“Ulfarri Alphas have a reputation which precedes them all over the known universe,” Juno continues my alien crash course. “They are called the Brutal Ones.”
Brutal Ones. That suits. Aurus was an animal last night. Huge and delicious, gone in the grip of feral lust last night. I still bear marks from his fingers and teeth on my skin. I’d find it intensely satisfying, if I weren’t so determined to be mad about it. “And the Omegas? Aside from being able to make babies?”
“They induce the rut in Alphas. They are kind. Soft. Compassionate. Feminine.” She shoots me a look as she says the last word, and I stick out my chin. “But most importantly of all, we need them to breed a new generation of soldiers to defend this planet.”
Hah. If Aurus thinks he’s getting any kind of baby out of me… he’s sorely mistaken. Not ever going to happen. “I see,” I say. I ask my next question even though I’m fairly sure of the answer. “The rut?”
“I think you experienced it last night?” Juno raises an eyebrow.
Irritatingly, I feel my cheeks get hot. “Yes,” I mutter, staring at the floor. “I think I did. It is like… estrus?”
“Both Alphas and Omegas are biologically hardwired to reproduce,” Lenah says, appearing out of nowhere.
Those damn hidden doors. I’ve got to figure out where they all are, and how they’re opened. “Is that so?”
“Their pheromones are designed to drive their ideal mate crazy with lust. Just the scent of a nearby match is enough to induce the rut in Alphas, and estrus in Omegas.” Lenah sinks gracefully onto another pile of cushions.
“But Alphas and Betas can… mate too?” I ask. “I mean, they must be able to, if you’re Betas, and Aurus…” I trail off, not really wanting to think about that too much.
“We can absolutely enjoy one another in bed,” Juno says with a wink. “But that is only for pleasure. Alphas cannot impregnate Betas.”
“Oh.”
“What’s estrus like?” This softly-spoken question from a stunning pale blue girl who’s somehow materialized on my left. “And the rut? What’s his Majesty like when he’s in rut?”
“Annay! Do not ask such impudent questions!” Lenah scolds her. “It is none of our concern!”
I hadn’t really wanted to explain, but the way Lenah treats the other girl grates on me, so I decide to respond after all. “Imagine the deepest, darkest, most all-encompassing lust you’ve ever experienced,” I begin slowly, casting about for the best way to describe it. “Then multiply that by a dozen. Supremely pleasurable. As for Aurus—his Majesty,” I correct myself hastily at a sharp glance from Lenah, “he was out of control.”
Juno scoffs. “That’s impossible. His Majesty is always in control. Always.”
I shrug. “If you say so. It certainly didn’t look like that when I was in his bed.”
“The rut is known to make even the strongest of Alphas lose control,” Annay says. There’s a wistful tone in her quiet voice.
“Alphas, perhaps,” Juno concedes. “But not King Aurus.”
“So there are nine kings?” I want to change the subject. Anything to distract myself from the memory of Aurus’s fingers and mouth on my clit, which is once again throbbing insistently.
“There are more than nine on Ulfaria,” Lenah explains, “but there are nine known kings who combine to form the Council.”
“I see.” I don’t see. But I don’t really care. I’m more interested in the other human. Emma. How did she get here? Maybe she can tell me how I came to wake up in this alien fucking harem. I have to find her. I have so many questions. “Are they far away?”
“Some are closer than others. Some kingdoms are far away, yes. Ulfaria is large.”
“Bigger than Earth?” I ask.
“That’s a question for one of the magicians,” Juno says reverently.
Wait, what?“Magicians?” I parrot.
“The elite Betas. The ones who practice healing and develop magic tech. The ones who created the portal to bring you here.”
In other words, the ones who can get me out of here. I hope. “I see,” I say again.
It’s all so much to take in. My mind is racing, and I’m getting impatient. I’m not going to get anywhere just lounging around here and looking pretty. That doesn’t seem to be my forte, anyway.
“Where is King Aurus now?” I enquire. The girls seem more inclined to respond favorably if I give him the honorifics they feel he deserves.
