Given to the alien, p.4
Given to the Alien, page 4
My eyes narrow, fighting back the tears. Standing behind the bars while a bear alien and a slug alien speak over and around me like I’m nothing but a lost puppy sends a sharp reminder of how much I’ve lost in the past few weeks. I’m not equal. I’m a pet. A plaything. Maybe worse—
“Show now!” Bul’yus roars, shocking me back to reality.
The bear chuckles darkly. “I thought you said she was nice. Do you lie to me, En’tak?”
“No lie! Show, pul’et. Show now!”
With fumbling fingers, I manage to pull down my hood entirely and show off the collar tightly cinched around my neck. The bear’s dark eyes widen, and he steps closer to the cage, curling a single finger through the bars. “Let me see that.”
I take a step forward, but En’tak steps between myself and the bear. Terro curls in disgust when En’tak’s slimy skin comes in direct contact with his white fur, “She not have listen. Not buyer. Want one? Have one.” He points at Shoshana’s cage.
“I want that one,” the bear growls. “What did the buyer pay? I will offer double that.”
“D-double?” Bul’yus’ voice trembles with excitement. “Hear, En’tak? Double.”
“I hear,” he grumbles, rounding his attention back to the massive white bear alien. “Terro, why want so bad? What you do to her that no can do with that one?” Another point in Shoshana’s direction. I notice that she’s silent. This can’t possibly be a Draken? Is that why she seems so afraid?
“It doesn’t matter what I do. If I offer the credits, you’ll give her to me. I can do with her what I want. Come, I’ll give you the credits right now,” the bear says, practically purring. “Tell the buyer you lost the pul’et. Give him a refund. Get a new pul’et. Make more credits. This must sound good to you, En’tak. Name your price.”
I feel my mouth go dry.
“If you won’t sell it to me, you can at least let me sample her. She is not pure.”
En’tak swallows. “No… she no pure. We check.”
“Then the buyer won’t notice that one extra cock’s been in her cunt. I’ll pay. I want to sample her.” Reaching forward, he pinches the slug’s cheeks. En’tak grunts in surprise and pain, and for the first time, I almost feel bad for him.
Almost.
“Name your price and then give her to me.”
I expect En’tak to tell him off. To say that no amount of money or credits would get him to break his arrangement with my buyer. The buyer is all I have. The collar. They’re right. I’m not a virgin, so I’m worth even less, I’m sure. And the way the bear is looking at me makes me want to scream in fear.
He’s going to hurt me. I back away from the cage.
That’s when En’tak says a number. It doesn’t fully translate, but it doesn’t take an idiot to realize what he’s said.
He’s giving the bear a price. I notice the fingers on Terro’s paw release the slug’s face slowly, and he takes a step back, scrutinizing me once again. I feel naked under his gaze, and eventually, I must look away.
Shoshana’s face offers no comfort. I turn away from her and back to the alien bear bartering with En’tak.
Deciding on a ‘fair’ price to sample me.
I’m a fool. I allowed myself to think the slugs would keep me safe. They called me a name that wasn’t mine. They fed me food I didn’t want. I never fought them, and so they never hurt me. I was under the false understanding this was because of my buyer. But no, they thought me the fool—a complacent lower being too afraid to stand up for herself. It was never about their keeping me safe until my buyer arrived. It was that there was no one there to profit from. En’tak would have allowed this beast to fuck me back at the compound. It’s just that he didn’t have the opportunity.
It’s too late to fight now.
The deal is over. En’tak slaps a briny hand across his chest, and the bear does the same before reaching into his pocket and pulling out some handheld device that reminds me of a Blackberry. He presses his thick fingers against the pad and then looks across at En’tak. “There’s your credits. I’d like to sample what I paid for now before the buyer shows up.” He chuckles. “Though I am not that worried. I will apologize, and, if need be, we can fight over her. If she is worth the trouble, that is.”
It feels like thousands of insects are crawling up my spine now as the two males turn fully in my direction. I expect to see some sort of regret on En’tak’s face, but there’s nothing. Just excitement. He wanted extra money, and now he’s got it. And what am I to him? Nothing more than a means to an end, a way to make a little extra funding before a new buyer takes me away permanently.
Unless it’s as Shoshana said, and an alien will use me until he’s bored and then bring me back here, only to start the process anew.
I fight the urge to vomit because there’s no point in having to clean it up later.
These males won’t care if I puke. They’ll merely clean me back up again, and I’ll be resigned to the same fate. Puking will only make me seem weaker than I already am. And I still can’t help wondering how much En’tak sold me for. Or lent me out. Am I worth anything? Or did he merely pass an American twenty in exchange for twenty minutes of fucking me? I had no say in my cost. No say about my value.
Whatever Terro paid, I’m worth nothing.
No one should be able to pay to rape another being, let alone own one.
By paying any price, my life no longer has value.
My body goes limp the moment the cage opens.
The bear catches me in his firm, white furry arms.
He’s going to do whatever he wants with me.
Simply because he has the money to do so.
Alora
My brain is just beginning to fight against the furry beast when a voice startles both myself and the bear.
“What is this?” The harsh question comes from close to Shoshana’s cage and, since the bear was startled for just the briefest of moments, I find the courage to escape his rough furry grasp. Or so I want to think. Immediately, something tugs roughly at my hair, and I crash back into the seven-foot bear, who has begun to growl.
“You stay still, pul’et,” he snarls into my ear. “Be good, and maybe I’ll be nice to you.”
Of course, I don’t believe him, finally finding the courage to struggle back. Maybe it’s the new voice. He sounds as though he thinks the bear’s treatment of me is wrong. And it is. And, though I will probably die for fighting against him, once I start, I can’t stop.
“Let me go!” I keep fighting, even as he drags me to a private corner of the seller’s market, losing hanks of my hair along the way. “I want to go home! You can’t do this! You can’t do this to me!”
“You lie,” the bear snarls and, when I lift my chin, I see that he’s staring at En’tak. “You call this behaved? Why, she is not better than your other pul’et!”
En’tak blubbers, “She never act like this! Always good! Always frightened!” He slithers up to me and slaps me roughly across the face with his tentacle. “Why do this? Be good! It is not bad. He pays! Behave!” Another slap follows, forcing a guttural cry to escape from my lips. The bear pulls me roughly to my feet and throws me towards En’tak.
“She’s not worth it. I want my credits to return. Now.”
“N-no …,” En’tak garbles, but he sounds much less sure of himself. Bul’yus isn’t getting involved, leaving his partner to do the negotiating. “You pay. You use. No return credits.”
“What was that?” Terro sneers, lunging forward to seize me again. I notice movement out of the corner of my eye, something substantial, shimmery blue like ocean waters on vacation heading in my direction, but I can’t bring myself to care. I’m assuming this is the one who asked what was wrong. I don’t care because he’s not going to save me. No one is. And once this bear uses me up, I’m sure Mr. Big and Blue will want the next taste. I prepare myself, falling limp in the bear’s tight grip, feeling all desire to fight completely drain to the dirty floor at my feet.
As the two continue to argue above me, I wonder what’s going to happen next. Will sex with a bear alien be the same as with a human man? The bear looks humanoid enough, but there’s something about his pupilless black eyes that reminds me of a demon in disguise. And, though I keep my eyes downward, I realize that the blue, shimmery alien has now entered the conversation.
“What is going on here?” he asks. “Why is a Miniak taking a human female to a private room?”
I wince, surprised to hear that the blue alien knows what I am, but I don’t lift my head.
“Mind business, Brehki filth,” En’tak sneers. “He pays credits. He gets time with it.”
“You do realize Miniaks kill their females during pleasure?” the blue one asks, a smooth gait to his voice. “They are much bigger than this female here. I hope you realize that.”
En’tak suddenly reaches for me. “This true, Terro? Plan kill her?”
“I wasn’t planning on it. It would have been incidental. And I paid.”
“But she has buyer!” En’tak roars, sounding truly upset— probably not about my life ending but about losing the sale to my prospective buyer. “No have! Pul’et stay here. Pul’et wait for buyer! Not killed with pleasure!”
I’m pulled back, and all four of En’tak’s tentacled arms wraps tightly around mine.
“I paid the credits,” Terro seethes. “I want her.”
“You’ll kill her,” the blue alien says, his voice dropping to a menacing hiss. “What did you offer him? I’ll cover the cost.”
“You?” Terro sounds shocked. “You pay me back?”
“If he will not, then yes.” There’s a soft beep and a click. “I think what I have offered is probably more than you paid.”
The bear grunts. “That … that will be fine.”
His furry feet retreat from my vision. My God. I can barely focus. Kill me? Would that thing have killed me? This means that the mysterious stranger saved my life. And it cost him, too. Even if I never see him again, I at least need to know what his face looks like. But the moment I lift my chin, I’m pressed back down.
“Who are you?” En’tak burbles. “Ruin my reputation, Brehki filth. Have credits? Good for you. No ruin my business. Tell name! Want know who you are!”
“Sarek.”
There’s another familiar sound while En’tak blusters loudly, and his grip on my arm lessens considerably. Once more, I’m tempted to lift my head, but the slug reacts quickly enough to keep my attention on the dirt.
“Wha … what name?” En’tak tries again. “Sar-ec? Sarek?” There’s a quick beep, and I hear Bul’yus speak for the first time in a while.
“It him, En’tak,” he says. “Sarek.”
There’s fumbling and furious clicking and beeping going on above my head. The blue alien’s feet shift against the snowy dirt but he remains quiet. I don’t know why this name would hold so much importance, but, in a place like this, it can’t mean anything good. Who is Sarek? Why did he pay off the bear, and how does he know what I am? Most importantly, why get involved?
Fuck. He could be my owner, or he could be something much, much worse.
I can’t take it any longer. Even with En’tak’s bumbling, he’s somehow managing to keep me facing the ground. I can’t take it any longer. What am I dealing with? I’m sure I’ll know, the moment I look at this stranger, whether he’s good or bad. He has money, I know. He’s blue and shimmery like a mermaid somehow, but something tells me I’m not going to be looking at King Triton when I lift my head. Because while his skin appears shimmery, that’s only because of the vibrant lights bouncing off his scales. Yes, I said scales. I expect a demon to glare down at me. Another rough touch. That’s when my hell will truly begin.
En’tak keeps scrambling around, and the blue alien remains silent. I find a way to lift my head just enough without him noticing so that I can get a little understanding of what’s going on. The blue alien before me isn’t well dressed, at least, not how I imagine a rich alien would look, but that doesn’t make him any less intimidating. Even from the knees down, I can see that, not only is he humanoid, but he’s also huge. Maybe bigger than En’tak. Not quite as large as the bear, I hope. That thing was fucking terrifying.
“Sarek,” En’tak says. “This… this yours. Here. Take.” His voice is so gruff and quick, I don’t even notice that I’m flung back up to my feet and against a firm, bare blue chest. Thick arms steady me, but they seem hesitant, all but pushing me away. “If Sarek, take pul’et. Be gone. Don’t want trouble. Take and go.”
“But—”
“Have nothing else. Go now!”
And then the same muscled arm wraps around my shoulder and tugs me away from En’tak and Bul’yus’ setup. I can’t resist glancing over my shoulder. Shoshana looks pissed off, and the house elves remained huddled in the corner. What is going to happen to them? I can’t even think about it because this new alien moves quickly. I don’t know what to make of him. I don’t remember his name. I don’t know what his face looks like.
All I know is that he saved me from the bear alien.
He paid money to do whatever the fuck he wants to me.
This alien… is somehow, my savior and my owner.
I want to be happy that I didn’t die at the furry hands of an alien bear beast, yet I can’t help but wonder what’s in store for me now. I’m assuming that whoever can pay to own a sentient being probably doesn’t have much respect for what they purchased. Dammit, I watched way too many horror movies back home. Terrible images of Eli Roth’s Hostel and Hostel 2 pound through my brain again in such a fury that I stumble to keep my footing while shuffling along. The alien is silent, and I don’t think he wants me to speak, either. Is there any point in voicing my anger? My gratitude? My fear? My rage that he thinks he owns me just because he paid the price?
Once we reach the opening of the seller’s market, the intense blast of chilly air strikes my face, and I quickly burrow more deeply inside the sentient, furry onesie. If Sarek’s upset by this, he doesn’t say so. Instead, he calls loudly for a mode of transport with a sharp whistle that doesn’t sound quite human. Fighting the urge to lift my chin, I focus on the noises around me, including the voices I can now understand clearly in my translator.
“What is this?” a new voice rumbles. “I thought you were just looking to see if he—”
“She is mine,” Sarek interrupts. “A Miniak was about to take her.” The second alien doesn’t respond, but a door opens, and Sarek steps inside, pulling me in behind him. “Sit down, pul’et,” he says roughly. “We have a journey ahead of us. Relax now. You are safe.”
Safe. I fight the urge to roll my eyes in case Sarek can somehow see the gesture under my hood. But he’s got to be crazy if he thinks I’ll believe him. I squirm as far away from him as possible as the door shuts, and my stomach falls violently to my feet as though the entire transport has shot up into the air. This is all just way too sci-fi for me.
“You can speak,” Sarek says after we’ve traveled in silence for a short distance. “If the Sul’ex did not allow it, you can now. Speak to me. I’m sure you realize that my name is Sarek.”
I don’t answer him, but a million questions still rush through my mind. I don’t know what’s happening. Sarek doesn’t sound cruel, and that’s almost as terrifying as if he were. He’s not touching me, and he’s not barking orders. He says I can talk to him. Maybe I should listen. If, by some chance, this alien is kind, I don’t want to piss him off.
“The Sul’ex are a cruel race,” Sarek continues, almost as though speaking to himself. “Humans and Si’bets are restricted beings. And yet, the Sul’ex always take them and sell them. You are lucky you did not have to deal with the Miniak. They are not much better. They may not deal in slavery unless the animal is a sentient being, but they do kill any female they pleasure who is not a possible true mate.” He scoffs angrily. “If it would not have attracted too much attention, I should also have—”
“P-please,” I interrupt, wincing in case Sarek isn’t as kind as I hope he is. “I don’t … I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Who are you? Where are we going?” I wish I dared to lift my chin, but I can’t bring myself to look at him yet. I’m afraid of what I’ll find. He speaks in such a low, calm voice that it drips down my skin like warm honey. I want to bathe in his apparent kindness and become lost in his grave, resonating voice, but I’m also afraid that it’s all for show—that his words are to do nothing more than make me feel safe so he can cruelly shatter my relief later.
“As to where we are going, we are heading north, to my dwelling,” Sarek says gently. “And… as to who I am… I suppose I am now your owner. En’tak says so, so it must be true. Though I must wonder—”
“What are you going to do with me?” I interrupt, almost testing to see if he’ll get angry with my disobedience. But no blows follow. No thick hands wrap tightly around my arms. No sharp words. Nothing yet that gives me a reason to fear him.
When he speaks, it’s as though he’s read my worries even though he can’t even see my face.
“Nothing that a Miniak or Sul’ex would do, believe me.” He reaches across the chasm between us and gently brushes my knee. Every instinct in my body screeches to get away from this new alien who paid for my body, but, for some reason, I can’t move. His words sound genuine, kind, like he doesn’t want to hurt me.
So, this begs the question: why did he buy me? Why would he pay money for an alien female?
Surely, he doesn’t have a shortage of friends. I should only be so lucky.
No. There’s no way this alien is as good and kind as he wants me to believe. So, despite the growing hope in my heart, I move my body enough on the seat that his hand can no longer touch my knee and curl away just like I’ve seen the Si’bets do every time a slug or other alien comes close.
“You do not trust me,” Sarek says. It’s not a question, and I can’t tell if he’s shocked or irritated. “I do not blame you. However, there is something you must understand in case the Sul’ex have not told you.” I tense, but he’s probably pretending not to notice. “You are human. Even with that tiyan wrapped around your form, I could smell you. You should know that once an alien removes a lesser being from their homeworld, they cannot return. Humans are a foolish, simple race. If you were to return home and speak of the things you have seen …,” he trails off. “You cannot return to your homeworld.”
