Mate Her by Jenika Snow
4
“Do you think she’ll fight us on this?” Lukin asked as he lounged on the chair by the observation deck.
Thorque shrugged. “It would be the appropriate response, given the life she has clearly led.”
Brawn looked over at his brothers. They were eating rehydrated sticks of Hekka boar meat, and although it would sustain them, it was a far cry from a piece of fresh meat. He explained to his brothers the worry she had, and although her reaction to what they wanted from her was understandable, she’d need to accept her fate.
Living out there in the world without someone to protect her, to make sure she was well fed, taken care of, and above all else safe, meant she’d have to accept what they wanted from her.
“She seems strong,” Lukin said but kept his focus on the view before him.
Before Brawn could respond, the sound of soft footsteps had all three of them standing and facing Minka. She stopped when she saw them and took a step back. The scent of her unease came at him like a whip to his chest, and although he wanted her to be comfortable with them, he also understood where she came from.
But what he was grateful for was there was no fear that came from her, although she had every right to be afraid of them. She glanced among them and then looked at the window directly behind them. He knew she was probably overwhelmed by all of this, and he could see the stunned disbelief on her face at the fact that they were already in space and headed straight for Hades.
“Oh,” she breathed and moved closer.
Her tiny hands were clasped together in front of her, and the scent of her freshly cleaned body as she moved by them had Brawn’s cock getting harder with need. He wanted her, needed to breed with her, but he knew that forcing the issue would only have her running in the other direction.
“I didn’t know we were already off the planet.” She stopped in front of the observation window that covered one wall of the dining deck and then lifted her hands and placed them on the glass. “It’s warm in here,” she said almost absently.
“We can adjust the temperature,” Brawn said. “If it’s uncomfortable for you.”
She shook her head but didn’t turn around. “It feels nice actually. That planet was colder than normal, and more times than not, I had to huddle with the humans...” She stopped talking and curled her fingertips against the glass.
They would need to talk about where she had originally come from and how she had gotten on the planet in the first place. Brawn looked at Thorque, who watched her with intensity, and the scent of his brother’s need for this human female was just as strong and potent as his.
Lukin was chewing on a Monel stick, which had calming properties and an almost euphoric sensation after the person ingested it. His eyelids were at half-mast, and although that was most likely from the Monel and the drugging effect, Brawn could also see it was his brother’s arousal that was taking control.
He shouldn’t have taken the Monel, although Brawn knew he probably thought it would help curb his desire for Minka. Clearly, it was having the opposite effect.
“How did you get on Arambria?” Lukin asked.
She had yet to turn around, but she did answer. “I was taken off of Moira-Ten by a slave trader ship.”
Fuck. She had been going to the auctions but somehow landed on the planet of Arambria. Humans were a dwindling race because of their weakness, and their lack of intelligence and technological advances compared to the rest of the galaxy.
But because of the thinking of some species—most really—that humans were inferior. There were aliens who searched for them, took them away, and sold them as cattle, slaves, even breeder pets.
“The auction ship went down on Arambria, and when some Razzora Beasts attacked, a handful of the humans escaped. We had found a cave to live in that was remotely safe, but the day you found me was when I lost the only person I cared about.” She glanced over her shoulder at them. “He died saving my life, and when I needed help, the others just went back in the cave and forgot about me.”
There was no hatred or sadness in her voice, but there was this tightness that he recognized well. She was hurt deeply but trying to hide it.
“Anyway, that is my story, and if not for you being at the right place at the right time, I’d be little pieces inside that damn beast’s stomach.” She faced the window again and straightened her shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” Brawn said, but the words felt strange coming from him. He’d never said them to try to comfort another person. He was a warrior, a male of the planet of Hades.
He apologized and bowed to no one, defeated his enemies because they were weaker and a less advanced and brutal species, and made sure that the Hades name was feared amongst all. He was alpha all the way, used his strength to crush his opponents, and never showed emotions. Yet here he was, saying those two words to Minka because she was hurting and he couldn’t stand that fact.
She may have only been in his presence for a short time, but because he had already bonded with her, recognized that she would be their mate and the mother of their sons, something shifted inside him.
“Were you on that planet for supplies or to take us?” she asked without turning around.
“The only reason we were on that fucking wasteland of a planet was because of a busted engine,” Lukin said.
Brawn snapped his gaze toward his brother. “Lukin,” he growled.
“He’s right; it was a wasteland,” she said and faced them. “Is that where you’re from?” She pointed over her shoulder at the red planet of Hades that was in the near distance.
“It is,” Thorque replied and took a step closer to her. “We should be arriving in the next few hours, as we were not that far from home when the engine gave out.”
She swallowed after his brother spoke and then nodded. “So, Brawn said I am to be...” She lowered her head and looked at them with just her eyes. It was this little look, one that had lust pounding through Brawn’s body like a ship about to crash. He wanted her now, wanted his cock deep inside her, but he needed to play this safely. “I am your mate?”
“You are,” Thorque answered first.
“Our breeding need has made us these mindless Hades warriors who need to implant our seed into a female,” Lukin said, his voice slightly slurred from the Monel sticks.
He was acting out of line, and although Lukin—who was the youngest out of them by fifty years—often spoke out of turn and without thought, and most certainly enjoyed the mind-altering substances the many planets in their galaxy provided, right now, he was about to get his ass kicked.
“Lukin, all you’re doing is frightening her.” Brawn didn’t stop his voice from rising, didn’t stop his fangs from descending more from his anger erupting. “She has had a difficult time as it is, so take your Monel stick and get high somewhere else,” Brawn growled, and Lukin took a step forward.
“Do it, Lukin,” Thorque spoke now, his voice just has hard and unyielding as Brawn’s had been.
Lukin looked over at Minka, and Brawn did the same. She didn’t look fearful, but that might be because she was used to violence. Still, she shouldn’t have to see any of them like this, ever. They were to protect her and make sure she was happy, not fight with each other because one of them couldn’t control himself. Lukin finally cursed in their language and stormed out of the room.
Brawn walked over to the rehydration center, grabbed some fruit and meat for her, and hydrated them. He placed the items on a stone slab and brought it over to the sitting area. “Come and eat something. You’ll need your strength when we land and have to fly to the cavern.” He pulled out the chair for her and gestured for her to take a seat.
She was slow in coming, but she did take the offered seat. “Thank you,” she said softly, and before Brawn did something stupid like take her out of the chair, press her to the wall, and fuck her until she was screaming his name, he called Thorque to follow him.
“We’ll be in the command center, preparing for arrival.” They left her alone, and as much as he needed to be with her in every way possible right now because of the breeding lust inside him, he forced himself to walk away.
