Mary and the Minotaur by Honey Phillips

Chapter Three

Mary looked at the two males so calmly discussing selling her for a few nights, still struggling to cope with everything that had happened since the escape pod landed. After announcing that he intended to trade her, Trothar had taken her to a cluttered, dirty room at the edge of the junkyard. In between taking long swigs from a green bottle, he rummaged through the clutter, muttering to himself. He finally retrieved a dark, stained cloak and thrust it at her.

“Put this on.”

It looked dirty and smelled even worse, but when she hesitated, he leaned down into her face. “Unless you want every male we pass grabbing at you. Or worse.”

As much as she wanted to believe that he was exaggerating, the white slave gown she was wearing did very little to conceal her body, and even human men had a tendency to assume that her curves made her fair game. She nodded and reluctantly fastened the cloak around her neck.

“The hood too.”

As she pulled it up over her head, he drained the last of the bottle and tossed it in the corner with a pile of other empties. She could only hope that he’d drunk enough to allow her to get away from him. But although his steps were far from steady, his grip on her wrist never faltered as he led her out of the junkyard and into a warren of dark alleys.

She could still see daylight far overhead, sparkling on the windows of the tall buildings she had seen on her descent, but down here the light was dim and grey. Only an occasional lantern or a half-broken sign illuminated their path. She caught brief glimpses of more aliens, slumped against stained walls or gathered in shadowed doorways. Several of them called out to Trothar, but he only yelled back and hurried on.

Despite the relative isolation of the narrow streets, the noise of the city created a constant low hum. What was it like on the surface? Under other circumstances, she would have loved a chance to explore an alien city. But her interest in her surroundings began to disappear as her feet became more and more painful. The thin cloth she had tied around them wasn’t as protective as she’d hoped, and Trothar’s rapid pace gave her little chance to watch her path.

Trothar finally came to a halt next to a warehouse-type building. One of the feline aliens who seemed to be most common in the city leaned casually against the wall, smoking a cigarette with a heavy, pungent aroma. The two males exchanged a few words, too soft for her to hear, and then the feline shrugged.

“No guarantees.” His eyes swept over her, reflective in the dim light, and she was suddenly glad for the cape. “But females usually fetch a good price. Unless Mokuu just decides to take her…”

“My prize,” Trothar muttered, his fingers tightening painfully around her wrist.

“Your choice.” The male leaned back against the wall and raised his cigarette to his mouth, losing interest in the conversation.

Trothar glared at him, then pulled Mary past him and through the narrow doorway. They passed a few enclosed spaces that looked like offices before emerging into a wide-open space with a high ceiling. Her horrified glance took in the array of temporary cages lining the walls, filled with an astonishing variety of aliens, and she shrank back into her cloak. Trothar made an impatient noise and yanked back her hood.

An excited murmur went up from the occupants of the cages, but her eyes were drawn to the tall male barking an impatient demand at Trothar. She had never seen—never imagined—an alien like him. Tall and broad-shouldered, his heavy muscles rippled beneath a smooth brown pelt. A sleeveless black top clung to his wide chest, while matching black pants hugged his thick thighs and oddly shaped knees before ending at strange-looking boots.

Not boots, hooves, she realized as he stalked over to them.

Her eyes went up, and up again. He was easily a foot and a half taller than her, even without the impressive dark horns crowning his head. His face was almost bull-like with a broad, flat nose, a wide mouth, and intense dark eyes. Something about his appearance seemed oddly familiar, but before she could decide why, he snapped another question at Trothar. Despite his obvious annoyance, his deep voice rumbled down her spine in an unexpectedly pleasant way.

A second male came to join them. Another one of the feline aliens, he had pale golden fur and a deep brown mane. He had a cool confidence quite unlike the outside guard’s casual insouciance, and she decided he must be in charge. Although he promised Trothar one of the females he wanted, even she didn’t believe him. But Trothar followed him willingly enough, lured by the promise of more alcohol.

As soon as they were alone, she turned to the big male. Sendat. She liked the way his name sounded on her tongue. Since he had offered to buy her maybe that meant he liked her, at least a little, she hoped.

“Can you help me?” she asked quietly.

His brusque refusal should have disheartened her, but she couldn’t help thinking she detected a note of regret in his voice. Even when he spoke so crudely about buying her just to use for a few nights, a part of her still insisted that he was a good male. Was she being foolish? Again?

No, she decided, when she looked up and their eyes met again. She was quite sure that there was more to him than his gruff exterior.

“I’m afraid we have a problem with the front company, Mokuu.” A new voice sounded from the side of the warehouse, and they all looked over as another feline male entered.

Mary stared at him in surprise. Like Sendat, Mokuu was dressed in plain black. The new male was wearing a heavily embroidered robe with jewels sparkling around his wrists and neck. His mane was so elaborately teased and curled that it didn’t look real.

“You are supposed to be handling those kinds of problems, Chinit,” Mokuu said coldly. “That was part of our agreement.”

From the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Sendat make an abortive movement, but it happened so quickly she wasn’t sure. He didn’t say anything, and his face remained as impassive as ever.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t count on my useless son and his—” He broke off abruptly as he spotted Mary for the first time. “Who is this?”

“A new acquisition,” Mokuu said impatiently. “What does your son have to do with our enterprise?”

Chinit ignored him, stalking closer to Mary. She did her best not to shrink away from him, suddenly aware that Sendat had moved closer—so close that she could feel the heat of his big body behind her.

“A human? How ironic.” Chinit smiled, but it was not a nice smile. “I am in need of a way to relieve my… frustrations, and a human female would serve me perfectly. Once she’s cleaned up, of course. I’ll take her.”

“That’s not possible.” Mokuu gestured at Sendat. “He’s already purchased her.”

She noticed he didn’t add that it was a temporary arrangement, but neither she nor Sendat made any attempt to correct him. For all his finery, she didn’t like this newcomer one little bit. He reminded her of the kind of cat that liked to play with his prey.

“How could you possibly afford her?” Chinit glared at Sendat.

He shrugged a massive fur-covered shoulder. “Lucky bet.”

“I’ll double what you paid.”

“No.”

“You can even have her back after I’m done.”

From the cruel smile on his face, Mary wondered if there would be anything left of her to return.

“No,” Sendat repeated, his face hard.

Chinit snarled. “I don’t think you understand. I own this enterprise. That means I own you.”

“Then I quit.”

“Enough!” Mokuu roared. “You seem to have forgotten that this is a partnership, Chinit. Sendat works for me and he’s not going anywhere. Now forget the female. Why are you here?”

Chinit’s claws flexed, and for a horrified moment, Mary thought he would attack the other male, but then his rage dissipated into a condescending sneer.

“My wretched son discovered that the import-export company was a front for the slaving operation. He is planning to raid the place tonight. You need to move the merchandise.”

“Fuck.” Mokuu glared at him. “So much for your assurances of safety.”

Chinit shrugged peevishly. “I’m no happier about it than you are. Several of my friends were planning on replenishing their miners at the auction tonight.”

“They still can. We’ll load them up and move them out of the city. Hold the auction at one of the abandoned mine sites.”

“They won’t be happy at having to leave Kalima and go out into the wilderness.” Chinit shuddered and brushed imaginary dust off his sleeve.

“Would you rather I sent the whole shipment back?” Mokuu said dryly. He seemed to have recovered his composure. “Sendat, I will need your assistance loading the transport before you take your… purchase.”

“Agreed.”

“Was there anything else, Chinit?”

Mokuu’s voice was clearly dismissive, and Mary saw rage flash across the other male’s face, but he only shook his head.

“Let me know when and where the auction will be held so I can alert my friends,” Chinit snapped, then departed in a swirl of robes and heavy perfume.

“Pompous ass,” Mokuu muttered.

“Yet you chose him as your partner?” Sendat’s voice was casually disbelieving, but once again Mary thought there was something else underlying his words.

“He’s an asshole, but he’s an asshole with connections. He doesn’t even need the money—he just likes to think he’s tough.”

Both males snorted, then Mokuu sighed. “I’ll arrange for the transport. Better put her in one of the empty cages until we’re done so she doesn’t get any ideas.”

“Yeah.” Sendat hesitated. “You could’ve gotten more from him than from me.”

“Like I said, he’s an asshole. And unlike you, he does damage his toys. She would have been worthless by the time he was through with her.”

She shivered, and felt the reassuring warmth of a big hand on her back. She would have leaned into it, but it was gone before she had a chance. Sendat simply led her to an empty cage. It was far larger than the cage on the slave ship, but it was still a cage.

“Go on,” he said brusquely, but he didn’t shove her inside. Instead, he waited patiently until she entered.

The cage door slammed behind her, and she had to fight back an unexpected rush of tears. The brief taste of freedom only made it worse to be caged again. The reptilian male in the cage closest to her leered and grabbed his crotch. She shuddered and looked away.

A muffled yelp made her look back around. The male was huddled on the floor of his cage, and Sendat was walking away from it. That was… sweet of him, she thought, and found herself smiling.

The smile didn’t last long. The chilly air of the warehouse started to seep into her bones, and even huddling into the disgusting cloak didn’t help. She huddled in a corner of the cage, but the concrete floor was equally cold and only added to her discomfort.

The sound of the cage door opening penetrated her misery, and she looked up as Sendat entered. He dropped a blanket over her. The fabric was rough and scratchy, but it was thick and warm and smelled surprisingly clean. She gave him a grateful smile, but he had already turned away.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

“Just protecting my investment,” he muttered as he closed the cage door again.

Or he doesn’t want to admit that he’s really a nice guy, she thought with a smile.

As the warmth from the blanket began to penetrate, she started looking around the warehouse again. More than half the cages were empty, and the guard she had seen outside was disassembling them. Mokuu and Sendat were taking the remaining slaves from their cages to a rear door. Sendat spoke very little, but his presence seemed to be enough to cow the slaves into obedience.

Those broad shoulders and heavily muscled arms were really impressive, she thought dreamily as she watched him. A woman would feel safe with him. Safe and… aroused? She suddenly realized that her nipples were tight from more than the cold, tingling each time she heard his deep voice. How long had it been since she’d felt any type of reaction to a man? Certainly not since she’d escaped Ronald and moved to Cosmo Beach, and it had been rare even before that.

But this bull-like alien who had purchased her for a few nights turned her on? I must be crazy. And yet she kept watching him. When all the cages were empty and he came for her, she smiled up at him.

He beckoned for her to join him, his frown deepening as she went to him immediately, then put her hand on his arm. Oh my. Those big muscles were even more impressive to touch.

“Three days, Sendat,” Mokuu said. “The auction will be over by then. I’ll give you your cut and recover my property.”

Sendat huffed, the sound surprisingly threatening, and Mokuu raised an eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”

“You’ll have the credits from the auction in two days.”

“And you can have them then—if you give up the female. I assumed you’d prefer the extra time.” Mokuu’s eyes traveled over her, and she instinctively stepped closer to Sendat. Mokuu laughed. “Looks like you’ve got her half-trained already. Do a good job with her and I’ll even refund part of your payment.”

Trained?She didn’t like the sound of that at all, but it wasn’t enough for her to move away from Sendat’s reassuring warmth.

“Three days,” Sendat agreed.

Mokuu shook his head, then his face turned cold. “Don’t make me come find you.”

He left without waiting for a response. Sendat looked down at her.

“And now you’re mine, Miri.”