Chosen by the Riexian Prince Read online

Finally, he stalked to me and shoved hard. I was a big man, and only moved when I wanted to be moved, so I only stepped back. Anyone else would have found themselves on their ass.

  “Are you out of your fucking , Kyel? We talked about this. Over and over, we talked about this. That old man will kill all of us and he will make it hurt first for daring to go against him. I can’t protect you. Not for this.” Drayl shook his head furiously and went to move to the door.

  Refusing to let him get away, I grabbed him and yanked him back, forcing him to face me. “Drayl. I need to know. You are my best friend. We have known each other since the first time our mothers tossed us into the water to learn to swim. I hope that I can continue to trust you. Nora is everything to me and I can’t stand proud in this world if I can’t protect even one person. How can I expect to protect my people if I cannot even protect the woman I wish to mate with?”

  “Shit, you’re serious about her.”

  Needing him to understand the truth in my words, I refused to look away as I said, “I have been nothing but serious about Nora.”

  Drayl blew out a breath. “You have been my prince since the beginning. You will always be my prince. I won’t leave your side now over some woman. I am not that easy to get rid of.”

  I grinned and slapped his back, relief coursing through me. I hadn’t realized how much I depended on him until that moment. If he had left my side, I wasn’t sure what I would have done.

  “Good. Exactly what I wanted to here. Now, I’m going to get Nora. She’s in class now, but there isn’t a reason she needs to keep taking them now that she’s mine. I’m going to have her moved into my quarters to live with me permanently. We will meet after I get her settled to discuss what we need to do moving forward. My father won’t be happy to learn that Nora is mine and we need to be ready.”

  “You stay here,” Drayl said. “I will get Nora.” Smirking, Drayl motioned to the room. “You need to clean this place up and prepare to receive a female anyway. And I need the walk as I wrap my head around what we are doing.”

  I chuckled. He was very much right in his assessment. My room was basic, only providing what was needed. Nora would need clothes, and feminine products. The kitchenette needed to be stocked for a human.

  “Thank you, my friend.”

  “Of course, Kyel. I will return.” Drayl left.

  Glancing around, I thought of more ways to spruce up the place. Maybe get a tank in here and fill it with beautiful creatures for Nora. She was absolutely fascinated by water and what it could do. I wanted to make this place as much hers as it was mine.

  12

  Nora

  All the students were dutifully sitting in our seats as Tryel prepared to start the lesson at the front. Apparently, today was going to be a more broad subject so that we could all learn together instead of working in our separate groups.

  I tried to keep still, to not give anything away despite all the questioning looks coming my way. Two days. Kyel had kept me detained for two days and really did prove that there was no way to overdose from too much pleasure. If anything, I was sexually hungover. My body ached all over and every time I shifted, I was reminded of how he felt between my legs. The power of his thrusts, the slap of his second penis against my back end. The feel of his cilia against my clit and the entrance of my pussy. That sent me into a daydream that left my undies drenched and my breathing shallowed. It was hard to keep my thoughts hidden, but I thought I was doing a decent enough job pretending that everything was okay in my little world.

  Liddia was quick to claim the seat next to me, smiling and chipper like always. She kept throwing questions at me faster than I could keep up with.

  “Slow down,” I whispered. “What?”

  “Is it true?”

  “I can’t say if it is or not if you don’t tell me what you’re going on about.”

  “At the party. You tossed water on Prince Kyel. Then you disappeared for two days.”

  It took all I had not to blush as I remembered how my skin tingled from the feel of Kyel’s hands, lips, his everything.

  “Did he punish you? Are you okay?” Liddia’s genuine concern softened me.

  “I’m fine,” I whispered. “He didn’t punish me.”

  At least not in the way she thought he did.

  “Oh. Why did you do that anyway? How do you know the prince?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with telling someone they are being an ass when they are being an ass.”

  She gasped and leaned back with wide eyes. “You didn’t.”

  “I did.”

  “He can have you killed. I’m surprised he hasn’t yet.”

  “Doesn’t make him any less than an ass.” I eyed her, watching carefully, waiting for any signs of deceit. I didn’t see any. She was making it harder and harder to not like her and I knew her game. She was a collector of information. She knew how to get what she wanted. Did that extend to me too? I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that what I sensed from her was a genuine worry for my safety.

  I took a good look at Liddia. Initially, I thought she was my age, but she had to be a couple years younger. There was an innocence in her gaze that made me wonder more about her background. No one from earth has that unless they were from a wealthy family. But if she were, then she’d be paying her way to a better position, not working in a textile factory.

  “How old are you?” I asked.

  Liddia’s shock threw me for a moment until she broke out in a wide smile. “You realize that’s the first personal question you asked me.”

  “Really?” Frowning, I tried to remember anything that I’d asked her since meeting her. We’d been on traveling for a couple of weeks now, how had I not? “Oh. It really is.”

  She suppressed a giggle. “That’s okay. I’m sixteen.”

  “You’re still a baby.”

  “Am not.” She straightened in her seat, trying to seem more mature. “Besides, I’ve seen human cock before. I am definitely not a little girl anymore. Speaking of cocks, is it true? Have you had a chance to verify it yet? I heard breeders have to go through some training. Not to the extent of the whores in training, but still some in order to please a Riexian. So, do they really have two cocks? Is it really like that photo you had up?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I am not answering that question for you. You are far too young to think about such things.”

  “There is a lot I need to think about. If I’m aware of alien cock, then I won’t be stuck working in a factory. I can make myself useful.”

  “Y-you…do you know what you’re saying?” I went to say more but the door slid open, grabbing everyone’s attention. The man always hanging around Kyel walked into the room, not bothering to glance at any one of us. Apparently, being a Riexian meant being cocky and self-absorbed.

  Muttering all around picked up as Drayl whispered with the instructor. As they were talking, Drayl scanned the room and paused on me, our eyes meeting. Displeasure flashed through him, his neutral façade cracking. Warning bells rang in my head when Tryel glanced my way with a disapproving frown.

  “What do you think is going on?” Liddia asked, picking up on the growing tension increasing through me. She had also noticed the attention that was coming my way.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. Was Kyel okay? Was he chickening out again and about to throw more shit my way? We had a really good two days. Really good. So good that even now orgasmic aftershocks thrummed through my body. All Kyel had to do was touch me, and I would come screaming. Was there such a thing as overpleasure?

  One would think we were in a good spot. But it was easy to tell that Ambassador Kryn had Kyel’s balls tightly in his grasp. To think the overbearing prince had daddy issues. Was he about to run cold again?

  Drayl said something else, Tryel nodding enthusiastically. My interaction with Kyel’s best friend was limited, but I knew to read people, even aliens. The Riexian didn’t like me.

  “Very well.” Tryel sighed and shook
his head. “Can’t say that I’m surprised. Nora, you are to follow Drayl.”

  Knowing saying anything would be useless, I stood up and smoothed out my dress. Drayl was already by the door, waiting with impatience. My heart beat in a pattern similar to the sound of a herd of Elyphants pounding against the ground.

  “Nora?” Liddia whispered, reaching for my wrist. Her expression said she was just as scared as I felt. I stepped away from her touch and tried to keep from showing any of my worry. Appearing weak before this man would be a dangerous move.

  We walk silently through the halls. I tried to pay attention to where we were going, but he brought me through a set of doors that had always been closed off for the trainees. I had an impression the ship was massive, but we were only allowed to certain areas. All the turns and sections we walked through made it hard to remember the way back.

  “Where are we going?” I finally asked, my voice slightly higher than I intended. My question came out sharper than I wanted it to, my nerves were getting the best of me. “Where are you taking me?”

  Drayl whirled around and got into my personal space. He towered over me, not as tall as Kyel, but still enough to force me to look up at him. Drayl had years of practice in being overbearing, and he used all that experience now as he glowered.

  He tsked as his lip curled into a sneer full of cruelty. “Watch yourself, breeder. Your behavior will not pass with me. You do not get a second chance so I suggest you keep your mouth shut unless you wish to be punished.”

  He stepped closer, forcing me back. He reached up, tracing my cheek. Disgust rolled through me at the touch. When he touched a strand of my hair, he yanked on it. Hard. I yelped, trying to move away, but he refused to give me relief as my scalp burned.

  “And you will not like my punishments. I do not tolerate insubordination from anyone, especially not from the whores on my planet. Only the royalty are above me.” Drayl looked me over slowly. “And you are not one of them.”

  I licked my lips, trying to keep tears from the pain falling. Anger rose in me. Bullying was never something I tolerated and no way was I going let him cower me into submission. “I may not be royalty, but I’m at least fucking one. That matters.”

  Drayl released me, scowling hard. If his gaze could cut through me, I’d be left in little pieces in the hallway. “I know exactly who you are, Nora. I am taking you to see Kyel.”

  I blinked in surprise, not expecting that. Drayl was taking me to see Kyel? He took me out of class? Why? I wanted to calm down at that, but instead anxiety became my new friend as Drayl stalked away, leaving me to chase after the man. His pace was quick, every one of his steps forcing me to take three of my own.

  We went down another hallway and Drayl stopped in front of an unassuming door.

  “This will be your new quarters. Kyel has chosen you as his mate. Please wait here until he comes for you to make it official.” He stepped to the side so I could get a peek. I moved inside, taking in the basic room, even more basic than the pod that I had been staying in. It only held a bed, and not much else. If I thought all the white on white was boring, this was worse, because while it was still all white, there wasn’t any furniture or basic decorations to break it up. There wasn’t even a side table. All that sat in it was the bed.

  The door snicked closed behind me and I turned to open it. Something buzzed and when I tried to slide the door open, it refused to budge.

  “Hey!” I pounded on the door. Pressing my ear against the cold door, I tried to listen for Drayl on the otherside.

  Nothing.

  “Drayl!” I pounded on the door again. “Open it now. This isn’t funny.”

  The lights turned off, leaving me in complete darkness.

  What the fuck was going on?

  13

  Kyel

  My quarters was spotless. I moved around, triple checking everything. All items were where they belonged. I even found synthesized flowers from earth, hoping it’d make her feel more at home. Was flowers something she was familiar with? I wasn’t sure. I glanced at the clock by the door. Two hours had already passed.

  Where was she?

  Why was Drayl dragging his feet?

  I wanted Nora in my hands now, not later.

  I checked everything again. The space was definitely better, more of a home rather than a place to sleep. All I was missing was my mate. And I’d let her add anything else she wanted. I contemplated the possibility of getting a small hot pool in here for us to relax in private. Water meant the world to Nora, I saw that every time she brought up the pool or looked at a tank of fish, or even drank water. Her enamor with water fed me, renewed my love and respect for my planet and what we had. Damn it. I needed her with me.

  “Drayl,” I growled, my patience reaching the end. “How long does it take to walk across the damn ship. Definitely not two hours.” And no way did he get lost either.

  My quarters was close to the bridge of the ship in case anything happened that needed my direct attention. The trainees were kept closer to the back. She should have been with me already.

  “Fuck, if Drayl is purposively dragging his feet, I’m tossing him in the whirlpools when we land back on Ariex. Watch him get himself out of that one.” I muttered more threats as I tossed on my robes and shoved out of my room. My patience no longer existed.

  It only took fifteen minutes to get to the classrooms. I kept time to make sure. I shoved into the room, not caring that I was disrupting the instructor—Tryel. He was already on my shit list so he paled when he saw what was my battle expression. I had soldiers tell me that it reminded them of an incoming lightning storm. It was enough to cause legs to quake and bladders to release.

  Tryel was on the verge of collapsing.

  “Where is she?” I commanded.

  “W-Who, Prince Kyel?”

  “Nora.” I scanned the room, hoping to find her flaming red hair and her captivating green eyes. I wanted to spot that sly smile of hers when she was about to do something that was going to drive me wild.

  But she wasn’t there. This was the right place. I knew Nora’s schedule better than she did. She should have been there. Instead, all I got were girls—and a few boys—batting their eyes at me like that was enough to claim a spot in my bed.

  Naïve. The whole lot of them.

  “I’m only asking one more time and you better answer me. Where is Nora?”

  The instructor swallowed, trying to keep himself composed. “Sir Drayl already took her. He explained the situation.”

  “How long ago?”

  “Uh.” Tryel glanced at the clock, frowning. “A couple hours ago.”

  I did another scan, making sure no one was playing a joke on me. The room was full, but there was one empty seat next to a girl I heard enough about to recognized. She loved chatting up my men and I had to warn them a few times already to keep their traps shut when it came to our dealings. She liked to get into other’s business. I had people keeping a close eye on her, though she hasn’t done anything with the information she had been able to gather.

  At least, not yet.

  Her eyes widen when she realized I was scowling at her. Her mouth dropped open and I narrowed my eyes, letting her know she wasn’t in good standing with me. Leaving the classroom in a titter, I stalked the halls, trying to find where the fuck Drayl took my mate because it most definitely wasn’t to my quarters.

  My paranoia spiked, leaving room for doubt and fear to slip in. Was Nora okay? Should I go to the med ward to make sure? Not wanting to waste time, I stopped at a control panel in the hall. All hallways had them. They were mainly used for simple communications from different areas in case of emergencies and to relay information quicker.

  After scanning the ident on my wrist, I tried to do a location scan for Drayl. The machine buzzed, but then the screen went dark.

  “What the Blood Goddess is going on?” I hit the emergency comm button. “This is Kyel. Respond now.”

  Nothing. I tried hitting mo
re buttons, but nothing happened. It was like the screen was frozen. After hacking into the system using a backend that I had created when the system was originally put into place, I moved through the different programs, trying to figure out what was going on.

  I almost missed it. It was a tiny change in the code, a little bug to keep the information hidden, but it wasn’t enough to deceive me.

  “What is going on?” Something was being downloaded to Ariex. I tried to find the source and the final destination, but couldn’t move fast enough. Whatever it was, was sent. “Fuck. Whoever it was is going to be torn apart, stitched back together, just so I could fucking tear them apart again.”

  Unacceptable. Hiding a transmission sent to Ariex couldn’t be good. Was it a mole on the ship? Who? Tyrel, that damn instructor? One of my close men? Or maybe a slave? There was too many politics, too many things that could go wrong.

  And I couldn’t afford that, not if it put Nora at risk.

  “Fucking bastard.” I kicked the wall, not caring about the dent that I left into it. As I was trying to get everything back online again, it restarted on its own and everything was back in working order. I stabbed at the communication button. “I want diagnostics run on every program on the goddamn ship and a full report sent to me within the hour.”

  “Yes, sir,” someone replied.

  I searched through the system again, needing to find Drayl and ask him what the fuck was going on. If we had a hacker or a mole on our ship, I wanted them taken cared of as soon as possible. Let space tear them apart. If someone was secretly reporting to my father, then I was in deeper shit than I already was. Not able to locate him, I stalked to control center. Having full access would make the search easier.

  I was almost to the bridge when Drayl came around the corner, coming to a halt.

  “Where have you been?” I snapped at him.

  His mouth opened and then closed.

  “Where is Nora? How long does it take to get one human?”