Page 9 of Beauty and the Alien Beast
“The dog is only allowed in with a compliance collar on at all times,” the shorter one needlessly said in a gravelly voice. One of his arms was a mere stump and another was missing a few fingers. I wondered if he had been punished for disloyalty or had simply been unlucky on a slave-catching mission. Either way, I had no sympathy for him.
“I’m aware,” I said in a haughty voice. “I’m coming off a two-week vacation, hunting in the wilds of Neptune, and I’m interested in procuring a female. I want to see what you’ve got.” My skin crawled just saying the words.
The other mercenary bowed and said, “Very well…?”
“I am Lord Nadaris,” I replied. “You will find me in the Capitol Interplanetary Registry.” And he would, thanks to a false identity that had been inserted into the registry years ago for my use during my frequent interplanetary travel on Gladiator business.
The mercenary nodded, pulling out a small computube, unreeling the screen from a slit in its side, and setting to work looking up my name. The registry would tell him that Nadaris’s net worth was roughly twice that of the average lord. I saw his eyebrows rise and knew it had sunk in. I was an adventurous, perpetually bored noble with money to burn, who might bring home a whole harem.
He closed the device and coughed politely, tucking away the tube. “Very good, Lord Nadaris. We will prepare a complimentary suite for you, and then you can view our offerings. It is a bit early in the season for training. Most of the new hostesses are not fully conditioned.”
“Please. It’s not a problem. Besides, I like my females with a bit more spirit, if you know what I’m saying.” I winked and nudged both males with a chuckle. “At any rate, that will be satisfactory. Remember that the dog will require a significant game meat allowance. Otherwise, he may eat one of your men.” I said this very lightly, and this time, both glanced at Brax nervously.
“Of course, milord.” They pushed open the tall doors for me, and I strode inside with Brax at my heel.
7
Teken
A while later,I left Brax napping on the second bed in the suite, his belly full of griff meat, and went out to explore the pleasure house.
It didn’t take long for word to get around that a wealthy noble was visiting and looking to buy a female. Suddenly, my wine cup was always filled, my plate always had some new delicacy landing on it, and nosy and groveling slavers were asking all sorts of questions about my sexual preferences.
Manar, an oily little man with sparse hair, was the pushiest among the inquirers, introducing himself as the chief of staff in this place, second only to their leader. “We have three of our four races available today. Nalian, Xerxian, and earthling. All of them are lightly conditioned now. However, making them available for our male guests is often an integral part of their programming. You may try up to four of our current stock, free of charge.”
I wanted to rip out his throat for talking about females in such a degrading manner. They should be treated with respect, honored and adored, especially when my people would go extinct without them.
I forced my lips up into a smile even as the cloak of sadness settled into my bones. I ached to find my mate. A female that I could cherish and protect. For a pup that I could guide and teach. Sometimes it felt like I would go feral without the soft touch of a mate. Yet, instead of treating these earthlings like the genetic saviors of our race, we were treating them as commodities.
This isn’t right.
I wanted to lash out violently, but there was a mission to complete. “And how do you ensure compliance to your visitors if the females are only half conditioned?”
“We use Darsis Vine—the purest extract.” He grinned. “It simulates the mating frenzy with no ill side effects. Just a euphoric andveryenthusiastic bed warmer, who will also be highly suggestible for the duration.” He poured me more golden wine from a fluted crystal decanter.
“That sounds most promising.” I nodded.
I wasn’t worried about the ramifications of drinking the concoction—I had taken a counter-intoxicant before emerging from my room. Playing along with the fool, I continued to drink the good wine enthusiastically, remembering to loosen my manner as if intoxicated while he kept refilling. I had more than enough detox sprays in the vials hidden in my belt.
I pondered the scrolling screens that ran around the top half of the walls. Images of beautiful, seminude alien females should have stirred my cock, but the knowledge that every one of them was here against her will dampened my arousal. I examined the images carefully—the ebony-skinned Xerxians with their iridescent eyes and cottony hair, so lithe and slim and nimble fingered. The blue, lush-bodied Nalians with curves for days. I was informed the Taurian hostess slaves were rare and expensive—not because there weren’t a lot of attractive ones, but because they were the hardest to catch and train and the most dangerous if they broke out of captivity. But Manar was quick to tell me that the violent, vividly colored amphibians had amazingly strong sex drives.
When the images of females that I’d never seen popped up on the scrolling screens, Manar boasted about the earthlings—humans, they called themselves. According to him, the earthlings were the most diverse race, with differing body types, skin, hair, and eye colors. They were supposed to be sexually compatible with very few aliens and have nurturing qualities and combat readiness that varied tremendously across a variety of cultures and subraces. Aside from a basic form of hair—on both their head and body—they had only two arms, two breasts, an omnivorous diet, and a high orgasmic capacity. Curiously, no human female displayed on the screens looked much like the next.
The humans were fascinating. Unlike the other three races, who knew of our existence at least in passing, humans had no idea that we existed—or that any other space-faring race existed. Yet they also showed the most likelihood of approaching and attempting to interact with a nonhuman.
I needed to speak to one of the humans. Maybe they would be willing to give me inside information on this place. It worried me that I had never interacted with any of the earthlings, but I decided to give it a try.
“I would like to see the humans,” I said calmly. “Please take me to their display room immediately.”
8
Ella
Something waswrong with my translator. It kept cutting out midsentence, sometimes mid-word. It stayed off for just a second or two at first, but as the day went on, it cut out longer and longer until I was hearing an elaborate, purring language that I did not understand in the place of translated English.
I bit my bottom lip, remembering how pissed the overseer was when I tried to explain that my translator was broken. The big, bald, horned fucker got angry with me, of course. He yelled at me and went bonkers with the use of the pain stick. I ended up biting my lip from the sheer pain and became so incensed by his brutality that I spat blood at him before he hurried off as though I had contaminated him.
Good. Next time, I’ll throw up on him like a fucking vulture if it will keep him off me.
