Billionaire Romance: MAXIMILIAN (An Alpha Bad Boy Contemporary Mystery Romance) (Mysterious Billionaires Book 3, Anthologies & Collections) (75 page)

“Th’Laird is down there by th’camp! He has sent for ye. I advise that ye hurry up if y’want to see him again!” The man said in a grim tone.

If I want to see him again?
She could feel something constrict around her heart.
Did something happen to him while I was out?
The thought horrified her more than anything else she had ever experienced before. “Take me to him, then!
Please
!” She added the last word as a precaution, so as not to provoke any ire the man may have had against her.

Luckily, he appeared perfectly disinterested, and he helped her down as best as he could. By the time they’ve arrived to the encampment, there was a significant ruckus, and every single man was gathered around something she could not quite make out.

“Ye insult me again and again, and then ye have th’gall tae lay with th’English whore before our very eyes! Without making any effort tae hide th’sounds ye made! Is there nae shame tae ye, lad?” A man’s voice could be heard from the center of the ruckus.

“What can I say, Dougal? When I lay with a woman, I dae it earnest! When’s th’last time ye’ve laid with a lass, huh?” Angus talked back to the older man, obviously doing his best to anger him as much as possible.

“Is this the man ye all want for yer laird? This poor excuse for a leader who cannae command his own crotch, let alone his men! I know what my answer’d be!” Dougal spoke more to the people than to Angus. From the men’s expressions, it appeared that he was getting to most of them. They were displeased by their Laird’s actions, and weren’t afraid to show it.

“Talk to
me
when ye speak, Dougal, not tae them! This is between th’two of us, not everyone else’s matter!”

“I disagree! Th’actions of the Laird concern everyone below th’Laird, and yers have been deplorable!” He turned back toward Angus before speaking again. “Ye kill one of yer own over an English
whore
, insult yer most trusted advisor when he comes to
advise
, and then ye carry yerself in a completely shameless manner! I call ye out, Angus MacDonnel! I call ye out as th’disappointment that ye are!” Dougal spouted again.

Once Elizabeth had gotten close enough to see what was going on, Angus gave her a knowing stare, before turning back toward the older man and speaking again. “Ye call
me
out, Dougal? Nae, I call
ye
out! Face me in combat right here and now, and prove tae me and everyone else that ye are th’better man!” Everyone present roared like a wild beast in response.

“So it shall be, my
Laird
.” The way he said the word seethed with contempt, but the crowd roared even louder regardless.

Are they… are they going to kill each other?
Elizabeth tried to step inside the circle, but the man who had led her there stopped her by grabbing her shoulder.

“This isnae your place tae interfere, lass,” he said, and she knew that she had no way of helping her man. This was their country, their way, and whatever she did then could only lead to more trouble. All she could do was observe.
And pray.

In the following moments, everything got deathly quiet as the circle expanded. Staring into each other’s eyes, the two men grasped their claymores, took on a fighting stance, and proceeded to circle one another like a pair of wild beasts. The resentment could be felt even from Elizabeth’s position, and she couldn’t imagine the way it felt for the two of them. Then, the older man attacked.

It all happened in an eye-blink. With the speed of someone half his age, Dougal pounced directly toward Angus. Then, just as he was about to strike him head-on, he abruptly changed direction, leapt to his side, and used the force of his charge to direct an even more powerful swing toward Angus’s body. Much to his detriment, Angus had seemingly expected the maneuver, and his own claymore was imposed right in the middle of Dougal’s belly when he made his attack. With a scream, the older man impaled himself on the blade, gritted his teeth, and let go of his own sword.

“I’ve watched ye fight a hundred times, Dougal. Ever since I was a wee lad,” Angus said, a moment before he turned his blade around while it was still in his opponent’s insides.

Blood running out of his mouth, Dougal appeared as if he was about to say something, but instead he merely coughed. Like a rag doll, his body collapsed a moment later. Angus let it fall down along with his weapon.

“Is there anyone else who shares this man’s opinion?” He shouted toward the crown. No one answered. “Then the matter is settled,” he concluded as he crouched, and pulled the claymore out of Dougal’s lifeless body. Confidently, he strode out of the circle, and the men let him pass.

“Now, prepare yerselves for a right long march! We’ve wasted enough time already! I have a wedding tae plan out!” He gazed into Elizabeth’s eyes again as he finished his sentence.

At a loss for words, all she could do was blush.

THE END

A moonlit field

It gets me every time.

Gazing through her bedroom window, Caroline stared into the cornfields that surrounded her family home. It was late, but she always enjoyed the little ritual. The silvery illumination from up above interacted wonderfully with the scenery, producing a calming effect like no other.

As opposed to the usual fire from the sky.

No amount of musing on the hidden benefits of Texan country life would help her forget the facts, though. The world was still in disarray. The war between aliens and mankind had devastated the United States, and nothing would ever be the same again. Every now and again, something would come up and remind everyone of that. A glowing metallic object would fly over their house with a metallic buzzing sound. Army men (and women) would march by, demanding supplies and asking that the residents join the fight. Family members and neighbors became grimmer and less fun each day.

And then there are those… rumors.
She shuddered at the thought. Even though she never knew of anyone who was harmed or taken during the war, she had heard of what the aliens looked like. Heck,
everyone
had. Their description was all over the news: large, metallic, catlike things. It was said that they hunted for people to take.

Supposedly one of them was sighted near here.
She bit the inside of her lip, her serene state of mind shattered in an instant.

Calm down!
she told herself. The surrounding areas had been searched thoroughly. No trace of the thing had been found, and no one had disappeared since. In all likelihood, that was just someone’s sick joke.

But what if it wasn’t?
TV was crystal clear about what to do when you find yourself faced with a
cat
: you try to run away from it. After taking another look outside, Caroline slowly turned her head away from her window and toward the large mirror facing her bed.
Yeah, as if I could do that!
She almost broke out into a laughter as she saw her reflection.

Even though the light in her room was not on, she could still see enough of herself by the external illumination. She was stunning, albeit in a distinctly exaggerated way. Voluptuous curves graced her entire body, starting from her enormous bosom, all the way down to her ample hips. Not even the relatively skimpy pink nightie she wore could conceal her radiating femininity. And then there was her face: perfectly round, with an immaculately tanned complexi0n, crowned with flowing locks of long blond hair.

Yeah, I won’t be doing laps anytime soon.
Enticingly, she rotated her torso to her left, pulling her nightie downward and exposing just a little bit of her chest while she posed seductively. She knew that she was beautiful (the stares she got wherever she went assured her of that), but the moonlight made every single part of her appear that much better.
But who cares, I turn heads regardless of my weight. Heck, I bet I look better than I would if I was thin!

As she was studying herself in the mirror, suddenly, something happened. She couldn’t put her finger on it at first, but she could swear that
something
about her reflection had changed. Then it came to her, and she quickly turned back toward the window.
Something is blocking some of the moonlight!
The realization made her heart skip a beat. What she saw then almost made her faint: crawling through the window was a man-sized metallic thing.

Oh, Jesus Christ, no!
Her cries stuck in her throat, Caroline rolled to the side of her bed as quickly as her plus-sized body allowed. In absolute panic, she scratched the carpet with her fingernails as she stumbled toward the door.
This can’t happen! It’s just a rumor! It
must
be,
she tried to assure herself. The metallic buzzing that slowly built up from the window argued otherwise.

With a powerful bound, the alien-thing quickly relocated itself to the top of her bed. She was just about to stand up and open the door when she realized that the room was getting brighter and brighter with each second. With all of her limbs shaking, she turned the knob and made a clumsy attempt to run out.

All she could register then was an intense flash of light, followed by the complete lack of any sensation.

An unknown place

For a good while, she was unable to perceive anything. Over the course if what seemed like hours, a metallic buzzing sound became apparent. It was distinctly different from the one that had emanated from the
cat,
but it still made her feel uneasy, even more so in her semi-conscious state. Then, out of the blue, a voice found its way to her ear.

“Your readings tell me that you are fully awake, beautiful. By all means, feel free to open your eyes.” It was deep, and full of masculine power.

Now completely roused from her stupor, Caroline opened her eyes and immediately found herself overwhelmed by what she saw. The room was the color of chrome and completely smooth, shaped like the inside of a chicken’s egg. Unlike a chicken’s egg, though, this one contained the most stunning example of a man she had ever seen in her life.
And I have seen my share of hunks.

What was immediately apparent was how tall he was. Easily over six feet two, the stud had a body that would make decathletes jealous. There was no trace of fat on it, and every subtle and not-so-subtle piece of muscle was clearly visible beneath his skin. His features were strong, with a powerful jaw and prominent cheekbones, but there was something about his eyes that Caroline managed to make note of only after a good second or so. Instead of having irises like those of regular people, instead they radiated an intense white light.

“Oh, my God!” she yelled as she tried to get up and flee, but immediately realized that she had been restrained. Reflexively, her attention turned away from the man with the glowing eyes and toward her own body. She was still wearing her nightie, albeit parts of it were now pressed against her body by what appeared to be straps of sheet metal. But despite the way it looked, the material was reasonably soft, yet completely refused to give way after stretching more than an inch. She was in a standing position, yet completely immobilized and unable to go anywhere.
Am I dreaming?
There was no way to tell, as she couldn’t pinch herself if she wanted to.

“Not God. We are afraid that, for now, the title of ‘King’ will have to do,” the strange man replied, displaying a dazzling array of white teeth as he spoke.

Eyes wide and mouth agape, all Caroline could do was stare in disbelief. It was then that she noticed that the only pieces of clothing he wore were more akin to accessories. On his head was something that looked like a contemporary, angular crown. His crotch and waist were concealed beneath something that also appeared both ancient and high-tech. Both things were vaguely gold-colored, which went well with his short blond hair.

“You are impressed. It is understandable. It is not often that one of
our
kind has a chance to meet the royalty, let alone one of yours. By all means, feel free to stare,” he said after a pause.

Is… is he for real?
she asked herself, although that question kind of answered itself. She had been taken by a
cat
, and this was obviously something
unnatural
.
Of course it is for real…
Slowly, she took a deep breath, bringing her heart rate as close to normal as she possibly could, before she finally spoke. “Who are you? Where am I? Can I go home, please?”

“You have questions. We have answers, pretty thing. We are Zorn, supreme leader of the Great Race, and your gracious host. You are in Our royal vessel, of course. One of its many chambers, to be exact. As for your third question… We are afraid that you did not pose it properly. It is not ‘can’ you go home, but
will you want
to go home. Understand?”

“No.” She tried struggling again, in the most discreet manner that she could. Expectedly, nothing happened. However, it appeared that Zorn had noticed her motions, and slowly started to close in.

“Do—don’t you dare get closer to me! My dad has got a stash of firearms back home, and—and if he finds out I’m gone…” She could feel the desperation in her voice, but still had to try
something
. The stud with the glowing eyes didn’t seem all that impressed.

“Too bad he did not join the Earth’s defense forces, then. With
one more man
on their side, who knows just what they might accomplish,” he responded in a joking tone as he kept getting closer. By the time he was next to her immobilized body, her brow was dripping with cold sweat.

“Forgive Us for not being intimidated, precious. Being smitten by your presence has rendered Us incapable of feeling anything other than sheer
desire
,” he said, and it took Caroline a good second or two to grasp what it was that he was saying.

Is… is he coming on to me?

“Ah…
what
?” was all she was capable of saying. She had been an object of men’s infatuations before, but no one had ever said something like
that
to her. Still, it felt kind of nice, despite her predicament.

“We have taken a liking to you, beautiful. A
grand
liking, if you will. You are thus invited to take your place as Our royal concubine, and enjoy a life of passion and luxury,” Zorn replied. The fact that he said it with a completely straight face served to reassure her that he was dead serious.

Have I died?
Caroline heard her subconscious whisper to her. There was no way that any of this was real. Sure, little green men, walking, cat-like toasters, whatever. But a masculine
hottie
with a set of glowing white eyes was stretching things a bit too far.

“Alright, alright, let’s assume that I am still alive
and
not in a loony bin, slobbering all over myself. Let’s take things a bit farther than that and also assume that you’re telling me the truth. Why
me
, then?”

“Why
not
you, my darling? You are absolutely sublime. Show me a man who claims that he would prefer another and I will show you a liar. I mean it. Your face, your figure… those beautiful blue eyes… there is not a piece of you that does not
bleed
attractiveness. Besides… I need you.”

Need me? What could he possibly need me for?

“Excuse me?” she replied, now genuinely interested in something other than her immediate escape.

“The reason We came here… the reason the entire Great Race came here in the first place is that we require females.
Your
females, to be exact. Ours have died out, you see, and in order for the rest of us not to follow, we need to
breed
.”

So he considers me little more than an animal he can herd…

“But not just any human woman would do. In order for us to be compatible, one of yours needs to possess a peculiar and very rare mutation, a mutation that allows you to bear our children. A mutation that
you
possess, my dear Caroline.” He gestured toward her as he finished his exposition, in a manner similar to that of a stage actor.

This is even worse than only wanting me for my body…

“However, your kind has not been all that forthcoming with mine. Your leaders refused to let us have what we needed, and thus a war broke out. Trust Us when We say this, Caroline. We did
not
want this to come to pass. All my people want to do is survive. Do you understand?”

She responded after a brief pause.  “Oh, I do. I do, indeed. What I don’t understand is why you had to go and pick
me
, of all people. There must have been
someone
more to your liking out there,”

“Oh, it absolutely
had
to be you. We have been brought Earth women before. We are afraid that they were… less than satisfactory. We are a king, after all, and Our demands are rather…
large
.” Zorn stared into her eyes intensely as he spoke.

“So, let me get this straight. You went out and abducted
me
because you have some sort of…
fetish
?” she asked in disbelief.

“We are afraid that it is a little more than that, even though We
do
enjoy the additional jiggle. A king is, by design and birthright, the most powerful individual of Their great race. We are afraid that the more subtly framed females of your race did not have what it takes to lie with me.”

Is he saying what I think he’s saying?
She tried to hide her horror, but it appeared that she was unsuccessful.

“Oh, do not be afraid, sweet Caroline. We are certain that
you
will be more than sufficient for Our requirements, and then some. We foresee a long, prosperous life with you,” he said, in a tone that attempted to be somewhat comforting.