by Zara Zenia
She blinked at that. That wasn’t right. The heat coursing through her, pooling between her legs at the sight of this guy was wrong.
Very wrong.
“What did you . . . what was . . .?” Melody shook her head, confused. He did something to her. Made her horny? Not cool.
Not cool? Since when was her response so lackadaisical?
Melody thought about it harder, about how he’d stolen her, drugged her, tried to turn her into his slave. She tried to glare at him, but there was no anger to find. No rage or fury to draw from.
Just a growing hunger that gnawed at her from the inside.
“The treatment, sweet one. I told you I would win. It lowers aggression while increasing libido. You will have three treatments before the final imprinting,” he said, stepping close enough that she could smell him. Melody inhaled deeply, and the scent sent a jolt of need straight to her core. She whimpered.
Nor’s smile widened. “You may not need the full regimen after all, with this receptiveness,” he said, sounding pleased. “But I like to make sure it sticks. Imprints never fail after three treatments.”
He talked about it all as if it were something simple. A spray tan or fumigating for pests. But this was Melody’s free will. Her emotions. How could he . . . ? She shook her head. She wasn’t even capable of getting angry about the injustice of it all. Talk about irony.
The longer he was near her with the drugs coursing through her veins, the more grateful Melody was for the bonds restraining her. She’d never admit it to anyone in the universe, but she did want him. It was the treatment, whatever it was, but she wanted him. Her body starved for his touch. She desperately wanted to be licked and spread and filled, and the itch for it only intensified with each passing moment.
After unbearably long hours—or was it only minutes? Melody had no way of knowing—Egeon nodded, looking satisfied.
“Two more treatments,” he said before leaving the room.
His absence didn’t make the burn any less insistent, though. Melody’s thighs trembled, her sex pulsing with hungry need.
“It will get better,” Three said, approaching from somewhere unseen. Melody jumped, startled, releasing the breath slowly, only to suck it back in the moment Three’s velvety soft fingers touched her.
Three was only unfastening Melody’s restraints, but the touch alone was enough to make Melody feel like she’d been nudged with the cattle prod again. It was electric, almost painful with how far away from what she needed it was.
It didn’t get better.
The next two treatments were more intense, more unbearable than the first. Despite all her resolve, all her iron will, Melody yanked against her restraints, begging Nor to come closer, to feed her insatiable appetite.
Since the first treatment, she’d been restrained at all times, even in her cell. There’d been no chance to relieve the terrible gnawing ache inside her, and by the time Nor walked out after the third treatment, it was literally the only thing Melody could think of anymore. She hadn’t slept, hadn’t eaten, hadn’t done anything but desperately gyrate her hips, whining and pleading for release.
She was so ashamed.
That shame still didn’t prevent a desperate cry ripping from her lips as Nor exited.
“Wait!” she cried, sagging forward from her chains on the wall. “Please,” she sobbed quietly as every inch of her flesh tingled with awareness, with the now-painful itch of insatiable arousal. And not being able to be angry . . . well, it meant she was just as broken and useless as the other girls.
“I thought that was the last one,” Melody whined as One approached, sympathy in the line of her mouth.
“Yes, it is time for the imprinting now,” she said hesitantly.
“The imprinting?”
Three stepped up on the other side of her, a strip of thick fabric in hand. “After we blindfold you, the final dose will be administered. We will escort you to Master’s room, and it will seal you to him.”
Melody licked her lips nervously. She didn’t like the sound of any of that, but the parts of her brain that should have been concerned with words like seal and imprint were distracted with the promise of sex, finally ridding herself of the persistent urge that erased all other thoughts and motivations from her mind.
“Why the blindfold?” she asked, though at this point, it mattered little to her. The throb between her legs was a steady drumbeat, her pulse loud enough she was sure the others could hear it.
“The imprint takes hold with the first person you see after the final dose. Master doesn’t take chances that it will be another.”
Makes sense, Melody thought, though whether that was accurate or not, she couldn’t say. Sense was a relative term when one was horny enough to forget their own name like she was.
“Okay,” One said, nodding to Three, who lifted the blindfold and tied it snugly around Melody’s eyes. There was a prick, the final syringe needle in her coffin, Melody thought, still failing to muster up anger about it, and then her restraints were removed and the blind journey through the ship began.
Melody had never been escorted anywhere other than her own cell, so the way quickly became confusing, and she focused on following the alien women as closely as she could without running into them or anything else. It was enough of a challenge to keep her mind off what was to come.
How could she possibly be so eager for something that would be her doom? Egeon Nor was a cruel man, a monster, but there was no telling that to her libido. She didn’t even have her anger for her normal defense. Through all the bad shit in life, anger had been there for her, helping her to cope, but now she was on her own and Melody didn’t know how to deal with it. She wasn’t sure she could.
Suddenly, they stopped, and One squeezed Melody’s hand.
“It will all be better soon,” she said, the sound of a door opening following her words of encouragement.
“Master will be in soon,” Three said, giving Melody a gentle push into the room. “Don’t remove your blindfold yourself,” she cautioned before the door closed again.
Melody hugged herself, heart racing, mind reeling, desperate to take the blindfold off. But what if she did? Would Nor think of some new terrible torture? Would there be more treatments until she was a writhing, whimpering puddle of need?
She shuddered at the thought. As much as it went against everything in her, every rebellious cell in her body, Melody couldn’t fathom the alternatives, so she followed the instructions she’d been given.
A door opened not long after the other closed, and she turned toward the sound, heart in her throat.
This was it.
She didn’t know if she was ready to jump out of her skin or off a bridge. She knew she was jumpy as hell, though, and hearing Nor’s footsteps approach only made it worse, only heightened the anticipation.
He stopped, and Melody took a deep, shaky breath. What would happen if she didn’t ever open her eyes again? Could she avoid the imprint?
Would she want to if that was the way?
The question was pointless, because the moment he tugged her blindfold away, Melody looked up on instinct, thankful to be sighted again.
Thankfulness morphed to confusion in an instant, and she reeled back with a yelp.
4
“You’re not . . .” Melody trailed off, not able to finish the thought a second time.
“Great observation,” the guy said. The not-Nor guy. The guy who was much younger than the elderly alien, much more attractive.
It hit Melody like a freight train. A wave of intense urgency to give herself to him. The alien man was tall and lean, athletic but not bulky. His face was chiseled, with smooth planes for his cheeks, a square cut to his jaw. He wore tight, ragged clothes—a shirt and black pants—that weren’t anything like the elaborate embroidered robes she’d seen Egeon in.
Was it the beauty of him, or the imprint? She had no time to think on it, her compulsion overwhelming.
She threw herse
lf at him without a moment of hesitation. It had been days of torture under the treatment, and Melody couldn’t hold back anymore. She couldn’t deny the urges coursing through her.
The handsome stranger was startled at first to have this strange captive woman flinging her arms around his neck. His first reaction was to defend himself, to ward off her attack, but her lips pressed to his and any desire to fight her off fled. Melody seared her mouth to his, overcome by the intensity of the bond that had just been forged, her lips seemingly directly connected to her sex in a way she’d never quite realized before.
Kissing was nice. Melody enjoyed kissing, but kissing wasn’t enough. She pressed her tongue into his mouth, widening her stance, spreading her legs as she reached for his wrist.
He made a sound of protest and withdrew his hand, pushing her away from him.
Melody blinked, confused, her blood running hot, her mind churning, spinning out of control. “You’re not . . .” she panted, blinking, looking over her shoulder at the door she thought she’d been led through.
“I’m not,” the alien said, his voice a warm, rich baritone that made her toes curl. Melody bit back a wanton groan, desperate to get her hands on him again. She felt as if her fingers were magnets and he was a big old hunk of iron. “I’m here to rescue you,” he said, looking past her, concern etched into his impossibly handsome face. His complexion was the color of moonlight, so pale and pure she wanted to run her tongue over every inch of him.
“Rescue?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. “You don’t want to . . .” Melody bit her lip, dragging a hand over her body, locking her eyes with his. If she didn’t find relief soon, she was sure she would die.
“He certainly didn’t pick you for your smarts, did he?” the guy grumbled, shaking his head. “You hear that?” He gestured toward the door with an irritated wave.
Melody strained to hear past the steady, demanding drumbeat of her pulse.
Finally, she heard it.
“Guards,” she whispered, eyes widening.
“Now you get it,” he muttered, yanking her after him by the wrist, tugging her along like an unruly child. “We have to get out of here before they catch up. My distraction won’t hold for long.”
“Distraction?”
“You do anything besides repeat what you’re told, Omega?” he huffed, stopping long enough on their escape route to give her a look-over. Like he wasn’t sure she was worth the trouble after all. That was certainly what his expression conveyed at the moment. He looked . . . unimpressed.
“I have a name, asshole,” she growled, the treatment failing to contain all of her annoyance.
“So do I,” he said, just as irritated. More so, probably, by the look of him—and his lack of treatment. “Devron.”
“Melody,” she yelped in answer as he tugged her against him in a dark corridor, clamping his six-fingered hand over her mouth with a stern look telling her to keep quiet.
Being so close to him made Melody weak in the knees. He smelled like heaven, like chicken and waffles at Gus’s—not the smell, but the feeling of intense pleasure all the way to the deepest parts of her, the anticipation of satisfying a craving that had been plaguing her for too long. His free hand was around her waist, warm and firm, pressing her against his athletic body. Tall and built like a track and field star, his body promised explosive reflexes and hidden strength.
Devron strained his hearing to monitor the guards’ passing, but Melody could hear nothing but the mingling of their breaths, her heart pounding frantically in her chest while her lips still tingled from the kiss that had to end too soon. She wanted him. Needed him was a more apt word, but she knew nothing about him.
Nothing other than the fact that he was saving her from Egeon Nor.
But to what end?
Melody had lived enough life to know that no one ever did anything without wanting something in return. The fact that this guy was rescuing her was enough of a worry for her. Nor had terrible things planned, but from what he’d said, his whole society engaged in the horrific slave trade he participated in.
And this guy was definitely a part of Nor’s race.
Should she even go with him?
Melody snapped herself out of the hazy dreamlike lust she’d slipped into and shoved away from Devron, glaring at him.
“Who the hell are you?” she asked, scowling, beyond irritated with herself that she’d let the chemical cocktail injected into her alter her behavior.
Devron growled and snatched her wrist again. “I told you, Omega, my name is Devron—”
“And mine is Melody,” she growled, yanking her arm back, but all that did was result in her joint popping when he didn’t release her from his grip. She hissed and stopped struggling, though her glare didn’t go anywhere. “Why are you kidnapping me?”
“You want to belong to Nor?” Devron spat back. “You sure ask a lot of questions for someone being rescued.”
She rolled her eyes, tripping over her own feet as he forced her to follow him through corridors flashing with silent alarms. “You say that like I know you’re the better option. I don’t.”
In an instant, Devron stopped and whirled around to face her, his pale eyes frosty and dangerous. Melody gulped, suddenly wondering if she shouldn’t have pushed him so far.
“You’re an Omega. What you know is of no consequence to me. What you do is, and that should be blind obedience. Do you understand?”
Melody snorted, even as Devron’s fingers tightened on her wrist, painfully biting into her flesh. He wasn’t being gentle, and she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was hurting her.
“I understand you’re out of your goddamn mind if you think there’s a chance in hell I’m going to—HEY!” she shrieked as he hoisted her up over his shoulder.
“Silence, or you’ll get us both killed,” Devron hissed, his hand slapping the rounded globe of her ass with a resounding smack that made Melody gasp and squirm at the same time.
She started to try to free herself, but his hand stayed firm on her ass, squeezing tightly enough to challenge her, to dare her to test his patience and benevolence again.
Secretly, Devron wished she would. The feel of her flesh under his fingers was bliss enough, but that surprised yelp she’d made? He’d be hearing that sound in his wet dreams for the rest of his life. Melody seemed to understand that she was helpless in this scenario, though. Devron was larger and stronger than her, and he also knew the way out of this spaceship. He was her only hope of escaping Nor, and she might never get another.
Not if he got his way and imprinted on her.
Melody’s entire body froze at that thought.
Could Nor imprint on her now?
The other Omegas said that the imprint would work on the next person she saw after her blindfold was removed. Nor had said imprints never fail after three treatments. Was she stuck with this Devron guy? Was that the intense attraction she felt?
It all made sense, but it wasn’t comforting. Especially not when Melody didn’t know what to expect from the guy. She had no idea whether he was a good guy. Kidnapping wasn’t normally in the ‘good guy’ category, but kidnapping a slave was kind of a gray area. It all hinged on what plans he had for her once they escaped.
“Shit,” Devron cursed, turning a corner and coming to a skidding halt.
“What?” Melody asked, seeing nothing but the hall behind them the way she was bent over Devron’s shoulder. He set her down, hands firm on her shoulders, and spun her around.
“More guards. That’s the door to the bay where my ship’s waiting.”
Melody made a face. “You thought they wouldn’t be guarding it?”
He huffed, glaring at her. “I figured I’d be in and out faster and that the slave I was rescuing would be thankful and not interrogatory.”
Her cheeks warmed slightly with embarrassment. Maybe this was partially her fault, but could she be blamed for wanting to know what was happening to her? Wh
o she was dealing with?
No. Not if you asked her, anyway.
“So, what are we going to do? How do we get past them?”
“Give me a second,” he hissed, thrusting his fingers through his pale-gold hair, yanking at it in frustration.
“We’ve just got to get them away from that door, right? A distraction or something?”
Devron glared at her, and Melody shrank away momentarily before getting indignant about it.
“Whatever you’re thinking, buddy, I’m not an idiot. I might be far away from home and way out of my depth, but I’m not fucking stupid.”
He sighed, face twisting into a scowl before he finally nodded. Melody didn’t know what the nod was for, but it made her feel better for some reason. She was already sick of his looking at her like she was an airhead. At least if he saw her as someone with half a brain, he might treat her a little better.
“Damn it,” he muttered, reaching into one of the many pockets on his cargo pants.
“What?” Melody asked.
He shook his head.
“Back-up plan I didn’t want to have to use.” He sighed again, pulling out a little metal sphere with a black button embedded in the surface. “Don’t move,” he said, glaring at Melody harshly enough that she didn’t even consider disobeying.
Devron depressed the button, rolled the sphere down the hallway toward the guards, then grabbed Melody in his arms and spun her away from the hallway intersection.
“What—”
An explosion rocked the corridor before Melody could finish her question.
“Come on,” Devron said, yanking her after him.
“What was—was that a bomb?” she asked, turning the corner to see carnage—charred walls and floor, a gaping hole where the door had been, a viscous liquid that might be blood despite the odd color all over the place, and guards (or what was left of them) struggling to make sense of the sudden attack.
“Come on!” Devron insisted, still pulling her through the mayhem, the guards clearly too distracted to even see them moving through the thick black smoke.
