by Tammy Walsh
“How do you think your friends are going to react to the news?” I said.
“They’ll be excited,” she said.
“You haven’t told them?”
“Nope.”
“What if they say no?”
“They won’t.”
“What if they do?”
“They won’t.”
The High Priest placed a fist on his heart and ended with a prayer. We, the guests, and everyone watching at home did the same.
“I believe the groom has some words he would like to say?” the High Priest said.
“I do,” I said.
Hazel and I turned to face the congregation and the dozens of cameras recording every moment. Sixty billion Titans were watching us right now. And that wasn’t including the other species. All told, up to a trillion viewers might be watching us.
And I felt like I was dancing on a cloud. I wasn’t nervous at all.
“We’ve endured a hard time lately,” I said. “The Changelings attacked us and took over our empire. They did a great deal of damage to us, our culture, and our way of life. It was partly my fault. If I’d kept a closer eye on the needs of the people, if I hadn’t blinded myself with just a few key advisors, I would have seen the harm befalling our empire and I could have stopped it.
“Instead, it happened, and we all lost loved ones because of it. I can give you my word that this will never happen again, but they are just that. Words. Our empire is vast, and I am only one man. I can’t listen to all of you, and you deserve to be listened to. That’s why I’ve decided to divide the empire into five parts. The north, the south, the east, the west, and the center. Don’t worry, we are still one empire and I am your emperor. But from now on, you will have your own mini-emperor to voice your concerns with, your own quadrant to make as good as you can.”
I took a breath before I continued.
“I’m pleased to announce the five members of the mini-emperor council are here with us right now,” I said.
The audience murmured among themselves.
I pushed through the whispers.
“They’re all Titans, and they represent a different segment of the Titan empire,” I said.
I turned to those in the front row. Hazel’s friends and their Titan fated mates.
The girls were excited. The men were not.
“To make this official, we need a ceremony,” I said. “That’s why your empress and I have decided to hold the event right now, while everyone is here, to solidify the relationship we share. They are my brothers and sisters, just as they are your brothers and sisters. Rise and take your place beside us.”
Hazel’s friends squealed as they got to their feet. They rushed Hazel and hugged her tight.
The Titans approached me a little more sedately. But they would go along with it. They loved their mates and the entire empire was watching.
Nothing like peer pressure to make you take the leap.
We turned to face the High Priest. We Titans gave our unbreakable pledge to the brides, who gave their own in return. Then we exchanged rings—most of which were hastily purchased from the only jeweler in town.
“You may now kiss the brides,” the High Priest said.
We did. The audience got to their feet and cheered. They tossed their hats in the air and gave us a loud round of applause.
It had been a long and hard few weeks but we got through it alive, and better still, in the arms of our fated mates.
I hope you enjoyed the FATED MATES OF THE TITAN EMPIRE series. It was a lot of fun to write and, as we speak, I’m in the middle of writing my next series FATED MATES OF BREEDER PRISON.
What happens when an alien slave master gets greedy? After being thrown into cages to pleasure brutal alien fighters, Ivy is broken—a mere shell of who she used to be. She’ll be used and forced to do the monsters’ bidding, it’s too much to expect a male to watch over her… Then the Beast claims her. You can grab BEAST IN THE CAGE now!
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Beast in the Cage Sneak Peek
Ivy
Please don’t claim me. Please don’t claim me.
The Beast was known as the toughest fighter in the entire prison. He was relentless and never gave up, single-minded in his pursuit.
He was probably the same in bed, and that was what made the other Prizes desperate to be claimed.
But not me.
The fighters came in a multitude of different shapes and sizes. Some had eyes blacker than a shark’s. Others had skin the color of projected magma. Others’ bodies rippled with light as if they were carved from rainbows.
The Beast had none of these things. His skin was a dull grey like granite and bore the scars from a thousand battles over the course of his lifetime.
He was tall and muscular, with a pair of twisted devil horns on his head. One was chipped, the tip sliced off from some unknown fight. They protruded from the thick thatch of long hair that hung about his shoulders.
His movements were graceful and hypnotic. He took blows well and used them to counter his opponent. He was strong and fast, capable of taking down opponents twice his size.
His muscles rippled as he entered the room. His eyes were hooded and dark. He wore nothing but a pair of shorts that reached mid-thigh. He had no tattoos or adornments. He was a blank slate compared to the other fighters.
Some liked to keep a tally of their victories on their arms or across their chests. Others liked to have an image of an alien skull tattooed on their skin to mark each death they’d claimed.
The Beast had none of these. There probably wasn’t enough space on his skin for his victories anyway.
Of all the fighters, he was the one I was least concerned would claim me.
“He never chooses anyone,” Harper had said. “He never so much as glances at us. Thousands of victories and he never chooses a Prize. He just moseys on back to his cell and recovers for the next battle.”
Still, that didn’t prevent her or the other girls from trying. They wore their best jewelry and sexiest dresses. Maybe one day one would get lucky.
There was something special about the Beast, something that gave him an edge. Everyone said that. But no one could quite figure out what it was.
He was the reigning champ and had never been defeated. He marched down the tunnel toward the Prize Pool where victors chose their Prize.
The Prizes were women and I was one of them.
This wasn’t my first rodeo. I’d been up for grabs for the past three days but not once had I been claimed.
I stood alongside the two dozen other Prizes. They were gorgeous creatures from all four corners of the galaxy.
I never stood a chance against them. That was a good thing. I didn’t want to stand a chance.
The other girls smiled shyly with their manicured nails and perfect makeup, and sexy, provocative dresses. They were made of sheer fabric so everything was on show.
I was dressed the same. It wasn’
t like they gave us a lot of choice in this place.
The fighters never paid me much attention. Why would they when there were sexier girls more willing to perform their duty than I was?
When the fighters chose their “Prize”—and boy, did I hate that word!—the girls always seemed excited they’d been chosen, and the others were actually disappointed they hadn’t been!
New meat like me was meant to be the most popular, I was told. There would be a feeding frenzy and I would walk bowlegged for weeks, maybe months.
But no one chose me.
The fighters sneered at my small breasts and curved frame. They rubbed their rough hands over my pussy and declared me defective when I didn’t moan with delight as the others did.
I wasn’t defective. I just didn’t want to be their “Prize.”
The other girls looked away when the Beast entered the room, assuming the subordinate pose the fighters preferred.
I took the opposite approach and looked the fighters in the eye. I was not subordinate and never would be.
It was bad enough I’d been abducted and forced into this existence. I wouldn’t pretend to enjoy it.
Abducted. It sounded crazy.
There was supposed to have been a bright light in the sky and aliens probing at my ass with their long implements.
But that hadn’t been how it happened.
I went to sleep one night in my room back in L.A. and the next thing I knew, I woke up in this place surrounded by goddamn aliens.
“You have to be claimed sooner or later,” Harper had said.
Harper was human like me, only she’d been in this dump for three years already. She was a popular choice among the fighters as she was sexy and enjoyed what she did.
“If you don’t, Lily will think you really are defective and send you somewhere worse than this,” she said.
Worse than this?
“What could possibly be worse than this?”
Harper, as usual, was immune to sarcasm and quick with a response.
“They’ll sell you to the pleasure houses,” she said with a shiver. “Then you’ll wish you’d been chosen by a fighter.”
I saw how Lily, the madam, looked at me each time I failed in the line-up. Her expression spoke of bad times ahead.
Very bad times.
My choice was as simple as it was unsavory:
Whore myself out to these creatures or be whored out by someone else.
I never remembered that discussion in the career advisor’s office.
Lily rubbed her hands nervously and approached the Beast. It was Lily’s job to welcome the victor and usher them in to choose their Prize.
“Congratulations on another win! It was a very exciting fight.”
She hadn’t even watched it. I suppose it got a little boring after a while. Come to think of it, I had no idea how long Lily had been here. I made a mental note to ask Harper. She knew everything about this place.
The Beast grunted and turned on his heel to march out of the room. A pair of prison guards turned with him. They were about the same height as him, broad-chested and huge. They wore thick armor that covered them head to toe. A helmet concealed their faces. They carried weapons called shock rifles that emitted a powerful burst of electricity like a taser on steroids. It was the only weapon that could take down these animals under their care.
Lily stepped in the Beast’s path and I wondered where she got the balls to do something so stupid. The Beast could tear her to pieces in an instant and pick his teeth with her bones.
But she had a job to do.
She raised her hands and waved them.
“We had a new shipment come in a few days ago. I thought you might like to look them over. Some are fresh and untouched.”
The Beast glared at Lily, who immediately lowered her eyes. She performed a kind of curtsy and backed away from him.
Harper stamped her foot on the dais where we stood and growled under her breath, frustrated her efforts had amounted to nothing.
The stamp brought a smile to my face. Sure, we might be in hell, and sure, we would never escape and things could only get worse from here, but at least I had Harper to keep me entertained.
Harper gasped and suddenly stood upright. The other girls leaped to attention too, straightening their long necks, pristine backs, and smiling their gorgeous coy smiles.
What did they think they were doing? I wondered. The show was over. The Beast had left and—
And then I noticed him heading toward us.
My breath caught in my throat at the sight of him approaching.
His strides were long and powerful, his eyes like laser-beams.
“He’s coming!” Harper said. “He’s coming! He’s mine! He can smell my perfume!”
I raised my chin to look at him defiantly. It never failed to dull the fighters’ interest in me.
His boots were heavy and scuffed with dust from the fighting pit. His perfectly-formed muscles glistened with perspiration. His scars were puckered and a dark shade of grey.
I found it hard to meet his eyes. I felt intimidated by his immense size. He was the undisputed champion of the fighting pits.
But I refused to let him think he could dominate me. I refused to let any of them think I was just a piece of meat for them to gnaw on and toss away.
So, I met his eyes.
They were dark and hooded. They caught a shard of light that I couldn’t identify the origin of and glowed an intense gold.
My God, he was a gorgeous creature.
The scars that crisscrossed his body gave him an air of danger.
His eyes pressed on me and I felt their weight.
Look away, my instincts commanded. He’s a dangerous predator. Look away.
But I refused, the same way I had refused when the other fighters had sought to claim me.
I stared at him and he stared straight back.
Out the corner of my eye, I noticed Harper wiggling her shoulders to ensure the Beast got a full nostril of her pungent perfume.
There was a slight shift in his eyes. Tiny, small, and... amused?
It was almost not there… but I would swear on my life it was.
He turned his head to Lily and didn’t say a word. He gave the briefest of nods before marching away. The guards moved with him like a shadow.
That was a relief. For a second there, I thought he was going to choose me!
Lily stood there, staring at me as if she were waiting for me to do something.
“What?” I said.
“What are you waiting for?” Lily said. “Go with him.”
I glanced at Harper, whose expression was pursed.
But Lily wasn’t looking at her. She was glaring at me.
There had to be some mistake.
I couldn’t have been claimed.
I didn’t want to be claimed.
Harper frowned with confusion. She couldn’t believe he had chosen me. The other girls wore the same expression.
Shocked? Join the club.
“Move!” Lily said quietly but firmly.
My legs felt unsteady as I stepped off the dais and shuffled toward the Beast who waited for me on the other side of the room.
This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.
My heart thudded in my chest, so hard I thought it was trying to escape.
I joined the Beast and glanced at him.
He would shake his head at the obvious mistake that’d been made. I would return to my safe spot on the dais and Harper, or one of the others, or Lily for all I cared, would take my place instead.
It’d all been a terrible mistake.
But when I looked at the Beast, he didn’t shake his head. He waited for me to join him at his shoulder and we marched, side by side, toward his cell.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
I wasn’t supposed to be his Prize.
What the fuck was going on?
We walked in silence down the long hallways that
stretched like spiderwebs. We were located in a prison called Ikmal, on a moon named Gharr. The entire moon was a prison, where, according to Harper, the worst criminals from the known galaxy were sent.
The intergalactic equivalent of Alcatraz.
And I had been abducted and brought there to service the victors in a twisted series of daily battles.
Lucky me.
“Today is my lucky day,” Harper had said first thing this morning. “I’ve got a secret weapon that will make me irresistible.”
She sprayed herself with perfume that made me gag and pinch my nose.
“What is that?” I said.
Harper raised a small glass perfume bottle like it was the Holy Grail.
“The female mating pheromones of the neb. He won’t be able to control himself.”
“Neither will the flies. It smells worse than cougar piss.”
Harper arched an eyebrow.
“And you have some experience with cougar piss, do you? The Beast can’t resist me when I wear this stuff. You wait and see. Today is my lucky day!”
There was a strong sense of hierarchy among the Prizes. There was prestige in snagging the highest-ranked fighter.
And that prestige, apparently, now belonged to me.
The Beast had chosen me.
Had he mistaken me for the one wearing the stinky perfume?
I glanced at the Beast out the corner of my eye, unsure what to say or do. He turned a corner. I missed a step as I hurried after him.
Did the corner of his mouth quirk up at my stumble? If it did, the smile was gone in an instant.
Our footsteps thumped loudly on the metal grating floors. The walls had once been white but were now scuffed with dark marks.
Prisoners milled around, most standing at random corners. They eyed the Beast and the guards as they passed.
But mostly, their eyes focused on me.
The dresses Lily forced us to wear were made of the same sheer material and left little to the imagination.