Page 1 of Thief

1

Kate

Oh shit. They’re hazing!The last words I spoke at the frat house on Earth, right before I scampered into the bushes and hid. It was then that the Regha Alpha a-hole abducted me, uploaded the Rahkan language into my head—no joke!— and placed me inside a pretty room with doors and windows the A-hole keeps closed even at night, when the Sycol falls and Regha’s twin moons rise.

I count the fall and rise as one day. Regha people count it as one span. I’ve been on Regha for at least two weeks—what could be months or even years on Earth.

My auction hour approaches. Tonight, his other female servants dressed me in a transparent white dress. I pace the confines of my bedroom, my palms a sweaty mess, the dress clinging onto my damp skin as I roll the knitted hem between my fingertips. Again, I need to escape. I did it once before, and the A-hole who wants to be calledMasterwhipped me. For life, I will carry the scars on my back. That’s okay. Bad things happen to people who hurt others, and he’s hurt me. Something will happen to him. Hopefully, something fatal.

At the sage-green cobblestone wall that can part to make a window, I wonder if God is really everywhere? Can he hear me now? “Please get me out of here. Thank you.”

I jump at a screeching sound to my right. The wall there parts. The A-hole—a Regha Alpha, a towering green monster with pitch-black eyes, no hair but for a black patch at the back of his head, and segmented skin that becomes harder when he erects his emerald-green body plates—smirks, a look of appreciation in his gaze. One good thing about my miserable situation is that he never looks at me in a sex-starved manner, so I’m not afraid of being raped. I’d better fetch him a nice price, or he’ll strangle me. I know this like I know to put my hand into his and walk quietly beside him, his claw brushing against my wrist as a reminder of his power.

We descend countless stairs, my heart beating against my chest, my palms cold and sweaty. At the bottom, I rest. He doesn’t. He yanks my hand, and we continue past the servants in the foyer whose gazes follow only his footsteps and never meet his eyes.

Someone knocks on the door.

A-hole stops and turns around. “Everyone who needs to be here is already here. Turn the visitor away.”

He pauses at the stairway to the dungeons and pushes me behind him so I can’t see the visitor. It’s another Regha Alpha male, I know by the rattle produced when he breathes. All Alpha males of Regha rattle when they breathe. If you ask any Beta female in the house, they’ll say it’s a purr, and swoon over it. I don’t swoon over the rattle. It’s annoying and scary, and I wanna go back to Earth where my bulldog’s snore is the only swoon-worthy sound.

The male at the door is trying to sell something. I lean in to see a long beige cape obscures his face. He probably stole the merchandise and doesn’t want to be recognized as he passes through the town. I snort. He’ll need to halve those prices, if he wants stingy A-hole’s attention. But lo and behold, the merchant negotiates a steal for the household, and A-hole and I continue down the steps, straight into a moist, cold room.

The door shuts behind us. It’s pitch black inside, and I see the Teleans, with their shiny silver pupils. That alien race is similar to Regha Alphas but shorter, less bulky, and gray instead of green. Whispers spread over the room, but I hear no rattles. Regha Alphas might not be in attendance. This is good. I don’t want to be sold at all, but if I have to, I’ll have a better chance against another alien race. I stand zero chance of running away from a Regha Alpha.

The A-hole commands the dim lights, and they buzz in the corners. There are eleven bidders, randomly dispersed throughout the room. Some sit, some stand, and all hold brew, courtesy of the house. The servants told me the slave-girl auctions are held in town, but mine is different. Only high bidders allowed. It makes me feel special.Not.

I stand in the center of the room filled with aliens of all shapes and sizes as well as three Regha Alpha males. Crap. My heart wants to burst out of my chest, but I stare at the A-holes in defiance. A Regha Alpha—and they’re super easy to tell apart, tall imposing fuckers with lots of presence in a room—catches my eye. Our gazes lock, and he tilts his head, turns up his face, and flares his nostrils.

Something inside my stomach churns. Damn, I’m gonna get sick all over the floor. A cramp hits my lower belly, but I grit my teeth, not wanting to appear sick and end up back in my room, where A-hole will surely strangle me. Unlike the girls in his household, I’m not a keeper. He’s already told me I’m a breeder, and someone dumb enough to breed an alien with a scent like mine is more than welcome to it.

I have no idea what he meant, but I know enough. I gotta sell. So when the cramp intensifies, I peel my gaze away from the Alpha male and smile at the Telean. They’re gray with black eyes and silver pupils, and although they’re large, they’re smaller and more human looking than Regha Alphas.

“Bidding starts at five thousand laros,” says the A-hole and lets go of my hand.

Protests ignite, but the A-hole raises both hands. “It is the scent. You can come and smell if you’d like. She’s already wet for the Alphas in the room. Imagine what her heat will look like.”

“You claimed you have an Omega female,” a Regha male shouts. “She is no Omega.”

Okay—well—this is news to me. Omegas are of Regha, and I am from Earth, so he’s bullshitting them. This cannot be good for little ol’ me. It’d be like buying a specialty white-chocolate ice cream and finding out it’s vanilla, made of powdered milk.Return to senderis written all over this auction. Do I have a return policy?

In any case, Omega to their Alpha can only mean one thing—the opposite that attracts. I’m a woman, and only they can scent something about me. I smell nothing, not even shampoo or soap on my skin, because there are no such things on Regha. I bathe and urinate in the same puddle of water they call a bath. The water contains microorganisms that supposedly clear out all the mess and make the water reusable. I’m super happy with the way Regha people save their environment by reusing, but I’m also human, therefore the things I’ve had to endure gross me out. Of course, I don’t complain. I bathe and piss in the water as if I was born to do just that. A-hole may not have a return policy, but I’ve got a survive-at-all-costs policy of my own.

“Five thousand six hundred,” says the Telean, silver pupils dilating. He’s rich, this one. I can tell by the jewelry adorning the collar of his tight jumpsuit.

“Five seven hundred.” This comes from a Haev, a large insect race. Behind my back, I cross my fingers in hopes the Haev loses interest soon.

“This is no Omega,” one of the Regha Alphas says and heads straight for me. The cramp in my belly pulses, and I suppress a whine. He sniffs my cheek, his proximity making my nipples perk up. Oh Lord, this is awful. “Smells like an Omega, but it’s not an Omega. A fake. I won’t die for a fake.”

Die. Right. Regha Omegas are the king’s property from the moment they mature. Alphas collect them and take them into a place known as the Omega compound, where Alphas worthy of an Omega are rewarded with these females for their service to the king.

Another Alpha joins the one beside me, and they both sniff then snarl. “Not an Omega,” the second one says, “but she will do. Five seven fifty, and we’re taking her home.” A hand wraps around my wrist and yanks.

I yank back, unwilling to deal with my fate. I’m done with Regha Alphas, and I’m definitely not going with the two of them. “Help me,” I tell the Telean. “I’m no Omega, but I’m from the South, and I was raised pleasant and real nice. Also, I cook, and I graduated college in Junior year. Microbiology. Smart, no?”

“Five eight hundred,” the Telean says.

“Five eight fifty,” the other Regha Alpha snarls.

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