Battle Queen: Red Ruler Series (Book 1) Page 4

  He swung me up into his arms and I cried out. “I’ve got you, Welo. I’ve got you,” I didn’t know what that tremor in his voice meant. Was he scared that he wouldn’t be fast enough before someone saw me like this? A door whooshed open somewhere in front of me.

  “By the Hunt! Welo, my mate!” I whimpered as my head lolled from Hs’tar’s chest to look blearily at Merooth.

  “Get the regen chamber open!” Yelled Hs’tar. I yelled in pain as he stood me up on my feet and held my body up with his arm pressed against my bruised back. “We have to get this off.” His free hand quickly undid my lower wrappings until I was naked before them both. Warm liquid hit my back and thighs as I was lowered from his arms down into the regen chamber.

  “Hs’tar...,” I grabbed at his forearm, feeling traitorous tears slip from the sides of my eyes. His thumbs, slightly abrasive and scaled, tenderly wiped the tears away. He knew I feared the regen chamber. I was trying to be brave but Hs’tar more than anyone knew what the regen chamber meant to me. Flashes of memory drenched in blood and pain flooded my rational mind. Alteration after alteration to my physical and genetic structure by the former leader of this slave world meant hours and sometimes days locked in as he would tinker. He didn’t want to risk losing his star fighter so for each of his sessions I was shoved in here.

  It never once made me claustrophobic. How could I focus on being shut in a small space when I had the pain of my bones snapping and re-healing by the nano liquid as he tried to make them denser but lighter? How could I feel anything but terror as my lungs filled with blood and poured out from my nose and mouth because he wanted to improve my lung capacity and filtration? Or the time when he shattered my skull to test its pressure limitations and make alterations directly to my brain matter?

  Sheer terror gripped me as my eyes shot up to Hs’tar. My hand shook as it tightened around his forearm. He placed his hand gently on my wrist. “Trust me, my Stars,” he whispered. I blinked back tears and willed each finger to release him. Warmth filled my limbs making them feel heavy. I didn’t take my gaze from his beautiful burnt copper eyes. The clear top of the regen cover closed but all I saw was Hs’tar’s eyes, then nothing.

  ********

  Where...? What...?

  I snuggled into the warm fuzzy pillow under my face. The cool air gliding along my body let me know I was naked. My body ached so being naked was the least of my concerns. Years as a slave taught you that there were worse things than being naked. I pressed my face into the warm pillow again and felt a purring under my cheek. Wait. Pillows don’t purr. I turned my face upward and looked straight into the hooded sleepy eyes of Merooth.

  “Good morning, my mate,” he rumbled through his purr. I could feel his clawed fingers scrub and softly massage my scalp. I rubbed my nose into his slightly furry chest and breathed in his soothing scent. Merooth always reminded me of a cross between a dark blond viking and sabretooth from the comics. He was mammalian and bi-pedal like me, he even had an external heavy hanging cock and balls, unlike his feline ancestors. Merooth could pass as human if he wore gloves and sunglasses.

  “How long?” He seemed to hesitate at my question which irked me. Yes, I had flipped out at the regen chamber like in the bad days but I wasn’t about to be coddled. I took his right nipple into my mouth and suckled before nipping sharply on it. He hissed and fisted my hair.

  “One standard day.” Fuck. I must have been severely damaged to have needed that. My eyes looked away but my lips and tongue continued to play with his nipple. My private quarters were above my office in the Blood Palace, all high and open archways. Even above me I had an unobstructed view of the night sky or in this case the setting red giant and the noon yellow star. From my own winnings I had splurged to make the archways all appear open but each was covered by a military grade transparent shield that I could look out from but no one could look in.

  To anyone who looked at the Blood Palace, my quarters looked like a multifaceted ruby shimmering at the pinnacle like a beacon. Externally it was gaudy as fuck while being a simple warning: look but don’t touch. I ran my fingertips lightly across Merooth’s belly feeling his purring ramping up. My hand circled around his cock lightly stroking him. Rationally, I knew he was proportionate to his species size but that never stopped me from marveling at how large he was in all ways. Merooth was only a little taller than my 7 foot, but where my muscles were lithe and densely packed, his body was like a stone carving. Slab after slab of taut muscle covered every inch of him, his thighs alone easily thicker than my torso.

  “Are you aching, my mate?” He asked huskily.

  “Only for you,” I breathed out. Slowly I prowled down his giant form and replaced my hand with my mouth. His hips shot up as I licked him slowly from base to tip. I watched as bumps began to form along his dick. I smiled and licked the precum from his tip in an open mouthed kiss. His groan was like fire in my veins. The soft barbs protruding from the now firm bumps all along his shaft showed just how on edge he was.

  Placing my hands on his wide hips I swung my legs over him letting the wetness of my cunt drag torturously slow up and down his cock. “Will you share your beautiful cunt with me, my mate?” Merooth’s breathing was heavy as his hips twitched and hands fisted the sheets.

  “How can I refuse when you beg so nicely?” I smiled wolfishly as I sank down slowly. I bit my lip and moaned at how good it felt to have Merooth’s thick warmth deep inside me. I rolled my hips lazily as his hands moved from the sheets to the back of my thighs. When I was first being spliced up no one had taken into account that activating more ancient genes would ramp up ancient urges like my heat. During my first heat, the old leader had thrown Hs’tar and Merooth in my cage to shut up my screaming and begging. I had nearly died from internal vaginal hemorrhaging due to Merooth’s feline penis barbs. The damage had sent me back for more splicing so I would be stronger and more compatible. The old slaver didn’t do it for my comfort or because he wanted to breed me to anyone. For him it was to rid himself of the inconvenience of a fighter that would need regular repair without further adjustments. Distraught at what he had done to his fated mate, Merooth never broke the habit of asking me for my permission before sex.

  “Welo,” my eyes locked to his striking blue eyes, so similar to my own but the colouring was like a Russian Blue cat’s glowing blue. His gentle voice shook me from the bad memories we both shared. His right hand slid along my thigh and up to my lower back, bracing me while the other gripped my opposite thigh firmly. “Be here with me.” My own eyes softened. As fearsome as he looked, Merooth was the kindest and most gentlest of souls. He craved my love and affection. He showered me in his love with complete devotion and disregarded what anyone might think.

  I leaned back into his bracing hand, knowing he could hold my weight. As I lifted up and slammed back down his barbs released their natural aphrodisiac as it scored harmlessly within my wet walls. My body shook as it entered my system and my own pheromones released unrestrained. I watched as Merooth’s pupils dilated, his limbs trembling with the effort to remain still below me as I rode him slowly.

  “Please, my mate,” he panted. My pheromones mixed in with the sweat that poured down both our bodies before I gave him a sharp nod. “Oh, thank the Gods of the Hunt!” He quickly flipped me over and placed my legs over his shoulders. He held my thighs and ass tight to his body as he lifted me up to pound deep and fast into me. Only my shoulders remained on the bed now as he snarled and slammed into me. The wet slapping sounds of my slickness as he rutted hard into me competed with our moans. He bent forward to capture one of my nipples as my breasts bounced and jiggled at his assault.

  “Merooth!” I screamed. My body arched, pushing my breasts deeper into his mouth. He bit down and pulled, again and again, going from one to the other.

  “My fierce and deadly mate,” he whimpered as I tightened my internal muscles on his cock. Groaning he pressed his face between my breasts and breathed deep. “Come for me, my mate. Remin
d me who owns my cock, my heart, my soul.” I wrapped my arms around him, pinning his face to my chest. I dragged my claws down his back, thighs, and ass. He wanted a reminder and I would give him one. He cried out in ecstasy but never faltered in his pounding pace.

  “All. Mine.” I whispered in his ear fiercely. His pace increased in speed as his hips shifted their angle. I cried out unable to hold on any longer, slashing the back of his neck as my thighs shook with the force of my orgasm. Merooth’s hand shot to the stone wall behind us scoring deep grooves as his hips pistoned one last time before muffling his own shout between my breasts.

  Shakily he lowered us both to the bed. We were a sweaty mess of limbs. The smell of sex hung heavy in the air as he breathed hotly onto my neck. We adjusted ourselves so that we faced each other. I stared into his blue eyes, slightly too iridescent to pass as human, and marveled at his beauty. His hair, short on the sides and long on the top flopped on his eyes. I smoothed it back and away, running my thumb along his eyebrow. Up close like this you could tell he didn’t have skin, but a soft and tawny light brown pelt. To the untrained eye he would look like a perfectly tanned nordic supermodel. He cupped my face in his massive palm and caressed my cheek.

  “He would be here as well, if you only asked him to,” he said gently. I scrunched up my brow in confusion before my lips formed a flat line of denial and irritation. “Don’t, Welo. He was here with us, holding you all through the night.” I closed my eyes and breathed out a soft sad sigh.

  “Hs’tar never wanted to be my mate, Merooth,” I could hear the hurt in my voice, “I will not force him. We were robbed of all our choices, I’ll not take his choice away.”

  Merooth sighed heavily and kissed the crown of my head. He nuzzled his nose against mine and held me closer. “You and he are so much alike. Neither one wanting to hurt the other, not realising that by keeping your distance you do exactly that.” He sighed once more.

  “Then let him come to me. Let it be his voice not yours speaking for him,” I replied testily.

  “Oh, my stubborn mate,” he laughed softly, “at least rest a little more before your next great match?” I laughed and kissed his neck, snuggling into his warm embrace.

  “No promises.”

  L’Ryx

  Two standard days.

  Commander Hs’tar and his lackeys had been putting me off for two days. I leaned back into the surprisingly comfortable chair of my suite at the Pleasure Palace. At first I couldn’t understand why High Command had sent me here. If they wanted to investigate some former slave turned arena queen on a backwater planet they could have sent literally anyone else. Slave uprisings weren’t uncommon, but neither were they successful long term.

  I scoffed at my own preconceived notions prior to landing planetside. Having to fly through solar system check points littered with mines, both visible and masked, should have clued me in to the kind of situation I would find. Or even the orderly traffic lanes for those in orbit, being directed and welcomed as professionally as if this were a central galactic world.

  I absently scratched at the faint claw marks on my chest. They hadn’t fully healed after my time in the med-suite. The shockingly modern and extremely cutting edge med-suite. All my reports were scrolling on my personal holoscreen in my hand but I couldn’t help but feel distracted. I felt my jaw tighten in irritation. I was always thorough and I asked no less from my subordinates. The fact that the reports given to me prior to my arrival were woefully lacking in essential and vital details pissed me off.

  The location of the planet may have been considered backwater but the system itself and the planet were anything but. There really only was one settlement but it was beautiful in design and sprawl. A civilization budding and yet already bearing fruits. Just outside my window I could see the Blood Arena, its sheer size would have been enough, but it was the design of stone archways and colonnades that made it a work of art.

  Paved walkways of warm golden stone weaved wide throughout the entire city. The walkways and sections of the city were easy to differentiate because the stones themselves had been colour coordinated. Naturally red veined stone led to the arena, purple to the Pleasure Palace and other smaller brothels, green for the parks and outdoor spaces, blue for the healers and medical businesses, yellow for the various bazaars and shops, and orange for the arts district. Each district itself was spaced far from each other, as if to anticipate calculated levels of growth while anticipating how to add more cohesively.

  The entire city was a swirl of spirals. There were even temples! Religious houses to almost every deity from every culture that must pass through here were situated in their own areas of association. All except two. The personal Goddesses of the Battle Queen herself: Haumea and Menrva. Both temples were at the halfway point between the Blood Palace and the Blood Arena. They were situated on a shared but wide open green space filled with waterways, edible landscaping, and animals of varying planetary origin roaming freely. The information I could find on each Goddess was sketchy at best, most of it my subordinates had to extrapolate from whatever artwork or offerings were at the two temples themselves.

  Most space faring civilisations either clung desperately to their faiths or dropped them entirely. As a human ripped from her world and dumped into slavery of the worst kind it was curious to see such overt religiosity. The calculating and logical mind that created the most intricate and elaborate city planning I had ever seen on a non-central world was also apparently a believer.

  Or it’s all for show, I huffed at that thought. Tossing my holoscreen onto the bed I walked over to the window. I gripped the stone with my claws and rocked forward and back. In the distance I could just see the Blood Palace. My view was half blocked by the arena but what I could see still sent a skitter of anticipation up my belly into my chest.

  Everyone knew that the ruby jewel set atop the highest tower was the private quarters of the Battle Queen herself. My chest rumbled at the thought of her naked, tangled in her sheets. I could feel my cocks stir behind the sheath that kept them safely inside my body. Our species was hyperadaptive, our whole culture centred around acquiring the most diverse and unique genes to incorporate into our own.

  I knew she had been gene spliced but I didn’t know much beyond whatever could be gleaned from her previous matches. It was a safe assumption that the former slave master here did the splicing but that didn’t really tell me how or with what. Contrary to what most thought, gene splicing was exceptionally difficult and problematic. The Battle Queen was more of a work of art than a mere science project. I gripped the stone hard and bent forward as my body shook just from the memory of the lust filled pheromones she had attempted to drown me in. If not for my supreme level of self discipline and decades of practice I wouldn’t have survived it. Darkness, I didn't want to survive it. I wanted to drown in the scent of her and never come up for air.

  Ding!

  I opened my eyes and turned to see my holoscreen light up with a communication request. I was naked, not bothering to put on my uniform when I knew I wasn’t leaving this room.

  Ding!

  I grabbed my holoscreen and dropped back down into my chair. “General L’Ryx,” smiled Commander R’tok, my second in command.

  “R’tok,” I grumbled, “the reports given to me before my arrival were subpar.”

  “We saw,” he laughed. The bastard actually laughed at me. “How did it feel to get your ass handed to you by a female that beautiful?”

  “Watch it,” I growled. He only laughed harder. “She shattered my fucking hip and broke 5 of my ribs. Not to mention the skull fracture when she head butted me. I barely made it to the regen chamber before I collapsed.”

  “Holy Darkness!” R’tok’s obsidian skin went a bit ashen. “The two of you walked out of the arena like it was nothing more than an exhibition match.”

  “Yeah, well, it wasn’t,” I groused, “Even when we left the arena floor I expected her to show at least a bit of discomfort. I know for a f
act that I broke both her arms and at least one of her legs.”

  “She really is all they say and more, huh?” I sighed at his awe filled tone.

  “Obviously,” I was back to being angry perhaps even indignant, “I walked blind into that fight and there was a moment...”

  “You mean when you broke her sword?” R’tok said slyly.

  “I didn’t mean to break her sword!” I snapped in frustration.

  “You know we all tuned into the fight on the ship? Brought out snacks and everything,” he continued jovially.

  “Yes, because when I’m away you encourage such lack of discipline,” I eyed him, “maybe that’s why my reports were so shit.”

  “Hey, hey now,” he said in mock offense, “those came from High Command. We just supplemented what was there.”

  “Supplemented, what?” I asked irritatedly, “that she’s got the use of pheromones? Or has the most beautiful tits I’ve seen in years?”

  “Or that she went space crazy after your broke her sword—“

  “I didn’t mean to—“

  “Or that she nearly killed you for it?” He finished sweetly. R’tok’s face changed to a more serious expression, “We saw the change. She was going to kill you. We were scrambling here almost about to send in the extraction team.”

  “She’s...,” I trailed off and looked back out of my window catching a glimmer of distant red as the setting red giant’s rays hit the Blood Palace, “She’s more than some former slave turned leader. This world, R’tok, it’s like stepping on a central world—but more beautiful. What she’s built here...”

  “We’ve seen some of the images you’ve sent back,” he agreed, “some of the crew are actually itching to take shore leave down there!”

  “Once things are settled,” I sat up straighter and reeled in my thoughts to my mission, “If things go well, I’ll take their request for shore leave here under advisement.”