Authors: Jenika Snow
They were strong and powerful,
and she felt so weak and fragile in comparison. Even being in Brawn’s arms
right now had her feeling like this delicate doll. His hands were on her waist,
and his large, long fingers spanned all the way to her belly button. She had gained
weight in the short window of time she had been with them, and it was strange
being full and having some meat on her bones. For as long as she could remember
she had been hungry, thin and boney, and never having enough food to go around.
But whatever nutrients Torque had given her had helped her pack on the pounds,
and she was feeling strong and healthy now. She had curves now, a rounded
belly, and thicker thighs. Was this how she was supposed to look when not
starving? The wind that moved across their bodies brought the heat even more
over her. Smoke filled the air in a hazy kind of atmosphere.
“The heat is too much for her,”
Lukin
said, his voice clear, and his expression no longer
showing her that he was on some kind of mind-altering substance. He glanced at
her, his black gaze determined, but also somewhat gentle.
It was strange to feel this
sensation inside of her when she looked at each of them. She didn’t know them,
yet she felt this connection, this need that moved through her. Maybe it was
because they had saved her from death and a life that was slowly killing her?
And then the sound of Brawn’s
wings emerging, and of the wind increasing as he flapped them had her glancing
at the other two brothers. They, too, had dark inked on wings that covered
their backs, and right before her eyes these black wings emerged from their red
flesh in massive, inky deadliness. They were tipped with caws, and the wingspan
itself was monstrously large. And then
Lukin
and
Thorque
were airborne, moving high above them and looking
like fallen angels.
“Ready, little
human mate?”
Brawn said and looked down at
her.
She stared at him, got lost in
the dark gaze he held her in, and knew that she had to have faith that things
would be okay. “Not really.” She smiled for the first time since forever, and
when he grinned, his fangs flashed bright white at her. He was so damn
frightening, but she felt this arousal moving through her at the same time. And
then he was in the air, too, and flying behind his brothers. She closed her eyes,
so afraid that she gripped his bicep and felt the sweat pool even thicker on
her flesh.
“Open your eyes,
Minka
,” he said in his deep, steady voice.
As if the sound urged her to have
the courage to open her eyes, she did just that. She looked at Brawn first, but
he was focused in front of him. Then she turned her head and took in
everything. They were high enough that the tops of the jagged mountains were
just feet below them. He curled his claws deeper into her skin, not breaking
the flesh but keeping her close to his body, and for that she was thankful.
Maybe it was a reminder that any sudden movement could bring her death.
“I won’t let you go,” he said and
glanced down at her. His thickly accented voice penetrated her fear, and she
nodded. She knew he wouldn’t. She knew none of them would, in more than one
way.
“These are the
Tartanaian
Mountains, and that is where the home I share
with my brothers is located.” He tipped his chin toward the largest peaked
mountains in the distance.
She stared at those angry,
violent looking rocks, and wondered what evil creatures also inhabited that
space.
“It is only the home to the Hades
warriors. All other creatures live in
Brokaou
forest
of flames over there.” He nodded toward the forest with flames that tipped the
braches, and of fire that encased the land. God, how could she survive this
place?
He dipped low, and she noticed
the way he curled his wings further into his body and turned to the right to
clear the narrow opening. He was taking left and rights, dipping low and
soaring higher to clear the mountains, and when he rose higher and higher and
let his wings spread out their full width, she felt free. Brawn glided across
the thick air the rest of the way, and
Minka
wondered
if he was doing this aeronautic show for her. What she did know was that for
the first time in her life she didn’t feel like she was suffocating in her own
skin.
Chapter Four
Brawn swooped lower as the
entrance to their cave home came into view. All Hades males lived within the
safety of the mountains, because even if they were predators the earth of their
home planet gave them the necessary strength and rejuvenating properties to
keep them at the top of the food chain. He lowered even still, and she made a
small noise. There was the scent of fear coming from her, but the more powerful
aroma was her pleasure of freedom. Her species couldn’t hide their emotions from
his kind, and in fact couldn’t hide much of anything from any other alien in
the Stoker Galaxy. They were not as evolved as his kind, and able to hide their
strengths and weaknesses. And because they hadn’t changed to become just as
strong as their adversaries, they were a dying race. For some reason they had
managed to hang on, though, to persevere despite the odds against them. They
may have hidden in order to make that a possibility, but they were not stupid
in that regard. To survive was to be discreet.
His kind was a feared species
across all of the Stoker Galaxy. And after centuries of power and victory, that
reputation had been earned ten times over. Brawn took one more corner before
coming to a land on the ledge of the entrance to their home. He set her on her
feet, and she took a couple of steps back.
“Careful now,
little human.
The fall down would kill you instantly, but you’d have all
that time to know you’re about to die.”
He hadn’t said it to frighten her
further, but to let her know that she was in a very dangerous world right now.
This planet was not made for her kind, and without keeping an eye on her she
would die. He would have caught her before she fell, but that was beside the
point. The sound of wings and moving wind broke through his focus, and he saw
Thorque
and
Lukin
land right
behind her. She jumped and spun around, but
Lukin
had
her in his arms right before she fell backward.
“Easy there,”
Lukin
said softly, and his face was so close to hers that Brawn wondered if he’d try
to kiss her. The breeding urge was running hard inside of them, and if they
didn’t have her soon they would become these mindless beasts that had no clear
thoughts on what they were doing. It was a way nature made sure they procreated
and extended their bloodline. But then again fate and nature were cruel bitches
because females were not born to their kind. Hades males had to venture out to
find a female to procreate with, and even then the females had sons.
Brawn waited until
Lukin
let go of
Minka
, and then
said, “This way.” He waited until she looked at him, made eye contact, and then
he willed himself to calm the hell down. His cock had been hard as fucking
stone since he had held her in his arms on
Arambria
,
and his desire for her was only getting worse. He turned away from her and felt
his fangs throb to mark her. His kind was a primal race, a barbaric and brutal
species that was rough when they fucked, and when it was time to claim their
mates they didn’t hold anything back. Brawn focused on the opening in the side
of the mountain. Below them there were three lava rivers that ran parallel to
one another. An acid lake was in the distance past the jagged rock garden that
emitted toxic fumes, and behind them was the forest with the flaming trees.
This world was a hell all in itself, and only a Hades warrior could live
outside of the mountains for an extended amount of time. But this was also the
only place they could live comfortably, and they would make sure
Minka
lived here without any problems. If they needed to take
her out of the mountain they would take her to
their
spacecraft. She wasn’t their prisoner, but she was the
prisoner to the planet of Hades.
He folded his wings inward, and
they seamlessly melded back into his body. Now all he had to show of them was
the dark ink that marked his back. He moved into the cave and sensed his
brothers and their female move up behind. Brawn made his way through the long,
winding tunnels that led deeper into the monstrous rock. The temperature
started to decrease, and the further he descended the cooler it became. It was
still warmer than what
Minka
was probably used to,
but it wouldn’t be uncomfortable for her, and she would grow accustomed to it.
He could hear her breathing heavy
behind him, maybe a little unsure of the tight, dark and sharp confines, but
when the tunnel opened up into a bigger cavern he heard her start to breathe
easier. She would need to be hydrated, because even the flight to the cave
through the heat would have sucked the moisture from her. Brawn wasn’t used to
the feeling of wanting to protect and care for someone. Yes, he cared for his
brothers, but they were just as brutal as he was, and the emotions they shared
were nothing like what he felt for
Minka
. It was most
definitely the breeding need inside of him that had opened up his feelings like
this, but he also knew saving her life had created a bond between them. It was
something that rarely happened, especially in terms of the savior being the one
to feel this deep-rooted connection to the person he rescued, but Brawn was
most definitely feeling it.
Rock
sconces lined the walls, and the oil that supplied the fuel to keep them lit
was from the
Fetta
that was deep inside of the jagged
rocks. It was oil that had an endless supply, and came from the energy and
molten lava that flowed beneath them. He sensed her grow more comfortable,
maybe because there was no more darkness surrounding her, but either way he was
grateful her unease was leaving.
“This
is where you will live with us,
Minka
,” Brawn said
once they entered the main common room of their mountain home. He had spoken in
his native tongue, and although she couldn’t understand that, he needed to
rectify it. They spoke English, but they would need to inject her with a
translator chip so that she could understand their language. That is what they
would be speaking since they lived on Hades, and the sooner they got her
accustomed to their way of living the easier she would acclimate to everything.
“We
should hunt for some
Kathena
meat. It will be better
on her stomach until she can transition and is used to the food we have here.”
Lukin
was the one to speak. “I will also grab some more
Monel
sticks, because although you two think it is just to
get high, having her become at ease will also help, especially when the time
comes to breed her.”
They
all glanced at
Minka
, who was looking at the items in
the living quarters. Surely everything was so strange to her, but how would she
react once they claimed her … at the same time?
“I
think we should get her some
Monel
, or even some
Bacca
juice,”
Thorque
said, and
his voice was strained tight. They were all on edge, and until they had her
that edge would grow fiercer and harder until they couldn’t stop themselves
from taking her. Brawn didn’t want to do that because surely she would fear
them then.
“This
is your home, little human,”
Lukin
said and moved
closer to her. He cupped her cheek with his hand, and the red tint of his
brother’s skin against
Minka’s
light human colored
flesh was a stark contrast. For several seconds
Lukin
just stared at her, and Brawn could see the almost dazed expression on her
face. She may be afraid of this situation, but there was no denying that she
felt the arousal pounding through her, too.
Lukin
moved back, and then he and
Thorque
left them alone.
Brawn
didn’t tell her about the beasts they would hunt, because although they were
predators and were the highest on the hierarchy in the plant, there were
creatures that would be able to smell her human weakness, and take advantage of
that. He would need to explain all of that soon enough, because she needed to
be prepared, but one thing at a time.
“I
must put a translator chip in you so that you can understand the Hades
language,” he said evenly, and watched her reaction.
She
swallowed, looked around the room, and then faced him once more. “Okay,” she
said softly.
Brawn
nodded. “How about you sit down and get comfortable. The translator won’t feel
like anything but a little pinch, and then we can speak in my native tongue.”
He walked up to her and then led her over to the hides that covered the rock
benches. The hides were from the
Gatugas
, a large,
carnivorous animal that was on the planet of
Yettiga
.
Their hides were so thick and plush, and made of soft fur that blocked out the
heat and hardness of the stone. She sat on the largest chair, and he went into
the cooking area and poured her a glass of water. Hades males didn’t need
water, not much anyway, and since their planet only produced a small quantity,
they had stocked up for bathing. But now it seemed like they would be supplying
that water for their little human mate, because he knew her kind needed an
abundance of it to survive.