by Pearl Tate
Not understanding what she means, I pull back to look at her before shifting my gaze over to the different females subdued against the wall. It’s strange because despite the fact that they don’t appear to be tied up, they aren’t moving. Instead, they’re staring ahead blankly, and I notice a black device attached to their chest. Some symbols flash on the surface, but I’ve never seen anything like it.
“What is that?” Pointing at one of the closer females, Tara looks over before taking my hand to pull me further away from the base of the information tree.
“See?” Tara points to where Selas and Matthias are using poles to attach the strange devices to the captive’s chests. “Those are from the Marel ship. It’s how they were subduing the males to take them back to their planet. It’s why they’re acting catatonic now. The device has a way that it releases the drug that Callim and Vekel were addicted to. Now, they’re subdued and I’m pretty sure it has a tracking device…”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- Nitara
Watching Mihile hop back into the strange boiler-shaped contraption, I step aside so Barek can follow him in. His expression looks like a kid in a candy store as he hoists himself up and practically falls head over heels into a hole that doesn’t even appear to exist. All I see is the same flat features like the side of the rounded contraption.
There’s the occasional scramble at the entrances as the men let someone “penetrate” the room we’re in. So far, there have been three females in full combat style gear trying to come in and shoot at us. But there are so many bodies between us and them, and they’ve been using the Sacred Mother as a lure, having her stand just inside the door.
“Bren!” Selas jogs over from where he’s been hog-tying one of the women. Hannah’s just finishing gagging her, when she glances up at them both.
“What?”
Bren and Selas turn, looking at Hannah as I walk up next to her. “The Marel have entered orbit and have contacted Brock on their ship.”
I can see the fear as we all wait for the outcome. “Is he stalling?” Hannah’s question makes me wonder what they have planned.
“Yes, but we need to start getting these on—now!” Waving over to some of the males, they bring over two large, long crates that I remember traveling down with us. I’ve no idea what’s in them though, until they throw back the lid.
Selas is already pulling out the long familiar poles that I’d hoped to never see again. The Marel’s chest devices! The other crate is full of the strange, black contraptions. “Watch and learn,” he commands to a few other guys keeping an eye on him with interest. “I’m going to show you how to do this with the Sacred Mother first.”
I can’t help the smirk that spreads across my face, and I instantly feel guilty. Thank goodness Mihile isn’t here to see this. The Sacred Mother is gagged with the same cloth that Hannah continues to tie around the next bellowing woman that’s dragged over by a couple of the Discovery crew members.
“Just shut up!” Hannah tells her as she tightens the cloth around her head from behind. “Incredible.” Shaking her head, I watch in fascination as the woman’s hair tries to untie the gag, but if it’s possible, it’s going to take a while.
Instead, I turn my attention to the Sacred Mother who now has her robe opened and the pole with the loop on the end around her neck. With a hiss, she throws her head back, trying to scream around the gag. “What?” Hannah bends over and gets directly in her line of sight. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
As she continues to talk conversationally to her, I realize she’s beyond angry. “This is what the men you sent up to the Marel ship were subjected to. This is what they use.” Tapping on the device now embedded in her chest, she continues as if the woman isn’t squirming in front of her. “How many men did you send to them? You know what? I bet you don’t have any idea… but I do. Almost fifty thousand. And those are the ones we know about.”
My stomach clenches in disgust. Woah. The Sacred Mother’s eyes are beginning to glaze over as her struggles begin to slow. “Yeah, that’s right. We know a lot now. You see, we took over the spacecraft the Marel were in above us and removed all the men that you sent up for this delivery. Instead… we’re going to send you up.”
Despite the sluggishness, I know this is sinking in. The Sacred Mother’s eyes widen, and her head begins to shimmy back and forth on her neck. She doesn’t like that idea for some reason.
I watch Selas make sure that the Proscribe Movement guys have the swing of embedding the next device before he takes off to talk to Bren and Matthias who’re closer to the door. “That’s right, you crazy fucking bitch.” Hannah’s voice drips with venom as she leans into the Sacred Mother’s line of sight. We’ve already let them know that they’ve been reported to the Coalition. Backup is on its way, and the Marel have agreed to stand down and consider your contract for future deliveries null and void as long as you’re given to them on this next delivery. And we agreed.”
Straightening up, she winks at me before grasping my hand and pulling me gently a few steps away and toward where the men are gearing up closer to the door. “Are you okay with this?”
Giving her a strange look, I laugh. When I stop chuckling, I answer, “I’m very okay with it. It’s creative, and I can’t tell you what a relief it is to hear that we have support arriving to help us. I was so afraid…”
“…that’d we be next on the dinner menu?” Hannah laughs, but what she’s saying is super scary. If the Marel decided to take over Quasar now, and found all the Earth women, who’s to say they wouldn’t put Earth on their dinner menu next. There’s been so much going on that I’m embarrassed to say, I’m just thinking of it now. “No, don’t worry. The Ashen have been in communication with the Sinth, and they have some Guardians or something like that on the way. They’re supposed to be Coalition sanctioned police or—”
“They’re here!” Bren calls over from next to us where he’s double checking some kind of club in his hand.
“Oh! You hadn’t mentioned them. I didn’t realize they made it already.” Hannah looks at me with a big smile, wiggling her eyebrows up and down.
Bren shrugs his shoulders, but Selas peers over his shoulder, looking down at us. “Sounds like they’ve been around. They have some kind of fancy cloaking capabilities on their spacecrafts, so they’ve been monitoring—or essentially spying on us to make sure everything is the way we say.”
He shivers, glancing down at Karen. “I’ve never met a Sinth myself, but according to Travek, you don’t meet them unless they want you to meet them. Something about how sneaky they are…”
Loosening my fingers that are clasped together against my chest, I finally feel like I can breath. We all turn to the large screen that’s playing the news as it cuts out, and the original Accord agreement begins playing. A cheer goes up around us, as finally, the citizens of Quasar are given the truth.
“When this is done, we shouldn’t have any trouble convincing everyone on the planet what was going on. Melin is going to record all this,” Hannah’s arm sweeps out over the Sacred Mother and the three other females from the Council’s Contingent who’re subdued with her already. They aren’t messing around.
Melin is set up with his friends, going around and recording names. I watch Bren, Selas, and Matthias all leave out the door, crouched low in what can only be described as a fancy tactical formation. “Where are they going?”
Hannah glances at Karen who’s been left just inside the opening. “Oh, they went to get the Councilors. They’re back there hiding like cowards—”
“Alone?” My voice is shrill as I jog to the doorway, pressing my back to the rock wall next to Karen beside the opening. Karen’s chuckling as Hannah watches us with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face. Looking around, I realize no one looks worried. Some of the other men from the Discovery are leisurely leaving out the same way, but not in a hurry.
Explosions and falling rock begin down the hall, and I think ab
out poor Mihile’s home. Clasping my head, I look back and forth between Karen and Hannah, but they’ve already resumed what they were doing. It’s April who points at Chevepak, who’s just leaving. “It’s okay, Tara. Seriously. These guys have been planning this for weeks. It’s all worked out, and once they’ve gone through the mating, they’re pretty much indestructible, remember?”
Nodding slightly, I lean back on the wall, taking deep breaths and trying not to panic. I don’t need to get Mihile worked up. He’s busy. Everybody has something to do but me.
“Come on,” April throws her arm around me. Just as she does, a thrashing female is carried into the room over Bren’s shoulders. Dumping her on the floor, I watch Matthias show up right behind him, throwing another right next to her.
“What’s the meaning of this? How dare you do this?” I recognize the condescending voice immediately. Vina Likana. And right next to her is the woman that was at the meeting in the light green robe. “What have you done to the Sacred Mother?”
Vina tries to scramble to her feet, but Bren pushes her to the floor. “Gag these two quick.”
“With pleasure.” Hannah moves behind Vina first, efficiently gagging her while the one in the green robe continues to sit with her mouth hanging open. “Kirley… Vina… welcome to Marel technology. Gentlemen…”
Hannah steps out of the way while others descend with the pole and chest devices as the ladies scream behind their gags. Bren and Matthias give each other high fives on their way back out the doorway as the Accord continues to play for the citizens of Quasar behind them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- Mihile
My mate’s worry for me was swirling red in her aura earlier when I came out of the crystal reader device. She’s afraid I’ll be upset my home was being destroyed, and my mother sent to the Marels, but that’s the least of my worries. Although, I’m thankful that my personal rooms were untouched, I’m more concerned with making sure that everyone on Quasar is informed of what’s going on here in the city.
According to Barek, there are still some outlying communities that use less technology. It’s mostly Quasar males who’ve fled the structured lifestyle and ruling Council in hopes of being free. They deserve to understand their new options, and I’ve been assured that even when we leave here—and it sounds like it could be within a few daily rotations—there will be information and technology left to let them know how to contact us.
As for my mother and the rest of the Councilors I’ve known my entire life, I can’t feel guilty about or attempt to stop the justice so many are demanding. They had to know that their perfect tyranny could come tumbling down around them at any time. I’ve been sheltered from many of the awful living arrangements others were subjected to. Who am I to judge?
Instead, I’d like to look to the future. My future. As I lounge on my sleeping platform, I watch Tara rinse off in the bathing pool. We won’t be here too much longer from the sounds of it. Everyone’s talking about moving back up to the Discovery, and I look forward to it. Tara thinks I’ll miss it here, but the truth is, I’m ready for an adventure.
Shivering, Tara rushes out of the water, snatching up the drying cloth I laid out for her. Rushing across the floor, she hops onto the sleeping platform next to me, shimmying under the covers. “Brrr! It’s chilly in here.”
Drawing her into my arms, I let her press her cold hands against me. It’s a small price to pay to have her in my bed with me. “I can warm you up, but are you tired?”
It’s been a long day. Many of the rooms here are being used by the other mated couples from the Discovery. The news distributors have left, along with most of the Proscribe Movement males, but there are other couples staying and helping secure this place and the “information tree” as it’s begun being called.
“A little. But not too tired for some cuddling.” Rubbing my hands up and down Tara’s back over the towel, I tug on the cloth, and she lifts, allowing me to remove it from her body. Pulling it out from under the covers, I toss it onto the floor, and she settles back against me.
Slowly, I trace the mating marks on her back. It’s incredible how they’re identical to mine on my chest, just scaled to her smaller size. “And you’re sure you don’t need anything to eat?” We’d found plenty of food to feed everyone down here. The females laughed, and said we looked like “preppers,” who’re some kind of extremely prepared humans from their Earth.
“I’m positive.” Lifting her head from my chest, she smiles coyly. “Although, maybe I should say I’m not hungry for… food exactly.”
My cock perks up as she runs her fingers down my body, following with her eyes to watch him grow. Stretching out straighter, I pull back the covers to my knees, making sure she has access to every part of my body. I’m hers to do with as she pleases, and I can’t wait to see what she has in mind. I’m sure that I’ll never tire of being with her.
Tara pushes up to her knees, pulling her hair to the side and over one shoulder, exposing her beautiful brown breasts to my view. I can’t resist reaching up to cup one, but she wiggles back, patting my thighs. “Can you spread a little so I can sit here?”
I bite my lip, trying not to let my cock get too excited by what she has in mind. The last time was so wonderful, and I loved watching her. Leaning over my chest, her gaze holds mine as she slides one of her hands up my chest, ordering me, “Relax. You’re going to put a hole in your lip.”
Her fingers pull my lip from my teeth. Silky breasts slide across my chest as she kisses my bottom lip gently before she kisses my chin. Breaking eye contact, she moves down my body, sending a rush of arousal through me when she kisses my nipple before sealing her lips over the peak, sucking and rubbing the tip of her tongue over it.
My back arches as I moan, the tingles from her attention driving me crazy already. Her hair shifts, hiding my view, so I pick it up and hold it in one hand as she releases me, kissing her way over to the other side. Her hands have flattened on my belly, running across my body on their way to my cock where she gently wraps her fingers of one hand around the base.
Releasing my other nipple with a rake of her teeth, my cock twitches in anticipation in her hold, swelling larger. Tara takes her time, teasing me as she kisses down my ribs and abdomen, tracing her wet tongue and lips in numerous places as she works her way down. Groaning, I watch her move lower, kissing down until she pauses at my hard dick who has jerked up, bobbing his own hello along with the hair follicles that seem to be waving and greeting her.
When her gaze lifts to me she smiles, licking her lips before she whispers, “Now, I’m hungry.” Squeezing my shaft, she runs her thumb up the underside of my cock, stroking the skin that’s stretched tightly over the hard length and sending a firestorm of need through my body.
I groan, narrowing my eyes to slits as she shifts her body to hold my gaze, opening her mouth as she sticks her tongue out and traces the rim. I can’t take it! Closing my eyes, my head falls back as I grip the pillow under my head tightly. “Nitara.” I groan.
She sucks, taking more of me between her lips. Her teeth are lightly grazing me, but the sensation only turns me on more as I force myself to focus, opening my eyes and leaning forward to watch her again. Tara works me deeper into the back of her mouth, and I know instantly when she’s hit her limit.
Pulling off slowly, she swirls her tongue along the underside making a soft humming sound that has my balls tightening in anticipation. My ragged breathing accelerates as she continues to bob up and down, still holding the base tightly. Just when I’m about to warn her to stop, she does, lifting to her knees and dropping on all fours over me.
As she moves up my body on her hands and knees, she asks, “Can I stop now? I’d really like to feel you inside me again.” Her beautiful face hovers over me while she moves her legs on either side of my hips.
I can’t help wondering how I got so lucky as I answer, “Of course. I’m all yours.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
-
Nitara
Sure, I’m tired, but that bath was invigorating. Not freezing cold, but it sure couldn’t be considered warm. Mihile says that it gets a little warmer with time. Now that I’m climbing on top of him though, my body feels as if it’s burning up. Despite the recent bath, I can feel my own wet excitement beginning to run down my legs.
Taking his cock in my mouth again was just as exciting as the first time. I love everything about it, from the way he tastes to the way he responds. I’d no idea that giving head would be so arousing for me. Making him feel good is never going to be a hardship, since I can feel his desire as I pleasure him.
“Just let me know if I do this wrong.” Flattening my hand on his chest, I lift my weight onto my knees and reach behind me to place him at my entrance. Mihile’s looking down, his hands lightly on my thighs.
His eyes meet mine as he smiles. “It looks perfect to me.”
Looking down, I have to agree, although his cock still looks really large standing up from his body and aimed at me. “Okay.” Swallowing hard, I whisper, “Maybe hold still for a minute until I adjust to your size.”
His muscular stomach muscles twitch and jump as I rub his soft, mushroomed head against my entrance, spreading around my wetness. I’m more than ready as I let myself lower down so he breaches my entrance. Groaning, I feel my body resist his penetration, but I tilt forward, letting myself settle down a bit more before pulling up slowly.
We both moan at the sensation as he almost leaves my body before I sink back down again firmly. Leaning forward, my mouth meets his as I begin a back and forth motion that has him filling me a little at a time. It feels so good as he enters me while our lips slide together, tongues tangling leisurely.
All the chaos and craziness over the last couple days slips away. There’s only us, here and now. It’s sheer bliss as I continue to take him until my clit begins to rub against him. I’m stretched so tight it’s almost painful, but the intense brush of my exposed clit from his vibrating hairs has me wondering if I’m going to be able to wait for him come before me.
