca blurted, leaning away from him. "Besides which, I have a very deadly human sexually transmitted disease that would kill you."

  Gylden's mouth twitched. In amusement? "I laud your efforts, but you would have been thoroughly screened before being selected to be a gladiator's mate. And I don't believe that you ever had a child. You don't have the look of a mother about you."

  Bianca opened her mouth to challenge him but shrugged. It was true enough, and she was never really good at keeping lies straight. "So you can't be my direct descendant. That doesn't mean that you should…"

  "Seduce you?" his voice became velvety. "I assure y
ou, Bianca Forrester, when I have you it will be because you are begging for my touch."

  Well, he was pretty confident about that. Bianca had a feeling it was the truth, too. And because she wanted to start that begging right away, she jumped to her feet and moved away.

  Gylden's expression softened. "I know what is right and what is wrong, and it's wrong for anybody to force themselves on another being. Even if you are my slave and ought to do whatever I tell you to."

  Bianca's gaze flickered to his mouth, and for a moment she forgot why she shouldn't give into the flare of heat that rose in her. The familiar need rose in her belly, urging her to throw him onto the bed and ride him like a horse. But one of the drones cast its blue light onto her face and she turned away.

  There was a holoscreen. Ancient-looking, but it would have the circuit board she needed for an EMP generator. If she could get some tools under the pretense of wanting to fix it, then she could strip some wires and build what she needed. It would be crude, but she had a magic touch when it came to technology.

  Not that her parents ever would have acknowledged that.

  "You're fighting your desire for me," Gylden whispered. "I can see it in your eyes. But that desire… is it for me or a desire to find some familiar thing to cling to?"

  Her head snapped up so fast that she cricked her neck. Her eyes widened. "How do you…"

  With a movement so swift that she nearly missed it, Gylden plucked the drone out of the air. He clenched it in his fist and leaned in close, his gaze intent on her eyes. Whatever seductive nuances that had been there moments ago were gone.