Prey For The Tedoleran (Tedolerans Book 5) Read online

"Yes and no," I answer tonelessly to hide my excitement. I have an idea that is so bad it is almost good.

  Bruul looks at me for a while, trying to see through me, but fails. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "The female definitely has a lot of fight in her. She is wild, feral even—and she ran away. Right now, the only scenario I see happening is her running away again. Then again. Then again and again and—"

  Bruul interrupts me. "I get it. And yes, you're right, she clearly doesn't know her place, and unfortunately, it doesn't make me look very assertive, which is something I can't risk my associates even catching a glimpse of. So what do you propose?"

  "I propose training her for you and returning her once she is docile." Yes, that is my plan. I want to fuck the delicious human and find out for myself what the fuzz is about. My brother never looked at the same female twice, and now he lives with one? Human cunt must be magic.

  Bruul thinks for a moment and then nods. "All right. That's a plan. How long do you think you need?"

  "No more than three standard days," I answer. "I will check in with you after that."

  "Very good, Tausav, very good," Bruul says. "I'm looking forward to hearing from you." Then he closes the communication channel.

  He took the bait. Good. I bought a little time. Time to fuck the human female Kate before I get bored of her anyway.

  5

  Kate

  I'm sitting on the floor, literally trying to stare a hole into the wall, when Tausav finally comes back. With the artificial light and the constant slight humming sound of the spaceship, it's impossible to tell how much time has passed since he left.

  I tried everything from clawing at the walls to looking for any kind of weapon. There's a control panel next to the door outside my cell, but the strange force field didn't let me put my hand through. Instead, it zapped me. Not hurtful yet uncomfortable enough that I didn't feel the need to try more than three times. It was like trying to push my hand through very stiff mud. I needed a lot of strength to put my fingers through, and then the pressure and the tingling sensation already became too much for my mind to handle.

  Tausav unlocks the door with a motion of his big hand.

  "Follow me, female."

  "Like I said before, my name is Kate."

  His eyes are gleaming with mischief, and I really do not like the way he is looking at me right now. It reminds me of myself looking at a large pizza with extra cheese.

  He folds his big arms in front of his chest. "Step out of the cell and follow me, female."

  His tone is teasing. He wants to anger me, to test me and see how I will react. Too bad I don't feel like being his guinea pig today. Instead, I step out of the cell, chin high and shoulders back.

  A smile forms around the corners of his mouth as he turns and starts walking. I follow him through the narrow corridor. There are tiny pulsing lights on the floor, leading the way with their bright white gleam.

  Tausav walks to a silvery door that slides open as soon as we are close enough. The room behind the door looks vaguely like a kitchen with a table and four chairs, a long smooth counter, and a square box with a couple of buttons, which reminds me of a microwave, only the door isn't see-through.

  "Welcome to the galley, female." He keeps his eyes on me as I swallow my nasty retort. If he wants to call me female although knowing my name, I will play along. It's probably smarter than constantly mouthing off to the big dangerous alien who has abducted me.

  He motions for me to sit before he starts pushing the buttons on his fancy space microwave. It only takes a couple of seconds before the machine hisses and pings. Tausav opens the door, and to my surprise, there are a glass of water and a bowl of soup inside, but what confuses me the most is the fact that the glass seems to be ice-cold while the bowl is steaming.

  My captor puts both in front of me. "You will not get any cutlery until I can trust you not to attack me with it."

  I imagine a normal-sized fork in my hand and stare at his biceps. How would that even work? I probably couldn't hurt him even if I tried.

  My fingers close around the glass, and it really is as cold as I suspected. I don't care since my throat is parched. The water feels like heaven in my mouth, and I get a slight hint of lemon, but maybe that's just my imagination.

  After drinking, I put the glass down and gather my courage. "What happens next?"

  "You will drink the broth."

  I can't help myself but roll my eyes. "No shit, Sherlock. And after that?"

  Tausav pulls the chair on the opposite side of the table back and sits. "After that, it will be whatever I tell you. Also, I do not know who this Sherlock is, but it did not sound like a compliment."

  "You can't just abduct me. I'm pretty sure there are laws against that kind of thing. Even in space."

  He puts his elbows on the table and leans closer. "There are. To protect all the weak creatures from strong and fierce warriors like myself."

  His nearness does funny things to my stomach, and I feel a flutter in my belly. "So you're not abducting me?"

  "Oh, I am very much abducting you."

  "But you can't do that! You said so yourself." My pulse is thrumming in my ears, and I don't dare to move a muscle.

  Tausav looks almost charming when he smiles. His black hair comes down to his shoulders and looks so silky that I feel the need to touch it. He cocks one of his thick eyebrows, showing me more of his lazy smile. "I know. But who are you going to call for help, female? And how are you calling them for help? Officially speaking, you are dead. You died in an unfortunate accident, claiming the lives of all 367 passengers on board the transport shuttle from Earth to New Terran. No one is looking for you. At this very moment, only a handful of creatures know you are alive, and it is in neither of our interest to change that. You see, that is how space slavers operate. Kill the males, capture and sell the females, and make it look like an accident. Some bribes here, some blackmail there, and no one bats an eye. You belong to Bruul now, and he is paying me handsomely to take you back to him. He is going to be surprised when I tell him that you are very much capable of talking and understanding commands."

  Everything he just said sounds like my worst nightmare come true. "My parents think I'm dead?" My voice breaks.

  "Yes. They do. Is that not better than for them to hope that you will come back when there really is no hope?"

  If I was on Earth right now, abducted by a human, I would try to run. I wouldn't care about the consequences if my abductor catches me and gets mad. But here? Where am I supposed to go? I'm literally in space. Besides the fact that I can't breathe outside, I don't have any idea how to get outside in the first place. I don't even know how much good it would do me to kick Tausav in the balls—does he even have balls? He probably does.

  He pushes the bowl of soup toward me. "Eat."

  "I'm not hungry." I push the bowl back. It's true. My stomach has shrunken to the size of a quarter, and there's no way I will get even a single bite down.

  Tausav narrows his eyes. "You will not lose your luscious curves on my watch. Eat or I will feed you."

  Luscious curves? I'm weirdly flattered, and at the same time, I want to throw the soup into his face. Also, I want to cry because no one is looking for me. I think about my parents, my sister—and it's crushing.

  I put my hands around the bowl and notice how cold I am. The warmth of the soup makes me realize that I'm shaking, and I can't tell if it is because I'm naked or because I'm scared. Right now, I just want to sob because I might be out of options. If he is telling the truth and no one knows I'm still alive, then there really is no rescue team on the way to save me. I think back to the gladiator slaves that were with me in Alai'i'ir's shop. If even they can't free themselves and run, how should I manage it? My first try was miserable and didn't get me very far.

  "All will be fine if you cooperate, female. You are a pretty one, and pretty ones have it easy."

  I'm certain he wants to reassure me, but nothing abou
t this is reassuring or comforting to say the least.

  "Now eat." His tone is demanding and doesn't allow for any objection.

  Defeated, I lift the bowl to my lips and start drinking. It's not a soup and more of a broth that is surprisingly creamy and rich. The taste reminds me of beef but also fish, and I try not to think about it. I focus on swallowing and not crying, and right now, that is all I am capable of. The bitterness of reality has hit me hard, and my optimism is gone. I'm alone in a spaceship with a huge alien whose only job is to bring me back to my buyer who wants to breed me. Lucky me.

  I put the empty bowl down and lower my eyes. Until I know what to do, I should probably try and be a good slave—if only to get by.

  Tausav gets up. "Come with me."

  Again, I follow him through the narrow corridor, but I can't tell if we are going back to the cell or to another destination because it all looks pretty much the same.

  The alien warrior stops so suddenly that I bump into him. He grips my shoulders to steady me. "Careful, female. Do not damage the merchandise."

  I blink quickly, trying not to cry. Did he just call me merchandise? That's even worse than calling me "female" all the time.

  Because I'm focused on not bawling my eyes out, it takes a second for me to realize that I'm standing in front of a bathroom. Tausav puts his hand on my back and uses mild force to push me into the room. I stumble forward, my heart beating in my chest. It's been days since I last saw one of those. My cage had a bucket for me to pee and poop in, so this is a real luxury. But I immediately suspect that every luxury now comes at a price.

  Tausav guides me to the middle of the room, and without turning, I know by the sliding sound that the door has closed behind us.

  The big red alien uses a finger to push my chin up, and a second later, he has the dreaded collar in his hand. I touch my throat, and although I know it's stupid, I feel like I can breathe more freely again.

  "You are to take a bath now, female."

  Does he really have to end every sentence with that term?

  "Okay." I simply nod and wait for him to leave.

  He doesn't leave. Instead, he walks to the giant bathtub and uses his comm device to make a faucet appear from the smooth wall before the water pours into the tub.

  When he turns back to me, there's visible irritation on his face. "Your bath is ready."

  "Then why aren't you leaving?" I bite my tongue because I didn't mean to sound so snappy.

  His eyes are gleaming again, and I'm quite sure he's thoroughly enjoying the situation. "I am staying, female. Now get in."

  "I would prefer to bath in peace."

  "Very well." He starts walking, and in my naivete, I think he's going to leave the room. Instead, he grabs me, lifts me onto his arms, and dumps me straight into the tub. The water splashes over the edges, and I try to get back to the surface, arms and legs flailing. Gasping for air, I narrow my eyes at the alien. My temper gets the best of me. "Are you crazy?"

  "No. This was your first lesson. You do as I say, or I will make you. Do you understand that, female?"

  The tub is so big that I'm on my knees, and yet I can barely reach the edge. As I stand up, Tausav shakes his head. "You need to wash yourself, female. Unless you want me to do it for you."

  I stumble backward, lose my footing, and fall back into the water. When I get up, coughing and chocking, Tausav smirks. "That is what I call motivation."

  Instead of calling him all those nasty words going through my mind, I cross my arms to cover my breasts. "Do you have any soap?"

  "The soap is already in the water. You can come out now."

  I look at the ledge and have no idea how to climb it.

  "Sorry, my bad." Tausav grabs me again and lifts me from the tub. Within a second, I'm back on my feet, water dripping from my body and hair.

  The alien looks at me, cocks his head, and clicks his tongue. "You should smile more. No one wants to fuck a sour-faced female."

  I swear I'm about to kill him. It won't be long before I stop caring how big and frightening this guy is. Instead of answering him, I force the corners of my mouth farther down.

  "That is not smiling, female."

  "Maybe I don't want to be fucked."

  "Then it is a good thing I am here to train you. It is obvious you need guidance before I can hand you back to Bruul. He does not have the experience to tame a female."

  "You want to tame me?" I'm not sure I believe my ears.

  "Yes." He snaps his fingers and points to the ground. "Kneel."

  There must be a fried circuit in my brain. Something that usually prevents me from suicidal actions and reckless behavior. Otherwise, I can't explain why I slowly and gracefully lift my right hand and flip Tausav off. "How about you go fuck yourself, buddy?"

  He imitates the gesture and rubs his chin. "I suspect this is not a friendly greeting, yes?"

  "No, it is not." My teeth are gritted, and I can feel my right eye twitch. This is it. This will probably be the moment in which I'm killed by an angry alien for flipping him the bird, and right now, I couldn't care less.

  But to my surprise, Tausav just laughs. "I will remind you of this when you are ready to kneel freely for me."

  "Which will be never." I lift my chin higher.

  "Do not worry, female. It will be soon. Now get on your knees. I will not ask you again."

  6

  Tausav

  I could not be more delighted that Kate chooses to ignore my commands. She lifts her chin defiantly and glares at me, her eyes narrowed.

  "I suspect you will be more susceptible to my words once I have administered your punishment."

  My pretty human pales a little. "Punishment? What punishment? You're not going to make me eat those living bugs, are you?" The look on her face is one of sheer horror.

  "I do not know anything about bugs." Putting my hand on her naked back, I guide her forward. "Now come with me."

  It is obvious that she does not want to go with me, but she also cannot stay where she is with my hand on her back, pushing her forward.

  I follow the corridor right to my sleeping chamber, and as soon as the door opens, Kate starts shaking her head. "Oh, hell no."

  "I did not ask for your input, female." As I push her into the chamber, she stems her heels into the ground, effectively making me knock her over. Luckily, I manage to grab her before she hits the floor face-first.

  "Careful, human."

  She swats at my hand. "Yeah, I know, the merchandise. Don't remind me."

  After I make sure that she is steady on her own two feet, I lock the door behind us and point to the middle of the room. "Kneel for me."

  "The answer is still no, asshole."

  "Are you sure? You will regret not cooperating very soon."

  Kate balls her tiny fists, and if looks could kill, I would probably drop dead immediately. "You know what I'm sure of? That you are an abductor and an asshole. What you're doing is wrong."

  "If it was not me, Bruul would have asked another alien to retrieve you. Probably someone not half as nice as me."

  "Nice? Are you serious?" She crosses her arms, and her tits jiggle in a very enticing way. I wonder if Kate will moan when I suck at those plump pink tips before burying my teeth in her soft flesh. The thought has my cock twitching. Focus. I need to focus.

  "I am being very nice. I even did research to find proper ways to punish you, considering that you are a delicate human."

  To my surprise, she blushes. "I'm hardly delicate."

  I eye her tiny collarbones and the small wrists and have to disagree. If I wanted to, I could crush her with a single hand. "So far, I have learned that some parts of human females are surprisingly sturdy. I will share my research with you."

  It is true. After I ended my call with Bruul, I did some quite . . . enticing research to find out what the best way would be to handle Kate. I thought about calling Brackon, but I do not want to explain to him how I came in possession of a human female so
quickly after leaving Jittania Prime. At the moment, Kate is my pretty little secret.

  Taking the comm device out of the back pocket of my cargo pants, I press a button, and the giant display on the wall of my sleeping chamber lightens up.

  It shows a human female kneeling. She is as naked as my Kate but way thinner. So thin actually that I would be afraid to break her simply by touching her. But by watching her in that vid, I learned that this fear seems to be redundant.

  A human male appears on the right side of the screen, wearing combat boots and leathery pants. He pats the female's cheek and makes her stand before guiding her to a simple bench.

  I can see Kate's throat moving as she swallows, watching the events unfold. It was not very hard to find earth porn, but it was difficult to find some where the female does not sound like she is being killed or where the male does not insist that the female calls him daddy, which seems to be a variation of "father." Why anyone would want that is beyond me.

  The male uses restraints to bind the female to the bench before he proceeds to take a whip into his hand. Kate gasps, but it seems that she cannot look away.

  The whip cuts through the air, and the female groans on impact while Kate flinches. I walk to her, putting my hands on her small shoulders, and make sure that my mouth is close to her ear. "Last chance to kneel for me, female."

  Kate shivers, but she finally obeys me and sinks to her knees, not looking away from the display.

  I smile. "Very good. Now push your knees apart so I can see your cunt, and put your hands on your thighs, palms up."

  My captive bites her plump lower lip while following my instructions. It is obvious that she does not like it the least bit, but nevertheless, it makes my cock hard that she does it anyway.

  I pet her head, standing next to her as we are both watching how the human female on screen gets whipped. Her ass is fiery red, angry lashes crisscrossing her skin.

  "See how sturdy she is while being that skinny? I bet your plump ass can take a lot more punishment." My hand grips her neck, squeezing it slightly. "I cannot wait to find out, female."