I gaze down at my own cock which I cannot believe is so very large. I’ve never seen it like this and I’m dizzy with need. Seed is already leaking out the slit on the tip, ready to impregnate my Bride.
“You’re so big,” she gasps.
I reach down and give my throbbing erection a few rough strokes.
“Oh my gods.” She kicks off her fancy shoes and stands proud and ready in her black gown, the mask gone and her dark hair loose and flowing over her shoulders.
Meanwhile, I’m naked in the glowing mist. All the other Xylan remain passed out and the white haze floats over their still forms. This makes our claiming intimate and private as if it’s only the two of us in the main cavern.
“The claiming is an ancient ritual,” I tell her, my voice rough and barely recognizable. “A recreation of the hunt our ancestors performed on Chronos, before we became civilized. Before we had laws, ceremonies and testing.” I step closer, until I’m looming over her, until I can feel the heat radiating from her small body. “Tonight, you are my prey. And I am the hunter who will catch you.”
She swallows hard, but she doesn’t look afraid. She looks... excited.
“The rules are simple,” I continue, my voice dropping to a growl. “You run. I chase. You fight. I claim.” I lean down until my lips brush her ear. “You’ve already honored me by agreeing to this. But if you want to truly honor me... make me work for it.”
Her breath hitches. “I can do that.”
“Good.” I pull the glowing crystal from the pile of my discarded clothes and press it into her palm. The light illuminates her beautiful and determined face. “This will give you enough light to navigate. The tunnels are extensive. On thislevel there are storage rooms, offices, the med lab. Hide well, my Bride. Because when I find you...” I let the threat hang in the air.
She takes the crystal from my hand. Our fingers brush, and we both shudder at the contact.
“How long is my head start?”
“First, I will repeat the words of the ancients. Then I will tell you to run. After that, you will have enough time, but not that long. Until I can no longer resist following.” Already, every muscle in my body is coiled tight, ready to spring.
The ancient phrasing of a claiming, in the ways of old, easily flows from my lips. The words I’ve always known and expected to say one day to my chosen Bride pass easily, nothing forgotten. Speaking these to Naomi is the proudest moment of my life. Finally, I reach the end of the words of claiming that all males say to their Brides. And I give the last order, which starts everything.
“Run,” I growl.
She looks up at me, her eyes glittering in the crystal light. “Run?”
“Run.”
And she turns and sprints out of the cavern, leaping over bodies. Soon she’s out the open doors and into the main tunnel. The soft glow of the crystal bounces off the walls as she disappears into the darkness. From there she will have access to a network of tunnels and offices, just on this level.
I wait, pacing like a caged animal, but giving her the time she needs. I count my heartbeats.
One. Two. Three.
Each second feels like an eternity.
Ten. Eleven. Twelve.
The scent of her lingers in the air, calling to me, taunting me. My cock throbs with every pulse of my heart. Seed drips onto the floor. The need is becoming unbearable.
Twenty. Twenty-one.
Her footsteps fade down the tunnel. She’s fast for a human. Good. I want her to make this difficult.
Thirty.
The mist continues to thin around me. Sleeping Xylan snore in the silence. Somewhere, a glass rolls across the floor. The eclipse continues to hold the world in darkness.
Forty.
I can’t wait any longer.
I throw back my head and let out a thunderous roar that echoes through the entire mine. The sound bounces off crystal-studded walls and disappears into the darkness where my Bride is hiding.
