Punishing Their Mate: A Dark Alien Romance Novella: Tharan Warrior Menage Book 3

by Kallista Dane

  By now she was accustomed to the Tharan method of bathing. Jets of green mineral water poured from the ceiling and spurted out of the walls. No soap, no shampoo. The minerals in the water cleansed the body gently and naturally. She closed her eyes and let the soothing water pour over her, then turned in a circle, raking her fingers through her hair to dry it as the jets switched to shooting currents of warm air.

  Instead of winding it into a sleek knot at the back of her head, Cass let her naturally wavy hair have its own way. She slipped on her new green gown and stepped out to join her mates.

  “You look beautiful,” Rhom said as she walked up to them. He offered his arm and she slipped her hand through it.

  “Thank you, my love. I’m a little nervous about this dinner.”

  “Relax.” Rhynn stepped to her other side and offered his arm as well. “You’ll find Tharans are warm and welcoming. They can’t wait to meet you. I hope you’ll come to think of our friends as your friends.

  They entered the main salon of the Chancellor’s residence. A huge room with a beamed ceiling two stories tall, the salon was filled with more Tharans than she’d ever seen in one place. Identical pairs of handsome warriors stood in small groups, chatting. All of them wore variations of Chancellor Kal’s attire – tunics in deep jewel tones over black trousers.

  A group of females were clustered together, each one with a different head covering. She saw bright-colored scarves, fanciful feathered concoctions, towering bowers of flowers. One female had her head made up to look like the landscape of Tharon’s lesser moon, complete with clouds of pink vapor swirling over it. They were all listening intently to one of the most exotically attractive beings Cass had ever seen.

  “That’s Soraya,” Rhom murmured in her ear. “She’s quite the storyteller. We’ll introduce you as soon as she’s through.”

  Like her mate, Soraya seemed ageless. Tall and slender, with a regal bearing, she wore a simply cut floor-length gown in a shimmering silvery blue. An elaborate beaded headdress covered her head. Colorful stones in every shade of purple and blue were strung in an intricate pattern, interspersed with shiny metallic beads that matched her dress. Narrow strands all the way around hung down nearly to her shoulders. It reminded Kyra of something an Egyptian queen might have worn.

  As Cass drew closer, she noticed the shades of blue in the headdress looked as though they’d been chosen to play up Soraya’s warm blue eyes. She’d lined them in charcoal gray and added silver eye shadow. With her chiseled cheekbones and full lips accented in a deep amethyst shade, she could have been mistaken for a human female with a dramatic flair for makeup – except for the definite purple tinge to her skin.

  Soraya glanced their way and smiled. She lowered her voice at the end of the story so only the women around her could hear it. The entire group broke out in laughter. She said a few more words, then headed toward them.

  “My Lady.” Rhynn and Rhom dropped to one knee and bowed their heads.

  “My darlings.” Like her mate, she pulled them both up and enveloped them in a warm hug. “I thank the Sacred Ones for your safe return. And I thank you for rescuing our females from that horrible being.”

  Cass flushed. That horrible being was an Earther. Would she be ostracized by the Tharans because of what Magnus did?

  “May we present our mate, Commander Cass Randall? Cass, this is Lady Soraya, Mate of Chancellor Kal.”

  “It is an honor to meet you, Lady Soraya.” Cass bowed her head.

  “I’m very happy to finally meet you, my dear. I’ve heard so much about you. Please, you must call me Raya, as the boys do when they’re not being so formal.” Her eyes twinkled. “Have you had an opportunity to enjoy the sights of Arcolis?”

  “Not yet, ma’am.” Cass couldn’t bring herself to use the casual nickname with such an imposing figure. “It looks like a beautiful city. My mates have promised to bring me back soon for a long visit.”

  “You’re welcome to come and stay in the guest house any time,” Soraya offered. “With or without the boys. Maybe we can arrange for you to spend a day with some of the other mates. Sightseeing, visiting the shops, dining in one of the cafés.” She gestured to the group of females across the room. “Having two males to care for you is lovely, but it’s nice to spend time with others of your own sex now and then.”

  Soraya and the twins saw to the introductions and Cass found her head spinning after making the rounds of the room. The females were easier to remember, since they chose such unusual ways to adorn their bald heads. But she doubted she’d ever be able to keep the warriors straight. From the back, they all looked the same. Tall and powerfully built with broad shoulders and narrow waists. She didn’t even have hair color to rely on for a clue.

  She’d nearly given a playful squeeze to the tight ass of one of them wearing the same color shirt and pants as her twins when she came up behind him. The only thing that saved her from embarrassment was the scent of his gyron. It was pleasant enough, but it didn’t make her pulse pound and her pussy clench with anticipation.

  She and the twins dined at the head table with Chancellor Kal and Soraya, along with several other prominent officials and their mates. An elaborate feast, the meal consisted of course after course of the finest delicacies Tharon had to offer. She made a point to sample a bit of everything, no matter how unusual it looked - or smelled.

  But she drew the line at the little birds. They’d been plucked and roasted whole, then laid out in a row on a long platter on their backs, with their wings folded over their chests and their tiny beaks and feet sticking straight up. The platter looked like something out of a cartoon. She nearly burst into laughter. When she realized the poor things were real, her laughter turned into tears. She’d had to cover her face with her napkin and fake a coughing fit to keep from insulting her hosts.

  Fortunately, Tharan desserts were much more appealing and she’d been able to offer honest praise. When she declined a second helping of pala cake, Soraya murmured something to Kal and stood up.

  “My dear, it is customary for female relatives to have a private gathering the evening before the Mating celebration, to introduce the new mate to our ancient rituals and remind her of the customs and duties she is about to embrace. I think of Rhynn and Rhom as the sons I never had, so I hope you will accept me as part of your new family and allow me to host it.”

  Ancient rituals? Cass thought she already knew all the customs and duties of a Tharan mate. She glanced at the twins, surprised. They’d told her about tomorrow’s celebration, but they hadn’t prepared her for this.

  Rhynn shrugged. We’ve been to Matings, but honestly, the night before we were busy celebrating with the other warriors. We never paid much attention to what the females were doing.

  Cass sighed. Soraya was right. She loved her mates dearly but it was clear she’d need input from other females now and then to help her navigate the intricacies of Tharan culture.

  “Thank you, my lady,” she replied formally. “I would be honored to have you host the gathering.”

  Soraya took her arm and led her from the dining hall. All around the room, the other females left their tables and followed.

  Chapter Four

  Soraya led them down a stone stairway to an underground passage lit with flickering torches every few feet. Cass glanced around nervously. Hewn from solid rock, the passage was more like a dark tunnel leading into the bowels of the planet. Massive wooden doors every few yards led to rooms on either side of the passage.

  The other females followed two by two. The hairs on the back of her neck rose when they began a low, rhythmic chant in a language her Tellex did not recognize. She hadn’t been so conscious of the fact that she was surrounded by aliens since the day she first set eyes on the twins in the swamp.

  Soraya stopped in front of double doors at the end of the passage. She removed an ancient iron key from a pocket in her gown, unlocked the doors and threw them open.

  Cass gasped. The space behi
nd the doors wasn’t a room. It was an enormous subterranean cavern, walls and ceiling studded with glowing zymex crystals. At the far end of the chamber, a stone altar stood in front of a larger-than-life sculpture of three figures. Huge iron braziers on either side of the altar held chunks of fragrant incense. Flames danced over the chunks, sending a thin layer of smoke up to the ceiling of the chamber, where the crystals sparkled high overhead like stars in the night sky.

  Colorful paintings covered the walls of the chamber. Cass looked closer and blushed. Each one depicted an erotic sex act in great detail. Naked females knelt, crouched, laid back and bent over, each one shown with a pair of males sporting huge erect phalluses. She saw a female taking one male in her mouth while the other ran his hand between her legs. Another knelt upright with her legs straddling one mate’s head as his twin fondled her breasts. Females were spanked in every conceivable position, sometimes paddled by one twin while getting fucked by the other.

  She’d stopped in the center of the room to gape at the artwork around her. Soraya waited for her to take it all in, then led her gently toward the sculpture.

  After seeing the paintings, Cass thought nothing could shock her. But she was wrong. The statue was a frank, highly detailed depiction of three figures engaged in a sex act she’d recently become very familiar with.

  One muscular male reclined on a bench like the one she’d been tied to when Rhynn and Rhom first spanked her. A female straddled his lap with her knees on the bench and her hands braced on his chest, lowering herself onto his stiff cock. He cradled the cheeks of her bottom in his hands, spreading them apart for his twin standing behind her. That one circled her waist with one arm. He held his erect penis in his other hand, guiding it into her bottom hole.

  The chanting around her soared as Cass took in the look on the female’s face. Eyes closed, head thrown back, a rapturous smile as two enormous cocks claimed her at once. Is that how I look when they’re both fucking me at the same time?

  “The Sacred Ones Bonding with their Mate.”

  Soraya’s voice had her snap her head around, embarrassed. She’d been so caught up in the sensuous play of the three figures that for a moment she’d forgotten all about her companions.

  “Sacred Ones?” She fought to keep her tone even, trying to ignore the fierce hunger suddenly clawing at her core.

  “On Tharon, our first Bonding with the mates the gods have chosen for us is both a joyous and a solemn event, honoring the love all three share. We bond for life – and tomorrow you will celebrate Bonding with your mates with family and friends. Tonight, in this chamber, we females gather together to honor this sacred Bond and show you both the pleasures you’ll embrace and the duties you accept in a Tharan Mating.”

  Soraya stepped up to the altar, gesturing toward the sculpture as she spoke. Flames from the braziers flickered over its surface, illuminating some areas and throwing others into shadow. Making it look as though the figures were moving, one cock sliding in deeper as the other drew back. She couldn’t tear her eyes away.

  “As is our custom, your mates will master you together, each feeling as much pleasure through his twin as he does from his own body – and both of them reveling in the pleasure they bring you. See the way each of the Sacred Ones prepares her to receive the manhood of the other? This one is buried in her pussy. He reaches around to spread her bottom cheeks apart so his brother’s cock can claim her tight rear passage. And the other? He holds her in place, firmly but lovingly, thrusting deep into her dark heat as his brother slides out.”

  “Since ancient times, the Sacred Ones have given our mates the task of caring for us, cherishing us, keeping us safe from harm. They delight in bringing us pleasure more intense than we’ve ever known. All we need do is respect them. Obey them. Submit to their mastery.”

  Soraya picked up two stiff leather sheaths lying on the altar, each one about 3” wide and 18” long. From one she pulled out a dagger. It had a silver handle inlaid with sparkling gems attached to a lethal-looking ten-inch blade. From the other, she drew out a phallus carved from smooth dark stone. It had a rounded tip, gradually widening out to the circumference of two male fingers, then narrowing again right before the jewel-encrusted ball at the base.

  “Tomorrow you will kneel at the feet of your mates and present them with these two implements. The dagger is a symbol of your willingness to put yourself under their protection. This phallus symbolizes your yearning to fulfill their darkest desires.”

  She picked up one of the cases, ran her hand up and down the flat leather, then wrapped her fingers around one end. “Each of your mates will get a sheath as well.”

  Soraya cracked it against her palm. Cass jerked in surprise as the sharp smack echoed off the stone walls of the chamber. “These sheaths can be used as an instrument of discipline. Since ancient times, our males have doled out punishment to assert their mastery and assure our obedience to their rules. As a female, your role in Tharan culture is to obey your males and accept their spankings or other punishments gracefully and gratefully. As part of the Mating ceremony you will bow your head and offer a sheath to each of them, saying ‘I willingly submit to your discipline, at any time and in any place, because I know it is given out of your love for me’.”

  The genial hostess disappeared. Soraya’s tone grew increasingly forbidding as she went on.

  “Those are the words you will repeat whenever your mates command you to bend over and bare yourself for punishment. Failure to say those words or present yourself properly and promptly for your punishment will result in your mates bringing you before Tharon’s High Council. There you will be put in restraints and stripped bare, then publicly spanked as long and hard as the Council members decree. If you are still deemed to be defiant, you will be sentenced to a term of isolation, coupled with even more humiliating punishment, until you are ready to apologize to both the Council and your mates for your poor behavior.”

  Cass shivered. She was all in favor of the wild sex part of this whole Mating ritual. But agreeing to present herself for a spanking whenever her mates ordered her to do so went against every stubborn, independent bone in her body. Soraya sounded dead serious about the High Council having the right to punish her if her mates reported her for not doing what they said. Surely Rhynn and Rhom would never take it to that level.

  As though reading her mind, Soraya went on. “Our society is governed by these traditions. Do not be misled by your mates’ readiness to excuse minor transgressions at first. If you continue to disobey them, your mates are honor bound by the Tharan code to enforce this rule, no matter how lenient they may wish to be.

  Chapter Five

  Rhom

  Cass didn’t sleep well. The ritual in the cavern drove home the huge differences between life on Earth and life on Tharon. To make things worse, tradition dictated that the twins would spend the night before their Mating ceremony with the other warriors. Rhynn and Rhom didn’t tell her much about it ahead of time so Cass imagined their friends were throwing them the alien version of a bachelor party. Not being able to talk over what she’d been told by Soraya with her mates added to her anxiety.

  She’d grown to love their dominant natures. Living as a submissive female hadn’t been too difficult an adjustment so far. Rhynn and Rhom were so loving and caring it was easy to agree to abide by the few rules they’d set out. And so far, the spankings they doled out were a form of erotic foreplay, not punishment.

  Except one. They’d spanked her hard after she stole a transport vehicle and ran off to confront Magnus alone. But she understood why. It wasn’t only about disobeying a rule. They’d been frantic at the thought she might be killed by the vicious pirate before they could save her. And she nearly had been. The raw emotion behind their harsh spanking let her know how much she mattered to them. She wasn’t just some alien they were fucking. Though their punishment hurt, she felt the love behind it.

  Up till now, being on this alien planet had been a thrilling adventure. Thi
s was different. In just a few hours, she’d be making a lifelong commitment.

  I love Rhynn and Rhom more than I ever thought it was possible to love. They’ve transformed my life, given me such joy. They’re not just my lovers, they’re the best friends I’ve ever had. But Chancellor Kal was right. Love alone won’t be enough. It will take hard work on my part to handle some of the adjustments I’ll have to make.

  She tossed and turned for hours before she finally gave up and started getting ready for the ceremony. Cass took special care with her hair, knowing how much her mates loved running their fingers through her wavy golden mane. On so many nights she’d curled up between them as one or the other soothed her to sleep stroking her hair.

  She got really turned on when they used her hair to assert their mastery. Rynn liked to wrap long strands around his palms and then slowly draw her in for a kiss, staring at her with lust-filled eyes the whole time. Always more forceful, Rhom would bury his fists in it, holding her head in place when he fucked her mouth.

  Just the thought of their savage lovemaking made her pussy clench with anticipation. She slipped into her Mating dress and sat down near the window to wait for the moment she’d be united with them again.

  He stood at the door, feeling as nervous as a lad. It didn’t seem right to just walk in.

  Getting cold feet, Brother?

  Rhynn’s mocking tone spurred him into action. I marvel that we look alike, he shot back as he rapped on the door, since you’re obviously the son of a jambora.

  His twin laughed. “What makes you think we look alike?” he asked out loud. “Anyone can see I’m far more handsome.”

  Cass opened the door and all thoughts of sparring with his brother were driven from his head.