“A Derian? Was that what he was?”
“Yeah. That one is named Muu. You’re lucky it was him you spilled your guts on. Asgii would’ve done a lot worse than put you to sleep.”
“Put me to sleep? He shocked me with a damn cattle prod.”
The male shrugged. “Could’ve been worse.”
She shivered and raised a hand to her aching head before she remembered that she was completely naked. A faint warmth rose to her cheeks as she dropped her arm to cover her breasts.
The male snorted again. “Don’t need to worry about me, girlie. You’re not my type.”
“Sorry. I’m Izzie. Who are you?”
“Name’s Rummel. But don’t go chattering on now. I intend to sleep while I can. Won’t be no fucking sleep once they sell me.”
“Why not?”
He was already turning away, but he hesitated and looked back at her. “Destined for the mines, I am. Be lucky to make it a fucking year.”
Her heart skipped a beat, but she lifted her chin. “I’m not afraid of hard work.”
He shook his head. “No mines for you, girlie. That soft flesh might not appeal to me, but there’re plenty out there that are going to be willing to pay for a taste.”
Without another word, he turned his back on her and curled up on the floor. The lizard creature whined again, poking its nose against the bars, and she petted his head. He made an odd, almost purring noise, and she continued to stroke him as her mind went over Rummel’s words. Since she was naked and caged, her potential fate was horribly clear. But if they thought she was going to just accept her fate, they were wrong. She had never backed down from anything in her life, and she wasn’t about to start now. She would fight.
Unfortunately, fighting hadn’t saved her.
The guard stopped in front of an empty cell, drawing her attention back to the present. He opened the door and pulled her inside by her chains. Before she had a chance to react, he stepped out again and closed the door behind him with a resounding clang.
“Put your hands through the bars and I’ll unlock the cuffs,” he said.
She didn’t want to obey any of their orders, but it would be stupid to fight this one, since she really didn’t want her hands chained together. Silently, she extended them through the bars. As soon as he unlocked the cuffs so that she could move freely, he grabbed one of her hands before she could pull it back inside the cell.
She expected him to yank the rest of her body up against the bars, but all he did was stroke her hand curiously.
“So soft. Shame there’s a claim on you. I was looking forward to trying you out myself.”
“Never,” she snarled.
“How would you have stopped me?” The question wasn’t even threatening, just mildly curious.
She didn’t answer him, and he shook his head. He raised her hand to his mouth, and she braced, already expecting pain, but all he did was extend a long, thin tongue and swipe it across her palm. She shuddered, and he laughed.
“Oh, you’re going to be wasted on him.”
He finally dropped her hand, and she retreated back into the cell, trying not to let her despair show on her face. He was right, of course—she couldn’t have stopped him—but she would have had to try. She had lost everything else; all that was left was her pride.
Chapter Three
Three days later, Izzie shivered despite the hot sun beating down on her as she was led out into a vast arena. The sand beneath her bare feet burned, but she refused to show any sign of discomfort. It was hard enough to keep her head high knowing that she was being paraded around like a prize animal. At least she was dressed—well, to a certain extent. The brief white garment was both sheer and open up the sides, but it was the most clothing she had worn since she had been taken.
Stone seats surrounded the arena, oddly reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum but on a much larger scale. Of course, the Colosseum wouldn’t have had enormous screens on either end or a fleet of hovering drones. The mixture of primitive setting and advanced technology would have intrigued her under other circumstances, but she was too terrified to care about it now.
The past three days had been almost peaceful. True, she had been confined in a cell with few comforts and no privacy, but it was larger than the cage had been, and more importantly, no one else had entered the space. She had done her best to ignore the constant ribald comments, leers, and masturbatory sessions from the surrounding cells.
Instead, she found herself thinking about the white-furred alien with surprising frequency. He might look like a more attractive version of the abominable snowman, but he had spoken intelligently, he hadn’t grabbed her, and he had ordered everyone to leave her alone. An order that had been obeyed. The same guard brought her food twice a day, surprisingly good food, and made no further attempt to touch her.
Until this morning. He told her to extend her hands to have them cuffed together once more, and when she refused, he raised a shock stick.
“I don’t want to use this, but I will. You are attending the games today.”
She glared at him, but in the end, common sense won out. No matter how unpleasant her fate, she would rather be conscious this time. Her common sense didn’t prevent her from attempting to kick him in the balls when he entered her cell to attach a chain to her cuffs. Unfortunately, all she did was stub her toes against the very hard surface.
“My cock is safely tucked away behind my carapace,” he said cheerfully, then yanked her closer. “Unless you want me to bring it out to play?”
“Not if you were the last male alive,” she snarled.
“You
