Zhoryan's Game

by Michele Mills

  “Upon your arrival? You aren’t returning with your Bride?”

  “No, you are taking Janet to safety and I am staying here on this planet. I will return shortly.”

  “Staying? Why? Return now and claim your Bride on your ship.”

  “I am staying to hunt and kill Pyzon.”

  “Zhoryan, that’s why I’m here. The moment I have you two safely on my ship, I’ll swoop down, snatch Pyzon’s ass and lock him in stasis. I’ll take care of this so you can focus on your Bride. That lazhul will end up in a Detention Center and never see freedom for the rest of his life.”

  “That is not good enough. He tried to kill my Bride. Retribution is mine.”

  Joyzal was quiet for a moment, then finally answered. “I see. I will leave it to you then, but after one diurnal if I don’t hear from you, I’ll be here to retrieve my target.”

  Zhoryan nodded acceptance, and then he activated the beacon and watched as his beautiful Bride wavered and disappeared. He sighed with relief, knowing she was safe and he could focus on what came next.

  “Contact my ship,” he ordered, “and tell my second-in-command to send two squads to this location. There are Xylan working at the general’s compound who need to be checked for compliance with the Scales of Xylan Law. And there are at least a dozen prisoners in his cellar who need to be freed and returned to their home planets.”

  “As you wish. And…do you want me to tell Kayzon you and he are now both legally part of the same line, because you’re each mated to sisters, or do you want to tell him yourself?”

  Zhoryan let out a sudden chuckle. “I will tell him myself.”

  “Done. And Zhoryan…make sure you tear Pyzon’s hearts out in front of his eyes.”

  “I will.”

  And with that the drone cut out. It silently zipped away and disappeared over the orange and pink horizon.

  And he was alone.

  Zhoryan rested his elbow on a bent knee and looked out through the mouth of the sea cave and across the cove, to where the lights flicked on in the pointed tower of the compound. Tonight one of them would be sleeping on a soft bed, and one of them would be a repast for the Gorgas.

  13

  Janet woke up in a claiming forest.

  Her eyes blinked open and she sat up, her hands pressing against soft grass. She rubbed sleep out of her eyes and stared in amazement at the glory that surrounded her.

  Zhoryan had warned her. He’d said he was going to mate her in a specific ceremony. Kia had told her stories of her own claiming in a Xylantic forest on the holo deck on Kayzon’s ship, immediately after he’d accidentally grabbed her sister’s bare hand.

  And now it was happening. He’d grabbed her hand and accidentally tested mating compatibility, only to find they actually were mates. And now…now…she swallowed, and a hand went to her chest as a watery smile spread across her face.

  It was exactly as Kia had described.

  Janet sat in the middle of an open meadow of silver-tinted grass, edged by freakishly tall trees that cut into the nighttime sky. The moon glowed a pale greenish-yellow. Stars glittered overhead like jewels, but clouds were gathering in the distance.

  And where was Zhoryan?

  The last thing she remembered was jumping off that terrifying cliff. He’d said he loved her and that he’d take care of her. And he had. He’d scooped her out of the ocean and…

  Wait. He loved her?

  Since when?

  Wow.

  And then she stood and looked down at herself, giving her arms and legs a thorough examination. She’d been through hell and back on that island, but now she was perfectly healthy. Not a cut or scratch and clean. Gods, it was nice to be clean again. She wore a short-sleeved soft blue tunic with a deep v at her chest. It fell to her thighs and underneath she was completely naked.

  Naked.

  No shoes. No hair ties. Her fell down her back.

  This was a Xylan claiming ceremony and she was so ready for her male. That same edgy eagerness from before was rushing through her body. Her nipples were hard, her core hot, needy and impatient. Where was he?

  Her new husband needed to attend to her right this minute.

  A roared boomed through the forest. The sound of a male in heat. And she smiled as a wave of pleasure rushed along her lower stomach; her body reacting to the call of its mate.

  He stepped out of the shadows, naked. Not a stitch of clothing obscured Zhoryan of Eighty-Two, the Warlord of Sector One, the most eligible bachelor in all the four sectors. And he was hers.

  Fuck yeah.

  And…he was sporting a huge erection. As in, it could be seen from space. The Xylantic forest was dark and shadowy, and she couldn’t see his cock in perfect detail, she’d only felt it against her core through two layers of fabric. He wouldn’t let her touch it before because he wanted to wait until this moment, to make things legal.

  She shifted on her feet, so ready to take him inside of her body.

  And then he started speaking in that deep, guttural voice she loved. He was reciting the formal words and vows of the Claiming ceremony. She could understand what he was saying, but the meaning was going right over her head. She continued to shift on her feet, finding it hard to stay still because she was impatient for his touch.

  Luckily, she knew exactly what was required of her. Kia had explained that the Xylan ceremony was a time for the male to claim his aggressive female. And this was being recorded so the vid could be played later at a post claiming ceremony for the line. It was a moment to be cherished and watched by the male and his Bride for years to come. And the more fight the female put out, and the damage she inflicted on her male, the more honor was brought to their line. Her job was to make this hard for him. And she would.

  “You may run,” he finally said.

  She blinked. Run? Why would she want to run? Oh wait, a claiming ceremony meant there was a chase. It was all about the chase.

  A giggle burst from her lips. She was completely on board with this ‘ceremony.’

  And the she turned and fled. He’d seen her stamina in the jungles on ‘Ship-Trap Planet,’ but he hadn’t seen her run like this. She was nourished, refreshed, and ready—at peak performance. He seemed to be giving her a head start. And she ran, barefoot, not caring about the sharp branches, or rocks jabbing underfoot. Her initial goal was to create distance from the male who was intent on domination.

  She zigzagged through a flat terrain, weaving around enormous tree trunks. Behind her, in the distance she heard a thunderous roar. He was coming. Oh hell. She ran faster.

  Zhoryan was scary-strong. This male had dug a pit in seconds. He’d saved her from drowning in an alien ocean, twice. He was probably the best hunter in the four sectors.

  Holy crap.

  Her nostrils flared. And she double-downed, legs pumping faster and harder, her mind racing as she thought of a way to trick this male who was impossible to trick. After all, he’d taught her well. Going through the jungle with Zhoryan had been a crash course in hunting.

  And then raindrops began to splatter on the leaves around her. They hit her arms and her shoulders. Ugh. Dark clouds covered the sky, blacking out the stars and dimming the glow of moonlight. The intensity increased and the rain immediately switched from sprinkles to a downpour. Her hair was wet and her tunic clung to her breasts and stomach.

  It was time to find a hide out.

  She scurried up the nearest tree, digging her knees and feet into the sides, her hands clawing on the bark. It hurt like hell, but she managed to climb up on her own. And then she was resting in the crotch of the tree, just like Zhoryan had shown her. The rain switched to torrent-level.

  And in minutes he was below, at the base of the tree. That enormous chest moving up and down as he panted, his breath escaping in huge puffs. She eagerly eyed his huge frame. The wide shoulders. The perfect ass. Oh, that ass.

  She was drooling, and at the same time her mind beat a rhythm of win, win, win. She could not ma
ke this easy. He was going to try and claim her, and her job was to make it hard. She was determined to honor her new husband with the hardest claim in documented history. He wouldn’t know what hit him. Literally.

  She leapt out of the tree like a New Earth panther. Dark, silent and deadly. And crashed right on top of his head, taking Zhoryan to his knees. And then she had an arm under his chin and across his neck. She clung to him like a leech, trying to cut off his air. The rain was making it hard for the both of them to gain purchase. He roared and slipped in the slick ground and then the two of them fell in the mud, causing her grip to loosen. He grabbed for her and she jumped up. Suddenly they were both standing in the downpour and she whipped around and kicked out both legs at once, directly at his ankle. Zhoryan crashed to the ground. He rolled over, moaning, and she again kicked out, hitting him in the chin with her heel. He spat out a tooth. And she wasn’t done. Oh no.

  She turned and sprinted. Yep. In the rainstorm. She left him and ran again, forcing him to try to chase after her with a broken ankle.

  She grinned. Victory was hers. This would be the longest claiming in history. Next, she’d hide in the banks of that river she’d glimpsed during her initial run and it would take him forever to…

  And then she crashed in sloppy mud, a huge male on top of her.

  What the fucking hell? How did he manage that? She’d left him on the ground, broken and bleeding.

  He was enraged, growling and snorting like a raging beast. His claws tore her tunic off and she was wet, naked and muddy. He rolled onto his back and placed her on his dick. She threw her head back and screamed into the night as he shoved her down onto his enormous spike of an erection. It hurt like hell. A sharp blade piercing her flesh. She scored her nails across his chest. Then she leaned down and bit him in the neck, because two seconds after the initial flash of despair, he began pumping up inside of her and…oh gods, it was beginning to feel so, so different.

  His claws were around her waist lifting her up and down, and his hips flexing beneath her. And she rode him like a beast of burden. The pain was now a thing of the past, replaced entirely by a pleasure so intense she thought she’d die of it. It grew and grew, each time he pounded inside, sliding and scraping against parts of her that had been formerly untouched.

  “You are mine.”

  And then an orgasm rushed through like a brutal hurricane.

  “Zhoryan,” she screamed.

  Wave after wave, causing her pussy to clench around his throbbing erection. She desperately grabbed for his arms, scoring her nails in his flesh.

  A roar ripped from Zhoryan’s throat and his claws dug into her sides. They both stilled as his warm seed jetted inside of her, again and again.

  Afterwards, they both lay there, catching their breaths as the warm rain blanketed their bodies.

  He wrapped his arms around her torso. “My Be’Ih.”

  And she smiled against his chest, exhausted and happy.

  14

  Janet woke up the next morning in the luxurious quarters of the Imperial Warlord of Sector One, with Zhoryan wrapped around her and decided this was something she could easily get used to.

  They weren’t locked in the tower of a compound owned by a mad-man murdering sentient beings. The general was no longer the hunter, and they his prey. And they were dry and clean. She was safe in the arms of her husband, his strong legs tangled with hers and a giant arm over her waist. His four-fingered claw was gently splayed over her lower stomach.

  Zhoryan was her husband.

  Wow.

  His even breaths pleasantly brushed along the skin of her neck, and his warmth sank into her flesh. Her stomach fluttered, and her thighs clenched as his sexy scent filled her lungs.

  This man.

  He was everything and she couldn’t believe they were actually mated.

  She’d always been in ordinarily fascinated with the Warlord of Sector One. She’d hid her feelings toward him from everyone she knew—the pull, the tug—for two long years, because it was nothing more than an embarrassing girl crush on an untouchable celebrity, right? She’d even resorted to pretending she hated him, just to hide her stalking from her family and friends.

  But then she’d met him for real on the warship and realized the whole time she’d been following his every movement via vid channels and swooning over his visits to New Earth—the famous Zhoryan of Eighty-Two hadn’t known she existed. That was a kick in the stomach. And on that island she’d decided it was time to grow up, gain some self-respect, and move past that foolish nonsense where she put this warrior on a pedestal. How many human males had asked her on dates and she’d declined because she’d been busy watching Zhoryan on the vid channels?

  She’d been thrown together with him on that island and…and it turned out what had started as a crush on a male she admired had turned into true feelings. She’d gotten to know the real warrior behind the mystique, and despite his well-known arrogance, it turned out he was easy to get along with. And he’d risked his own life to make sure she got off that planet alive. Tears pricked her eyes as she thought of all he’d done. How he’d saved her life. And she knew if she reminded him of this, he would remind her of how much she’d helped.

  He’d said he was lucky to have her. And…and just before they’d jumped off the cliff he’d said he loved her.

  She bit her lip. Was that how he really felt?

  Because all she could remember were the times he’d repeated how he was never, ever taking a mate or having offspring. And she hadn’t been joking when she’d decided she was forcing herself to move on because she wanted a male who wanted what she did—a family.

  Zhoryan had convinced her in the swamp that he was thrilled to discover she was his Bride. And she’d listened because he’d kissed her and his hormones had flooded her body and she’d reacted to him and, bam—she’d been out of her mind.

  And then there’d been the claiming ceremony on the holo deck. Her face heated as she remembered all that happened last night. In the mud and dirt, with the rain pouring down and thunder booming overhead. How she’d attacked him, and he’d sat her on his dick and claimed her.

  It had been the greatest moment of her life. In fact, her pussy was still pleasantly sore from all the fucking during the claiming, and the three times afterward in the middle of the night on their bunk.

  A growl rumbled in her husband’s chest.

  She giggled with delight, happy to learn he was also awake.

  He clamped a claw on her right breast. “My Be’Ih,” he rasped. And he was rubbing his erection against her ass and she thought she’d pass out from the glory of it all. He didn’t say another word, just began pinching her nipple with his claw. He lifted her hip and reached between her thighs…

  But her sexual needs were cut short with her mind’s insistent demand for information. She placed a hand over his claw and closed her legs. “Wait, wait, I need to know first what happened on the island. We jumped off the cliff and then what? How did you manage to get me back onto this warship?”

  Zhoryan left a trail of kisses along her neck and shoulder as he told her the story of how Joyzal’s drone had appeared in the sea cave and he’d transported her to the bounty hunter ship, and then to the Xylan warship. And how he’d stayed behind.

  “Well, what happened with the general? Is he in the brig?”

  “No, he’s dead.”

  “Dead? How?”

  “I challenged him to an honor battle in his room, and I won.”

  She smiled. “You did?”

  “Yes. I swam across the cove, broke in through the front door of the compound and hid in Pyzon’s bedroom. After he rested downstairs and ate a luxurious dinner, he eventually retired to his room and I stepped out from behind the curtains.”

  She bit her lip. “I bet you shocked the hell out of him.”

  “True. He did not expect my arrival in his bed chamber.”

  “What did he do when you revealed yourself?”

 
“He congratulated me and announced I was the winner. I told him the game was not over and I was a beast at bay. He bowed deeply and our battle began.”

  “Did you use weapons?”

  “No. We fought like original warriors—claw to claw. And in the end, I tossed him out the window of his own room and allowed his pack of Gorgas in the courtyard to determine his fate.”

  “Oh wow, I—”

  And then a tone started ringing. Janet recognized it immediately.

  “What is that?”

  “Um, it’s my tablet…”

  Zhoryan glanced over and reached back. He grabbed her glass tablet off the night table next to their spacious bunk.

  “Oh no,” she gasped, remembering the last screen saver she’d been using. The one that was a pic of Zhoryan, shirtless and exercising.

  “What is this?” he chuckled. “Is this a picture of me?”

  “Give that back,” she gritted, her face flaming. She grabbed it out of his claws and checked the screen. “It’s Kia calling. I’ll just wait to answer, when I’m in private. Or I can switch to audio…”

  “No need for that.” He grabbed the tablet and tossed it on the bedding, then he tapped a button on the night table which caused their incoming vid message to pop up and materialize into a large holo screen floating in front of them.

  “Holy crap. Zhoryan we’re not even dressed.”

  The screen immediately flashed to life and her sister’s worried features came into view. “Janet, thank gods you answered,” Kia gasped. “I’ve been so worried. I didn’t know what happened to you. Mom and dad are freaking out. How are you…wait,” her sister paused and Janet could see her eyes darting back and forth. “Zhoryan, is that you? Are you two in bed together?”

  Janet sunk further in the sheets, pulling the fabric up to her neck. Oh jeez. Meanwhile, Zhoryan sat up straight with his naked chest exposed and the sheet covering his waist. He crossed his arms and grinned.