If you enjoy alien abduction science fiction romance, then visit the blog every Wednesday for another exciting chapter from CAPTIVE. If you've found this free read for the first time, you can catch up on the first 5 installments here: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five.
An abducted cop and a gladiator prisoner must learn to
trust each other with their lives…and their hearts…to escape their alien
captors.
Fun Author's Note: The idea for Captive came from watching the rescue of mistreated horses on an episode of Animal Cops. It broke my heart to see those beautiful animals neglected and starved so thin their rib cages showed. How would their owners like being penned up and abused like that? This got me thinking. What if humans were pets, and someone—aliens perhaps—bred us and gambled upon us for sport? I have no idea what happened in the rest of the episode. I was busy cogitating an alien abduction story with a broken alpha gladiator forced to kill for entertainment, and his newly arrived, fiery mate who refuses to breed warriors for the Survival Race.
CAPTIVE
Chapter Five
After returning him to the slums, the race master, Yafuk, unleashed Max and shoved him inside his cage. He’d almost forgotten how cramped it was in here. Less than half the size of HuBReC’s breeding box, it required him to sleep diagonally in order to stretch out.
He’d plenty of space at HuBReC. Though he hadn’t slept much there. He’d been too busy trying to seduce the woman...and failing miserably. What the hell was wrong with her? She’d wanted him. He’d seen it in her eyes. He’d felt her body’s response.
He’d wanted her, too. His body ached remembering how much. She was beautiful and smelled damn good, her feminine scent a glorious reprieve from the farting and unwashed body odor coming from the gladiators living in this dank three-hundred-square-foot pigsty.
The fourteen other men in the neighboring cages were their usual rowdy and unruly selves, awaiting a midday meal that might or might not come.
No one had acknowledged his return. No surprise there, since he'd beaten them all on the training field or in the survival races. Yafuk’s gladiators were mediocre at best.
If they weren’t all half-starved, they’d have the energy to train harder. His stomach rumbled in agreement. They’d better get fed today. He would need major calories for tomorrow’s Survival Race Championship.
If he didn’t step up his game and make it into the top three, he might not live to regret it.
Yafuk appeared without their slop, a leashed gladiator following on his furry heels. The door to Max’s cage sublimated, and the young gladiator stumbled through the gaseous vapor as if he’d been pushed inside. He couldn’t have been a day older than twenty.
What the hell? Max earned alpha status in this Yard. Didn’t that entitle him to his own cage? He barely fit inside alone, now they wanted him to share space with this pup?
In a relaxed ready-to-attack stance, he stared hard at the kid who postured like he was full of piss and vinegar. Max bore no desire to whip his scrawny ass, but a dominance hierarchy must be established.
“Stand down, son.” That would be his only warning.
The kid assessed him, weighing the possibilities against the consequences. Noise from the other seven cages faded, which meant fourteen pairs of eyes watched and waited.
Come on, kid. Don’t make me have to pummel you.
If this kid thought he’d be victorious against a veteran alpha gladiator, then he was dumber than he looked. Then again, Max had been equally stupid at that age. He had been eager to fight the Hyboreans, and he’d lost every time he'd tried to stop the sons of bitches from taking his family.
And his life.
And his humanity.
His jaw clenched. His fists curled.
The young gladiator’s eyes widened. He backed away and lowered his head, conceding Max’s dominant status. There would be no fight today. Too bad. Now that his blood pumped, he itched to hit someone.
The speed at which his inner beast emerged without warning drew chills.
This morning it had emerged in the breeding box, the one place he’d sworn to act human and the one place on this damn planet that had been safe enough to try. Until today. His restraint had been fleeting. The need to touch his broodmare’s curves and taste her lips had consumed him. He’d wanted to sheath his cock deep inside her warm body and forget the hurt and shame of his ugly existence. He had wanted it badly enough to let her believe in a cult. He had pretended to be charming by singing and joking like he used to do before his abduction. He had even lit the aphrodisiac fire to get her in the mood. Worst of all, he broke his vow to never force himself on a female.
Damn woman. All he wanted was a moment’s reprieve from the pain. Was it wrong to want something nice and beautiful and enjoyable for a change? Was it wrong to want to feel good?
But she refused him. She exposed him for the animal he was. He couldn’t deny it, and that pissed him off. Powerless and frustrated, he had lashed out, unable to control his rage until the Hyboreans shocked him, snatched him out, and—
No. He would not think about their abuse.
He jumped and grabbed hold of the rings hanging from the cage’s overhead frame. He pulled his body weight up and down. Chin-ups would help clear his thoughts. He had to forget the breeding box and his spirited broodmare. Forget her scent and her curves and her kiss. Forget her fire and vitality that made him forget—for a brief moment—that he amounted to nothing more than an animal.
In the center of the kennel, Yafuk slapped food bowls on the floor equidistant from the four cages on his wall and the four cages opposite them.
Eight bowls for sixteen ravenous warriors.
The smell of fresh meat and seal blubber set his mouth salivating. This would be his last meal before the championship. He had to get as much of that fat and protein as he could get his hands on.
As the race master exited the room, the gladiators gripped their cage bars, yelling and cursing. Some stood poised at the ready, waiting for their doors to sublimate. Some started beating on their cellmates. “Open the cage,” a deep voice boomed.
Yafuk wouldn’t, of course. Not until every warrior grew primed for another battle for scraps.
He let go of the rings and dropped to the floor.
Though the fire woman had warmed him briefly, the time emerged to resume a beast's bitter life.
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Stay safe out there!
Romance with a rebel heart
Another great segment! It was interesting to get inside Max's head, and better understand his constant Jekyll-and-Hyde inner struggle. I like how he controlled the situation with the younger gladiator who was forced on him in his personal space. Looking forward to reading on.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I love getting an inside look at Max's thoughts as he struggles between being a man and a beast. He was so fun to write. :)
ReplyDelete