Stealing Shiloh Read online

  I tug on the bindings and look up at them, trying to wiggle free, but they’re too tight. My struggles are of no use, I’m bound and left waiting. With nothing else to do, I let my thoughts wander to my future. I wonder what they will look like. What will they be like? Will they speak to me or just rip me down and fuck me on this mountain, trying to implant a baby in me?

  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the idea of being worshipped by aliens. Fuck, I bet the sex would be amazing, and the idea that I have mates—someone by my side forever—to fight battles, conquer life, and go on adventures with sounds appealing. I don’t want to be alone, but…but what if they are mean? What if they never love me, and I’m stuck with them? A toy to be used instead of a mate to be loved… What if—what if they hurt me? I know they are supposed to worship the ground we walk on, but fuck, so are human men, and they can be assholes when they want to be.

  A rumble under my feet cuts my deliberations short, like the mountain itself is moving in fury. Then, I realise…it's a roar. Like a lion or a bear back home, but so much worse. Goosebumps erupt across my skin as a snarl rages so loud, I wish I could clap my hands over my ears. It’s fierce and filled with such potent anger that I instantly scrunch back with fear, because I know what it is.

  I know it’s for me.

  It sounded like it came from inside the mountain itself. Is that where the aliens are? Is it a weird prize type situation? Tie the human woman to a pole and let them get her? Is this a sick game of finders keepers? An alien version of Hunger Games? Maybe everything we thought about meeting our mates is wrong. Maybe they aren’t just picked or destined for us, maybe they have to fight to get us.

  May the odds be forever in your favour…

  Maybe, just maybe, we are the prize and they are the contestants. Fuck, I wish Carmen was here. That crazy bitch would have a plan, and she wouldn’t be scared, giving me strength. But I’m terrified to see who or what will come over that mountain edge and get me.

  Claim me.

  I beg whatever God or fate that watches over us to let them be someone I could love, or at least, someone who won’t hurt me.

  Please let the aliens be the ones from my dreams, not my nightmares.

  Two

  Trov

  I bring my wings in tighter to my back, avoiding the other Klans crowding into the holding cave inside Forsaken Mountain. The competition to win the human begins soon. We all felt it, felt her come here to our world, to our atmosphere. Like a shooting star, we all turned to stare at the sky, wondering what she would be like.

  We knew she was ours, and now my Klan and I are going to win the tests and claim her as ours.

  Nervous energy fills the dark cavern. It’s almost silent with over ten other Klans here in their battle garb and sashes, all wanting a chance to win the human.

  They won’t, of course.

  My Klan and I, Klan Avuk, have been in countless battles. Ever since we were hatchlings, it’s what we did. We have brain, brawn, and the strategy to win every war and battle. It’s how we became generals, after all. No, the little human female will be ours. We deserve it after the service we did for our people of Oxious, a duty we still do.

  Most others do not realise the full force of what we accomplish, and that’s for a very good reason. To keep them calm, to keep them in blissful ignorance from the full threat to our people, a threat we face head-on every day with a grin and a lijik in our hands. So this test? It’s going to be vekking easy.

  A grin stretches across my wide face, and I notice an orange sashed Klan watching me with fear on their faces as they move away from me. My tall frame towers over all the fighters here, even the other members of my own Klan as we stand near the front line.

  I flash them fang, letting my scales light up with the fire inside me. They quickly look away, not wanting to enrage me, my scars undoubtedly heightening what my Klan calls my “nightmare” look. They do not think I am the friendliest of Totiv and always encourage me to smile more.

  I would rather shoot them instead.

  Cryk moves to my side, leaning against the rock of Forsaken Mountain like he doesn’t have a care in the world. His usual smirk tips up his lips to expose his fangs, his wings trailing behind him like a cape, his horns dark red like his skin. His pupils close for a second as he blinks. Then, he grins, nodding in my direction, but I see the slight tightening at the corner of each eye, and I know he isn’t as calm as he appears.

  Joss and Nul are to my left, whispering nervously to each other, throwing the other Klans scrutinizing looks, analysing them and spotting weaknesses, which they will then feed to me. They are the brains, I'm the brawn, it works. While I excel in how best to rip men to shreds and war tactics, they excel in…their intellect.

  We have been waiting here for far too long after receiving the call that we had been drawn for this reaping—like they had a choice to invite us. I may have politely asked the Totiv in charge to make sure we were…and it may have involved my trusty lijik. Grinning, I stroke it now, and shift my feet on the rocky floor. I can’t wait to see what awaits us on the other side of the door in front of us.

  This test is carved into the mountain itself within the city of Albenos. We must make our way through the rooms and threats here, rising above the mountain maze to claim the human female on top. I can hear the crowd becoming impatient, the floating projectors following our every move, showing them everything from the stands where they sit outside. They allow the spectators to watch us hunt and defeat each vekking test. I can’t wait to hear them roar for us when we win the human and the others fail.

  “I wonder who will die first,” Cryk questions dryly, eyes alight with excitement, like mine. The orange sashed Klan sucks in a breath and moves farther away, making me boom out a laugh.

  “Them.” I gesture at the retreating Klan. Cryk smirks, nodding in agreement.

  A clicking noise grabs my attention, and the giant rock door swings inwards. We all inch forward to see what lies behind it, but it’s dark, almost pitch-black. That’s fine, we can fight in the dark, we can rely on our other senses.

  A floral smell reaches my nose from beyond the door, and I watch as all the other Klans hesitate. I was waiting to see if the first person through the door was going to be attacked, but no one is moving.

  Cowards.

  Vekk this.

  Striding forward, I ready my narkett and plunge straight into the blackness, my Klan rushing after me. I still when the dark encases me. There’s solid ground under my feet, the air is damp and sweet, like it’s a large open space but with no exits…bar one of course.

  I step forward again and freeze, the floor is spongy and not as solid. “Eyes open,” I growl, looking around as my vision starts to adjust to the dark space.

  A light goes up, illuminating one corner of the room in a bright, iridescent blue, but it doesn’t look artificial though, and when it starts to move, I brace myself.

  A shadow shifts behind it as I hear the other Klans follow after us and spread out around the cavern. Their footsteps are loud, disrupting the quiet, until a yell suddenly echoes off the rock walls. A smile pulls at my lips from the noises that follow. Distinctive sounds of fighting, slashing, and blood spraying are music to my ears.

  My cock thickens at the sounds of battle.

  “Ready yourself, something is in here,” I warn my Klan in a low voice. They move into position, back to back as we look for the threat, bodies taut with tension and readiness, eyes sharp and alert, blades poised.

  There is a reason why we are feared, why we climbed our way to generals.

  We don’t vekking die.

  The yelling stops, but another sound takes its place, the sound of a door sliding open. Heavy breathing seems to echo from all corners of the cavern we are in. Crouching slightly, I prepare myself as the breathing gets louder, accompanied by a foul stench. Whatever or whoever is causing it is getting closer.

  This is a test, after all.

  “Two clicks,” I murm
ur to them, knowing our voices will carry in here.

  A clashing comes from the left, followed by grunts of pain as more lights start to join in until, finally, we can see around the room. To the left, the orange sashed Klan fights what can only be described as a monster. It’s towering over them, its head almost dragging across the ceiling. And the light? It’s coming from its mouth when it opens its giant, extended snout to show rows upon rows of sharp, black, oozing teeth. Its single, beady yellow eye is slitted and locked on the Klan with killer focus as its tail, tipped with barbs, swipes out at them. It connects, knocking into one of the Klan members, and sends him flying back into the top of a cavern wall with a sickening thud.

  “Vekking hell,” Cryk snaps from my left. “What is this, the room of monsters?”

  “It seems to be, look over in the corner,” Nul whispers nervously, his voice shaking from being the center of attention, even as his hand holds his weapon steady. We follow his eyes to see what he is talking about. “The floor is changing, almost dissolving away, and that’s where they seem to be pouring from.”

  “And right behind the monsters is the door,” I say with a laugh. “What an amazing day this will be!”

  “You know, it’s worrying how much you enjoy killing things,” Cryk remarks as he twirls his narkett around in a flashy display, his cheeks dimpled with a grin.

  “Vekk you,” I growl, and share his grin.

  “Ladies first,” Cryk teases, indicating the monster who has worked his way through the orange Klan like toothpicks. Its giant eye locks on us, and it heads our way with a rumble, the floor cracking under his weight.

  “I’ll give you ladies first, mishet,” I snarl. Swinging my sword, I push off from the floor and race towards the monster to meet him head-on.

  Leaping at the last moment, I throw myself into the air and fly onto the creature’s back as it turns, whipping its tail out at us. I stab downwards, my narkett cutting through its hard, scaly flesh. It roars as I slide down its spine, slicing the monster as I go. I finally stop near the tail, and its black blood drips down my blade as I pull my narkett free and start to climb up its shredded back. It spins, trying to throw me off. Grunting, I grip the wound, pulling myself up with its split flesh.

  “A little help?” I call down to my Klan, but Nul and Joss shrug while Cryk laughs.

  “You’re doing great!” he shouts up.

  “Vekking mishan,” I grumble, as I finally pull myself up its neck, straddling the scaly column to reach its head.

  Pulling my other narkett free from my side, I spin them in my grasp so they point backwards, and with a triumphant snarl, I slash them out across the monster’s neck. It howls in pain, whirling faster and faster as I dig my narketts in deeper until it finally stills.

  Leaping free, I watch as it stumbles, its one eye wide in panic before it falls to its back. Grinning, I look back at my Klan. “Not even sweating.”

  “Erm, Trov?” Nul points, and I turn back around to see the ground cracking around the fallen monster. I step back to avoid the thick cracks radiating out from the body until, with a smash, the floor caves in around it.

  Throwing myself back, I roll and land on my feet to see more monsters swarming from the base of the mountain, climbing the walls with a snarl as they try to get to us. “Get ready!” I yell to my Klan, who finally joins me at my side, ready to fight.

  Other Klans retreat, putting their backs to the wall—a stupid move since they won’t have room to manoeuvre. Only we stand, Klan Avuk, watching the swarm draw closer and closer. Only we are worthy of the human, and I will prove it with their blood and our victory.

  We meet them in a blur of metal and gore, working as two teams of two, dispatching monster after monster. Black blood squirts from our wounds, spraying through the air. Cryk and I attack from behind while Nul and Joss distract each monster.

  Soon we are wading through bloodied corpses to reach the last of the monsters, our bodies glistening with sweat and carnage, grins on our faces from the excitement of the fight. “For Klan Avuk!” I bellow as we attack the last two.

  We move forward, slashing, fighting, and dodging the barbs from the tails, which we realise are poisoned when one warrior falls to the floor with a scream. A barb sticks out of his chest, blood pouring from his eyes, mouth, and ears.

  I swipe then duck one of the last monsters as I spot Cryk carving the belly of the other—blood and shit and intestines drop from it and onto him. He cringes and wipes it away before rushing to my side to take down the last monster in this test.

  We kill it quickly. With a roar, I rip its tail from its body and start to beat it with it as Cryk, Nul, and Joss hack at its neck. Eventually, it falls with a cry of pain, its eye empty in death. Tossing the tail at it, I grab my narketts again and stroll towards my Klan as we stand in the middle of the massacre.

  Breathing heavily, my narketts and I dripping with the monster’s blood, I gaze around and see dead bodies covering the floor like a yilo. Wiping one narkett, I put it away as I notice most of the floor has fallen in. Everyone needs to find another way across.

  The other Klans look puzzled, unsure how to get to the door. “The walls,” Joss points out.

  I follow his line of sight and step closer to the wall, running a finger down it. I come away with a chalky mixture, which makes me rumble out a laugh, of course. I hope that’s enough of a hint for the other Klans. I let my wings expand from my back. With a grin at my Klan, I launch into the air, my wings flapping to help me rise in the cavern.

  My Klan soon joins me and with a whoop, I stop flying and dive, pulling my wings in tight to go faster. The ground grows closer and closer, the other Klans waiting below scream and stoop. Laughing, I pull up at the last minute, expanding my wings and gliding over to the door where I land on the very edge of the floor before pulling my wings in again.

  I turn back to see Cryk, Nul, and Joss doing the same, while the other Klans have started to cross using the wall, digging their bakkets in to aid them, but it’s slow going.

  When my Klan is behind me, I turn the handle on the door, bracing myself for whatever tests and horrors the next room brings.

  Who knew claiming our mate would be such fun?

  Three

  Cryk

  Sweat trickles down my back, making my clothes cling to my skin, but I don’t mind. The thrill of the fight was euphoric, lightening my mood and hardening my cock.

  Speaking of cocks…

  Soon, mine will be buried inside my new mate.

  Wait.

  Our new mate.

  Yeah.

  The room beyond the cavern of death is unlike its predecessor. Golden doors with ancient symbols carved into them stand before us like warriors ready for battle. Joss barges in front of Trov, his mind already learning the symbols as he attempts to logic our way through this next test.

  Well, since he’s already doing the work, I guess I don’t need to figure it out. I glance over my shoulder and see four other Klans stalking in behind us, most of them clean and unharmed.

  Vekking cowards.

  Holding up a wall does not earn you a spot in the next round, if you ask me. If I had it my way, I’d grab each one by their tongues and toss them into the black chasm the monsters came from. They don’t deserve to be here, and I intend to prove it.

  “There are five doors. One for each Klan,” Joss whispers, his hand scrubbing his chin in thought. “But which one is ours? Hmm.” Joss’s yellow eyes scan the room, and I follow his gaze. Seems the doors aren’t the only things that have been scribbled on. Symbols decorate the cave walls in an elaborate display of craftsmanship. To think, some poor soul had to come in here and do all this work for some vekking test…

  I shrug my shoulders as the last Klan member enters the room and the door behind us slams shut, locking us inside. The smell of fear is more rank than the putrid blood covering my skin. How the vekk can you be scared of a door and symbols?

  Nul joins Joss, pointing as they speak low
to one another. Shouldn’t be long now until they figure out what the vekk to do here. Trov stands in the center of the room, his arms crossed over his broad chest, growling at anyone who looks at him. A smaller Totiv with swirled horns and green skin makes the mistake of glancing his way. Trov snarls, his scales flashing a deep mix of reds and luminous yellows while he expands his giant wings in warning.

  The green Totiv with a purple sash squeaks—literally vekking squeaks—and scurries off to hide amongst his Klan. A laugh bursts from my belly, and I slap my knee. “If it smells like shit in here, it’s your fault, Trov. I think he crapped his pants!”

  Trov shrugs, wearing an I don’t give a vekk look on his face. Joss and Nul have made their way over to a door, as have some other Klans. While they figure out what to do, my mind wanders to the human waiting for us somewhere on or in this mountain. Another whiff of her scent fills my nostrils. It brings parts of me to life that I’ve ignored, parts of me that fill with sex and lust. I’m a flirty guy, I can admit that, but with limited females on Oxious and most of my time spent flying in our ship, female companionship has been hard to come by. Most of my lust-filled moments are spent with my own hand down my pants. It will be a nice change to have the soft lips of my human sliding down my cock, or sheathing myself in her heat as cries of pleasure escape her pouty lips…

  “Cryk, what the vekk are you doing?” I shake my head and glance at Trov who nods at my waist.

  I pull my hand out of my pants. “Oops.”

  He grunts and gets back to guarding. What he’s guarding, I’ll never know. Hell, he probably doesn’t even know. I just hope we can get a Vultana shortly after winning her. I won’t be able to keep myself away from this human for long.