by Luna Hunter
“Fuck me,” I mutter. “It’s even bigger up close.”
Malak arches an eyebrow. “You’ve seen me… before?”
I look up. “I, uh, saw you, way back on your ship, playing with… that,” I admit.
“Ha,” Malak chuckles. He wraps his strong fist arounds the base of his member and strokes himself a few times. “Do you want to get a better look this time?”
“Yes,” I say, breathlessly. “I would like that very much.”
He moves even closer.
I do the only logical thing. I open my mouth and welcome him between my lips.
The head of his alien member feels velvety smooth in my warm mouth. I lick him all over, eyes closed as I savor the tast, the feeling, the scent — everything.
Malak growls my name, a deep, throaty, animalistic growl as he grabs a fistful of my hair.
I’ve got one hand wrapped around the base as the other one moves between my legs. I’ve barely touched myself before my legs start to tremble.
Malak pulls me back, and a throaty whine leaves my mouth.
“My turn,” he says.
A second later he’s got me on my back as he tears my clothes right off. Shreds of fabric fly through the room, and before they’ve hit the floor his face is buried deeply between my legs, his stiff horns pressing against my soft skin as his forked tongue enters me.
I moan his name and buck my hips as the feral beast licks me to an earthshaking orgasm.
“Malakkk,” I cry as pleasure fills every inch of me.
The alien king doesn’t give me a moment to catch my breath. He’s on top of me, his blue body pressing down on mine, his lips on mine as his massive cock presses against my entrance.
This is all going so fast. One moment we were just flirting… and now’s his thick blue member is inches away from filling me whole. Can I even take him all? Is this what I really want?
…yes.
Yes, yes it is.
He enters me with one thrust of his strong, powerful hips. His kiss sniffles my cries as he bottoms out inside of me, my legs and arms wrapped around him completely. We’re one, me and him. We are exactly where we need to be.
My body was made for his.
Our tongues dance around one another as he thrusts, as he hammers, as he claims my body and my soul. I’ve never felt anything close to this, this connected, this loved, this… claimed.
That’s what we’re doing. It’s sweet, it’s loving, it’s a deep connection — but it’s also hot and sweaty and sexy and everything I ever wanted.
I used to think those things were mutually exclusive. How very wrong I was. Malak sinks his fangs into my shoulder, he growls my name as his member grows even thicker inside of me, his hips start to tremble and he fills me with his seed — and I’ve never felt sexier and I’ve never felt more loved.
“That was… crazy,” I say as I finally get a moment to catch my breath.
Malak kisses my face and neck all over, smothering me with his love.
“It was not crazy, it was perfect,” he says. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Emma.”
“Likewise.”
“Will you be my mate in this world and the next?”
“Of course.”
Three rapid knocks on the door break the spell.
“Hold on—”
General Lynt barges into the room. He doesn’t lift an eyebrow at the state we’re in, a pile of two sweaty people.
“Your grace, excuse my intrusion, but I have urgent news,” he says. “Your cruiser has just been stolen.”
My heart sinks like a stone.
The beacon is on that ship.
Whoever has that can send out a message… and lead humanity right into a trap.
21
Malak
Endorphins still race through my veins as I slip my royal armor on. I want nothing more than to spend the rest of the day (or, if it were possible, all of eternity) in the arms of Emma.
Her touch is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. She heals me. She lifts the weight on my shoulders, she makes me feel… happy.
That has to wait though. Duty calls.
I step outside, where Lynt is waiting on me.
“Brief me,” I say.
“My Prince, we have received a disturbing report. It seems there was an attack on the royal shipyard. Fourteen guards are dead, and the royal cruising is missing, and presumed stolen. I suggest we go there right now to investigate.”
The veins in my neck throb with anger. That cruiser is more than just a ship; it’s a symbol. This wasn’t just a robbery. This was an attempt to discredit my rule.
“Any witnesses?”
“None.”
“Electronic surveillance?”
“All scrambled.”
“It must be found,” I growl with frustration. “Prepare my Unur, I ride out immediately!”
As General Lynt hurries off, I head back into the bedroom. I wish I could linger, that I could enjoy her body more, but I cannot stay.
“What do you mean you’re leaving?!” Emma cries when I explain the situation.
“I must go,” I say as I kiss her forehead and take a deep breath. “Don’t move. I won’t be long.”
“Wait, I’ve got something important to tell you,” Emma says.
“Can it wait?”
“No, it cannot. It’s about my ship. I… I haven’t been completely honest with you. And I’m sorry.”
“What is it?” I ask.
“It was my mission to find a new home for Earth. There’s a beacon in the cargo hold of my ship. If fired, it’ll send out a signal to Earth, communicating to them that I’ve found a new habitat. They will send out ships. Colony ships, filled with thousands of people. If your cruiser has been stolen by those pirates from earlier… I shudder to think what they’d do to a ship full of civilians.”
“You were right to tell me.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, I just didn’t know if I could trust you. I couldn’t risk drawing humanity to Aegon if I wasn’t absolutely sure that they’d be safe here.”
“Do you trust me now?” I ask.
“Of course,” Emma says.
“Then believe me when I say I will find my cruiser and your ship, no matter the cost. Your people will be safe, Emma. I promise it.”
“Okay,” she says. “I believe you.”
I lean in again to kiss her forehead goodbye, but Emma throws her arms around me and kisses my lips deeply. I return the kiss, savoring the moment, savoring her warmth, savoring her scent…
Before it all evaporates.
22
Malak
Akil Pay stops us as we hurry down the halls.
“Your grace, what’s the matter?”
“No time to explain, old man,” Lynt barks. “Out of the way.”
“There’s been an attack on the shipyard,” I say.
“Then I recommend staying within the safety of the castle!” Pay says. “I insist on it!”
“If I cannot travel safely through my own country, then I have already failed as a leader,” I answer. “Your comments are noted, Pay, but I cannot stay inside and hide. What will the soldiers think? No, I will travel there at once.”
“Then I will travel with you, your grace. And we will take the carriage — and troops along as well.”
“We don’t have the time!” General Lynt says. “Didn’t you hear what the prince just said?!”
“Calm down, Lynt,” I say. My general and my senior adviser haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I haven’t seen my chief general this agitated before. “I will grant Pay his request. Prepare the carriage.”
“…yes, your grace,” Lynt grinds through his teeth.
The royal spaceport has never felt so far away as today.
“Can’t this carriage go any faster?!” I ask the driver.
“We’re going as fast as we can, your grace,” he says. “Any faster is not safe.”
I sit back down and try t
o relax. Unsuccessfully.
“I still think we should have traveled alone,” Lynt mutters.
“I’m starting to agree,” I say. “It’s extremely important we get my ship back. At any costs.”
“With all due respect, it’s just a ship, isn’t it?” Pay says. “I know the value it holds as a symbol for our people, and I know it has sentimental value as well, but at the end of the day…”
“It’s not about my ship — it’s about Emma’s,” I say. I glance up to see if the driver’s eaves dropping on us, but he’s too busy tending to the Unur to pay us any mind.
“What about it?” Lynt asks, leaning forward.
“Her ship contains a beacon. It can send a direct message to her homeworld — that will attract thousands of her people. If that beacon falls in the wrong hands, it could be disastrous for humanity.”
Pay and Lynt nod gravely.
“Then we definitely should have chosen the Unur,” Lynt mumbles.
Finally, hours later, we arrive at the spaceport.
And it’s deserted.
I expected to find countless troops here already, guarding the premises as our top scientists evaluate the debris for clues as to whose responsible.
Instead, everything seems to be in order — except for the conspicuous absence of all personal, and the eerie, absolute silence. Even my cruiser is still right there, parked where I left it.
I turn back to my advisers, and what I see makes adrenaline course through my veins
Akil Pay’s eyes are opened wide. A dagger rests on his throat. And it’s General Lynt who is wielding the blade.
“Lynt, What’s the meaning of this?!” I growl.
“Idiot should have stayed home!” Lynt says. “Why’d you have to get involved, old man? Why do you always put your nose where it doesn’t belong?!”
Battle rage takes a hold of me in an instant. My pupils dilate, my ears perk up, and my fists balls up. I walked right into a trap.
Out of every corner Aegir troops rush forwards. The serpentine bagger of the Yagna Coven adorns their armor. My troops are completely surrounded. Fighting in this situation is senseless — it would be a slaughter.
Despite my hunger for revenge, I give my troops the order to lay down their weapons. I won’t let them die to sate my ego.
“You betrayed me, Lynt?”
Those are words I’d never imagined I’d have to utter.
“What is Yagna paying you? What’s worth throwing your honor to the wind?”
“You’re one to talk about honor,” Lynt barks. “You were the one who took that mongrel in, that outsider who wants to change everything that we Aegir stand for! That little speech she gave, down in the dungeon? You think that wouldn’t reach every ear on Aegir?!”
“So is that what this is about?” I say.
“You’re damn right. You’re the one who is morally corrupt here, Malak. I’ve served your family for decades, but I’m not going to let a traitor like you ruin everything that they’ve built.”
“Then so be it. Let Pay go, Lynt. It’s me you want.”
“One less witness can’t hurt though, can it?”
“No!”
I rush towards him.
I’m too late.
The blade slices Pay’s throat wide open. Dark red blood gushes out. Pay slumps to the ground, the light leaving him in an instant.
“You bastard,” I growl as my balled up claw travels through the air. Lynt attempts to dodge, but I get a good punch in, shattering his nose to bits.
A dozen elite Yagna troops jump me. I knock a few out but they’ve got me outnumbered, and they quickly work me to the ground.
“Enjoy the rest of your days on Neralatos you bastard,” Lynt says, one hand clutching his bloody nose. “Oh, and thank you for that little tip about Emma’s ship. I’ll be sure to fire that beacon and draw her people here. The Grand Archon will be pleased to hear that there will be human playthings for all royals to enjoy.”
No.
Ancestors no.
I have failed my mate.
23
Emma
A warm wind blows in my face, and I close my eyes and enjoy the moment. At times like this, when the stress gets to me, I go to the top of the castle and look out across the city. Malak had to leave in such a hurry… the sinking feeling in my stomach won’t disappear until he’s back, safe and sound.
“Come back quickly, Malak,” I whisper to the wind. “I can’t raise this baby without you.”
After all we just did? I just know he knocked me up. I can feel it in every fiber of my being. My gaze turns up, at the sky. I’ve never realized I’ve taken Earth’s blue, moon-adorned sky for granted all my life. On Aegir, the sky is always tinted slightly red, and I still haven’t gotten used to seeing the two moons hang still in the sky.
I miss Earth, I miss my family, my friends, even my colleagues… but I miss Malak most of all.
“Ah. There you are.”
That icy voice behind me drips with derision, and I recognize it instantly. I whirl around.
Zakra, the Grand Archon of the Yagna Coven.
My blood runs cold at the sight of him. Malak often spoke about his distrust for this man.
“What? Where’s Malak?”
“Oh, you won’t be seeing him for a long time,” he snarls.
My heart is jolted, but I can’t show that to him. I have to remain in control — even though he shouldn’t be here. Where are the guards?! They shadow me so much I stopped noticing them all together… and so I haven’t noticed their absence either. Now that I think about it, the castle seemed awfully quiet today…
“Explain yourself,” I demand.
“Oh, I will, earthling. You see, I have an offer for you, Emma Fairheart of Earth, and you’re going to want to listen carefully. Your little plans have thrown Nyrr into disarray. In fact, you played right into my hand, more than I ever dared to hope,” he laughs to himself. “The Nyrr nobility, are fiendishly nationalistic… but luckily for me, you came along and made life easy for me. Thank you for that, by the way.”
“Are you going to come to the point or am I going to have to push you off this freaking castle?”
I have a small knife in my boot, the cold metal pressing against my leg. I could slip it out right now, stab him in the neck, and… and start a war, obviously.
Best to let him finish his little speech.
Or has the war already begun? Where are those fucking guards?!
“To the point, as always, human,” Zakra says, taking a quick step away from the ledge.
Damn it, I should’ve just pushed him when I had the chance and made it look like an accident.
“Now, where was I? Oh yes, your arrival has spelled doom for the Nyrr family. You see, your mate-to-be is rotting in Neralatos. Do you even know what that is? Of course not. You are an outsider. Ignorant to our ways. Neralatos is a prison planet. An impenetrable fortress built on an icy rock. No one’s ever escaped. And no one ever will,” Zakra chuckles.
“Don’t start crying yet, human, because I’m only just getting started. You can cry all you want later, but for now, listen with those tiny ears of yours. It’s about your future. You see, I could kill you outright.”
Zakra unsheathes a serrated blade. It glistens in the moonlight.
“I would enjoy watching the blood drain from your soft frame very much. Much like your hope is draining away right now. Yes, I can read your face like a book, human. Unfortunately, cutting you down like a punir would provoke the remaining loyal Houses. Which would lead to a messy war. A war I would win, don’t even think for a second that Nyrr would survive that battle. Egos and the Deadsea would join in, like vultures who smell carrion. Nyrr would be razed to the ground. All men killed, all women enslaved. That’s one option. I’m here to present you with a second. Mate with me.”
“Wh-what?” I stammer. I expected a lot. Not this.
“You heard me, human female. Mate with me. With Malak missing, the control of
House Nyrr lands on your frail shoulders. If we mate, we can merge our houses. In theory. In practice, Nyrr’s resources will be mine, and you… you will be my sexual pet. You will serve me and my guests. And in time, you will grow to like it. You will be thankful for my generosity.”
Zakra smirks, baring his sharp fangs, looking mightily pleased with himself.
“Never in a million years,” I say.
“Think about what you’re saying, female.” His eyes narrow to hateful, thin little slits. “Because I will slaughter every last man, woman and child in this Xeerdom. Millions will die. They will be quartered. They will be hung. They will die like the vermin that they are. The river will run red with their blood. The whole planet will see that this is what happens when you go against the natural order of things. And only when you’ve personally watched the entirety of Nyrr fall to ruin, only when you’ve seen with your own two eyes that all you’ve stood for is destroyed, only then will I capture you, and keep you prisoner in my basement for the remainder of your sad, pointless life.”
Zakra takes a step back and flashes me that evil grin of his again.
“Either way, you are mine. One option saves a million lives. The other one condemns them to death. So, earthling, what will it be?”
I’m speechless. I knew Malak told me that Aegir is an inhospitable world. That it’s not like Earth. That it’s dangerous. But this man is not just dangerous — he’s a genocidal maniac.
“I’ve got your answer right here, scumbag,” I growl.
With one quick movement I slip the knife out of my boot and lunge right at him. Zakra dodges to the left. My knife barely grazes his cheek. Blood drips down his chin as I stumble for balance.
“Dumb bitch!”
I raise the knife for a second strike, but the Aegir’s quicker. He knocks the blade out of my hand, and it tumbles over the edge.
He swipes my leg and I fall flat on my ass. He kicks in my stomach, and I double over in pain.
“I ought to have you quartered!” Zakra growls. “I’ve never met a bitch with such an attitude like you. No matter, you will learn! Yes, yes, you will learn!”
