Page 5 of Beast Unburdened

He didn’t move though until I’d nodded at him from where I was pressed against the back wall. Unlike him, I was completely in the shadows but he clearly had no trouble seeing me. When he rolled to his feet slowly I flinched and I immediately saw his mobile ears flick back in response.

When he rose to his full height I felt my breath stall and fear make my heart pound. He was so freaking tall the tips of his horns actually brushed the ceiling. My lizard brain was fully in charge at that moment again, telling me to stay still, to not draw his attention any further. My mouth was dry in panic and it only increased as he moved into the shadows and sat down on the creaking cot. Now I couldn’t see his face anymore, couldn’t read him at all.

“They don’t listen in on us, they only have cameras,” the Beast said. “Bad ones at that. In the dark like this, they won’t be able to tell what we’re doing. Be at ease. I will not touch an unwilling female.” His words reassured me, at least somewhat. I still didn’t know if he was telling the truth or if he was just placating me so he could get close. Though when I thought about it that seemed stupid, he probably outweighed me three times over, if he wanted me he could take me.

I nodded, incapable really of vocalizing any of my racing thoughts. I was hard at work trying to figure out whether to trust this guy or not. He was certainly far more talkative than I expected him to be and I was almost starting to feel grateful for the painful translator surgery. At least I wasn’t completely helpless, unable to understand what any of these aliens said.

Now that my mind was slowly calming though, I became aware of the cold permeating the cellblock. This place wasn’t getting heated like the rest of the ship and it was far cooler than my clothing could combat. Already my toes felt like clumps of ice in my pretty black stilettos.

“You are cold?” the horned male asked me when I had been sitting trembling and shaking against the wall for some time. I nodded, uncertain what he was going to offer or say next. Did he think I’d willingly get close to him for the promise of heat?

After a short silence, I saw a shift of movement high up, his horns? Then there was creaking as he rose to his feet. “There is a blanket on the cot, I will move to the other side. You are safe.” And then I heard his footsteps as he crossed in front of me from one part of the cell to the other. I waited a moment before I got up and found the cot by touch.

As I crawled onto it I found a warm spot, the area the Beast had been sitting probably. I tucked the blanket tightly around me and then curled up on the spot. The bed smelled surprisingly nice, spicy and sweet with a hint of male sweat that was more appealing than gross.

Though I tried to stay awake, to stay alert, the warmth and the smell and the exhaustion of all the hectic events since my waking from the stasis pod were too much for me. I sank into oblivion far quicker than I expected.

Chapter 3

Abigail

I woke up feeling warm and disoriented. Had I dreamed about a horrible alien abduction? I couldn’t believe how crazy scary and detailed my dream had been. It had been so intense I still felt groggy and strange, and why was my bed so lumpy? Had I fallen asleep with my laptop in bed again?

Then the smells hit me and I instantly knew that I hadn’t been dreaming; everything was real. I wasn’t capable of imagining the combination of that fantastic male scent so close by and the overlaying smell of dirty toilets and too many sweaty unwashed men.

Blinking my eyes in the complete dark I struggled to make proper sense of where I was. Tears stung my eyes at how desperate my situation was. Lumpy cot, check. Ratty smelly blanket, check. Muscled, scaled shoulders as wide as a barn door to curl up against, check. Shit… the Beast.

For a moment I froze but then I realized that the huge male was sitting with his back to me on the floor, leaning up against the cot. One massive horn was tilted sideways into the mattress, supporting his head and the scary spines that formed a mohawk over his skull and down his back were completely flattened, harmless. He was what was smelling so nice and he was probably also the only reason I wasn’t an Abigail-shaped Popsicle right now.

Then I noticed the tail, it was curved up onto the cot, curling around my body like a weird hug. It was actually long enough for the tip to reach the top of my shoulder. This guy was totally snuggling with me in his sleep, even though he’d done the super gentlemanly thing and sat on the floor next to me.

Greatly daring, I reached up to touch the scaly tip of his tail where it lay next to my cheek. Warm and dry; the scales felt smooth and soft. It was only about as thick as my thumb at the end but it thickened to about my wrist gradually a foot away from the tip. That’s where the first of the spines started too.

I knew from the sound of his breathing that I’d woken him with my curious touch, but this time I was far less scared of him. It was oddly reassuring not to be alone in this cell right now. “What’s your name?” I asked in a hushed whisper. I knew the Krektar called him the Beast, but somehow I very much doubted that was his real name.

There was a charged silence and then a soft sigh, “I have not been called by my true name for over three years. If you call me Ziame, I’d like that.” Ziame was spoken in three syllables with the last ending almost on a purr that I would never be able to replicate. I tried nonetheless and was rewarded with a soft chuckle. “Thank you, what should I call you little female?”

“Abigail,” I responded, “Are you going to do what they want? Get me pregnant?” I knew the second question was stupid to ask, how many choices did we have if they started enforcing it with a press on that pain switch? Torture me long enough and I knew I’d obey, likely Ziame would too.

“I won’t let it come to that, don’t worry Abigail, I have a plan,” the huge male assured me, his body shifting so that he could look at me, though he never removed his tail curled around me. I was conflicted by wanting to not be touched at all because I wasn’t sure what it meant to Ziame and needing his tail to feel warm.

“A plan to get us free?” I asked instead, focusing on the most pressing matter. His emerald eyes glowed catlike in the low light setting. Clearly, this guy had no trouble seeing in the gloomy dark, while I could barely make out his features at all. Maybe that was a blessing, as he’d looked so terrifying yesterday.

He nodded his huge head, “Free and safe.” He paused as he seemed to think on what to say, “Our circumstances are ideal for it.” Now my eyebrows shot up in surprise, “Excuse me, ideal? I wouldn’t call getting abducted from my home ideal buddy.”

There was a low chuckle that was far too sexy for a beast like him, though that was hardly fair to think. Maybe the females of his species thought he was a total hottie. “Alright, not ideal for you. Though it was not the Krektar that took you, from what I overheard yesterday… It sounded like they bought a faulty stasis pod on the gamble you were still alive inside and their gamble paid off.”

I shivered, I hadn’t realized just how closely I’d brushed with death when I’d been unaware. I could have simply been gone, because of malfunctioning tech. I hadn’t even the faintest idea when I’d been taken, how long I’d been out. Had years passed? Or days? Weeks?

“Okay, they gambled when they bought me, and then they thought they’d get rich quick if they managed to get me pregnant from you. Why?” That bothered me, of all the males locked in the cells here, they’d gone right for Ziame.

“I’m the only known, to them, Lacerten in the universe. I make Drameil, the male who owns all the slaves on this ship, a lot of money,” he explained. When I gave him a curious look he expanded, “All the males in this cellblock are gladiators. They make us fight in matches all across the settled universe. Sometimes to the death. It is the highest form of entertainment for the elite.”

Then he added with no certain amount of pride, “And I am undefeated. My species is simply too...” he seemed to need to think about a word here, “lethal naturally.” Then he tapped a horn with one of his fingers and flared up the spiked row from the top of his skull all the way down his back. He had impeccable control though because none of the spikes on his tail flared where they lay against my body.

“You do look very lethal,” I nodded, which was becoming comforting rather than alarming already. He snorted through his wide nostrils and then grinned, showing off fangs, “And those are only the visible attributes. I have a venomous bite and I can breathe fire. Even without a weapon, I am never unarmed.”

Wow, this guy breathed fire? That instantly made him more like a dragon than a lizard bull cross, that was so freaking awesome. Reaching out I tapped the scales on his wide chest with a finger, “And you always wear your armor too.”