I never remembered that discussion in the career advisor’s office.
Lily rubbed her hands nervously and approached the Beast. It was Lily’s job to welcome the victor and usher them in to choose their Prize.
“Congratulations on another win! It was a very exciting fight.”
She hadn’t even watched it. I suppose it got a little boring after a while. Come to think of it, I had no idea how long Lily had been here. I made a mental note to ask Harper. She knew everything about this place.
The Beast grunted and turned on his heel to march out of the room. A pair of prison guards turned with him. They were about the same height as him, broad-chested and huge. They wore thick armor that covered them head to toe. A helmet concealed their faces. They carried weapons called shock rifles that emitted a powerful burst of electricity like a taser on steroids. It was the only weapon that could take down these animals under their care.
Lily stepped in the Beast’s path and I wondered where she got the balls to do something so stupid. The Beast could tear her to pieces in an instant and pick his teeth with her bones.
But she had a job to do.
She raised her hands and waved them.
“We had a new shipment come in a few days ago. I thought you might like to look them over. Some are fresh and untouched.”
The Beast glared at Lily, who immediately lowered her eyes. She performed a kind of curtsy and backed away from him.
Harper stamped her foot on the dais where we stood and growled under her breath, frustrated her efforts had amounted to nothing.
The stamp brought a smile to my face. Sure, we might be in hell, and sure, we would never escape and things could only get worse from here, but at least I had Harper to keep me entertained.
Harper gasped and suddenly stood upright. The other girls leaped to attention too, straightening their long necks, pristine backs, and smiling their gorgeous coy smiles.
What did they think they were doing? I wondered. The show was over. The Beast had left and—
And then I noticed him heading toward us.
My breath caught in my throat at the sight of him approaching.
His strides were long and powerful, his eyes like laser-beams.
“He’s coming!” Harper said. “He’s coming! He’s mine! He can smell my perfume!”
I raised my chin to look at him defiantly. It never failed to dull the fighters’ interest in me.
His boots were heavy and scuffed with dust from the fighting pit. His perfectly-formed muscles glistened with perspiration. His scars were puckered and a dark shade of grey.
I found it hard to meet his eyes. I felt intimidated by his immense size. He was the undisputed champion of the fighting pits.
But I refused to let him think he could dominate me. I refused to let any of them think I was just a piece of meat for them to gnaw on and toss away.
So, I met his eyes.
They were dark and hooded. They caught a shard of light that I couldn’t identify the origin of and glowed an intense gold.
My God, he was a gorgeous creature.
The scars that crisscrossed his body gave him an air of danger.
His eyes pressed on me and I felt their weight.
Look away, my instincts commanded. He’s a dangerous predator. Look away.
But I refused, the same way I had refused when the other fighters had sought to claim me.
I stared at him and he stared straight back.
Out the corner of my eye, I noticed Harper wiggling her shoulders to ensure the Beast got a full nostril of her pungent perfume.
There was a slight shift in his eyes. Tiny, small, and... amused?
It was almost not there… but I would swear on my life it was.
He turned his head to Lily and didn’t say a word. He gave the briefest of nods before marching away. The guards moved with him like a shadow.
That was a relief. For a second there, I thought he was going to choose me!
Lily stood there, staring at me as if she were waiting for me to do something.
“What?” I said.
“What are you waiting for?” Lily said. “Go with him.”
I glanced at Harper, whose expression was pursed.
But Lily wasn’t looking at her. She was glaring at me.
There had to be some mistake.
I couldn’t have been claimed.
I didn’t want to be claimed.
Harper frowned with confusion. She couldn’t believe he had chosen me. The other girls wore the same expression.
Shocked? Join the club.
“Move!” Lily said quietly but firmly.
My legs felt unsteady as I stepped off the dais and shuffled toward the Beast who waited for me on the other side of the room.
This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.
My heart thudded in my chest, so hard I thought it was trying to escape.
I joined the Beast and glanced at him.
He would shake his head at the obvious mistake that’d been made. I would return to my safe spot on the dais and Harper, or one of the others, or Lily for all I cared, would take my place instead.
It’d all been a terrible mistake.
But when I looked at the Beast, he didn’t shake his head. He waited for me to join him at his shoulder and we marched, side by side, toward his cell.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
I wasn’t supposed to be his Prize.
What the fuck was going on?
We walked in silence down the long hallways that stretched like spiderwebs. We were located in a prison called Ikmal, on a moon named Gharr. The entire moon was a prison, where, according to Harper, the worst criminals from the known galaxy were sent.
The intergalactic equivalent of Alcatraz.
And I had been abducted and brought there to service the victors in a twisted series of daily battles.
Lucky me.
“Today is my lucky day,” Harper had said first thing this morning. “I’ve got a secret weapon that will make me irresistible.”
She sprayed herself with perfume that made me gag and pinch my nose.
“What is that?” I said.
Harper raised a
