"Then let us mark you properly." Rafe draws her trousers down slowly, revealing her practical human underwear that somehow looks erotic against her flushed skin. I tighten my grip on her wrists when she instinctively tries to cover herself.
"Don't hide," I murmur against her ear. "Not from us. Never from us."
"Watch," Rafe commands, freeing his half-erect cock from his trousers.
Eve doesn’t look away as he begins to stroke himself, his silver eyes locked on her exposed flesh.
"This is barbaric," she whispers.
"This is honest," I counter, pressing closer so she can feel my own hardness against her back. "Every species in the galaxy understands scent marking. It transcends language, culture, and politics. When you enter the Grand Championships drenched in our essence, inside and out, even Jin Kol will know you're untouchable for sex.”
Rafe's breathing grows ragged as he nears completion. "You're ours, Eve."
He comes with a growl that's pure possession, marking her deliberately and thoroughly. His come coats her most intimate areas, and he takes his time rubbing himself against her, ensuring his scent penetrates every fold of flesh and allowing the excess to drip into her underwear.
"My turn," I say, already moving to change positions with him. "Look at you," I breathe, freeing myself from my trousers. "Marked by one brother, waiting for the other. Do you have any idea how perfect you are like this?"
"Please," she says.
"Please what?" I begin stroking myself. “Please ensure every trainer, every guest, every would-be predator knows you're protected? Please make you ours in the most primitive way possible?"
"Yes. All of it. I hate that I want this, but yes. Come all over me and in my underwear.”
Rafe soothes from behind her. "This is what it means to be ours."
My climax builds as I watch her surrender to the moment. When I come, I'm even more deliberate than Rafe, coating her thoroughly, rubbing myself through her furry folds to mix our essences together.
I take my time pulling her underwear back up, pressing the soaked fabric against her sensitized flesh. "Perfect," I pronounce, standing toadmire our work. "Now you're properly dressed and ready for the Championships, my sweet human.”
48
THE VIP BOX, EVE
The VIP boxis nothing like I imagined.I stupidly thought I would be tucked away somewhere shadowed, barely noticed. Instead, I’m seated on display beside Tribune Jin Kol, with Rafe to my right. Lorian has a seat behind us, but he rarely stays for a whole session; he told me last night, it’s because he’s busy with security. And all around us are rows of Imperials pressing in from every direction.
I’ve never seen so many Imperials before. They are unnerving because they look so much like humans. The only difference is the grey tint of their skin. Black hair, silver or green eyes, with bodies that could walk down any street on Earth without anyone realizing what they are. That similarity is what horrifies me the most. They’ve made my people into pets, and yet they look like cousins, uncles, neighbors with just a grey tint.
Jin Kol leans toward me. “You seem unsettled today, Eve.”
How can I not be?Below us, the arena floor has been continuously shifting its holographic landscapes to create cruel and brutal obstacles for the human competitors while thousands of Imperials cheer.
“I’m just a little tired,” I say.
But my attention is drawn back to the arena as the crowd erupts as a trainer urges his human forward with a whip. My nails are digging crescents into my palms as I watch. It’s disgusting, and I hate myself for being here like this.
When it becomes unbearable, I look away, and my eyes find Rafe turning his ring.
Then, I look around the VIP box and figure out why. Not only is he worried about Jin Kol, but also the others here. These aren’t his people. They are his parents’ people. The Grand Championships are marketed as a galactic event, but just like the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant on Earth has a limited following, only Imperials are really interested in watching this.
And in the middle of it all, I sit like an honored guest, and my throat hurts from the bile in it, because I am a willingly participant. The Devil’s handmaiden. Because I’m not only condoning this, I’m in love with the men who organized this monstrosity.
I think about the vile of poison in my pocket. I grabbed it in a moment of madness when I returned to my room briefly. But I can’t do it. I can’t kill them.
You might die here today,the Devil’s voice says in my head.If something happens to the Sovereigns because of Terra Ka, you will be blamed.Why not kill them yourself?
I tell the Devil,I’ll take my chances.
Because, the Sovereigns,my Sovereigns,love me and treat me well. Better than anyone else here would, and I believe them when they say they want more for humanity thanthis. They’ve employed me, and I don’t think it was their intention was to make me their lover or even companion all along. Maybe Lorian’s, but certainly not Rafe’s, but we’ve become this. And I love them and most importantly, my submission is my choice. The humans competing in the Championshipsbelow, and all the humans who are owned in the galaxy, were never given a choice.
