The Daran growled again, a low rumble deep in his chest that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I’d heard of shapeshifting aliens, but I’d never seen one. The process was mesmerizing. His body hunched over and elongated, the head rose, and I could see his fangs growing.
Mesmerizing.Warning bells went off inside my head. They’d done this before, working as a team. The Daran would draw my attention, allowing the Helychronians to overpower me.
I whirled around and launched myself at the line of blue giants, knowing they wouldn’t expect me to attack three enemies instead of one. To my shock, they crumpled to the ground, writhing and groaning, before I ever reached them.
Two of the warden’s guards stepped forward from the crowd, holding thin black cylinders still pointed at the blue aliens.
“You. Come with us.”
I glanced back over my shoulder. The Daran was in full beast mode. Body taut, mouth open in a snarl, fangs fully extended. Ready to spring.
I stepped over the twitching blue bodies and fell in line with the guards. It was the easiest decision I’d made all day.
* * *
They took my knifeaway and led me around the platform to the stairs in back. I heard a vicious growl, a piercing scream, then a bigger roar from the crowd. One of the guards laughed.
“Robbed him of his prey so he took out one of his pals instead!”
“They’re all a bunch of fucking animals,” the other guard muttered. “Lucky the chips work.”
That explained the twitching bodies. The prisoners here must have been outfitted with the same device Nye used to take me down, activated by the black cylinders. I’d found the scar from mine earlier, under the skin at the back of my neck, just below the hairline. They probably drugged me and inserted it when I was brought to Federation headquarters and assigned to the mission on the jungle planet.
A door opened in the wall behind me. Two guards walked out, holding onto Ree between them. Naked, bedraggled, hair damp, she looked as though she could barely stand upright without their help. I struggled to get to her, but the guards held me in an iron grip.
“Ree! Did they hurt you? Are you all right?”
She stared straight ahead, eyes vacant, and didn’t answer. I wondered if she’d been fitted with a shock device too. They marched her up the steps to the platform and I heard the crowd cheer when they caught sight of her.
I’d been so intent on my mate that I didn’t notice the warden until he stepped in front of me. Back on my world, a mistake like that could have gotten me killed and eaten.And probably on this world too, I reminded myself, remembering the saber-tooth shifter. I wasn’t used to being responsible for the welfare of a mate. I’d have to quit thinking with my cock and keep my wits about me if I wanted to get us both off Zibaru alive.
“Commander Nye tells me you’ve fucked my prisoner,” Starn began, as though we were friends having a casual conversation. “She looks like a hot piece of ass. Tell me, how is she at sucking cocks?”
Wordlessly I stared him down.
“No matter. I’ll soon find out. But first, I need to explain how things work here. Who’s in control. Right now, my guards are tying her to that wooden bench on the platform. She’s going to get punished for disrespecting me—in front of everyone. Since you’re our newestguestI wanted to give you the opportunity of doling out her punishment. Spank her hard and long while she’s bent over, spread-eagled, so everyone can see her tight little pussy and asshole. Then fuck her—in both holes.”
He leaned in so our faces were just inches apart. “I want you to humiliate her. Hurt her. Break her spirit. I want her begging and pleading for you to stop. She’ll hate you. Never trust you again. But if you show her any mercy, I’ll have you dragged away and Rigo here will take over.”
The guards behind Starn moved aside and a giant stepped out in front of them. Bald head crisscrossed with a mass of ragged scars connected by thick black tattooed lines, cold dead eyes, massive torso with arms as thick as tree limbs hanging at his sides.
Starn lowered his voice to an intimate whisper. “Rigo is rather hard to control. We’ve had to use the wand on him so often, it’s affected his mental state. He was in charge of the female’s medical examination and cleansing so he’s already in a heightened state of arousal over her. He tends to get carried away when it comes to ass fucking, but he’s very good at delivering a harsh paddling first.”
I saw a spark flicker in the giant’s eyes when Starn mentioned ass fucking and paddling. He took another step forward.
Starn held up a hand. “Not yet, Rigo. We must be polite and give our guest an opportunity to properly punish her.” Though his next words were addressed to the giant, he looked straight at me. “And he’d better do a good job.”