Page 35 of Broken Triad

It’s torturous, being here with nothing to do, because all I can think of is Bolden’s hungry kiss, the way he pressed me against the wall, the way my body responded to his dominance. I’m not naïve. The triad kidnapped me because they want me, the same way that so many men have wanted me, and yet, they are the only ones who have sparked any sort of yearning inside me. That scares me. I should hate them unconditionally. I should have had their heads taken from their bodies, cut down for thinking they could steal me away and make me theirs.

Did I lie to Summer and myself? Did I lie saying that I needed them to save my father? Is it really me who needs them? I’ve never been so uncertain. Even when I was sold into indentured servitude, I didn’t blink. I planned. I knew I’d be okay.

And yet, these three are not all bad. They saved my life once. If it wasn’t for Krazak, Khra and Bolden, I’d be dead in the cellar, killed by the two Scorp that got past all our defenses. I owe them my life. And by the laws of their species, they own it.

And though they don’t know it, they owe their lives to me. As long as Summer keeps her word and doesn’t report them, I saved the three of them from being executed. It’s a strange feeling. The three men have no idea I’m the reason they are still breathing. I may be a captive, but I had power—power I gave up to save them.

I clench my fist, remembering Bolden’s kiss, remembering how I kissed him back, how my body betrayed me.

They will take my innocence tonight. That I know. But I will not give it to them. I will not give in. They’ll be angry when I’m not their perfect toy. I know all about the brutal desires of the alien species. Krazak will put me over his lap and spank me, just like Ra’al did to Rachel, and just like her, my body will react to their dominance. That is what I need. I need to be overwhelmed. To melt into their dominance, to let that primal, urgent need overwhelm me until I am nothing more than an animal.

It will not be me who gives in to the brute triad. It will be something else, some part of me that only they ignite.

That, I can live with.

I sit down on one of the sleeping bags.

There’s nothing to do but listen. The birds quieted as the sun went down, but the insects still sing their songs.

Quiet. Too quiet. My heart pounds in anticipation as I stand, and I hear a loose rock falling and splashing. They’re climbing up the cliff face. They move near silently, but I was waiting, listening intently for any sound of them.

I unzip the tent entrance and step out, my head high, waiting for them.

To my surprise, they’ve changed. All three are wearing joggers and long-sleeved Henleys, but they can’t hide the brands on their foreheads, or the belts at their waists where the hilts of their Orb-Blades hang. When they’re clad in loose battle robes, at least it’s baggy, but these new outfits hug the bulging muscles of their bodies, and something else bulging between their legs.

I’m still in the same clothes I was taken in. I wish I’d grabbed my bag of belongings when I was being taken, but I guess I can forgive myself for not packing properly when I was literally being abducted.

“Right where I left you,” says Krazak. He’s freshly shaved, nothing hiding his powerful jaw and hard features. My eyes are drawn to the twin half-circle brands on his forehead, one half filled in with black ink that marks him as a true believer. Their attempt to humanize themselves by changing into more casual clothes only makes them seem more alien.

I know that underneath those clothes there is a brand on their chests and scars all over their backs.

They’re over seven feet tall, all hard lines and cold grey eyes, their skin marble, and they look just like statues, as if someone created massive gargoyle protectors to stand watch over their estate. The three men are made for war. There’s an eagerness to them, a waiting, and they seem out of place in this cave. They seem out of place anywhere but a battlefield. Khra has a big burlap sack, but I resist the urge to ask what is in it. He’ll tell me, if he wishes to.

“Did your patrols go well?” I ask, because I can’t think of anything else to say.

“We swapped patrols with another triad. We’re scanning the north. The early reports were spotty, and we’re trying to get information on your father’s mining corporation, to see if we can find their last known location. In the meantime, we killed as many Scorp as we could,” says Khra.

A burning ember of hope sparks up in me. “You did that for me?”

“I don’t want to give you false hope,” says Krazak. “We will try.”

“Thank you.” I bite my lip. I want to ask if there was any word from my dad on the smartwatch, but of course they would have told me already. There’s no point asking and getting the disappointing answer.

I glance over at the bag, and Khra steps forward. “I apologize for us leaving you here with nothing to do. I brought you things. Books, to pass the time, food…and something else,” he says, and there’s a gleam in his eyes as he reaches into the bag and pulls out a pink dress. “Would you wear this for us?”

“Do I have a choice?” I can’t stop the words from spilling out of my mouth, and I regret them instantly, as Krazak’s eyes narrow.

Krazak grabs the dress and strides forward, and I stay stock-still as the huge alien looms over me. I stare straight forward, at his chest, but he puts his fingers under my chin, forcing my gaze upwards. “You think you can hide from us, Lola? Do you think we do not know what you are? What you crave?”

A shiver goes through my body as my nipples harden, the lust building inside of me. In the hours spent waiting for them, I tried not to think of the inevitability of what would happen tonight, the only reason that a triad would risk their lives to capture a human woman. The Aurelians that joined the Fanatics went mad, needing not just to have huge harems of women on Colossus, but toownthem, to take women and break them to their wills.

“Do you know why we took you, Lola? Because you begged for it without ever telling us. Because I could smell your need for us. Because I know you, deeper than you know yourself.”

His fingers slide from my chin up my cheek, then wrap around the back of my head, and he kisses me. Heat floods between my legs, insistent, aching for his beastly might, but I don’t kiss him back. He breaks off this kiss, and I can feel his anger. I know it’s stupid. That all I’ll get for this show of defiance is the harsh discipline of the species.

It’s what I need. I can’t feel like I’m giving myself to my captors. I need them to take me, so I won’t be guilt-ridden for the rest of my life, so I can lie to myself, that I did not want these merciless murderers, these aliens who stand against everything I want in the world.

“Go change,” he snarls, pressing the dress into my hands.

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