The Alpha Gladiator (4 page)

A change of the guards happened
every two hours.
 
The new men would step
inside the dormitory and take a visual survey of the women being held
hostage.
 
Aleirah had become used to
their predictable pattern and knew the opportunity lay when they opened the
door for the head count.
 
It was the only
way in or out, and she would have only seconds to overpower both guards.
 

“Don’t.”
A low voice whispered from her right.
 

Aleirah turned her head and frowned
at the mousy looking woman who seemed to be a wilted flower in the coarse gown
their captors provided.
 

“Excuse
me?” she asked.

“Don’t
try to leave.
 
You’ll never make it.”

Aleirah
went back to staring at the door.
 
She had not time for scared, pathetic women.
 
“You wish to remain a prisoner here, go right
ahead. I must find my Alpha.”

“What
is that?
Your husband?”

“No,”
Aleirah said
.
 
“My leader.”

“You’ll
never get to him.
 
He’s probably at the
ludus.”

Aleirah frowned.
 
That wasn
’t a word she was familiar with.
 
“What is that?”

“Where
they train the captured men for the arena,” the woman said.
 
“Soon he will fight for his life.”

Aleirah had no doubt Ravage would be
able to hold his own ground, defeat any fighter they paired him with.
 
She had seen him claw his way to the top and
defeat the old Alpha.
 
The man might have
been old, but he had still been formidable.
 

Aleirah
raised her chin.
 
“My Alpha is a fierce warrior.
 
He
will win any challenge and kill them all.
 
Then he will free our people, and we will find our own way home.”

“You
are delusional,” the woman said angrily.
 
“And if you try to escape, you will bring nothing but problems for us.”

The
fearful woman got up and moved away. Aleirah was thankful the lady was
gone.
 
She went back to studying the
door.
 
She had fought her captors when
they’d snared her, she’d fought in the cargo hold of the ship that transported
them from Lycanis, and now she was determined to live up to being part of such
a fierce race of warriors.
 
Rising, she
moved toward the door, pushing a woman off a chair and scooping it up as she
walked with determined strides.
 
The
displaced female screeched in some odd language, but Aleirah didn’t care.
 
She waited by the door and at the marked hour
brought it overhead as the guard stepped through.
 
Using all her strength, she crashed the chair
down upon his head, knocking him sideways into the door.
 
Aleirah dropped the chair and jumped on the
fallen man, letting her claws through in order to shred the man to pieces.
 
Her goal was his blaster.
 
If she had that, she could fight her way
toward Ravage’
s side.

But
as she went for the kill, the hum of a weapon caught her attention and she
glanced up to see the second guard level his gun at her.
 
Pain coursed through her as the energy bolt
blasted her so sharp and intense she was left a writhing mass on the floor,
helpless to do anything but watch as the guard stood above her, drew back his
fist, and punched her across the jaw.
 
Unfortunately, the hit didn’t knock her unconscious, although it did
send stars to circle around her head and render her limp enough not to fight
when the guards grabbed her arms and dragged her from the room.

Chapter
Four

Ravage sat in his cell, analyzing
the prison he
was
kept in.
 
The bars were made of thick
iron and, even with his strength, unbendable.
 
The other three walls were made of stone, making escape impossible.
 
The realization was a bitter pill to swallow.
Helpless rage swept through him that he and his people had been so easily
taken.
 
He had fought savagely, doing
everything in his power to defeat the enemy who dared invade their planet, and
he recognized how complacent they had grown over the decades of peace.
 
If …
when
… they returned to their
home, Ravage vowed to change their vulnerability.
 
No more would he allow his people to be
endangered.
 

Suddenly,
an electric wall hummed to life in front of the door, snapping him to
attention.
 
He jumped to his feet and
crouched in a defensive position, waiting with clenched fists. The door opened
and Aleirah was shoved forward.
 
She
stumbled but luckily stopped before hitting the force field.

“Ravage?”
she whispered, tears flooding her eyes.

The electric wall disengaged with a
zap of energy and he rushed forward to wrap her in his arms.
 
She clung to him, digging her short
fingernails into his bare shoulders.
 
He
buried his face in her neck, squeezing her so tightly he feared he would crush
her.
 
The metal collar that encircled her
throat caught his attention.

“What
is this?” he asked.
 
He reached up to
touch it.

“
A choke collar,
” she said.
 
“They put it there after my latest attempt to
escape.”

He gave a fleeting, humorless
smile.
 
“And if I try to rip it off you?”

“It
will kill me,” she whispered.

He closed his eye and sucked in a
deep breath, hoping to calm the wolf that paced restlessly inside, wanting one
moment to break free and wreak havoc on the whole damn place.

“Please
tell me you know a way out of here,” she said against his shoulder.

Slowly,
he shook his
head.
 
“Not yet.
 
Have they hurt you?”

She pulled back and cradled his face
with her hands.
 
“No.
 
Only my pride that they
were able to capture us so easily.”

“The
man who owns this ludus expects the men to fight in the arena,”
Ravage said
.
 
He curled his lips in disgust.
 
“He is a weak, fat little man who thinks our
mythology
will
attract a sell-out crowd.”

Her forehead crinkled with
concern.
 
“You mean to comply?”

“It’s
not my intention to aid them in their quest for entertainment, but the
lanista
threatened the lives of the men.
 
He threatened
you
.”

“I
can take care of myself, Ravage,” she said firmly.

“If
this was a fair fight, I have no doubt to your ability to defend yourself.
 
But these Sennex bastards are two faced and
would shoot you in the back if it furthered their cause.”
 
The thought of her being hurt, or killed,
made him want to hit the wall.
 
He gave
her a hard look.
 
“I am your Alpha.
 
I won’t put you or the men in unnecessary
danger.”

“So
you’ll give this asshole what he wants?” she asked.
 
“Bow to his demands?
 
That doesn’t sound like the Alpha I know.”

“What
would you have me do, Aleirah?
 
Hmm?
Watch him hurt you? Watch him kill Fray or the other
youngsters?
 
No,” he said harshly.
 
“I will figure something out.
 
Figure out some way to free us all.
 
Trust me.”

She nodded then pressed her forehead
against his bare chest and traced over the nearest tattoo, his legacy to the
Alpha title depicted in ink for all to see.
 
When humans had begun their mass exodus from Earth, shifters had been
one of the first people to flee.
 
They
had brought their heritage and beliefs to their new world and each Alpha had
the story tattooed on their body. It was a pictorial story of the first Lycan,
granted the spirit of the wolf by the Gods to protect his people from invaders,
reminding him that a leader had to sometimes make difficult sacrifices.
 

“You’re
so beautiful,”
Aleirah murmured.

“I
think that’s my line,” he said as he cupped her face.
 
“Why do you refuse to mate with me, Aleirah?”

Her
lower lip trembled and tears welled in her beautiful honey colored eyes.
 
“I … I cannot have cubs,” she whispered.

Her
revelation stunned him.
 
“What?
 
How?”

“It
was during a change,” she murmured sadly.
 
“I was running through the night alone, the first time since I had gone
through the transition.
 
I remember
feeling free, with the cool wind brushing through my pelt.
 
I was on a cliff’s edge, going as fast as I
could go, but then … I misjudged a jumping distance.
 
I tried to reach the other side, but ended up
clawing to get to the top.
 
I couldn’t
hold the change and fell in my human form.
 
When I woke up … my parents had found me, but the doctor said there was
too much bruising inside.
 
Too much damage.
 
I
would likely never be able to conceive.”

His
heart ached for her pain and sorrow, but the love he felt for her overshadowed
anything more.
 
If anything, what she
went through made him love her even more.

“That’s
why you never entered the mating ceremony,” he said.

She
nodded.
 
Her amber eyes reflected the
torture of her accident.
 
“So you see why
I’m not a good choice for the Alpha’s mate.”

“You’re
wrong,” he said.
 
“You’re perfect.
 
The way of the pack is to raise all cubs with
equal love so it doesn’t matter to me if we have cubs of our own or not.
 
You know being Alpha isn’t necessarily
determined by genetics.
 
I love
you
,
Aleirah.
 
Not the children you may or may
not give me, and I do not want any other female by my side.”

Big
fat tears rolled down her cheeks and he wiped them away with his thumbs. “Will
you accept me as your mate?” he asked.

Slowly,
she nodded. “Yes, Ravage,” she murmured.
 
“I love you, too.”

He
kissed her tenderly and it was like putting a flame onto dry kindling.
 
The heat that existed between them instantly
flared to life and Aleirah sank her nails into his flesh to hold him to
her.
 
He moaned, unable to deny himself
the pleasure to be had in her arms.

He
backed her up until they hit his bunk. This was not the time for foreplay.
 
This had to be a hard, fast fuck because he
had no idea if Aleirah was allowed to stay with him.
 
At any moment someone could come for her or
for him, and if he had to let her go for now, he wanted everyone to know she
belonged to him.
 
He yanked at the
neckline of the gown she wore until he’d bared her breasts.
 
The nipples were rosy little nubs hardened
with arousal.
 
He closed his mouth over
one turgid peak, lavishing it with his tongue and teeth, tugging tenderly until
she writhed uncontrollably against him.

“Hands
and knees,” he ordered, staring into her bright, lust-filled eyes.
 
“You’re so fucking sexy. I’m going fill you
with
my cum
until you’re drowning in my scent.”

Aleirah
moaned and slid to her knees upon the bunk bed.
 
She prepared herself as any bitch in heat
would do, presenting her fine ass to him and bowing her head to the side to
offer her neck.
 
Ravage followed her,
pushing her thighs even wider as he fit behind her.
 
He kneaded the soft flesh,
then
ran his finger along her slit.
 
She
moaned and wiggled her hips.
 
He slapped
one cheek, halting her movements.
 

“You’
re so fucking wet,
” he said.
 

“Please,
Ravage.”
 

He
fisted his shaft and lined it up with her dripping pussy, feeding the tip into
her moist heat.
 
Going so slow was
torture, but it only heightened the pleasure, so he took his time, stopping
halfway in only to pull out.
 
She moaned
in protest and he smiled at her impatience.
 
He spanked her again and if possible, even more juice leaked from her
cunt to run down her thighs.
 
The scent
of her arousal was driving him mad.
 
He
pressed back into her, going so slowly that sweat popped out on his body.
 
In easy, measured strokes, he pumped her,
giving her a little more cock each time.
 

She
babbled
incoherently, pleading with him to fuck her, and
finally, he broke.
 
He slammed his cock
deep into her body and Aleirah screamed with pleasure.
 
She fit him like a glove, wrapping around him
so tightly he could barely breathe.
 
This
time was just like the first time.
 
So intense.
 
Equally amazing.
 

“Fuck!”
He groaned when he bottomed out all the way inside her.
 
“Your pussy is perfect.”

“I
need you so badly, Ravage.
 
Please make
me come!”

Her
plea drove him wild and he pounded into her harder, deeper.
 
Her tight little cunt sucked him in, turning
his brain to mush.
 
He was fast losing
control and he so wanted this moment to never end.
 
She felt so damn good wrapped around him,
skin to skin.

“I’m
going to come,” he panted.
 
“
Aleirah?
”

“Yes!”
she cried.
 
“Yes!
 
Ravage!”

He
reached down between their bodies and touched her clit, and that was all she
needed to fly apart.
 
Her pussy spasmed
around his cock and her incoherent cries of pleasure pushed him over the top
and he came with a loud shout.
 
As his
cock jerked, spilling his seed, his incisors elongated and he sank them into
her shoulder. She cried out and came again on his pumping dick.
 
Blood coated his throat and he drank deeply,
pulling her essence into his mouth as he gave her part of his.
 
When he was spent, he swiped his tongue over
the puncture wounds and withdrew from her body.
 
They both collapsed in a sweaty, panting heap, limbs entwined.
 
Ravage pulled her close, contentment sweeping
over him.

“We
are mated,” he said with a pant.
 
“My
mark is upon you as your scent is in my blood.”

“I
love you.”

“And
I love you beyond words,” he said. His heart beat happily in his chest for
their partnership ten years in the making.
 
Now it was even more important to keep her safe and get his people out
of Kappuah.
   

They stayed locked together, their
hearts beating in time together as the sweat slowly dried on their skin.
 

“I
miss home,” she whispered.

“I
know,” he said.
 
“But I promise we’ll get
home.
 
Now rest, my
mate.
 
Conserve your strength.”

He spent the rest of the night
with Aleirah
snuggled into his side, trying to figure out a plan to escape.
 
His world had withdrawn from the Confederacy
Trade long ago, not liking how only the strongest worlds controlled the
markets.
 
When the number one trade
became slaves for the games, it had been the last straw.
 
Lycanis ships only traded with planets far
enough away not to be allies with the Confederacy.
 
Now, however, his situation changed
everything.
 
If he were able to save his
captured people, how could he ensure the Sennex raiders wouldn’t come back to
his planet?