Own Her (3 page)

“You
dare to disobey the common rules set forth for your lower class?” her Master
said in a seething, rage-filled voice. The auctioneer was still calling out
numbers for the females on stage, and although there were a few bidders
watching the show of her getting reprimanded, most of the patrons didn’t pay
any attention. The flavor of blood filled her mouth, and she stared up at her
Master, seeing the rage on his face, and knowing that he would punish her in
front of all of these people to make a statement. Masters would not let any
indiscretion from their slaves pass, not even in the privacy of their own
chambers.

“You
stupid, fucking, slave girl. I should have drowned you as soon as you came from
your bitch mother’s body.” He turned his head and spit, as if disgusted with
the thought. He lifted his hand as if to strike her again, and she knew this
one might very well render her unconscious. But just as he was about to strike
her a large, red hand grabbed her Master’s wrist, stopping him from hitting
her.
Mekenna
started breathing harder, felt her chest
rise and fall fast and hard, and scrambled back a few feet. Her Master turned
around,
ready to fight whoever had stopped him from hitting
his property; that was clear by the rage on his face. On this planet and many
others it was his legal right, but when he saw it was a Hades warrior he took a
step back.

“You
dare to stop me from making an example of my slave?” her Master said, and the
room seemed to go still at the activity that was happening right in front of
her. The other two Hades warriors stepped up beside the one that had stopped
her Master from striking her, and the three of them made one frightening image.

“You
feel like a real male for laying a hand on a female, slave or not?” The warrior
that had stopped her Master from hitting her spoke in his native tongue. But
his language was one she had learned at a young age, because several Hades
warriors had come to the planet for an auction, and she had been made to serve
them for their entire duration on
Sessinea
. The
language was easy enough for her to pick up, but only because she was good at
understanding and picking up different dialects. To others it was complex, and
one that they didn’t want to learn because of the brutal history of the Hades
males.

“The
slave is my property, and because of that I can do with it as I see fit,” her
Master said, his anger resonating outward. He was a fool to think he could
handle one Hades male, let alone three.

The
one that saved her from getting hit looked down at where she lay. She stared at
her for only a few more seconds, and then glanced at her Master. “I want her.
We
want her.”

Her
Master was still and silent for several seconds. He threw his head back and
laughed deeply, sarcastically even. “Do you realize who I am, what I am worth,
and how easily I could crush you?” Of course he had to be speaking figuratively,
because even one Hades male could destroy him.

The
males didn’t move, didn’t even breathe. She wondered if they’d walk away and
realize someone like her wasn’t worth even saving. Yes, they had saved her for
this moment, but she knew enough about Hades males that they didn’t abuse
women, didn’t even talk down to them. Until they were in the breeding phase of
their life they did sleep with whomever they chose, but she knew it was
respected and with only willing females. They were a brutal and dangerous
species, ones that fought wars, killed without thought, and took what they
wanted. They were fierce and protective when they found the woman they wanted
to spend their lives with and breed upon, and she clearly was just a lowly
slave that they didn’t want to see harmed. But what they didn’t know was that
she would be beaten once she left the auction, and it would be hard and
unforgiving, especially after they stopped her Master from hitting her.

They
stared at her again, and their red flesh was stretched tight over their bulging
muscles. They wore no shirts, and their hard, rippling abdomens were on
display. The leathers they wore were tied at the front, and their thighs, gods,
their thighs were thick and strong.

“We
want her.” The one she now assumed to be the leader, or the eldest, spoke to
her Master, but kept his focus on her. In fact, the other two Hades males
watched her as well.

“She
isn’t available to anyone but me. There is an auction going on just feet from
us. If you want a slave of your own, I suggest you purchase one from there,”
Master said with this bite in his voice, bent to pick up the chain, and tugged
her forward hard enough that she choked a little. When he went to move away
from the warriors the eldest stopped him by moving a step forward.

“We
want her, no one else. You can fight us for her, as is your law, or sell her to
us.”

The
three Hades males stared at her, and she wiped away the blood that she felt
trailing down her chin. She could see the way all three of their jaws clenched,
how the sound of them growling low seemed to fill the entire room, and wondered
if they would try to lay claim on her. On this planet it was rare for a male to
challenge another male for the right to own a slave. The servants were bought,
owned and abused, but there was a law that stated if a male wanted the right to
own a slave that was already purchased they could fight for it or buy it from
the Master.

Master
stared at the three of them, the heat coming from the warriors’ bodies so
immense that she felt the beads of sweat line her temples.

“I
told you my slave isn’t for sale.”

The
eldest warrior stepped forward. “Then I suppose your option is to fight for the
right to keep her.”

If
a Master was challenged for a slave they could not back down, not unless they
wanted to forfeit the ownership of the slave.

Her
Master stared at the males for a moment,
then
looked
at the auction block. The females for sale stood still and watched the scene
before them, the violence that was right there, as did all the patrons. Her
Master would either fight these Hades males for the right to own her, or he
could walk away.

“Take
her.” He tossed the chain toward the one standing closest to him, the leader
that growled out low when the chain hit his boot. “She is not of prime age, no
longer carrying her maidenhood, and is of a lesser, hybrid species.” Her Master
looked at her and spit on the ground beside her. “She’s used up, and of no use
to me any further.” He stared at the warriors again. “I want three thousand
Rubletques
for her.”

Her
heart stopped at the price her Master wanted. That was an obscene amount for
any slave, even a young, prime female with her virginity intact. The most she
had ever seen a slave go for was eight hundred
Rubletques
,
and even then that had been a lot, enough to cause a gasp throughout the
auction house.

“Done,”
the leader said in a deep, hard voice. He pulled out a small leather satchel
that had been attached to his waist, and grabbed the amount he needed to give
to her Master.

No, he isn’t Master anymore.

That
was a heady feeling inside of her, yet she didn’t know how these males would
react to her presence. They would treat her well, because she knew their
species well enough to know they were gentle giants when the time called for
it. But did they want her for sexual gratification or domestic duties? Either
way it didn’t matter because she was getting a different kind of freedom.

Chapter
Three

Mekenna
stared out the window of the
spacecraft and watched as
Sessinea
faded in the
distance. They had launched many hours ago, and although she was still in shock
at the turn of events, she also thought maybe she was dreaming. How had she
woken up this morning as a slave to a man who was her father and Master, one
that despised her and wanted to punish her for the very fact she lived, yet she
was no longer his property? It was surreal, strange and fantastical, and she
didn’t know if she would ever get used to it.

She
heard someone enter as the sliding door
whooshed
open. Turning around she saw Viktor, the one she’d found out was the eldest out
of the three Hades brothers, entering the room she was in. The chamber was an
observation deck, with floor to ceiling windows that gave a view of the planets
and stars.

“You’re
okay, female?” he asked, and she nodded. But honestly she wasn’t, and she
didn’t know when she would be. She felt off balanced right now, like she didn’t
know what to expect, if this was really her life now, and what her future held.
He had spoken to her in his native tongue, and although she wasn’t exceptionally
fluent in their language, she was comfortable speaking it, and knew she’d need
to get used to it. They were her owners now, all three of them, and she needed
to learn to adapt to their life now.

“I’m
fine.” She lifted her hand to her lip that had been spilt and sore when they
first had her board their spacecraft. They had put healing gel on it, and now
there was just a faint pink line showing where her wound had been. “Thank you.”

He
nodded, but didn’t respond. Viktor stepped closer to her, and the scent of him
filled her nose. Whatever it was about the three Hades warriors was
instantaneous inside of her, had her warm and soft, and made her think about
everything she wanted to do with them sexually. She had never wanted a male to
be with her in that way, and never had the desire to allow a man into her bed.
They had just come to her, expecting her to give them whatever they wanted
because they were the males and she was the slave. To them she wasn’t anything
more than a vessel for their pleasure.

“I
want to thank you again for taking me away from that life. You’ll never know
how much it was like a living hell.”

He
moved closer to her. “I can imagine.” He stepped closer still. “Are you
comfortable speaking my language, or would you prefer I speak
Sessinea
until we put an implant language chip in you?”

She
shook her head. “I would prefer to speak Hades.”

He
nodded, and she pressed her back to the glass. It was chilled slightly, and the
feeling of her warm, sweaty palms on the chilled glass sent a shiver through
her. She waited for his next move, but he just stood there for several moments
staring at her. Her arousal for this male, for the other two Hades as well, was
not something she was used to, and honestly she felt a little out of her
element.
A lot, actually.
They were not of her
species,
maybe even saw her as some kind of oddity because
of her half human and half
Cellulion
genetics. But
she couldn’t scent any mistrust or deceit from them, and couldn’t see any
hidden agendas on their expressions.

“We
have no hidden agendas, female,” he said the words softly, and she realized she
had spoken out loud. “We do not want to own you in the sense that you were a
slave and piece of property to that motherfucker.”

The
sound of him cursing the name of her former Master was a shock at first, but
then she found this thrill from it.

“We
want you in the sense that you are our equal, and that we are owned by you just
as much as we own you.” He moved closer, and she felt his heat intensify. “We
want you as our mate, as our female and breeding partner.” He lifted a hand and
brushed a lock of her hair away. “We want to share you, to be one with us, and
in return you will be cherished and protected like you have never been.”

Her
breathing hitched as he brushed his fingers along her cheek.

“Your
skin color is such a contrast to ours,” he said in a low voice.
“So strikingly beautiful and unique.”

Her
pussy became wet for the first time in her life, and she thought of lewd images
of Viktor and her on his sleeping platform, his brothers watching, waiting for
their turn to claim her. “How long before we reach your planet?”

She
was nervous, and didn’t know how to properly respond to what he had told her
about being their mate. So these males wanted her as a breeding partner, as a
female that would carry their young, and be shared amongst them. Although to
some that might sound like a prison all in itself, the way he spoke about it
and the scent that came from him told her he was true and honest in his words.
Because of her
Cellulion
genetics she had the acute
and heightened senses—just like many of the alien species in the galaxy—to be
able to tell a being’s true intent. And the fact Viktor and his brothers wanted
her as an equal was something she never thought she’d experience in her life.

He
smoothed his finger along her cheek and over her bottom lip. “It will take two
more
Sessinea
days before we reach Hades,” he said in
a low voice. “And then a half a day before we make it to our home.”

Her
heart beat fast, and the feel of his warm skin along hers had tingle racing
throughout her body. She stared into his black eyes, taking in the sharp angles
of his face. The male was not handsome in the classical sense. He looked like a
warrior, like a fighter, as did his brothers. She knew nothing about these
warriors aside from the hurried introductions they had given as they boarded
their craft. But
Mekenna
didn’t need to know every
little detail about these ales to know that their intentions were not vile as
her Master’s had been.