Chained: A Sci-Fi Alien Invasion Romance (Garrison Earth Book 5)

by V. K. Ludwig

  The young male immediately jumped up. “Yes, warden. Right away.”

  I followed along the hallway lined with doors, males of all strati sitting about, waiting to stick it into something that never failed to leave a chemical tang on your cock. The smart ones spotted me and lowered their heads.

  The moment I stepped outside, I hit a wall of heat, my sweat-damp uniform soon chaffing over sore muscles. Solgad. What a forsaken planet; where ash caked inside your nostrils and grit rubbed on the heels inside your boots.

  Our camp mostly consisted of easy-to-deploy containers, each one holding barracks, dining facilities, meeting rooms, and of course, entertainment. Sparring often took place outdoors to acclimatize our bodies to the environment.

  I strolled over to Torin, my cropmate, partner in neurosis and lunacy, who lounged on the ground with his back propped against a tree. “No matter how often I shower, I step out of my cleaning chamber with a new layer of sweat already in place.”

  No answer.

  Torin stared down at his lap, charged gun in one hand, finger of the other caressing the barrel. Up and down they went, the male spacing out more and more often with each additional death on a conscience the Empire agreed we didn’t possess.

  “By the Three Suns, brother.” I grabbed his wrist, guiding his hand to line up the barrel with the underside of his chin. “There you go. Now you can pull that trigger. You’re welcome.”

  “Fuck you, Zavis!”

  “Such language coming from the mouth of the honorable Torin. What’s next? Perhaps you’ll go rogue and stop buttoning your shirt all the way to the collar.” I leaned over and fastened my boots. “I’ll grab one of the yuleshis and take a swim in the lagoon. Wash that rubber stench off my cock.”

  “The yonis are sacred to the Jal’zar. I doubt they’ll appreciate you swimming in them.”

  “Everything’s sacred to those savages. I have yet to find a rock I can piss on without offending.”

  He let out a long sigh. “You should not go alone. Take a handful of warriors with you.”

  “And have them stare at me as if I might snap their necks for fun? No, thank you. If I’m not back by nightfall, don’t bother looking for me.”

  I walked over to one of the temporary stables where several yuleshis stood tied to a post. Massive feline beasts with inky skin and no fur; a slit ran down to each side of their throat, allowing them to filter moisture from the air for hydration.

  Stargazers, hover vehicles, and other technology tended to fail on this planet, but not the yuleshi. A very primitive way of transportation, no doubt, but as failproof as one might get out here.

  I loosened the reins and swung onto its back, clicking it into a trot. The beast growled low but obeyed, the diagonally placed gait comfortable enough for short distances.

  The yoni hid north of our camp, the entrance nothing but a crack in the foot of the mountain, with tree roots and low-hanging foliage camouflaging it well. I’d found it by sheer accident when rain had turned the stone slick and I’d lost footing, slipping right into the grotto.

  I left my yuleshi outside tied to a low branch, and the animal immediately curled itself up between protruding roots.

  Climbing inside, I lost my boots and chest holster on the way through the narrow passage, which opened up into a chamber, stalactites looming from the high-arched ceiling. The occasional crack between them illuminated the yoni with thin shafts of light, casting a pinkish hue onto the surface of the water.

  I unbuttoned my uniform shirt and climbed out of my pants, the air cool enough that my skin pebbled. The water stood tall after the last torrent; the edges lined with green sludge not yet overwhelmed by the salt of the water.

  A water so cool against my searing skin, I sucked in a sharp breath when I lowered down. Feet searching for grip on the submerged stone, I waded along the edge, scooping water onto my hair by the handful.

  I leaned with my back against the stone, arms spread wide to my sides, and tilted my head back. Eyes closed, I enjoyed the silence while the water easily kept me afloat due to the high salt content.

  Traces of mildew and moss clung to air thick with moisture, and the drip-a-drip-drip from the stalactites offered a monotone lullaby — safe for that footstep behind me.

  The blood froze in my veins.

  Please don’t be a Jal’zar warrior…

  I ripped my eyes open, and purple irises stared down at me. White hair framed them so perfectly, dangling in hundreds of thin braids adorned with metal clasps and sheathed in stone beads.

  Not a warrior… Worse.

  A Jal’zar female.

  My throat narrowed to the width of a grain stalk, realization settling down that I would die in this cave.

  She would kill me.

  Unless I killed her first.

  Three

  Naney

  I wrapped my tail around the Vetusian’s neck and squeezed as hard as the muscle allowed, dull hate feeding my veins. “How dare you smudge Mekara’s tears with the blood of my people crusted to your skin?”

  Gray eyes widened in shock, lacking color in the same way their owner lacked a soul – not to mention honor. The Vetusian brought his hands to his neck and dug his nails deep into my flesh until it seared.

  I bent my knees and leaned over, taking in the scent of his fear. “You’re a demon, Vetusian. Born from no mother; sired by chaos itself. You shouldn’t have lived, and I will correct—”

  His fingers wrapped around my horns with such speed I couldn’t dodge it. One yank, and the yoni turned upside down. Water splashed and burned my eyes, ripples of pain sweeping along my spine upon impact.

  Drowning impossible, I released his neck and paddled against the surface until my soles found hard ground underneath. I took a wide stance, tailclaw angled high to strike.

  “I offended you.” He stood straight and proud as he reached behind, fingers scouting for the stone edge. “Let me leave, and I swear on my honor, I will not return here. Surely your goddess would be displeased if you spilled my blood in this sacred place.”

  I kept my eyes on him and waded to the edge, quickly lifting out of the water so I might kill him with solid footing underneath me. “Mekara will lap your blood while she paints her body with it, demon with no honor.”

  He lifted out of the water, and a harsh pain echoed through my womb at the sight. “At least I don’t attack your kind from behind while they’re unarmed.”

  Unarmed. Unclothed.

  Heat erupted between my legs. “You are bare.”

  The enemy stood naked, corded muscles giving him away as one of their warriors – no black uniform needed. Bulging pectorals heaved from our short-lived struggle in the water, but his cock hung thick and bold between tree-trunk thighs.

  “Aren’t you when you bathe?” He sidestepped toward a better vantage point, where the ground was rough from a lifetime of water drops carving better grip. “Yet another disadvantage making this a less than honorable fight, if you care so much for it.”

  Silent steps carried me toward him, knees weak from the brutal demands of what was my nature. “I will drag your dead body over the plains until you’re covered in ash, then string you up on a tree for ragna to feed on your foul flesh.”

  His head jerked up, fists clenched; his feet rocking forward to the ball of his foot in preparation for fight. “Can’t say Jal’zar females are the loveliest kind in the universe.”

  “We are the deadliest ones,” I snarled and sprinted toward him.

  The moment he braced for fight and pulled his fist back into a punch, I lowered my head, ramming my horns straight into his chest.

  Pressure spread across my skull, but I ignored it and thrust myself into a backflip, tail darting in his direction until my claw made impact with something.

  I landed in a wide stance while the Vetusian stumbled back. He stared down where blood trickled over his ribbed abdomen. A cut spread diagonally over his stomach, deep enough to mark him for life.

  �
��You bitch,” he growled, his voice pulsating with a rage that sent a shameful frisson of need through my belly.

  He stormed at me, heavy muscles shifting. The brute stepped on my tail, his flaccid cock slapping my hip as he dug his hand into my throat, choking me.

  “I’ve never killed a female before. That might change today, unless you let me tie you up so I can walk away from this.”

  My legs tensed in instant defense, lungs struggling to suck in air through the force of his tight grip. He was so strong, disabling most of my weapons with little more than a hand and a foot.

  Most. Not all.

  I dug my hand between us where our skin connected, turned my fingers upward, and poked my nails straight into his sack.

  He yelped and jerked back.

  When his naked sole slipped off my tail, I wrapped it around his neck and pulled him closer. I turned my head, only to let the side of my horn clash against his temple. The Vetusian collapsed to the ground, sinking to his knees before the weight of his torso pulled him sideways. His head hit rough stone with a deep thud, knocking him out cold.

  I slapped his hairy cheek.

  No reaction.

  He was handsome, even more so with the red streaks of my fingers beneath his eye. Tiny scars decorated much of his forehead and climbed into his dark hairline, probably from small fights, sparring, and the occasional brawl.

  “Demon,” I hissed and grabbed his ankles, the weight of his legs alone overwhelming.

  I dragged his naked form over the stone, bracing against a ground too slippery to make this an easy task. Almost three-times my weight, moving this male was an ordeal, so I clasped his ankles underneath my armpits for better grip.

  Big mistake.

  Gray eyes opened.

  Pulling one leg toward him, he unbalanced me, using the opportunity to lodge the other leg from my grip. He angled it against his knee and, with one kick to my stomach, I staggered back until my spine met rough stone.

  Raw pain exploded in my lower belly, pulling my legs out from underneath me. Hip crashing against the ground, I curled up, hands pressed to my belly. Each inhale came like a stuttered wheeze.

  “Not so feisty anymore, hmm?” The Vetusian rolled me onto my back, making sure he tugged my tail underneath it, and sat astride my thighs. “What am I going to do with you now? I have nothing to tie you up in here, so I might have to choke you until you pass out.”

  He quickly grabbed my wrists and forced them down beside me — exposing where I was so vulnerable — only a hand-width above where his cock rested in the crook of my thighs.

  “Get off me!”

  Bucking against him didn’t have the result I’d hoped for as each restrained jerk sparked a ravenous need I had no control over.

  Rage. Hunger.

  It ransacked my system in equal parts, pooling in my womb until I lifted my pelvis as much as he allowed, searching friction, seeking pleasure. Anything that would ease the agonizing pain of what was only my second heat.

  It was my nature — the brutal demand for a male to fuck me rising to the surface. So he would sting me with his claw and claim me as his mate. All while he rutted me through this heat until his seed eased the twisting and throbbing inside my belly.

  I lifted my pelvis yet again, rotating it in a wobbly circle as I arched my back. Nausea rose in the back of my throat, disgusted by my behavior. Betrayed by my own body, I moaned and writhed for the wrong male. A male who could bring no end to this agony, yet his closeness turned me into a slave of savage instincts.

  “What are you doing, female?” Confusion fleeted across his features, yet I kept bucking, finding only more pain with the way I humped the air. “Stop this!”

  At my next thrust, the Vetusian first moaned, then startled at his own reaction, eyes narrowed with concern flicking down at where his cock shifted in my lap. Veins drew along his shaft, thickening, engorging.

  He immediately eased his weight off me, and I wiggled my arms from his grasp. I wrapped them around his neck and, with a kick of my knee against his buttocks, I threw him off-balance.

  I rolled the Vetusian off me and mounted him, tailclaw hovering beside his temple. He stared up at me, utterly void of fight, swallowing excessively as his lips parted and clenched shut. His gray eyes stared straight at me but somehow turned distant all the same, flicking to where I ground myself over his hard flesh.

  One sting, and I could have speared his brain.

  Could have…

  Instead, I swept the last bit of my rational thinking aside and surrendered to what my body hoped would ease the suffering. I pushed my leather covering aside, wiping thick cream along his shaft.

  The blunt head of his cock pulsated as I pressed down on it, rocking him inside me under whimpers. Wet and slippery, the fluid eased his way inside me, but untried muscles struggled nonetheless to adjust to his girth.

  “Fuck… what… what are you doing?” He tilted his head back, eyes clenching shut, his hips rocking in-tune with mine as he stretched me by slow degrees. “Don’t stop. By the Three Suns, this is wrong…”

  So wrong. Such a shameful thing to allow the enemy between my legs — contempt and regret were sure to follow.

  The more I took of his length, the harder my womb spasmed, and pain stripped its biting fangs, reshaping into pleasure until I moaned and whimpered.

  When my sex sheathed him entirely, I rolled my hips, trailing my fingers over the well-conditioned, if bloodied, muscles of his abdomen. He was tall, strong, and offered no resistance other than how, every now and then, he shook his head.

  “Make it go away, Vetusian,” I crooned, a storm of lust and raw demand raging within me.

  His hands reached for my waist, but I slapped them away. “Make what go away?”

  “The pain.” That blazing heat sweltering me from the inside, whipping me to search for relief wherever I might find it. “You have to ease it.”

  He gripped my hips, pushing me down on rock-hard flesh, grimacing with thoughts at war, no doubt. “How do I ease it, female?”

  “Give me your seed.” Screams of protest died a silent death at the back of my untamed mind. “Your seed will calm my body.”

  Or it might do nothing but bring Mekara’s wrath.

  The pride in his eyes faded into the same startling gray of his irises. “I... I can’t.”

  Primal need slammed into my mind, coursing through my core like liquid fire. “Deny me your seed and I will kill you.”

  “You’re killing me already,” he groaned, his voice dark and rich, laced with a loathing for me I would return tenfold.

  Just not now.

  Not yet.

  “Please…” I begged with a tortured cry, spreading my thighs wider, taking him deeper.

  I filled myself with his cock, hips jerking, grinding, fighting for friction while the roughened stone cut into my knees.

  My walls flexed around him, body tightening until I splayed my fingers over the cut on his stomach, a blast of heat erupting at my core. It sizzled between my legs so hard and fast, I could do nothing but wail, and his curses shattered from the stone alongside it.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  If anything, the never-ending spasm only enraged, sending a new wave of pain into my aching belly. “It hurts so bad.”

  “I’m sorry,” he rasped, his head shaking violently.

  “Your seed, male.” I slapped my flat hand onto his cut, blood mixing with rivulets of salty water and sweat.

  He grabbed my waist so hard it would bruise. “Damn you, crazy bitch.”

  He angled his knees and thrust upward, bringing me down so hard onto him a shiver wrecked through my body. My cunt welcomed every stab — a new wave of mind-shattering ripples clasping down on his cock.

  “Sert!” His breathing roughened and his entire body jerked underneath me.

  His cock shuttled hard and deep, remaining at the end of me, filling my womb with harmless seed that would neither catch nor bring relief. Little pulsation
s shot stream after stream inside me, and I soaked it all up, my entire body shivering.

  Skin pebbled, the yoni much colder than only a moment ago. Then, the unthinkable happened: his seed brought a cooling relief, calming a fiery womb, so soothing, so mind-numbing that I collapsed against his chest.

  He stuttered in an exhale, perhaps two, before he wrapped shaky arms around me. “Are you better now? Did I bring you relief?”

  Relief purchased with guilt.

  Shame hit instantly, replacing heat with blind fury. What had I done? The pain of the heat had nothing on the crushing torment of my remorse. Regret lanced my chest as if Mekara herself tried to strike me dead, and by the goddess, I deserved it.

  “Don’t touch me!” I snarled and freed myself from his embrace, his seed tickling my skin as it ran down along my inner thigh. “I will kill you.”

  He rose, his cock still obscenely erect. “I’m not one who fears death, and I never cared less about it than at this moment.”

  With a hiss, I wrapped my tail around his neck. I rammed my horns against his chest. Hooking my calf behind his ankle, I ripped his leg out from underneath him and pushed him into the water.

  Then I turned and ran.

  Four

  Zavis

  I stepped out of the shower, and the steam packing the room turned me lightheaded. Temporary habitats always lacked certain comforts. Reason enough I’d voted against this occupation, which served no other purpose but to bring Earth to supply us with females.

  I grabbed the tub of salve from the sink and walked back into my sleeping chamber. Black silk sheets wrinkled across my pod from yet another sleepless night.

  Even if I left the lights on, one nightmare chased the next, so I rarely slept. They called me crazy, but who wouldn’t lose his shit after so many sun cycles of sleep-deprivation?

  I assessed the damage before the mirror — an angry red cut across my abdomen, purple bruises blotching my neck, a tortured sack with claw marks at the bottom. Oh, and a cock fucked raw by a crazy Jal’zar female.

  A headache throbbed at the back of my head and slowly spread toward my temples. What by the Heat of Heliar had happened? One moment, we’d tried to kill each other. The next, we’d coupled in a way that only further supported those who called me insane.