Craving Maul (Star Joined Book 1)

by Sara Page

  “You… You can’t kill me.” he wheezes out in deep breaths.

  “Sure I can.”

  I release his shoulders and put a hand on each side of his head. “Watch me. I’ll find her eventually, Jack, but if you want to die quickly you should tell me.”

  “Fuck you and the whore!”

  “Wrong answer again…” My hands begin to squeeze again, this time on the skull. Human bones are quite a bit less dense than my own species. When I squeeze I can feel the strain on his skull.

  “Arghhh!” Jack screams as I push on both sides.

  “Tell me!” I shout.

  “Yaresh, I sold her on Yaresh! I swear! Please just don’t kill me!”

  “Who did you sell her to?” I ask over his screams. He’s hurting, I can tell it, but I can also tell he hears me.

  “To the owner of the orbital. He wanted her as a pleasure slave. She was going to be his crowning jewel…” he pants out.

  I know of the owner of the Yaresh Orbital, and he’s a collector of things. I have no doubt he would want her sister.

  “Good.”

  “Let me go now, I told you everything.”

  “I promised you a quick death,” I say as I lean down to whisper in his ear. “You shouldn’t have called her a whore.”

  Standing back up, I push and push, drawing the pressure out until my hands slam together. His head explodes in a shower of red and white, bits of skull and brain matter flying everywhere.

  “Mar, get the ship ready. We’re going to Yaresh.”

  Epilogue

  Eight months later…

  Lexi

  “I told you he’s a boy,” I pant at Maul and collapse back against the pillows, completely spent.

  Marketh performed many scans on me throughout my pregnancy, trying to determine the sex of our baby, but every time he scanned it was if the baby could sense it. He would tuck his little tail between his legs as if he was playing a game with us. Up until this very moment, we’ve been unsure of his sex.

  Maul smiles with tears in his eyes and brushes my hair back. “So you did, my heart.”

  Through our bond I can feel his immense love, his glowing joy, and his relief that my pain is over with.

  While my labor wasn’t terribly easy… seriously, what labor is? Thankfully there were no serious complications or weird alien surprises.

  It was just a tremendous amount of pain and a whole lot of pushing.

  It took me a little over twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours of blood, sweat, and tears, but it was worth it.

  So worth it.

  Our love has created a new person. A person that’s part me and a whole lot of him. I love our son so much already I nearly ache with it. My son is the living, breathing embodiment of our bond.

  Throughout the process, Maul helped as much as he could. He sent me bursts of encouragement and told me how good I was doing. And in the end, when I was beyond exhausted, he lent me his strength.

  With his help, together, we pushed our son into the world.

  Little Thorn of House Lathuria roared a ferocious little roar a moment after drawing his first breath.

  Right now, at my feet, the doctors and nurses are fussing over our newborn son. Checking all his vitals and counting his little silver fingers and toes.

  Maul continues to stroke my hair back, dividing his attention between the two of us. I can sense his tension. He’s on edge and nearly bursting with the need to protect us. He won’t be happy until our baby is in our arms. There are just too many strangers around for him to relax.

  “A healthy ten pounds,” Marketh zooms over to inform us before zooming right back to the action.

  I chuckle tiredly. “No wonder he didn’t want to come out. He’s already huge.”

  Maul nods his head and his chest puffs up with pride. “He’s just like his father.”

  Marketh zooms over again. “He just pissed on the doctor,” he snickers before zipping off again.

  I have to laugh at that. “Yep, just like his dad.” I smirk at Maul and he snorts as if he’s not amused but his eyes are glittering.

  Finally, after what feels like forever, a beaming nurse carries my son over to me and lays him gently down in my arms.

  “Congratulations,” she offers and lingers by my side but I’m so captivated by the baby in my arms I can barely hear her.

  I stare at his face for the longest time, my eyes lovingly tracing all of his little features.

  He’s so little and so achingly precious. I suddenly feel the same strong protective emotion Maul has been radiating. I’ll do everything in my power to protect this little guy. Besides Maul and his family, he’s the only family I have left…

  “He looks so much like you,” I say softly to Maul.

  The more and more I stare at Thorn, the more and more I realize he’s nearly a perfect little replica of his father. It’s almost as if someone created a little clone of him.

  Maul reaches down and his big finger strokes against Thorn’s silver cheek. “He has your eyes.”

  I peer into Thorn’s eyes and his blue orbs peer back up at me. They’re my mother’s eyes. They’re Isla’s eyes…

  Thorn blinks sleepily and then his mouth opens up with a yawn.

  “He has fangs…” I say worriedly and glance up at Maul.

  I was planning on breastfeeding, but I’m not sure I can now with those teeth.

  Maul nods his head. “All Rathturians do, but don’t worry, he won’t hurt you.”

  I look back down at Thorn and watch him snuggle closer, his little nose sniffing at me. He starts rubbing his cheek against my chest, rooting around for my breast.

  “Are you sure?” I ask uneasily.

  “I’m sure, my heart,” Maul says soothingly. “It’s instinct.”

  I nod my head and pull down the sleeve of my hospital gown, bearing my breast so Thorn can eat.

  Thorn snuggles closer and my arms tighten around his body as he curls into me. His little mouth latches onto my breast and he quickly begins suckling.

  I relax as soon as I realize there’s no pain.

  “Does it hurt?” Maul asks, and I tear my eyes away from Thorn to look up at him.

  I start to shake my head but just stop, stunned by the intensity of Maul’s eyes. There’s so much raw love there, so much need, and something else… Something more.

  Something I don’t have a word for… yet.

  But I will.

  I drift off while nursing Thorn. I know at some point Maul must have climbed into bed with us because I wake up suddenly, missing his warmth.

  The room is dim and empty. There’s no one around…

  The hair on the back of my neck suddenly rises and I’m filled with a sense of alarm.

  Cradling Thorn protectively, I carefully slide out of bed and ask softly, “Maul?”

  When there’s no answer I decide to seek him out with the bond.

  My feet carry me towards the door. The closer I get, the more I can hear the angry, muffled voices echoing in the hall.

  One of the voices I recognize immediately, it obviously belongs to Maul. But the other, I know the other from somewhere….

  It takes me a moment but then it comes to me, hitting me like a truck. It’s Yarrel. Yarrel is here.

  What the hell does he want?

  I reach out, my hand going to open the door but then it suddenly flies open.

  Maul fills the doorway, the angry look instantly melting from his face. “Is everything alright, my heart?”

  I try to peer around him but he blocks me. With a frown, I step to the side and he follows.

  “Who was that?” I ask, still trying to peer around him. “Who were you talking to?”

  Maul tries to dodge the question by telling me, “You should go back to bed. You need your rest.”

  I shake my head and feel little Thorn stir with the movement. “I swear I heard Yarrel’s voice out there. Was he here? Were you talking to him in the hall?”

  Thorn’s l
ittle mouth seeks out and latches onto my breast.

  Maul’s face is full of confliction. I can sense his distaste for deceiving me but also his need to protect me, no matter the cost.

  Reaching through the bond, I push into him, seeking the truth of my question. “It was Yarrel, wasn’t?” I ask. “Why was he here? What did he want? Did he find Isla?”

  After Maul’s interrogation with Jack, we immediately set off for Yaresh, but by the time we got there, Isla was already gone.

  Maul cracked a few skulls and probed where he could, but now that he’s been promoted, he doesn’t have the authority to run a full investigation. When we were forced to return to Rathturia, it truly felt like all hope was lost.

  With a sigh, Maul begins to usher me towards the bed. “I’ll tell you everything once you’re back in bed.”

  Reluctantly, I allow him to lead me back to bed.

  My heart races wildly with emotions while he tucks me under the covers. Desperately, I want my instincts to be right, but I’m terrified to get my hopes up.

  What if the news is bad? What if Yarrel found Isla but she’s dead.

  Or worse.

  “Well?” I prod while pushing his hands away. I’m as tucked in as I’ll ever be and I can stand the suspense no more.

  “Marketh,” Maul sighs and straightens away. Marketh’s little orb immediately undocks and hovers in the air. “Did you trace the source?”

  “I did,” Marketh confirms. “And it’s as he says. The source of the feed is transmitting from Galierre.

  “What feed?” I ask. “And what’s Galierre?”

  “Galierre is a planet located on the very fringe of the Tribunal’s reach. The climate is tropical in nature and the population is primitive,” Marketh states matter-of-factly. “The locals rarely travel off-world.”

  “And you’re in possession of a feed coming from there?” I ask, looking to Maul.

  Slowly, Maul nods his head to confirm.

  “Why?”

  “My love, I wanted to verify and confirm all the information before presenting it to you.”

  I nod my head. I know he’s not purposely trying to deceive me or keep things from me. He would never hurt me. Everything he does for me he does out of his love.

  “You are correct. The man you know as Yarrel came to deliver you a message.”

  My heart suddenly lurches and my throat tightens. “He did?”

  “He did,” Maul says.

  “What was the message?” I breathe.

  I shouldn’t hope. I shouldn’t. But how can I not?

  “His message was… I found her,” Maul says and I immediately bursts into tears.

  “Is she alive?” I choke out on a sob.

  Sensing my distress, little Thorn snuggles closer and his little tail wraps around me, almost like he’s giving me a hug.

  “Yes,” Maul says, his own eyes gleaming. “And there’s a feed. I haven’t had a chance to view it—”

  “Show me,” I say, cutting him off.

  Maul nods his head and looks to Marketh.

  “I’m on it,” Marketh announces.

  I try to get myself under control while Marketh does whatever Marketh does.

  Maul reaches down, his fingers brushing away my tears.

  “I’m sorry,” I sniffle. “I didn’t mean to be rude and cut you off.”

  Maul smiles at me tenderly. “It’s understandable, my heart.”

  “I’ve got it, we’re connected,” Marketh announces. “And you’re not going to believe this, but it’s a live feed…”

  “Show us,” Maul demands.

  “You got it, boss,” Marketh says sarcastically, and then a beam of light shoots out of him and a picture of a young woman is projected onto the wall.

  At first, what I see seems too good to be true. My eyes must be deceiving me. That face, those eyes, I’d know them anywhere… but it can’t be. Can it?

  The young woman stares back at me, taking me in. Vaguely, I notice a huge shadow hovering behind her but right now it’s unimportant.

  “Lexi?” she asks softly.

  “Isla?” I squeak and her entire face lights up.

  The End…

  Or is it?

  Sean and I had so much fun writing this book and we really hope you enjoyed it.

  And before you reach out to ask - yes, there will be another book. Isla’s story is next…

  Thank you for reading!

  Playlists

  Lexi’s Playlist - available on Spotify

  http://spoti.fi/2eSWDZD

  Counterpane - The Birthday Massacre

  (Can’t You) Trip Like I Do - Filter, The Crystal Method

  Clown - Switchblade Symphony

  Come On - Go Off (Rotersand Remix) - KMFDM

  I Sit On Acid (Live American Tour Mix) - Lords of Acid

  Real Solution #9 (Mambo Mania Mix) - White Zombie

  We’re In This Together - Nine Inch Nails

  Precipice - Rabbit Junk

  Pure Power (Original Mix) - Zardonic

  Reflection - Jerome Isma-Ae, Alastor

  Stars - Solitary Experiments

  Next to Last (Septic Mix) - Mindless Faith

  Gotta Get Mad - Virgins O.R. Pigeons

  Eclipse (OK Minus RMX) - Apoptygma Berserk

  Lost Horizon - VNV Nation

  Mauls Playlist - available on Spotify

  http://spoti.fi/2wnjIKa

  My Distorted Reflection - Upon A Burning Body

  Don’t Let Me Fade Away - Wage War

  The Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails

  In Another Now - While She Sleeps

  Lost In The Static - After The Burial

  Earthbound - Bury Tomorrow

  You Are We - While She Sleeps

  Through Hell - Palisades

  About Us

  Izzy Sweet & Sara Page – The one and the same brain.

  Sean Moriarty - The real life alpha bad boy that Izzy tamed.

  Residing in Cincinnati, Ohio, Izzy and Sean are high school sweethearts that just celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary, though they’ve been together since they were teenagers – over fifteen years.

  Both avid and voracious readers, they share a great love and appreciation for a great story, and attribute their early role-playing days as the fledgling beginnings of their joint writing career.

  You can see more of our works at our website - www.dirtynothings.com

  Also by Sara and Sean

  By Sara Page

  The Ravager Chronicles

  Princess SOS

  The Dark Princes

  The Other Side

  Queen of the Ravagers

  *The Complete Series*

  By Sean Moriarty

  Disciples

  Keeping Lily (Lucifer & Lily)

  Stealing Amy (Andrew & Amy)

  The Pounding Hearts Series

  Banging Reaper (Chase & Avery)

  Slamming Demon (Brett & Mandy)

  Bucking Bear (Max & Grace)

  Breaking Beast (Alexander and Christy)

  Gettin’ Lucky

  Gettin’ Dirty

  Also by Sara Page - Princess SOS

  Chapter One

  I’m going to die! I scream inside my head as the escape pod I’m currently riding in touches down, somewhere.

  The impact rocks me to the core. Thankfully, I’m strapped into a very elaborate, very effective safety harness. Right now I can’t move if I wanted to.

  The dashboard in front of me flashes white and red with warning. Then a loud siren starts to blare. As if I didn’t know I was in deep shit!

  The pod starts to roll.

  The shocks and protections of my harness and seat have kept me safe, thus far. My brain hasn’t slipped around in my head. I didn’t end up on the console as a splat. My body seems to still be in one piece instead of pieces. But now I’m trapped, helpless as the pod rolls and I roll along with it.

  My stomach lurches as I go up and down, over and over. The
escape pod must be rolling down a hill or something. Stop, please stop. I’m going to be sick!

  My blood rushes to my head as I roll. My vision blurs, darkness is creeping in. Then it drops and I feel like I’m free falling.

  There’s another impact. The metal of the pod groans now with stress. The pod rolls once, twice. It pauses while I’m upside down. Figures just figures it would stop like this. Then one last rotation and I end up upright. The whole thing shudders then settles.

  It’s over. Bless the stars, it’s over. I made it.

  It takes several long minutes for my body to stop violently trembling. My lips are pressed together and my eyes are clenched shut as I hold back the sickness. If I throw up, it’s going all over me. So I focus all of my energy in holding the sickness back.

  Deep breath in, deep breath out.

  I’m alive.

  Deep breath in, deep breath out.

  I’m not dead.

  Slowly, I peek one eye open. The red and white warning lights are still flashing. My stomach gives a threatening lurch. I swallow the bile back.

  I let my eyes adjust to seeing. After some time, I think my body can handle processing multiple senses. I feel safe enough to peek my other eye open.

  The screen connected to the console is going crazy. All kinds of weird symbols and words are flashing, but to me, none of it makes any sense. All that I can think is that red must be bad. Something must be wrong with the pod, but even if I figure out what it is, I won’t be able to fix it.

  This is why princesses are not supposed to leave the planet.

  My head starts to throb in tune with the rhythm of the blaring siren. If I want the noise to stop, I’m going to have free myself from my seat and do it.