Smuggler’s Contubernium (Mea Lupus Series Book 1) Read online

  “I heard,” I swallowed back acid, “I have one of my orbs on them now.”

  “I still say we should leave,” Ai added.

  “No,” a wicked smirk curled the edges of my mouth. If this was the end of my journey I would go out like a supernova, “We give them what they want, then take everything they have.”

  “What in Fortuna’s bounty are you talking about,” scoffed Cassie in disbelief, “They’re wolves. What angle could you possibly work to distract 1 much less all of them?”

  “According to you I’ve already got 3,” Cassie looked at me in shock and shook her head. Peaking over at Ai I knew she saw the calculating look in my eyes when she nodded her head. She didn’t even know my plan yet but she trusted me completely. “Look, everyone who’s anyone knows that Captain Kara of the Lyre is the only one who can broker a deal with the elusive Ferryman.”

  “We made sure to build up Kara’s cover story years ago, and the Charopos’s records will all reflect that. Even the ship’s name was registered as the Lyre years ago,” agreed Ai. She sported her own sharp smile. “They can’t charge us for possibly knowing someone and it would work against them if they tried that angle anyways.”

  “Especially since Captain Kara is prone to taking off at a moment’s notice for her very legitimate cargo runs,” it was weird to talk about myself in the third person but the humour seemed to make Cassie shuck a good chunk of her very healthy fear.

  Stepping forward I clasped my friend’s shoulders confidently, “Make the approach, Cassie.” She looked me in the eye once more then nodded and walked back out to do her rounds through the tables. I didn’t just procure goods, my lesser known but vitally important skill was the acquisition of information.

  Frequently I shared important things with Cassie. In the early days of our friendship, when she was still a pleasure slave and Castra 3 had truly been a cut throat hell hole hanging on the sphincter of a pig’s ass, I had saved her life. At the time I hadn’t done it for her or out of some magnanimous drive. The sack of shit who owned her and the disgusting brothel that once stood here, had tried to kill me after I did a job for him.

  He had tried to have another crew double cross me by pumping sedative into the ship I was sent to breach. They hadn’t counted on Ai going into a murderous rage and ripping them limb from limb all while I slept like a baby on the floor.

  Once I had woken up, I helped Ai to clean the blood and body parts from the panels of my ship. I then returned to Castra 3 and had Ai, disguised as a heavily cloaked tall male, eviscerate Cassie’s old owner. Watching his guts squelch out all over the tables of his stinking bar via orb wasn’t as satisfying as doing it myself but I couldn’t risk an appearance here.

  That murder had ironically increased my quality and quantity of jobs while landing Cassie and everyone else trapped here with their freedom. One of the first Divine Laws that Menrva and Caesar had set down was the end of slavery but here on the fringes of space, something was only law if you could enforce it. I had come into the bar the next day and Cassie was still there, attempting to run the place even when the pimps tried to break in and steal those who hadn’t already made a run for it.

  After seeing her determination, and talking with Ai, we had decided to invest in Cassie. In the three years since then Cassie had repaid our initial investment tenfold. She had also branched out into other businesses and helped to revamp the station into a preferred resting spot for travellers in the sector. More importantly, Cassie had given us a haven to come back to in between jobs. I wouldn’t risk her or her people, and she wouldn’t betray us.

  “What’s the plan?”

  “Get changed,” I looked her from head to foot before reaching around and slowly removing the anal plug rainbow tail. A moan parted her lips. “Something... male, striking, but ultimately forgettable.” Right before my eyes the glow tattoos melted away and her skin changed to a light brown. Soft muscles glistened as if just oiled. Ai now had short, brown, perfectly tousled hair and sinfully plump lips. A well hung cock twitched just below a perfect adonis belt of muscle and dark brown hair as she stood naked before me.

  “Adonis, pleasure server at your service, Captain Kara,” Ai’s playful voice had dropped to a smooth tenor. I nipped at the familiar male’s lip. Ai often masqueraded as a pleasure server or dancer here when we were on station. No one would question this new male’s presence or where the rainbow sporting dancer had gone.

  “Come out in a little bit and join me,” I winked, “Since you are my favourite pleasure server, after all.” Ai laughed then groaned as I palmed her cock and gave it a good stroke before I walked out and found I table not too far from where the rest of the pack was seated. Another show was coming up and they would soon realise it was one especially done for them.

  Aphelele

  The hairs on the back on my neck stood up and my skin felt like nerves were all firing off at the same time. I looked around me but the only change I could see was a woman sit down a few tables over by herself. I could only see her face in profile but there was something that made me itch to see more.

  “Who is that?” Adohi’s sharp tongue cut through my thoughts. His people were originally from across the ocean of Africanus where my own ancestors had been from. His high cheekbones, steely gaze, and long dark hair in a single braid gave gave him a severe look. It matched with his ability to focus in on someone and track them down to the ends of the galaxy.

  “That’s the woman we were telling you about earlier,” answered Conchobhar. The frown of displeasure on his face showed a hint of confusion. I reached under the table and slowly stroked my hand over his own. He wasn’t ashamed of us, and we both frequented the beds of women from time to time, but he didn’t like showing public displays of affection. He hated having any kind of visible vulnerability that could be exploited. I gave him a reassuring smile and watched his shoulders relax.

  “Yes. Well,” Adohi scoffed coldly. He tried to play it off well but I knew he was itching just as much as I was to know more about this stranger. “I’d like to eat the dinner we were promised. Oli, you called us here. What’s this establishment known for?”

  “I, um—,” Oli began to speak but was smoothly interrupted by the proprietress Cassandra, or Cassie, as she told us to call her.

  “We’re known for many many pleasurable things, my lord,” smiled Cassie, her pink long eye lashes like feather fans hiding her coy eyes.

  “We’re here for food not whores,” sniped Adohi. To Cassie’s credit she didn’t blink or react at all, she simply smiled indulgently.

  “Perhaps I should clarify to put your mind at ease then, as I know your companions are here for a good meal,” she tapped the table and a holomenu appeared outlining the list of surprising delights available. “Cassie’s of Castra 3 specialises in a wide variety of tantalising entertainment, cuisine, and companionship to bring the galaxy to the tip of your senses while still being at the cutting edge of the frontier.”

  I couldn’t help but give the woman an appreciative smile at her showmanship and patience with my rude pack mate. The back of Adohi’s neck turned a shade of darker brown, a slight blushing at the way he had been expertly handled. I refrained from chuckling but Conchobhar had no qualms laughing outright.

  “Well handled, Cassie,” a rare and dashing smile graced his face, “Adohi deserved far worse for his assholish behaviour.” The many braids of his hair tinkled softly as he shook his head.

  “Thank you, my lord,” Cassie winked conspiratorially, “As a devotee of Fortuna I like to think I need to help my own odds from time to time and patience truly is a skill.” We all laughed good-naturedly and even Adohi cracked a small smile.

  “A wise woman indeed,” joked Oli. My eyes softened watching our youngest member once more find his footing in the conversation. He wasn’t meek or soft by nature, but becoming virtually immortal was hard on him. His eagerness was equally challenging on us all but none more so than Adohi.

  Conchobhar at least look
ed at Oli like a younger brother, a ‘pup’, but Adohi? Adohi’s jaded cynicism at only 147 years old was like a serrated knife, getting rustier with each passing year. Oli was a breath of fresh air for most of our pack. He gave us hope without trying. However for Adohi, Oli was a contradiction to his narrative that life was shit and so were most people.

  “Perhaps you can help us with something beyond food,” Quintillus leaned forward and smiled charmingly. Of the five of us here he was the most diplomatic, a skill surely aided by his empathic abilities. Adohi ignored us all as he made his selections from the holomenu, still focused entirely on his upcoming meal.

  “Our next show will be in 10 minutes,” Cassie practically preened in pride for her dancers. I had not seen it yet and was intrigued if only because we had walked up on our three dumbstruck pack mates when we first arrived. “Or perhaps, my lord, you are interested in our more vigorous forms of entertainment?” I didn’t hide my chuckle as a soft blush, only noticeable to our fellow pack mates, formed at the very tip of Quintillus’s ears.

  “Ah, no Madam,” he cleared his throat and regained his composure, “I—We, saw a very regal woman enjoying the show earlier and were interested to know more about her.”

  “Do you see her now?”

  “Yes,” Quintillus tipped his head to the woman that had caught mine and Adohi’s attention earlier as well, “What can you tell us about her?”

  “Captain Kara?” Cassie giggled and covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers. Kara, I repeated to myself.

  “Yes,” Quintillus gulped as he looked over to the table with the woman now being flirted with by an obvious male prostitute. “What can you tell us about...” His sentence trailed off to nothing as we all turned to see what he was seeing.

  Captain Kara was currently licking the precum from the tip of the prostitute’s cock as his head was thrown back in ecstasy.

  Kara

  I knew they were watching me. I could feel their eyes like a physical touch along my skin. I had learned from my hellish time as a candidate that you had only a few options when dealing with empaths.

  You could cut yourself off entirely. This made you undetectable to their senses and if you were stealthy enough you could get the drop on them. However, because I was in a crowded bar and station, it would make it easier to track me as I would be a walking blank spot. You could flood their senses. This works well to drown and distract them but again it’s risky because you’re trusting that you can give more than the empath can handle. Mistake where their limits are and you could end up handing your soul over to them on a platter, ready for feasting.

  The last method of dealing with an empath, especially a Truthseer, required a level of skill that went far beyond what most could do. I had to feed the empath the emotions I wanted him to know about. I accidentally learned the skill when I was in the program. I then honed this skill into a kind of mental muscle memory, so as to best hide all the rage and hate I felt inside me all the time. Ten years of pain and suffering had made me a master of this last method.

  All the empath would feel right now was lust. Pure lust and excitement. It wouldn’t matter if he preferred pussy, all he would feel as he watched me lick and toy with the tip of Ai’s cock would be pounding lust. I looked up at her and smirked. She loved being watched and seeing her Adonis persona’s head thrown back and moaning had me wet.

  I opened my thighs so that the musty air in the club would carry the scent of my arousal to the table of gawking wolves. I let spit drip down my chin as I took Ai’s cock deeper until it bumped the back of my throat. From the edge of my senses I could hear a strangled moan and the low vibrations of growls from their chests. Fucking animals, I sneered in my mind.

  I hated the Mea Lupus for more reasons than I could ever count. I knew they were the favourites of brothel owners because of their active immune systems but I hated how this put them even higher than all us lowly people around them.

  Mea Lupus viewed non-wolves as fair game for their entertainment. Sure they never abused any sexual partners that I knew of but that didn’t mean they didn’t leave a trail of broken hearts and shattered souls behind them. Non-wolves were just cum dumpsters to them, not people. Something to while away their eternity of privilege.

  Ai’s cum gushed down my throat and I leisurely lapped at her shaft and suckled and kissed the head. I placed one last kiss on her cock head before looking up at her and winking. The beautiful Adonis body slid like mercury from the table down until she was on her knees before me.

  I threw my head back and enjoyed her kisses along my thighs as she pressed with her fingers against the fabric of my pants. She wouldn’t take my pants off or expose my flesh. She wanted the wolves to suffer and watch what they weren’t getting. She quickly brought me to orgasm as she bit my inner thigh.

  As I shook in the aftershocks she ran the bridge of her nose along the seam in my wet spot stained pants kissing and nuzzling me. I pet her hair and sighed contentedly before taking a sip of my whiskey. Ai ever the thespian, continued to sit at my feet and nuzzle my thighs and knees like a contented cat for its mistress.

  I heard his approach from the back and right of me. Ai’s thick Adonis fingers caressed between my thighs and I widened to give her better access. Her fingers were a physical reminder just in case I slipped up and projected the wrong emotion. I wouldn’t, but her support was appreciated.

  “Are you always this open with your... patronage?” His smile was disarming, and as open as his kind brown eyes. Ai playfully nipped the outside of my thigh.

  “I’m very good with my mouth as well as my fingers, my lord,” Ai’s handsome face winked playfully at the wolf, “Captain Kara can attest to my skills with my tongue.”

  “Ah,” his ears pinked slightly, “I’m sure, but I prefer a woman’s touch.”

  “A pity for us all then, my lord,” pouted Adonis-Ai. I held in a laugh as she looked him up and down slowly while her cock twitched half to life.

  “Now, now Adonis,” I chastised, “Not everyone is so open or secure in themselves to try something new.” I booped the end of her adorably perfect nose.

  “I assure you I’m quite open and secure—,” stammered the wolf. He seemed so out of sorts. His severe, if old fashioned, Roman cut hair and official working uniform was incongruent with his rambling protests.

  “And some people,” I continued on like he hadn’t spoken, “Interrupt someone else’s good time because they feel their questions and presence should take precedence over anything the person they interrupted might have already been enjoying.” I stared at him blankly and projected my irritation and anger. It was easily done as it was exactly what I felt. I had never met a Mea Lupus that didn’t have an ulterior motive, his kind eyes were probably just another ruse to lure in the unsuspecting.

  “I... I apologise,” I pointedly stared at him and continued to slowly sip my whiskey. I didn’t care for his apology. Logically I was playing a dangerous game, walking the line between making an impression and losing my mark, but I had to play it anyway. I let the uncomfortable silence stretch on, not saying a word, maintaining my eye contact.

  “You really don’t like me, do you?” There was more curiosity than offence in his tone.

  “Is that how I feel to you?” I seethed. I allowed a drop of my rage to tinge my voice and my emotions.

  “You know I’m an empath,” he stated woodenly.

  “Some would argue I’m slow, since I spend so much time in the darkness of space,” I chuffed, “but even I know when a wolf attempts to force himself on me.”

  “I would never—,” Scandalised anger crossed his handsome features and from behind me I heard a gasp and a couple angry growls from his pack’s table.

  “So that wasn’t you I felt pressing in on my soul earlier at the end of that last dancer’s set?” My tongue was the whip, but my words were the gouging barbs at the tip. Shame crushed his anger and his lips pursed in mortification.

  “You’re absolutely right,�
�� his head dipped down in apology. It was a calculated risk telling him I could feel his empathic intrusion but I figured his own shame and the overzealousness of his attempt would work in my favour. He probably didn’t think I was trained, at all. His guilt was already feeding his mind the necessary logical gaps, telling him I only felt it because he had been so out of line. “It was absolutely inappropriate of me.”

  I let out a slow breath. My gambit had worked. Ignoring the wolf sitting across the table from me, I reached down and gripped the curly locks of Ai’s male body pulling back his head and exposing his neck. Slowly, Ai leaned up from on her heels to on her knees before me as I fisted her hair. I licked up the column of her throat then bit her jaw softly. From the corner of both eyes I could see the reflective gazes of all five Mea Lupus watching me dominate this male prostitute who sighed in rapture.

  Everything is a power play. Test and counter your opponents; never react, act. The words pounded into my head and my flesh came back like it was only yesterday.

  “Go, Adonis,” Ai pouted up at me and stroked my thighs, “This wolf seems determined to stop my fun for the night. I’ll do my best to swing by Cassie’s before I have to head out again on another run.”

  “But you’re so rarely here for long,” Ai whined in her male’s perfect tenor, “Aways in and out hauling cargo.” Ai pulled from my hold and buried her face against my wet core and gripped my ass, kneading and massaging. “Promise that you’ll choose me before you head out, again.” Ai’s irritated protest was muffled as he began kissing me through the fabric of my pants, rubbing the bridge of her nose up and down my wet seam.

  “Now, Adonis,” I snarled and pulled her from me by her hair.

  “Fine,” Ai huffed and stomped off but not before throwing off a catty glare at the wolf still sitting at my table. We were working this con together but even I had to hold back my full blown laughter and turn it into a sultry chuckle.