V'hor's Nestmate

by Michelle Howard

  It was appalling to think worlds far away believed in the selling and buying of living beings as sexual chattel. Earth abolished the practice centuries ago and with the shortage of men it wasn’t remotely an issue any more.

  At least Angie hadn’t suffered the same fate. Her friend was probably head over heels in love with the shifter she’d selected. The few short notices Eva had received while still on the Valiant had been glowing with praise for her mate as she referred to him.

  “Start the playback of Vanquish’s last three fights. No, play the most brutal ones. That should stir up interest in tonight’s bout. I want the crowd juicing for the entertainment.”

  The chain trailing from the collar about Eva’s neck clinked while the alien who believed he owned her leaned back in his seat and spoke into the communicator at his wrist. An implanted translator in her ears enabled her to understand every alien word spoken in this god forsaken place.

  Though she pretended not to, Eva listened carefully to him. Mannid owned and ran the entire complex referred to as The Pit. The simple name said enough about the arena where illegal brawls took place for money. There were several expensively designed levels but the bottom floor where the matches actually occurred was literally a pit.

  Which didn’t seem to matter to the contenders or those who came to gamble and watch. Mannid took an enormous amount of pride in the success of the place. It was always packed, especially this area where the more wealthy customers mingled with the handful of fighters who made an appearance before the event started.

  Moments after giving the order, a holo screen appeared directly beneath the domed ceiling with 3-D viewing to those present in the lounge area and other sections. Eva scanned the growing crowd. Everyone’s attention was drawn to the images playing in brilliant color above them.

  Blood. It sprayed everywhere then dispersed. Those watching gasped at the realistic display. Eva swallowed a wave of nausea as the blond on screen demolished his opponent. He was lean, but every inch tightly packed with muscles down his torso, arms rippling with biceps and thick forearms. Dressed in leather pants in an awful shade of green, but feet bare, he attacked his opponent in a flurry of moves.

  Formal strikes mixed with dirty pool hits to the groin and high flying kicks in the air. Claws raked, fists pounded and legs whirled. It was an amazing display of martial skills with an added touch of gruesome.

  Toward the end, it was clear the centipede like thing he fought didn’t stand a chance. It struggled on the ground where it had fallen from a brutal punch to the back of one of its many legs. The angle and subsequent crunch revealed a bone protruding from torn green skin at the knee. It attempted to crawl away on its belly, but the blond wasn’t having it and straddled its back.

  Hands gripped the thin veiny neck tight then twisted. An audible snap was heard in surround sound. Eva gagged. The blond dropped his opponent and stood with his arms raised to the screaming crowd. The holo zoomed in on the lifeless creature, its eyes bulging. Then the close up panned to the winner. Brilliant green eyes shaped like diamonds stared out into the chanting crowd.

  They were the most chilling part about him. Eyes that identified him as a Serpine. Eyes that showed no emotion for the life he’d just taken. Dead eyes.

  Eva shivered as the scene segued into another fight featuring the blond. This time he appeared evenly matched. Or so Eva thought. He raced across the arena floor and launched himself at an opponent who resembled a wolf man. The top of its body covered in fur, a face with a long snout and narrow red eyes. The bottom half was that of a normal bi-ped. Two human looking legs dressed in a knee length skirt of some sort.

  “Vanquish! Vanquish!” The real life cheer started from those around the lounge enthralled by the viewing.

  Eva tensed as the sound grew in volume, the air taking on a manic quality which often led to fights breaking out and an occasional stampede. She’d seen it all since Mannid dragged her with him to The Pit.

  She glanced over to catch his reaction to the replay he’d ordered as entertainment. He sat chest forward in his seat, expression entranced. Eva turned back to the holo and its macabre brawl. The Serpine ducked around the wolf man and managed to wrestle him to the ground from behind. He drove his fist into the snout, causing it to crunch. A guttural cry of pain went up. Then screams. So many screams.

  Eva placed her hands over her ears, but it did nothing to muffle the expensive sound system. Over and over he beat on his opponent until it was obvious the wolf man was no longer fighting back. That didn’t stop the Serpine. More blood spurted from the destroyed face as he gouged wolf man’s eyes and tore an orb free to hold aloft.

  Oh, shit! Unable to watch more, Eva turned away and tried to concentrate on keeping her stomach from losing its contents. Mannid jumped to his feet and punched his fist in the air on a cheer as those around them yelled and screamed.

  Another fight must have come on because everyone’s gaze stayed looking up. Eva wished she could mute the sounds of horror. Almost worst than the prior two since there was begging and pleading followed by a squeal and liquid squirting.

  The silence after was eerie before Mannid snapped his fingers and pulse pounding music picked up with a heavy bass undertone. Mannid dropped back into his seat, grinning down at her.

  “Did you see? That is how Vanquish wins in The Pit. Leave none standing.”

  His evil blue eyes crawled feverishly over her partially clad body and Eva took it for the warning it was meant to be and tried to brace herself. He laughed and tugged viciously on her chain. Eva rocked, but regained her balance on her knees. The show of resistance brought his anger to the forefront, any pleasure from watching the fight highlights gone in an instant as he raised his hand poised to strike.

  Everything in her said to retaliate, but she held back. She would have her day. Somehow, someway, her fate wasn’t to be the slave of someone who was rotten to the core.

  Pain burst across her cheek a second later.

  ***

  V’hor ignored the replay of the fights on the holo. His attention was caught by the dark haired woman covering her ears on the more graphic scenes. The male sprawled in the chair beside her laughed as he yanked on the linked chain attached to the collar at her neck and she stumbled to her knees in front of him.

  Protect.

  Inky black hair tumbled about an oval face set in a fierce scowl. A resounding smack was lost amidst the loud noise and raucous conversation of the entertainment center. Colored lights lent multi-hued stripes to skin bared by the gold half-shirt covering her breasts and the thin bit of gold material draped about her hips to mid-thigh.

  Protect.

  Pretending to sip at his drink, V’hor clenched his free hand on top of his thigh as she rubbed at her cheek where she’d been struck. No one looking his way would guess the cold fury flooding his pores as he watched the interaction playing out in front of him. How he wished he could storm in their direction and drive his knife deep into her abuser’s chest.

  But he couldn’t.

  Past mistakes taught him to think things through before acting. It was the only reason he remained seated. It helped that Rydak would tear into him if he blew his intricately created cover or jeopardized the work his fellow Jutak warriors did to get him to this point.

  His Team Leader trusted Vee to accomplish his mission without drawing undo notice. He had a role to play and that meant he had to sit and watch while inside he seethed.

  A Chamele walked toward the pair. The reptilian newcomer eyed the kneeling female and said something Vee was too far away to hear. Her owner tipped his head down at his slave, lips curling in a smirk then refused whatever was said with an abrupt shake of his head.

  The woman’s shoulders eased downward the smallest measure. Enough to release tension, but not to signal to either of the males her fear of what they discussed. And it was fear. Vee could see that easily by the glitter in her gaze as she refused to lower her eyes properly.

  It earned her a c
uff on the side of the head followed by another smack to the face when the stranger left their table. Red bloomed on her bottom lip from the last and Vee stiffened. He set his drink on the table carefully as not to betray his growing anger by shattering it between his fingers.

  Enslaved females were a particularly sensitive area for him because his teammates were committed to ones who’d been in similar situations. More than that though. As a male Serpine, it was in his nature to shelter and protect women. His Matire had worked extra hard to drill such lessons into him growing up. Years living on Enotia had not erased those ingrained feelings.

  “Target moving in.” The whisper from the comm in Vee’s ear pulled his attention reluctantly away from the drama playing out.

  Focused once more on his duty, he blocked out the concern and the hitch in his chest regarding the female and her circumstances. He turned unerringly and spotted Grutak sauntering into the opulent entrance of the entertainment lounge where fighters mingled with customers.

  To everyone here, Vee was Vanquish, an arena fighter with an undefeated record at The Pit. Bets for tonight’s match had maxed out and was closed to new bids. As usual, his fight would be last and was set to draw in the highest credit payout for the evening.

  “Can I get you anything else, Vanquish?” The serving male, who suddenly blocked his view, was shirtless. His bare chest gleamed with a slick substance bringing Vee the scent of some heavy oil liberally rubbed into his skin. He wore a silver mesh loincloth that stopped above the knee, his prominent erection thrust against the see through material despite what appeared to be a cock cage.

  “No.” Vee kept his answer abrupt and short to match the reputation of the identity he’d assumed.

  The real Vanquish was on a pleasure world resort surrounded by sex share workers and all the food and drink he wanted. When the Jutaks had needed a way to discover if the head of a fighting ring was using the place as cover for a spreading bliss distribution business, Jaron had pulled every bit of information possible on varying fighters known to participate in the illegal matches. There was no way they could let another large scale platform start producing the drug which often caused instant death to its’ users.

  Fortunately for them, Vanquish was Serpine and thus Vee was deemed the perfect fit. A high-tech skin mask designed with Vanquish’s rough hewn features was digitally constructed and bonded over his own face. No other cosmetic enhancer had been needed since they both had blond hair and green-gold eyes though Vee’s held more green than gold. Body wise they were both lean and muscled with no distinguishing marks or brands.

  The team medic, Dr. Maku, also created a mini vocal modulator which was surgically implanted at the base of Vee’s throat, allowing him to mimic Vanquish’s voice exactly.

  Their fighting styles differed slightly, but not to the point anyone in this rough crowd would notice. Apparently Vanquish was a true son born on Serpine and had received similar training as Vee. Why he chose to leave and not go into service under a Matire wasn’t important.

  All that mattered to Vee was his ability to seamlessly take on the other Serpine’s identity. Over the last two weeks, he’d drawn closer to discovering proof of Mannid’s involvement and the location of the bliss hub.

  “Let me know if you change your mind, beautiful.” Rough fingers trailed over Vee’s shoulders. The server swaggered away, the back of the loincloth cut to enhance his exposed taut butt cheeks.

  Fighters and customers alike indulged to excess, drawn to the darker elements of arena fighting. Thus far Vee managed to avoid sex sharing with any of the males and females who gathered here for the pre-fight socializing. Sooner or later, he’d have to accept one of the numerous offers to alleviate suspicion. Vanquish was not known for abstaining or being discerning in his taste.

  “If you can move in close, Vee, do so. Establish contact,” Rydak instructed via his comm.

  The target walked straight toward the enslaved woman and the man beside her.

  Protect.

  V’hor finished his drink and rose to his feet smoothly. Looked like he’d get to take a closer look after all.

  ***

  Face throbbing, Eva kept her breathing steady as the Chamele alien with the changing skin color walked off. Mannid had thankfully turned down another request to use her. One day her luck would run out and he’d give in or take her himself. It was a growing fear as his gaze grew more lascivious and his exertions at night more heated.

  If luck was in her favor she’d go untouched for day number fourteen or fifteen under his possession since Mannid’s genitalia was not compatible with women from Earth.

  Not that she’d gone completely unscathed. He stroked his spiked organ nightly and deliberately climaxed on her bare breasts. The green gunk he released was foul smelling and thick. She’d learned the hard way to hide her reaction and bite back the words she wanted to use in response to the abuse. It had taken her two days to stand up straight without pain after the blows he delivered.

  “Greetings, Mannid.”

  The newcomer was tall and slender, dressed like many others here. A row of vertical ridges marked his forehead, gray skin wrinkled and creased about his nose and eyes. The clawed hands and lack of hair marked him as a Lamon. Cruel creatures who lacked a shred of kindness. There were plenty of those around The Pit.

  Avoiding eye contact with the new arrival, Eva’s mind whirled with ways on how she could escape. Up to this point, fear had kept her bound more than anything. She’d witnessed up close what an abused slave suffered after an escape attempt. The thought of being burned, cut or losing any of her fingers was frightening. No, frightening wasn’t clear enough, it was absolutely terrifying.

  She shivered and curled her arms about her middle. Maybe being lonely and single hadn’t been such a hardship on Earth. Most women were in a similar situation since they outnumbered men due to a virus that had decimated the male numbers. If Eva was being truthful, more painful had been the inability to maintain a higher paying job than the one she’d had as the workforce was mostly automated and jobs with more than normal wages were limited.

  Using her entire savings on a process which touted success, yet failed to detail the negatives was classic leap before looking behavior. Desperation could drive you to do a lot. Or an extremely convincing friend. She wouldn’t blame Angie for her circumstances though. This was a crazy, unexpected twist in an otherwise perfectly normal program.

  Muffling a sigh, she tuned in to the conversation taking place beside her.

  “Is everything in order?” Mannid asked.

  The stranger grunted. “All set and should go out with little fuss in two days.”

  No idea what they discussed, but Eva always hoped she’d pick up something useful when she dreamed up her grand plans to get away.

  “Did you transfer the credits, Grutak?”

  Credits acted as currency here and Mannid took nothing more serious than the pursuit of money. Not even his nightly emissions.

  “Already completed the transaction.”

  Mannid glanced around, his fingers twitching around the loop attached to the leash he kept on her. His left boot tapped a staccato beat before stopping abruptly. Eva wasn’t used to seeing such nervous displays.

  “How long are you staying?”

  Grutak grimaced. “The big fight is tonight. The Togolor against the Serpine.”

  Mannid eased back in his seat, the corner of his mouth tipping up. “Yes, I bet on Vanquish based on his last few matches. Lately the intensity in his fights has slacked off, less gore. He’s more controlled than he used to be, but deadlier and with a precision that has opponents afraid to go against him. Though I wish he’d bring back the gore. It titillates the crowd.”

  Vanquish. The one who’d decimated his opponents on the holo-vids. Mannid brought her to a lot of matches and she tended to close her eyes on the more violent bouts. Blood and gore were not her thing. She’d actually seen one of the contenders eat the other in the arena after defeatin
g him. She’d been ill after and Mannid had laughed in her face.

  Typically, there were four big fights on event days and from experience, Mannid wouldn’t leave until he watched the last of them. Pain and excitement drove his pleasure. Usually he’d be fully erect before they left. Later he’d take her to his bed, force her to strip then masturbate with grunts and groans, blood dripping from his palms as the hooked barbs on his cock snagged and cut flesh.

  She curled a little smaller. If he ever decided to put that inside of her, she’d be shredded through and through.

  “Do Earth females really taste good all over?”

  Grutak’s question caused Eva to still. Mannid chuckled and ran a hand over the top of her hair. Eva clenched her jaw in order to keep from pulling away. He toyed with the strands and let his long nails scrape her scalp in warning.

  “Perhaps I’ll let you find out yourself, Grutak. It’s an unusual taste, but sweet and quite addictive once you’re used to it. Her body produces copious amounts of fluid on par with the level of her arousal.”

  The heat burning Eva’s cheeks slid over her ears and down her neck. The only reason Mannid knew of what he spoke was because he’d drugged her once. Remembering how he’d slid his fingers between her legs then slurped the glistening tips made her want to throw up. She was tempted to toss caution to the winds and try to kill him now.

  Failure in such an attempt was inevitable, but it would be worth it to see the shock on his ugly face. Maybe get a punch or two in before he recovered and knocked her unconscious with a well placed blow.

  Grutak grabbed at his crotch and to Eva’s horror, the bulge increased and distended the front flap of his olive colored pants. “I bet she’s a good fuck with incentive.”

  Mannid chuckled, slouching further in his seat as his hand trailed away from her hair. All signs of earlier nerves completely erased. “I’m more concerned with how many credits I’ll bring in with tonight’s highly anticipated bouts. Sex sharing talk is for another time.”