Page 14 of Captured By the Monsters
“You’re doing it again,” Sera cut in, a deep scowl on her beautiful face.
“We’re discussing your dread of mating and concluded it must be because you’re a virgin,” Rowen told her bluntly.
Sera’s jaw dropped open.
“What? No! That’s not it!” she spluttered, and something feral formed inside of me at her announcement.
“You’re not a virgin?” I demanded in a low, dangerous voice. I’d go to The Above as soon as I’d materialized enough and rip out the heart of whoever dared touch our precious mate. I knew that no one else was anywhere near worthy of being graced with that piece of her.
It also made me wonder how she could be our mate if she wasn’t. That just isn’t how our matches worked.
“Of course I’m a virgin!” Sera spat vehemently. “The Selected have no choice! Everything is taken from us—our freedom, our right to choose, to fall in love, form a family…” She trailed off as tears welled up in her eyes. “Everything,” she repeated in a sad whisper, making my savage inner beast die down. “I’m not afraid of you, but I-I don’t want to give you that last piece of me. Everything has been taken from me—I should choose who gets that most special part,” she ended, her voice cracking as tears spilled down her smooth skin.
I understood the sentiment of heartbreak for the first time then, for surely my heart lay at her feet in tattered shreds. Yes, we had an agreement with the human leaders, but never to treat these women as they had obviously done. To hear Sera say this made me want to start another war with the humans and punish them for hurting my mate.
“We’re so sorry that you’ve suffered for so long,” Sylan murmured, snaking a shadow tendril in a soft caress down Sera’s long blonde hair. “Our kind never intended for you to be treated that way.”
“So we don’t have to be virgins?” she wondered, making us wince.
“Yes,” Rowen finally answered. “We need pure women to breed—to ensure our seed takes hold within you—but we never told your leaders to cut off your choices! It should have been up to you whether you saved yourself or not. I know none of this probably makes you feel any better, but the three of us would do anything for you.”
“Anything?” Sera breathed, her voice hitching, making me anxious to mark her.
“Anything,” I confirmed, if only to speed this conversation along.
“Then I choose when to give my V-Card,” she declared triumphantly, her sniffles subsiding as she wiped her eyes.
“V-Card?” Sylan echoed.
“My virginity,” she clarified, her head tilted up with determination. Rowen groaned, but Sylan and I nodded in understanding. So much had been stolen from my beautiful mate; the least we could do is give her a semblance of control.
“Don’t worry,” I told Rowen once more in our tongue. “We can all sense her arousal. Soon she’ll be begging for us to take her. It is nothing to give her this. It will be a delight to open her eyes to all the pleasure we can give her if she but lets us.” I turned back to Sera, addressing her in her human language. “Your ‘V-Card’ is yours to give—but we must mark you. It is vital for your survival.”
Immediately I sensed her despair and went to soothe her, knowing it would just be a faint feeling of a hand rubbing her back, but I hoped it would bring her some comfort. “This doesn’t have to be internal. We can mark your skin, but the effects wear off quicker and will need to be reapplied.”
By the fiery look in her eyes, my touch and words did not have their intended effect.
“Ah, so you can just jizz all over me and rub it into my skin like lotion and I’m supposed to what…thank you for your kind generosity?” she quipped.
“Such a foul mouth,” Rowen muttered, more to himself, “and that’s exactly what we need to do if you don’t wish to go further.”
Sylan stifled a laugh at the absurdity of it, but I couldn’t say I didn’t love the thought of our mate naked, coated in a layer of our cum. Although I didn’t have enough energy to currently solidify my dick for her to see, it didn't mean it wasn’t hard for her.
Sera’s heart hammered faster in her heaving chest, drawing my eyes to her perfect breasts. Clearly she wasn’t opposed to the idea. I expected her to fight us more, but to my surprise, she stepped further into our shadowy embrace.
“You promise it’s my choice?”
“We promise,” the three of us answered in unison.
“Then you can mark me,” she declared, finality shining in her eyes. I was so damn proud of her. She was beautiful and courageous, and even if she was uncertain or afraid, she tackled the problem head-on.
Her words sent a thrill down my spine; even though she didn’t choose this, she also wasn’t running. Yet. If she had a mind to leave, she would—so we needed to give her every reason not to, starting with this marking. If she knew how much we planned to pamper her, cherish her, love her, I was certain Sera would want to remain at our side.
We swore her virginity was hers to gift, and I’d maintain that vow if it killed me. Keeping our word might be the only thing we could do to prove ourselves as trustworthy to our mate.
Besides, it was no skin off my back to mark her lovely flesh often.
Rowen, Sylan, and I swarmed closer around Sera until I could tell she couldn’t tell us apart. Her bright gray eyes squinted into the darkness, trying to pierce it. With the energy from The Choosing that the crystal initially gave us, Rowen solidified a pair of dark lips that were tipped up in a wicked grin.
