What would life be life if I stayed? What would it be like, to be with these three Aurelians?
When I was in that Aurelian harem, they treated me like a toy. That sounds bad – but I loved it. It’s something I had a tough time admitting, especially to myself.
But then, there was nothing other than a sexual attraction for those three Aurelians. I was just one of thirty women they mated. A favorite, certainly – but only in the short term, while I had the value of novelty. Sooner or later, another new arrival would come along, and then I’d be relegated like the other women in the harem.
But I seduced them. I made those haughty, arrogant Aurelian Elites trust me. I got under their skin, until they made themselves vulnerable to me…
…and then I made them regret that foolishness for the rest of their lives.
But they brought it on themselves. I don’t trust men. I’ve seen the horrible things they do first-hand – especially to women they view as weak.
I still weep to think of what the pirates must have done to my little sister, Lilac. Poor, poor Lilac. Sometimes, in my darkest moments, I think she might have been better off dead than whatever fate she’d face alive.
But while I don’t trust men…
…these Aurelians are not like normal men.
I’ve never felt such a… devotion before. As the hot water deluges down over my trembling body, I reach into the Bond and taste the auras of my newly Bonded partners.
Daccia’s aura is that of pride – but now he feels shame, deep into his core. He suffers a shame that he tries to hide. He’s led his battle-brothers, Hadrian and Kitos, for hundreds of years. He’s being strong for them. He’s a man who’d rather hide his own pain – who’d shoulder the sorrows of others rather than face his own.
Hadrian, in comparison, is a beast. He’s a beast who’d already do anything for me. Yet, at the same time, there’s a pent-up violence inside of him, ready to burst out at the slightest threat. He’s dangerously protective of me; but I’d never be the one in danger. Only those that threaten me would.
Kitos… Now, he’s the one that shocks me. His aura is sharp and intelligent, which I already knew – but I’d also thought he was the most sensitive of the three; the strategic brains of the operation. Instead, I can sense a deliciously cruel streak inside of him. It excites me to feel it, almost as much as it intimidates me.
What do they feel, when they focus on my aura?
Do they share the arrogance of the rest of their species? Looking down on me as just another human female – a weak little being, to be played with and dominated?
I don’t get that sense. I don’t feel they believe they’re superior to me. Even in the heat of mating, when they called me those filthy, dirty names, I could still feel their devotion to me.
I wash myself in the scalding water, trying to make sense of it all. Shocking myself, I suddenly start to laugh. In fact, I break out into hysterics – and one thread of genuine joy suddenly wells up inside of me.
“I’m going to live for thousands of years!”
I gasp out at the realization. All my life, I’ve been a survivor. All my life, I’ve stared down death and fought for my life and my freedom. Now, I’ll have thousands of years to enjoy it – stretching out in front of me like a blank slate. With the thought of all that time comes a sense of grandiose freedom. I’d never realized before how much thoughts of my own mortality had constrained my thinking – limiting the things I believed I could do, and the people I could help…
But I have a very serious question to answer:
Which part of me wants to be with these three men? And which part is the power of the Bond, driving me to desire these things?
I’ve been running for years. I’ve always run alone.
Now, I face a choice.
“Freedom is everything,” I whisper to myself, and my choice is clear.
There will be no freedom possible – not with those Aurelians. There’ll be no freedom because of the Bond. Daccia, Kitos, and Hadrian would protect me, cherish me, and kill for me...
…but they’d never let me go.
Suddenly I sense Daccia approaching. I sense him even before the door to the bedroom hisses open. I stiffen – thinking that whatever happens, I can’t let him suspect that I’ve made my decision to escape them. I know he can feel my emotions though the Bond – but he can’t directly read my thoughts.
I lick my lips, imagining him – knowing that the towering, sexy Aurelian is just feet away from me, on the other side of the shower room door. The feeling is intense. I’d be lying if I said it was only the Bond that made me desire him so strongly.
“Water off,” I whisper quietly to the AI, and the shower instantly stops. Moments later, warm air gushes from the vents, drying me quicker than any towel could.
I look around, but there’s no bathrobe. I need something to cover my nakedness – because, right now, I don’t want Daccia to succumb to the mating frenzy once again.
Aurelians are insatiable – and I don’t think I could even handle a finger of the huge, dominant alien inside of me right now.
I take a deep breath. The alien warrior, linked to me forever, is on the other side of the door. Through the Bond, I feel his devotion – as if he’d die for me…
…the least he can do is pass me some clothes, right?
“Daccia?” I call through the door. “Can you hand me something to cover myself?”
The door hisses open an inch – and Daccia’s huge hand slides through, passing me a fluffy towel through the gap. It’s clearly designed for an Aurelian, as it’s
