Page 33 of Bonded By Savages

I will not be sated until I claim my Mate.

Fully.

13

Athena

Birds scatter from the terrifying alien roar from inside the manor.

My heart pounds, and I shudder, because despite my inexperience with men, I know exactly what prompted that roar.

My cheeks flush red as I stand in the grounds of the manor, trying not to imagine Damian—somehow, from the timber of the roar, I know it was him—stroking his cock while he pictures me and him writhing together in agonizing pleasure.

The sun is high above, glowing red. The hot burning ball casts its glow upon my skin. I craved the sun every day I was trapped in Bladdard’s manor. I was touched by it once when I was marched to the auction house, and once again when I was marched down the street to his palace, but that sun could barely penetrate the thick pollution of the Toad Planet.

This sun kisses me, caressing my body with energy and warmth, and I exult in it. The grounds on this side of the manor are fertile, with thick green grass that goes to my shin. In front of me are the main gates, and the huge alien warship, the black Reaver that Damian and Tarak fly into battles. It’s as scarred as them, the black matted exterior of the ship cut and worn from las-cannons. It has a predatory look to it, with two Orb-Beam batteries aiming out near the cockpit.

One of those Orb-Beams goes unmanned in battle. What would the two of them be like if their triad was whole? Would they be so brutal, still?

On the other side of the manor is the long lap pool. This side has new things growing. There is a row of young trees, held up by stakes, and raised garden beds. The garden beds are ringed with grey stone, a welcome change from the dull black walls that ring us and the dark construction of the imposing manor. In the three beds is tilled dirt and sprouts shooting up, pulling themselves towards the sun.

Even in the darkness of this planet, there is life.

Or perhaps the darkness is what allows the life to grow.

I shake off that strange thought, not wanting to engage in it. I grew up viewing the Aurelian Empire as noble and honorable, but it’s the dark forces of the Fanatics that saved my life.

“Be careful. You’re so pale,” comes the calm voice from behind me. I start, turning, and see Matil. I regret my first thought that she has a plain face. I think of it now as an honest face, with its own beauty. She’s wearing the same clothing as me, the plain but well-made brown slacks with a loose-fitting tunic, and she has a satchel slung over her shoulders.

I look down, a little embarrassed at how skittish I am.

“The sun’s small on Obsidious, but it’s a hot young sun, and it can burn you. I had to take a leave of a day when I first arrived and underestimated it. Those two men of yours were kind enough to let Laura fetch me a salve from the market, and despite it, I was peeling for days.” She speaks in a calm, relaxed voice, as if talking to a scared horse.

Men of mine. Why do I like the sound of that?

She’s a little taller than me, and though she is lean, she’s healthy. I guess that I must be wearing her clothes, though they drape over my body. “Thanks for the advice,” I say, meaning it, but still unable to pull myself out of the glow of the sun yet. It feels so good, kissing my skin.

I shudder, trying not to imagine those two handsome beasts kissing me, their lips trailing over my body. Would they be gentle? Could they?

And what did Damian imagine, at the moment of his release?

What sent that brute beast over the edge?

I swallow. “Matil, how did you find yourself on this planet…Obsidious? Were you taken?”

She shakes her head, sitting down on a small wooden bench in the shade under the tall walls. “I didn’t have much of a choice, but I came here on my own will. I lived on a space station. Wild Space.”

“Me too.”

She nods. “I don’t know how much you’ve heard. These last months have been awful. Scorp. Masses of them. So many no one believed the rumors, until it was too late. I was lucky, I suppose. I was serving at a bar and an independent miner, a man I’d never seen shook before, he was drinking himself to oblivion. I gave him a few free drinks for his story. He told me what he saw, deep out there on a mining run…no one believed him.”

“What was it?”

“Scorp. We were in a bad place, and there would be an attack every month or two, an Org-Ship drawn to a mining camp or trying to attach itself to the station to bore through. The miner told me there was a storm coming. Not just one or two of those fleshy egg sacks that fly through space…thousands of ’em, so thick he couldn’t see the stars. I begged him to take me with him. My coworkers told me it was a scam, to get me to give him my life savings for a ride out. I’d been saving up for years to start a business, but… well that all seems so far away now. He took some convincing. He was just there to fill his holds, get drunk, and go, but I managed to get on board. It was the only trip out. It cost me everything. I took it.”

I shudder. I imagine those giant, reptilian creatures in their Org-Ships latching to the station like barnacles, and I don’t need to ask what happened to the station. She and that miner would be the only survivors. I walk deeper into the garden, letting the green grass tickle my bare feet, and walk to one of the young trees. It’s barely taller than me. I imagine it growing thicker, taller, until it towers over the walls around us.

“The miner. He sold you to Fanatics? I…if you don’t mind me asking. If I’m being too nosy, let me know.”

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