by Sara Page
“Princess Ameia of Terrea,” Beast groans. “You are my Calling.” His hand moves between us, then I feel something hard rubbing against my folds.
I cry out. The throb awakens with a vengeance.
“Gods, you’re wet.”
“Beast… Drek,” I cry, “What are you doing?”
“You and you alone will lead me to my destiny. I pledge to you my heart and my soul. I pledge to you my arms and my unwavering protection.”
I feel so lightheaded, it’s as if all the blood has rushed from my head, flooding the lower parts of my body.
“Everything that I have is yours. My kingdom. My people. My possessions. Me.” He keeps rubbing, keeps sliding something hard between my folds, driving me crazy.
His other hand grabs me by the hair and he yanks so that my chin lifts and our eyes meet, “Do you accept my pledge?”
Do I accept him? This dark devil from space who has pledged to me everything that he has? Whose protected me, fed me, sheltered me, and fought for me? Not to mention he’s literally given me the shirt off of his back.
The words, “Yes, I accept,” barely make it past my lips before he thrusts something slick and velvety inside me.
I feel a pinch and then a tender soreness. I cry out in pain and Beast smothers it with his lips. His weight falls on top of me and I feel not only myself sinking into the mattress, but his purring chest vibrating against my breasts.
“Ameia,” he pulls back. “I’m sorry.”
I feel full of something long and thick but it doesn’t move and the pain begins to ease.
Beast nuzzles against my neck. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
“I forgive you,” I say softly.
The pain eases completely.
“You’re so tight,” he groans. “Does it still hurt?”
I feel the fullness withdraw from me only to suddenly fill me again.
“No,” I breathe, arching my back.
“Good,” he groans. “I… can’t…hold back.”
The man above me transforms before my eyes. Gone is the image of Drek holding himself back, replaced is a madman, the Beast I know so well. A frenzied animal. He grabs up my legs, encouraging me to wrap them around his waist. Then he attacks me. He pummels himself inside me. Driving every long inch of his inside me. The force of his body crashing into my body slams me into the bed.
“Mine,” Beast growls. His teeth sink into my neck. It hurts so good. In my lust filled haze I can’t get enough, I want to be marked by him.
He drives so deep my hips touche his hips. I start to scream when he starts slamming into my clit.
I swell and ache, throbbing with need. My hips buck, my body writhes beneath him. My head thrashes.
The purring in his chest grows stronger and stronger. My thighs tense and my stomach tightens. I feel my walls clenching around him, gripping him. Milking him. He cries out and I completely lose it.
It’s not like before, it’s so much better than when he licked me to release, but also so much worse. It’s stronger, it’s darker. It’s painfully intense. For a moment, I feel like I’m dying. I can’t breathe. My lungs won’t work. My heart is racing. My blood is thumping. Energy crackles across my skin.
Then I realize I’m still holding on. If I just let go, this will all be over. Reality cracks. Something inside me breaks. I explode into a million, colorful, sparkling pieces.
“Mine,” Beast says again, much more softly.
His hips are rolling against me. I feel him, him that is already almost too big, swelling inside me. Growing. He pulses, above me and he twitches. He groans and I feel so warm. Hot wet heat is filling me up. I’m so full, I’m leaking.
Down, down I drift, my pieces falling back into place. Somehow they know just where to go, they know exactly where they fit.
I peer up at Beast as if seeing him for the first time. My body tingles with a warm kind of numbness.
He stares back at me, his own eyes wide and surprised.
I lift up and groan. It feels too raw and too tender as he twitches inside me. But still, I just gotta do this.
“Mine,” I purr and press my lips to Beast’s lips. I feel him smiling against my kiss. He wraps his arms around me and rolls over then positions me on top of him.
* * *
Beast’s arm is heavy upon me. His body is curved around my body. I’m snuggled up comfortably against him. For the moment, I’m just savoring the feel and the newness of being intimate with him.
He sleeps peacefully, his breathing a deep, predictable rhythm. I’m a little jealous. I wish I could relax. My muscles are exhausted, my eyes are heavy, but I just can’t sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see home.
My father must think the worse. Does he think I’m dead? Does he wonder what happened to me? Is he still looking?
I can’t help but feel guilty that I’m in a soft, warm bed with Beast while my family and my people don’t know what happened to me. It would probably scare my father to death to know I’m on a Ravager ship. How do I even tell him, if I even get the chance to tell him, that I joined with the Ravager Prince?
The rhythm of Beast’s breathing changes. He begins to purr. I feel his fingers stroking against my hip and his chest vibrating against my back.
“Drek?” I whisper. If he’s not already awake, I don’t want to disturb him.
“Yes, my princess?” his warm breath washes over my neck.
“May I ask you something?”
I feel him stiffen. “Of course.”
I twist beneath his arm and roll over to face him. I can’t ask this question with him at my back. I need to see his reaction.
I swallow. I’ve been wanting to ask him for what felt like hours while he was sleeping, but now that I actually have the chance, I don’t know if I have the courage to go through with it.
I look down, focusing on a spot on his chest. “First, promise you won’t get mad.”
His fingers brush against my jaw, then he nudges my chin up to look at him. “I promise.”
My eyes meet his eyes. I’m so grateful that we’re actually able to communicate now. That I can ask him this and he can answer. I won’t have to guess what his grunts or growl mean. I won’t have to guess if he’ll hate me for what I’m about to ask.
I take a deep breath. “This might make you mad…”
His eyes hold mine as he repeats, “I promise.”
The last time I asked him about contacting home, he went berserk and destroyed my pod. I steel myself, seriously expecting him to break his promise and get pissed as I ask, “Will you take me home?”
“Of course,” Beast says easily, too easily. “We’re headed there right now.”
The Dark Princes
Chapter One
“I’m not dead,” I whisper as the holovid in front of me replays the funeral procession, my funeral procession from back home.
Beast is standing behind me, towering over me, with his hands resting possessively on my shoulders. We’re in the Harpy Talon’s communication room with half a dozen other Ravagers, Striker included, surrounding us. All eyes are glued to the spectacle lighting up the room.
“You don’t have to watch,” Beast growls.
“I do have to watch,” I say, my voice catching. It’s my funeral. It’s my farewell. How could I not watch it? I have a perfect 360-degree view.
The holovid stretches from floor to ceiling, filling the communication room. If you step close enough it almost feels as if you’re right there, a part of the action. I even reach out as my coffin passes as if I could touch it. It’s beautiful, made of a white wood and covered in black roses.
I hope it’s empty, and they didn’t confuse me with some other unfortunate soul.
The thought makes me shudder. Beast squeezes my shoulders. Behind me he’s practically radiating tension. I think he’s the one who rather not watch. No doubt he’s more disturbed by this than I am. I don’t know how I would feel if I had to watch his funeral.
On the holovid, platforms line the skyways, overcrowded with mourners. My coffin glides slowly past the platforms while crying men, women and children sob and wail as if they’re truly upset over my passing. It’s strange to me. I never felt as if I was so beloved. Perhaps in death I’m more important to them. Who will inherit the kingdom now?
“How long ago was my…” I start and correct myself. “The funeral?”
Beast answers, “According to Terrea time, approximately a week ago.”
Wow. So I’ve been dead for at least a week. I suppose even if the suppressor virus didn’t infect my escape pod, if everyone back home believed me to be dead, they still wouldn’t have searched for me. It’s a good thing I ran into Beast. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if I had crashed into that planet and was completely alone. Ugh, it probably would have been death by fuzzball.
The coffin, my coffin reaches the end of the procession and comes to rest in front of a smaller more decorative platform. This is where it starts to hurt. My throat constricts and my eyes feel like they’re swelling. I’m trying really hard not to cry as my father steps forward.
The King is clad in black from head to toe save for his golden crown resting on his bald head. His gray beard has been braided and decorated with glittering black beads and ebony diamonds. I reach out again, he just looks so real. I can see the hard lines etching his face, there are more than I remember. His eyes look tired and his lips are molded into a deep frown. His lips move and he whispers something so softly the recording doesn’t pick it up. I strain my ears but it’s impossible to hear. He kisses the petals of a black rose and tosses it on the coffin.
Behind my father, his wife, Sarcia and my stepbrother, Vrillum hold hands. Dark-haired and fair of skin, together they look more like brother and sister than mother and son. Sarcia and Vrillum step forward, joining my father and forming a somber trio. Without words they toss roses onto the coffin. There’s a pause, giving them both time to say their own silent farewells then my father nods his head as if giving a signal.
My coffin moves again, gliding forward. As it reaches a safe distance from the royal platform, it gains speed and propels into the atmosphere. The coffin soars through the night sky, gaining heat and spitting out a tail of fire. Once the wood is completely consumed by the flames, the coffin explodes.
That’s supposed to be me bursting like a firework and going out with a bang.
As the tiny glittering specks of what are believed to be my remains float down from the atmosphere, the recording ends.
The room goes dark for a moment, the only light coming from the Ravagers red glowing eyes. I shiver. It feels like I’m trapped in a small space, surrounded by monsters. I twist beneath Beast’s hands and look up.
At least I know this monster won’t hurt me.
Beast’s red eyes peer down curiously at me.
The lights come on.
“So, how did I die?”
“According to the reports, Vrillum is claiming your escape pod exploded.”
“Seriously?” I ask. Was Vrillum simply confused or did he do all of this for some purpose?
Beast nods, “Seriously.”
I frown. “I don’t even know what to make of that.” What’s Vrillum trying to gain by claiming I’m dead? Is this intentional? Or a misunderstanding?
“He’s a threat,” Striker says from across the room and I turn, directing my frown at him. He’s dressed in his obsidian armor save for his helmet. He’s always wearing his armor. I don’t know how he can stand it. “We should exterminate him.”
“You can’t exterminate my stepbrother,” I tell him and glance back at Beast, hoping he’ll back me up on this. Vrillum, whether I like it or not, is family. We’re going to need some pretty convincing evidence to prove he’s done anything malicious here. Especially since the only evidence, my escape pod, was destroyed when Beast raged against it.
I’ve only been on this ship for a couple of days but I’ve already learned to keep as much distance between Striker and me as possible. He totally gives me the creeps. He’s constantly staring at me, all intense and intimidating. And what’s worse, I can’t forget those feelings, those intense jolts of sensations I felt when he was holding me by the hips.
When Striker touched me, it felt just like it does when Beast touches me. And Beast claims I’m his Calling. So why do Striker and I have such a physical connection? I’ve been meaning to ask Beast about it but haven’t found a way to broach the subject. And besides, how do I even ask him that?
For the most part, I think Beast is keeping Striker away from me. That and I make sure to glare at Striker every chance I get. At least now I don’t have to face off with him dressed in only a sheet. Beast has procured a blood red uniform for me that is usually worn by the medical staff. It’s been heavily modified to fit someone of my much smaller stature. I think they just cut off some of the bottom of the shirt and tailored the rest into pants.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Beast says and I gasp at him.
“It is a bad idea. For one, you can’t just exterminate people. You can’t.”
“Why not?” Striker asks and I ignore him.
“And two, we don’t even have any proof that he’s doing any of this for malicious reasons. He could be confused. He could have assumed because he couldn’t track the pod that it must have exploded. We don’t know why he said what he said without asking him.”
“Then let’s go ask him,” Beast growls and shoots Striker a look.
Striker nods his head. It’s obvious the two of them are planning something. Probably planning on talking with their fists, ugh.
It’s going to be bad enough that I’m going to return home with a ship full of Ravagers. I don’t even know how I’m going to handle facing my father, seemingly coming back from the dead with a violent Ravager who wants to bash in my stepbrother’s head.
“How far away are we?” I ask. How long do I have to come up with a plan?
“Less than a couple of hours,” Beast says and reaches out, taking my hand. There’s that familiar jolt of sensation then the heat starts to spread. He squeezes my hand tenderly and I squeeze him back. For such a big guy he sure can be affectionate. “You should take the time to rest.”
“Are you coming with me?”
Beast shakes his head. “I’ll walk you to the room. Striker and I have a few things to plan.”
I just bet you do.
* * *
It’s been about an hour since we watched my funeral. I’ve been pacing the small area in front of the bed in our tiny room. I’m wearing out the black rubbery floor and I still don’t have a good plan of action.
Ideally, I’d like to make it home without a ship full of Ravagers. You know, to avoid evoking widespread panic on my planet. I even briefly consider high jacking an escape pod and making a break for it. But then I don’t think I’ll ever be able to ride in an escape pod again. Just the thought causes me to break out in a cold sweat.
I’ve got nothing, literally nothing to help me handle this situation. Unless that is Beast is willing to allow me to return home without him. I don’t think that’s going to happen. Beast has been very possessive of me like he’s afraid of losing me or something, even though there’s no way I could just wander off this ship. This is probably the longest time I’ve spent away from him. He’ll probably come stomping in at any second…
And as if he knew what I was thinking, Beast steps into the room. I stop wearing out the floor and look expectantly at him.
“Did you get any rest?” he asks.
I shake my head. How could I rest? I’m so full of nervous energy I’m about to puke.
He frowns and walks over to me. “I thought you would be happier to return to home, my princess.”
“I am happy. Don’t I look happy?” I force a smile.
Not one to mince words he says, “You look ill.”
I sigh, “Why, thank you.”
“What’s wrong? Do you not want to
go home?” Beast pulls me close and wraps his massive arms around me.
Normally his touch would soothe me. Over the past couple of days my muscles have developed this habit of relaxing against the feel of him, against the warmth radiating from his skin. He’s so big, so strong. When I’m in his arms I know I’m protected. But right now I’m so wound up I don’t think anything will ease this tight ball of tension forming in the pit of my stomach.
“I want to go home. I’ve wanted to go home since the day I crashed.”
“Then why do you look so unhappy?”
I shift uncomfortably and finally admit, “I’m just nervous…”
Because I have to introduce you to my father. You might give him a heart attack.
Beast nods his head in understanding then bends down, pressing his forehead against mine.
I need to tell him I’m afraid to return home with him. That I’m afraid to introduce him to my father and my people. But I’m a total coward, I just can’t bring myself to do it. We’ve been on this ship for like two days now, and now that Beast can talk… well, we haven’t really been talking. I’ve been avoiding it. I’ve been putting off discussing all the hard things. I just wanted a little more time, I just wanted to enjoy all of this without thinking about all the expectations and responsibilities waiting for me. This entire adventure has been liberating and freeing, now that I’ve actually survived it. Though I miss my father dearly and hurt that he believes the worse has happened to me, I’m in no rush to don my chains of propriety.
So instead of confessing, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I try to focus on how it feels to have him touching me in so many places. There are warm currents flowing through me, emanating from all the points where his skin meets my skin.
Deep breath in, deep breath out.
I’m alive and safe.
Deep breath in, deep breath out.
I can do this. Suck it up, princess.
“How far away are we?” I ask, breaking our comfortable silence.
