Red-eye grabbed his hair and yanked his head back. “Sire Seldon told you to twirl, so twirl, model boy. You’ve learned how I’m guessing.”
Daniel whimpered at the pain. The man shoved him as he let go. Daniel composed himself and tried to twirl and not get caught in the chain. It wasn’t graceful, but he managed a full circle.
“Nice,” Seldon said. “I’ll train this one.”
Daniel’s blood turned to ice in his veins.
“And this one?” red-eye asked.
“I’ll take the last one,” the blue-eyed man said.
Seldon and the red-eyed walked to the railing and, to Daniel’s horror, he saw them signing papers. Was that payment being exchanged? Was he being bought? He snuck a glance at his fellow captives. Their expressions mirrored his horror and confusion.
The purple-eyed woman went to stand in front of the girl she had just bought and had help from the red-eyed men to take off the girl’s collar. As soon as the metal was removed from her neck, she broke out in a feral scream and jumped at the woman who grabbed her chin and lifted her clear off the floor. In one arm.
That certainly took the fight out of the girl. And if the purple-eyed woman could be that strong, Daniel didn’t want to know how strong the green-eyed guy, double the size of the woman, could be.
“Did you learn something?”
Daniel whipped his head around to look at Seldon, standing mere feet from him with a collar in his hand. He’d been so focused on what was happening to the girl that he hadn’t seen the man advance on him. Seldon held up the collar. It looked cold, metallic, and technical.
“Why do I have to wear it?”
Seldon scoffed. “More than three thousand years of experience has taught us that humans don’t like giving up their freedom. You need to be broken in.”
Daniel shook from pent up anger, regret, hate, and most of all fear. Beside him, both the girl and boy were crying, fighting, and yelling.
The question from before came to mind. What was he? The one with the least amount of fight in him? Or the one who chose his battles? The notion that adversity showed what a man was really made of seemed true at this point, and even though this guy frightened him, he figured pissing him off would be the biggest threat to his safety at the moment. So Daniel summed up whatever courage he could find within himself and stood tall. All five, eleven.
“A stubborn one,” Seldon said, smiling. The red-eyed men took the metal collar off Daniel and Seldon replaced it with the one in his hand. “This one is coded to me. It is electric. Don’t test me.” The coldness in that baritone voice sent a shiver of fresh fear through Daniel. Seldon put a hand on Daniel’s neck and, contrary to what Daniel had expected, the man didn’t squeeze and yank him. He just led him from the arena and into the hall he had come from. But they didn’t go back to the train tracks.
Seldon led them to the right further down, and Daniel finally got to take in the place. It seemed to be a maze of wide halls with strange red markings on the walls and no windows. Everything looked the same.
They entered an elevator that didn’t have numbers on the buttons, but markings. Some red, others white, blue, green, and purple. Seldon pushed one of the green buttons, and they exited a minute later in a hall with green markings on the walls. Another maze worth of hallways without windows later and they finally stopped by a door. He noticed there was quite far between the doors in this hallway. Other than that little detail, he had no chance of finding his way back.
“Can I ask you something?” Daniel asked.
“Try.”
“The markings. The colors?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“So I can find my way around.”
Seldon turned to look at him with an amused look on his face. “What makes you think you’ll be leaving my place alone?” Still not knowing what the hell he had been bought for didn’t help him find an answer to the question, and the fact that he was still naked didn’t help. “Come on. Let’s get inside and I’ll go over some of the rules you’ll be living under.” Seldon opened the door. Daniel pulled a face at the big man’s back as they entered.
Another hallway but this one ended further ahead in what looked like a den with black and white leather furniture in front of a huge window.
“Notice these spots in the wall?” The big man pointed them out on each side as they walked the length. “That means the hallway is off limits to you.”
They stopped, and Seldon pushed some buttons on a panel just out of arm’s reach down the hall from the den. The collar beeped, and Daniel’s mind took him back to some sci-fi horror flick about collars rigged with explosives that would blow a head clean off.
“If you enter the hallway, you’ll get electrocuted. Won’t kill you, but I can promise you, you’ll learn from it. Do you understand?”
Daniel looked around and nodded. Seldon grabbed his jaw and pushed him against the wall, making him yelp.
“And you will always answer me!”
“Yes,” he mumbled.
“Master. Yes, Master. My name is Seldon, but you have to earn the right to use it.”
Oh, hell no!
Seldon squeezed, and Daniel cried out in pain.
“Yes, Master,” he croaked, and the pain subsided as Seldon let go of his jaw. Daniel put his hand on the collar, once again regretting skipping school. Seldon pointed, and Daniel followed him through the big and brightly lit den with panoramic windows. He didn’t get to focus much more on the view as Seldon led him to a modernized kitchen. Everything was clean, white or black, and chrome. And everything had its place.
“You’ll make your own food, and when I have guests who eat human food, you’ll cook for them, too. You’ll clean the house, and I want a clean house at all times. Understood?” Seldon asked. Daniel nodded, his brain caught on the words human food. Pain exploded from his cheek as Seldon slapped his face, hard. “I will punish you if you fail.”
“Yes…Master.”
“Good. Now, come on.”
Daniel followed him through the den, his cheek and eyes stinging. Okay, he was apparently going to be a house slave. Three steps led up to a hallway. To the immediate right, an open staircase led to the second floor.
“Down this hall are your room and my bedroom. For starters, you’ll be in my room. Eventually, you’ll earn this one.” Seldon opened a door to a nice room with a desk, a closet, a big soft-looking bed, and a panoramic view facing the same way as the den’s. He still didn’t get to inspect it, though, because Seldon closed the door and led him to the end of the hall revealing an even bigger bedroom with an even bigger bed and the same panoramic view. In front of the window, a stylish vanity table, and a matching chair stood. To the right of it was the huge bed. By the opposite wall was a single bed with a sturdy metal frame. Equipped with shackles. The two beds stood six feet apart, making up a path to a walk-in closet. At the foot of the bed with shackles, a door led to a bathroom.
“That’ll be your bed until you’ve earned otherwise. Understand?”
Daniel swallowed hard and nodded before remembering that not answering would hurt. “Yes, Master,” he said, quietly.
“Good.” Seldon closed the door and led him to the second floor. An indoor pool, a spa, a bar, a sofa corner, a pool table, and an area where the floor was only covered by big pillows. This was like landing in paradise, except he was a fucking slave. “Whoever comes here, you will serve at my discretion.”
That word again, yet he still had no idea what they meant by serving.
“What kind of…service?”
Seldon sighed and motioned for him to continue his sentence. When Daniel didn’t, he grabbed a handful of hair and pulled his face closer to his. Those green glowing eyes were fucking scary, and Daniel’s brain kicked into gear, making his mouth add the title Master.
Seldon let go and continued into the room. “Food, drinks, clean ups, stuff like that. No one, and I repeat, no one is allowed to touch you in a sexual manner. If they
do, you yell for me. I’ll escort them from my premises. You’re not allowed to touch anyone that way, either.”
“Only you are?” Daniel’s brain force-fed him images of the big man holding him down, and bile rose in the back of his throat from fear.
“What?”
“Master…only you’re allowed to touch me?” God, he felt like a fucking retard because he still didn’t understand the full ramifications of what his life would be like now. And he felt like a weakling for succumbing to the man’s demand at being called master. Seeing a woman of five foot eight lift a girl her own size from the floor by one arm still lingered and put some perspective on big-ass green-eyed man here.
Seldon smiled and shook his head. “Not even I am allowed to touch you like that. Not a lot anyway. You’re an Untouchable. A specific kind of slave.”
“So you’re not going to rape me?” Did he really just ask that?
Seldon gave him a pointed look, and Daniel managed to wring the word master from his mouth again, but he hadn’t managed the keep the surprise from his tone. He hadn’t even planned on asking it.
“You are to remain untouched until you’re twenty-two at least. The Grand House decides when. Until then, it’s my turn to train an Untouchable. Those are our laws.”
Our laws. Your kind. Okay, the glowing eyes kind of set them apart, but they were human, right? Any other explanation was impossible.
“You look confused. How much was explained to you on your way in?”
“We were collected to serve. That’s it.”
Seldon closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “Fine, come on. I need coffee. This day’s schedule slipped from the moment I got up.” Seldon led them to the bar where he took a seat on one of the stools. “Get back there. You might as well get used to where things are.”
Daniel went behind the well-stocked bar and looked around for the coffee machine. He, too, could use a cup. If his master would allow him one. This was so fucked up, but he saw no point in getting on the guy’s bad side, since he could apparently earn his own room, and he’d been told he wasn’t to be raped. He still didn’t understand the rest, but knowing that he wasn’t going to be used in sleazy porn movies or be a sex slave he figured he could live with it.
Chapter Five
Seldon was tired. Since morning, he had given eight doses for the new stock, and he hadn’t fed yet—hadn’t fed the day before either to make the doses stronger. What a bad time to get an Untouchable. He needed to feed, soon. That had been the plan when Caledon came for him. He’d never trained one of these Untouchables. Over the past sixty-two years, he’d trained plenty of the human breeders who had problems adjusting to their fate. But this boy was not just pretty, he was fucking beautiful. He still had that young boyish charm about him, but the combination of nose, eyes, eyebrows, jaw line…aesthetically he was perfect. A bit slow, but they all were in the beginning. Either way, as soon as he had seen him, he had wanted him. Thank God the Grand House only wanted the girl, since he only had first dibs amongst the Lord’s Houses. He’d have to tell Heimli good job on hunting this one. Pride of his daughter’s hunting team filled him again. She had been clever in joining that team.
Just the thought of getting to classify Daniel was worth not being allowed to touch him for three years. God, he hoped he was a match to himself. The chances were slim, but a man could hope. Didn’t really matter. He probably wouldn’t get to keep him as a companion once classified. Not with looks like those. Whatever grand lord or lady who could feed upon him would claim him the second Seldon had finished his job.
Watching the naked body move behind the bar made him restless from hunger. His dick hardened painfully, and he knew it would stay that way until he fed. He’d have to control himself, though. First of all, he’d have to explain all this to the boy, since the transporters hadn’t wasted the time. Probably because of the fighter. That guy was a piece of work. Seldon hadn’t seen him yet—just heard more from the red-eyes taking the new stock in. Seldon had set the parameters for the initial training and would check in later, hoping the isolation would help break down the fighter’s walls.
But how to approach the boy? One thing was being in charge of the training of all humans coming to Lord Caledon’s House, another was training an Untouchable. The boy would be shown what this world was like by seeing him feed on a human, later. It would help in the training, but sometimes it released a plethora of questions, too. They’d have to wait until the morning. For now, he’d go over the basics.
He wondered whether he should have the boy cover up to not make the problem in his pants anymore painful, but he decided against it. The boy would get clothes to wear as was standard for the Untouchables, but when it was just the two of them, Seldon would enjoy the view.
The boy found one cup and poured, sending stolen glances his way. He finally served the cup for Seldon.
“Do you drink coffee?”
The boy nodded and Seldon sighed at the whole process of making a new slave say the word master. It could take weeks. He’d end up bruising him before the day was over if the boy didn’t get over his aversion to the word, soon. Seldon took a breath to yell at him, but the boy interrupted with a quiet, “Yes, Master.”
I’m too tired to go into this shit now. “Then get a cup for yourself, too.” Seldon also knew that he had to start out rough with the fighters, or they’d never learn. And he still didn’t know what to expect from the boy. The way he had held his head high could indicate he’d be a challenge. The first trainee in his time had been a disaster. One thing was Daniel being beautiful—Seldon would be envied for having him—but if he wasn’t well trained that envy would quickly turn to lack of respect for Seldon’s abilities to train his slaves. He could kiss a place in the Grand House goodbye, when his eyes eventually changed to purple, if that was the case. That and the lack of respect wouldn’t just hurt him, but the honor of Lord Caledon. That was one man whose wrath Seldon never wished to experience.
“Living as my slave doesn’t have to be bad. You choose. Do as I say and be respectful, hell, you can even use the pool. But if you miss addressing me respectfully, I will punish you. Your behavior reflects back on me. I’ll be upping it from a slap to the face to spankings if that isn’t enough to make you understand it. Okay?”
The boy nodded and added, “Yes Master.”
“Good. Now, you have noticed we look a bit different. Namely our eyes.”
“Yes, Master.”
Seldon chuckled. “We’ll find a balance, because I don’t want you to sound like a broken record, saying yes master every time. Anyway. Have you ever heard of an Incubus?” Seldon asked and drank his coffee.
“It’s a…rock band.”
That almost made Seldon snort into his coffee. “And where do you think the band got the idea? You snoozed in school, didn’t you?”
Daniel blushed and shrugged, looking insecure with how to respond. Seldon waved it off and continued.
“An Incubus is, according to history, a demon that feeds off sex while a Succubus is a female version, doing the same.”
“Demon?” Daniel’s eyes went wide.
“Yeah, but the word demon has taken on quite a different meaning nowadays. In its time, it was also a word used for benevolent beings like angels. That’s not all time has fucked up. Incubi and Succubi are not placed under a sexuality the way humans think of it. Like you, how’d you label your sexuality?”
“Straight.”
“Good luck with that here. But who knows, you might get lucky when classified and only be able to feed a Succubus. I can only feed on men.”
Daniel seemed to be searching for a way to phrase a question. Either that or he was summoning up the courage to do so. Seldon drank the rest of his coffee and held it out to be refilled. Daniel topped off his cup, and Seldon looked at him expectantly to ask the question.
“The part about your laws and me having to be twenty-two…?”
The question stopped there, and Seldon figured it was
because the boy couldn’t word the rest due to confusion. “Yeah. Some humans begin to evolve into a Succubus or an Incubus once exposed to doses. They’re called Changelings. It takes many years, but aging will slow and finally stop. The first Cubi queen decided eons ago that twenty-two is the lowest age so the Cubus won’t end up not being able to form the relationships needed to feed. It was actually older once, but now it’s twenty-two. You’re an Untouchable because you’re less than twenty-two. We don’t often get someone as young as you. I’m to protect you and teach you our ways until you come of age.”
“What’s a dose?”
“It’s a secretion of powerful mating hormones released through glands in our sex organs or in our mouth. We’re all born with human-looking eyes. Once the Cubus has been fed and dosed enough, the iris will turn red. That’s when we seclude ourselves from humanity, and the younger Cubi, still able to walk amongst humans, collect humans to serve us. Some humans change, others don’t.”
Daniel gaped. “So you were once human?”
“No, I was born a Cubus four hundred thirty-six years ago. My eyes changed when I was around a hundred. First red, then light blue, dark blue, then green. And only born Cubi can gain enough energy to get purple eyes and become a member of the Grand House. The eye-color also tells of the potency of our dose and general strengths.”
“I can…become an Incubus?” The boy didn’t look too pleased with that.
“Less than one-third of humans change. But the transformation attempt can’t begin until you’re older, so for the next three years you are not to be touched. No sex for you.”
The boy’s eyes grew wide. “Three years?” he exclaimed.
“Well, you can have sex with yourself. But no contact with fluids from one of us.”
“And the other humans?”
“Are dosed, so no. They could turn you by transferring dose, and if you’re not fed regularly by a Cubus that can go all kinds of wrong. Changing one of you is actually pretty intense work. You’re only a slave until dosed to see whether you can turn or not. If you don’t turn, then you continue to be food for us until the pretty wears off. Then you become a labor slave. Except you’re an Untouchable, meaning you’ll be trained to be a companion for a high-level Incubus or Succubus, depending on which gender you’re classified to feed.”
Untouchable Beauty Page 3