Rival

by Tatum Throne

  Gage moaned, trying to open his eyes. Horns blew somewhere far away. They sounded like foghorns when a ship got too close to the coastline. Cheering erupted way off in the distance. Wind whipped his face. Gage was outside. Was he near some sort of stadium? Or sporting event? The shouts from the crowd would have been deafening had he been inside those walls. He was so tired. He just wanted to sleep forever.

  “I said. Wake. Up.”

  Rough, warm hands moved over Gage’s naked skin. He felt as though he were suspended in the air. Those hands moved down over his ass, giving it hard, punishing squeezes. Gage realized a little too late that something creamy was being smoothed into his skin. Gage’s eyes flew open as those same hands caressed his balls and cock, roughly pulling on his junk. The low light from the sky above rained down upon them. His heart raced as he looked wildly around. He was in some kind of village where people were on display like cattle to buy. Where the fuck am I?

  Torches were lighting the area. Before Gage could assess the situation completely, he looked at the thing in front of him. No, not thing—alien. The alien had light gray skin, bright green eyes, and blue hair. There were beads slung around his chest and arms, like jewelry. The alien went on with his business of smoothing the cream into his skin. The light scent of the cream started to calm Gage’s edgy nerves. Despite his sudden inward calm, he struggled in the chains that held him, knocking something that had been placed on his ear.

  The creature spoke in a language he didn’t understand. The alien reached down, picking up the thing that had fallen out of his ear. The creature grabbed him by the hair and unceremoniously shoved it back into his ear. The creature’s words came in crystal clear. It didn’t take long for Gage to realize that the thing in his ear was some sort of translation device.

  “Hold still. I have to finish.”

  To emphasize his point, the alien tightened his hold to the point of pain, forcing Gage’s eyes upward before letting go. Gage watched as the alien scooped more light brown cream from the jar into his palm and began working it into his aching muscles. Gage should have been frightened, but whatever this cream was, it was having a powerful calming effect on his body, but that couldn’t keep his emotions from getting the better of him.

  “I’m guessing you want to know where you are.”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “You’re at the shop. You’re going to behave and not cause me any trouble.”

  The shop must have been a flea market outside a town where things were being sold outside of spaceships. It looked like some sort of high-tech renaissance village. Gage’s heart hammered despite the calming cream as he searched the crowd. It was clear that he was one of the main attractions. Aliens went from stall to stall, looking at the humans or creatures that had been collected and placed on the market. A sickening sensation spiraled through him. He was going to be sold, and there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening.

  The last few hours were a blur. Gage remembered being caught in the lightning storm outside the gym when the sensation that the mysteries of the universe were within his reach. That had him racing to the lab, waking up his coworker who was dozing over their research at his desk. The lightning. The wormhole.

  Now, he was outside in what looked like an open market. Off in the distance, large glass buildings loomed as though they were made of diamonds. They sparkled blue and gray, hovering high in the sky at impossible angles. It was as though gravity and the laws of physics didn’t govern this world. Whoever lived in that city wasn’t going to be found on this side of town. Gage was certain of it.

  “What is that place?”

  The alien looked over his shoulder at the city. “No place that you’ll ever see in your lifetime.”

  Everything moved around him in a blur as the alien put the cream away. The heavenly scent of food being cooked on an open pit blew past Gage’s nose. His stomach growled loudly. He couldn’t recall the last time he had fresh veggies or meat. Everything on Earth was so heavily processed by the government. His mouth watered as his stomach went wild again.

  The alien towered over him. “You’re hungry?”

  “Yes.”

  The alien went toward what looked like a high-tech food truck and bought something. Gage’s mouth watered when he looked into the paper sack. Real fucking vegetables. The alien lifted the yellow vegetable and pushed it unceremoniously into Gage’s mouth. He moaned as he chewed. It was seasoned with something spicy. Gage bit his lip. He didn’t want to beg for more. The alien put the last piece into his mouth, and he nearly cried. He could have eaten twenty more.

  Gage wanted to ask the alien for more, but he moved away when two men came to stand before him. But they were not men. They were well-muscled aliens whose skin looked as though it rippled with scales like a snake that shimmered gold, green, and blue in the light. Their eyes were a crystal clear blue that stole Gage’s breath away. They were beautiful—like Greek gods. Who were these aliens, and better yet, what did they want with him?

  They looked a lot like Old World gladiators. They were fighters; that was for sure. Trained. Gage let his gaze move from head to toe, reveling in the way the aliens were looking at him with pure raw interest. Their chests were bare and brown tunics wrapped around their waists. They could have easily passed for Roman soldiers if they were in a different time and place. They looked almost human had they not had tiny scales covering their bodies and blond hair the color of silk.

  “Broker, how much for this one?”

  The alien grinned. “I’m less of a broker and more of a trafficker.”

  The trafficker looked back at Gage, taking the translator from his ear. The alien language was like nothing he could even begin to understand. It pitched low and dark with the aliens coming in close to inspect him. Their hands were surprisingly gentle as they pinched his skin as though they were checking his muscle tone. After some arguing, they came up with a price for him with one of the aliens passing off a few coins to the trafficker. The chains were left on his arms as he was lowered to the ground. Tired, Gage felt his legs give out from beneath him. The two aliens grabbed him by each arm before he fell to the ground. How long had he been out?

  He was dragged off to a room. “What’s going on?”

  The trafficker sneered. “They’re making sure you won’t die when you milk their stinger.”

  Ice-cold fear stole Gage’s breath away. “Stinger?”

  “Venom from the fights. Every gladiator must have their venom milked, or they die.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “Some have it collected and sold as an aphrodisiac, but I can’t seem to convince Yorn to do that.”

  Gage was shoved into the room where the chains were locked down above his head. The position forced him onto his knees. He looked up at the muscled gladiator in front of him. It was the first time he saw worry and concern in his eyes but was it for him? Gage held still, fear making his heart race as the gladiator pulled down the cloth covering his cock.

  It wasn’t the alien’s cock that held him captive. It was the spot two inches above his prick that caught his attention. There was a bulge there. A small dime-size scale, covering the spot retracted, revealing what at first looked like a stinger, but there was no point on this stinger. It grew bigger and longer like a nipple, but it didn’t stop growing there. It elongated, and the tip sharpened into a point. The gladiator lifted Gage’s chin, caressing it gently as pain filled his eyes. Gage let his gaze move past that stinger to the alien’s huge cock that was semi-hard.

  “Suck.”

  The translator whispered the word into his ear. Knowing that he could die, Gage couldn’t bring his lips to that stinger to suck the venom out. He shook his head ‘no,’ pulling away.

  “Please suck or I will die.”

  Gage didn’t understand why the toxic venom would kill the gladiator. Sweat dripped down from Gage’s brow. His cock was hard from fear. He wasn’t often afraid for his life, but when he was, he always got hard. Pre-cum w
ept from Gage’s tip as he leaned forward, licking the underside of the engorged stinger into his mouth and trying to avoid that sharpened point. The chains rattled as his entire body shook. Gage wrapped his hands around the chains to keep his body upright. Despite his terror, he sucked roughly on that venomous tip, making the gladiator moan. White-hot venom ejaculated over his tongue. The steady thin stream stung his mouth, making Gage’s eyes go wide. The venom was sour, stinging his tongue.

  The juice slipped past his tongue, sliding down his throat. Tormented by this alien and his last moments living, Gage used his teeth to bite the stinger, causing the venom to stream harder into his mouth.

  The alien slid his hand behind Gage’s head, threading his fingers into his hair. “Yes. Keep going. Bite if you need to.”

  Unable to move from the gladiator’s strong grasp, he sucked harder, hoping to get it over with as fast as he could. A rush of heat fired through Gage’s belly and throat as he struggled to breathe. His heart was racing. His blood was pumping. He was so close to coming. He didn’t understand how or why but he wanted to fucking shoot his spunk if it was the last thing he ever did.

  The alien reached down, grabbing Gage’s cock roughly. The heat of his silken palm made him moan with desire as he pumped his dick in and out of his big hand. He stroked it up and down in a way that no man had ever touched him. Gage moaned as he sucked the venom faster. The alien reached his long fingers lower to rub his perineum as he stroked his cock. Without warning, his orgasm spun up from his balls, tightening down his prick. He was rock-hard in the alien’s palm as he shot his spunk.

  Without warning, the fountain he drank from shut off. The gladiator’s hand loosened on his prick, and Gage fell back with the chains holding him up. He gasped for air as though he were surfacing from drowning as the gladiator pulled his clothing back up. Gage’s eyes watered profusely as he stared at the gladiator in front of him. The trafficker came back with a wild gleam in his eyes.

  “How did he do?”

  The gladiator smiled. “He’s still breathing. I’ll take him.”

  The fire within Gage’s mouth turned to a warm heat. The tears in his eyes cleared. It felt as though Gage was suddenly very awake. He was pulled to his feet. It was as though his hearing had cleared, and every one of his senses were heightened. Fucking hell. What was that?

  “You will tell no one of our advantage.”

  The trafficker nodded. “Yes.”

  “Where did you find him?”

  “Wandering the fields.”

  “I want more. Will that be a problem?”

  “I will try to get you more.”

  The gladiator looked back at Gage as he rubbed his fingers that glistened with his jizz together. “You’re coming with me.”

  The alien’s eyes were now a murky blue. The kind of blue that came just before a thunderstorm rolling in off the Pacific coast.

  Water rationing wasn’t working. Hell, food rationing and offspring rationing wasn’t working either. Was this the world that could change everything? Gage had to warn Hunter that this world was not safe for any of them. Gage drank in the sight of the alien. He was attracted to the alien but the first chance he got he was going to leave him—and find a way to get back home.

  * * * *

  Yorn looked at the male. There was a defiant edge to his gaze that put Yorn on guard. Had they been in the arena, he would have put him on his knees to beg for his life. That wouldn’t ever be the case. Yorn needed this male to milk the venom after his fights. Would he submit to this servitude willingly? He doubted it. Yorn knew he would have to break him down first. There wasn’t time to do that, but he would have to make time. Yorn left the male in the ship as he went outside. Kelin was leaning up against a tree, waiting for him.

  “Did he survive?” Kelin asked.

  “Yes.”

  Shock moved through his eyes before a smile fell upon his lips. “The game is changing to our advantage. How are we going to keep this advantage a secret?”

  Yorn brought his wet fingers to his lips and licked out his forked tongue, tasting the male’s spunk. He nearly moaned as he closed his eyes and savored the taste. With Kelin watching him, he resisted the urge to lick every one of his fingers clean. “There are no secrets with the Elite. They will find out as they always do. Get the male.”

  As Kelin went back into the ship to collect their male, Yorn took a deep, steadying breath. No one had ever milked his venom to depletion before. He’d always been left with the stinging edge of fear that came from being burdened with poison. The chains were still locked upon the male as Yorn and Kelin led the way back to their ship. Yorn could feel Kelin’s eyes burning into his face. He didn’t have to look at him to know what the male was thinking. This game changer could also be a way out for them. Their servitude to the games could end, and they could have a real life—if the male they bought was cooperative.

  “He doesn’t look capable of fighting,” Kelin said.

  Chances were high that the male wouldn’t bend easily to his will. “We’ll train him to fight.”

  “Just because he took the venom, doesn’t mean that it will have an effect.”

  It was true. They were experimenting. By sponsoring their own gladiator and by training him to fight, and by giving the male his venom, they were taking a big risk. They could lose their honor and the chance to put the male into the ring.

  “I know, but we still need to try.”

  They got back to the ship where Kelin sat behind the controls, powering the ship up. They flew out of Delek and back toward his home on the eastern ridge of the Olo Mountains. This male was their only chance to make some money. His brother’s suspicious death had brought him home. There were rumors that it was a planned hit by a competitor. Before Yorn had stepped into the arena, his brother had been the Alpha gladiator taking everyone down.

  Training a gladiator was the only chance he had at making some fast money. They landed behind the large complex where his brother had sunk every coin. Had he had the money to finish the project, the complex would have been staffed by fifty. He powered down the ship. The ship was the only thing Yorn had in his name. Kelin took the male out of the ship.

  Cool nighttime air blew over Yorn’s skin as he looked at the silver complex shining in the twin moonlight. Roars sounded through the valley separating the mountains. “That will be all for tonight, Kelin.”

  “What about his training?”

  Kelin looked uncertain. He was his brother’s former partner who seemed to come with the land and wouldn’t go away. “We’ll begin that tomorrow.”

  “What is that sound?”

  Yorn looked at the male. “The kakun. Do not go over the mountains. We’ve trained the beasts to stay there.”

  “What are they?”

  “Beasts the size of the arena. They will eat you,” Yorn said.

  There were rumors about bringing the kakun into the arena. Gladiators were not equipped to kill one alone. It would be suicide to go up against one alone. Uncertainty whispered through Kelin’s eyes before he handed the male over to Yorn. Kelin left him with the male to check the gates around the compound to make sure the monsters stayed out.

  Yorn had done enough stints in the arena to know that he was good enough at fighting but was he good enough to kill a kakun? Gladiators didn’t retire from fighting. They died. Yorn didn’t want to die. He wanted to train more fighters. It didn’t matter that those fighters didn’t happen to come from this world. Outside the main house was the small arena. Yorn had considered housing the fighters he collected. Instead of heading to the complex, Yorn headed for the main house, pulling the long chain that held the male captive.

  When they were alone inside, Yorn asked him, “What is your name?”

  After several long seconds the male finally spoke. “Gage.”

  “Have you ever fought before?”

  “What do you want with me?”

  Yorn knew he needed to be honest with this potential gladiator. “
I need fighters who can also withstand the sting of our venom.”

  “Where am I?”

  “The Olo Mountains on the planet Gelvek.”

  The chains began to rattle as fear slipped through the male’s body. “How far from home am I?”

  “Too far. You’re never going home.”

  “What was in that venom? It’s making me feel different.”

  Yorn frowned. “In what way?”

  “I have more energy. I feel stronger. Faster. Like I want to fight.”

  The venom hormone was known for giving gladiators an extra kick before it metabolized into a poison that would kill them if it seeped through their system. Yorn had hoped it would have that effect on Gage too. In fact, this was the first time he’d heard of it having any physical side effect on anyone—sexual yes. If the host didn’t die, then they usually just absorbed the venom and processed it out with no side effect. Yorn had to know. He left the chains locked around Gage’s wrists as he took him into his private room.

  Uncertainty moved through Gage’s eyes as he looked around the room. Yorn locked the chain above Gage’s head, again forcing him onto his knees. Gage bit his lip, moaning as Yorn moved away and stripped out of his clothing.

  Curiosity had Yorn looking down at Gage’s hard prick, throbbing with desire. Creamy white liquid dripped from the tip of his swollen cockhead. Yorn moved forward, slipping his hand beneath that engorged tip, making Gage jump. He caught several dewy drops of cream on his finger, bringing them up to his lips. A salty, sweet taste of cream moved around his tongue. Their eyes locked. Lust moved through Yorn’s body, making the thin scales on his skin rustle with need. It’d been too long since he gave in to his passion for the flesh. He looked over this human male, considering taking him to this bed. Again his scales rippled through the room like a murmur of need echoing through the air. The sound didn’t seem to scare the human at all. In fact, his gaze drifted lower over his throbbing dick.

  Before Yorn could stop it from happening, the ridged scale cover his stinger retracted, forcing the stinger out. Sex for his kind always involved sucking the venom as a form of foreplay. The fact that this male was eager for his venom nearly drove him over the edge. Yorn closed the distance between them, keeping his prick locked down with his right hand as his stinger elongated to its sharpened point. The male leaned in close, exhaling softly against his stinger. Heat enveloped his stinger, but the male held back.