The Veil's Mistresses 2: Alpha’s Moon
Autorzy
K.D. Peters
Lektury
21,7K
Rozdziały
61
Chapter 1
Book 2: Alpha’s Moon
AURORA
It was quiet as I lay there on the dirty floor, with only the sound of dripping coming from somewhere outside of this small, cave-like cell. I opened my eyes, taking in the sight of the chains wrapped around my wrists. Their links looped around the floor, the end connecting to the nearby wall. I considered pulling them to make their rattling noise and break the silence, but didn’t have it in me to move.
My naked body was so cold, and my mind incredibly weary. I had no idea how long I had been here. It felt like forever. My last memories before ending up in this tiny, dirty cell were hazy with the terrible state I was in. I could recall running away from home in the middle of the night. I’d crawled out of my window, determined to never look back, and continued until I was walking along old railroad tracks.
Then, something attacked me. It hit me from behind, causing me to go unconscious. When I next woke up, I was here, chained and naked. And worst of all, ready to be sold. A silent tear rolled down my cheek. I’d wanted so desperately to run away from that place, to escape from all of the pain, and this was where I’d ended up.
I also did not doubt that I was no longer in the world I’d known. Not with what I’d seen coming in there to check me out. The ones who came in when that door opened looked somewhat human, but definitely weren’t. Some of them had animal-like ears and tails, while others had pointed ears and green hair, or skin that had patches of shining rainbow scales with slit mouths. They would be brought in there by a tall, hooded figure who would tell them things about me.
He sounded like a man, and his words to them were always the same. “This one is a human female. She’s on the younger side. I estimate late teens. As you can see, she has a beautiful flawless appearance and a flattering body. If you wish to breed her at some point, I am certain she would produce good offspring for you,” he’d say.
The ones looking at me seemed pleased but were quickly deterred when he told them one last thing; the only flaw they seemed to think that I had. “Unfortunately, she cannot speak. It would appear to be a mental defect, as her hearing is intact. However, she remains silent no matter what.” That was a deal-breaker for all the creatures who had come to look at me since I’d been here.
None of them liked that I couldn’t speak. They all said that they needed one who would answer anytime they spoke to them. A mute slave wasn’t worth much, even if she had beautiful looks and a perfect body, and it was too much trouble to figure out how to give me a voice. A mute slave. That was what made me understand the dire situation I’d been put in.
Not only was I trapped in this strange world, but they wanted me to be sold as a slave to one of these creatures. It was degrading and frightening, and most of all, it made me feel like I wasn’t human anymore, only a doll for one of these creatures to eventually use as he pleased. I remained where I lay, closing my eyes again and trying my best to let my mind drift away to some far-off place.
I dreamed of freedom, much like I did when I was growing up. I still imagined running free in a beautiful field full of bright green grass and wildflowers. I twirled around, looking at the colorful sky as the sun was beginning to set. Oh, how I loved this dream. It was so comforting, always bringing up a longing within me to actually be there.
My dream was interrupted by the sound of the cell door creaking open. I kept my eyes closed, my heart beginning to race. Oh no, please don’t tell me another is coming to view me. The familiar sound of slithering on the floor entered, along with footsteps following behind.
I knew that the slithering was the one who kept me there. Although he wore that long dark cloak and hood, I’d noticed that he moved on a tail that extended outside of the back of it. This tail looked much like a snake’s, hence my thinking of him as one. Perhaps it was better that I didn’t see his face because of that. It might’ve been even more frightening than those creatures had been.
The slithering and footsteps stopped, and I heard what sounded suspiciously like an exhausted sigh before my captor spoke. “This is our last one, though I hesitate to show her to one such as you. While she is a beautiful female, I will warn you that she is also a mute.”
“A mute, you say?” a male voice responded. “Can she hear?”
“She can. She can also see just fine. From what I observed in the weeks before I took her, she never spoke a word, leading me to believe that it is a mental defect,” my captor confirmed.
The weeks before he took me? He’d been watching me for that long?
The footsteps moved closer to me. “Observed, huh? I know this smell coming off of her very well. She’s a human,” the male pointed out.
“She is.”
“You do realize that taking a human for this is even more taboo than what you’ve already been doing. If my father caught onto it, he’d probably take your life for it.”
That piqued my interest, and I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was a pair of black boots standing about two feet in front of me. There also appeared to be the bottom half of a fluffy tail behind them. I couldn’t say I’d seen a tail like that before. Even in the dim light, I could see that the fur shining on it looked dark red.
My captor became frightened when he heard what this creature said. “Please, do not do that! I do not usually take humans, but this one would have been killed by the lycan that roams out there during the night, and her family does not care for her at all! I would only mean to spare her by bringing her over here!” he insisted.
The other scoffed at him. “I bet.”
“It is all true. You may check the records if you like. I never usually deal in human girls!”
“Very well,” the male relented, “I have no intentions of returning to my father anytime soon, and I can make you a deal here. Give her to me and I’ll make sure this never gets out.”
“You would not speak of me having her?” my captor confirmed.
“I’m a fox of my word, and I happen to pride myself on that.”
A Fox? That’s what he was supposed to be?
My captor sounded reluctant, though he was willing to take the deal. “You drive a hard bargain, Master Fox, but I cannot argue it. I have had this girl for the past two months, and while many have viewed her, none wished to take her because she cannot speak to them. I cannot afford to keep feeding her, and I do not wish to cast her out when I know she would probably be killed, so it will be better if I simply hand her to you.”
“Good deal.”
With that, the boots stepped closer, and the fox knelt down to me. I slowly turned my head to look up, finally seeing what he looked like. Surprisingly, he didn’t look much older than me, maybe in his late teens. He had a handsome face with bright golden eyes. His hair was deep red just like his tail, with sweeping bangs around his right eye. He also had large, foxlike ears.
He smiled at me; a very reassuring smile. It was beautiful to me, much more than any of the other creatures I had seen. “You really are a pretty girl from what I can see. I bet some cleaning up and weight on you would make you absolutely gorgeous. What do you say to coming home with me and being mine?” he offered.
Did I even have a choice? I didn’t think so. That was what made me slowly nod. “Ah, yes. You can’t speak. That’s all right. I can figure that out soon enough.”
My captor slithered over and undid the chains around my wrists, and the fox picked me up like I was light as a feather. His white shirt was very soft, though I could make up the firmness of his chest as I leaned against it. It felt like he had a very well-toned body.
I rested against him as he began walking with me, closing my eyes and trying to relax. I may not have had a choice in this, but at least it appeared so far that this one might be a little kind toward me. If he could be that, then I’d do what I had to in order to survive. Even if it ended up being a little degrading, it was always going to be better than dying.
I ended up passing out during this time due to my weakened state. When I next woke up, I was lying on a soft bed. I managed to pull myself up on my arms, my mind finally rested enough to be clear.
This bed was unfamiliar, with a soft blue blanket under me and a brown wall with a small nook carved into it where a few books had been placed. I looked up at the ceiling, noting soft lights that looked like crystals embedded into it. What is this place? I wondered.
There was a curtain on the opposite side of me. It was deep blue and looked pretty thick. I reached over to touch it, taking in that it was as soft as the blanket under me. This was all so elegant. I’d never felt or seen anything like this before.
But as I sat up and realized that I was still naked, everything began coming back to me. That was right. I’d been held captive in that place for a long time after something had kidnapped me, and a creature had finally decided to take me. He’d been called a fox, so that had to be the type of creature he was.
I blushed as I remembered how he’d looked. He was a much more handsome creature than the others I’d seen. Those golden eyes especially caught me. I’d never seen such beautiful eyes before.
The sound of footsteps approaching outside the curtain brought me back to reality, and I moved back toward the wall, vainly trying to cover myself with my arms and legs. My long light blonde hair fell around my shoulders, aiding in that effort.
After another minute, the curtain was pulled to the side, and the familiar fox was standing there. He looked pleased as he saw me. “Good. You’re awake. I was beginning to become concerned,” he commented.
I remained where I was, although I didn’t feel quite as tense. He wasn’t making any aggressive moves toward me. “Oh yeah. I almost forgot that you can’t speak. You really can’t say anything, huh?” he continued.
I shook my head, feeling slightly guilty. Although being mute had always been better before, it may make this more difficult.
The fox wasn’t deterred, moving to sit on the side of the bed. “Well, we’ll take care of that soon enough. But for now, since you’re awake, I’d like to get you cleaned up. You’re a mess from being in that dirty cell, and no offense, but it’s making you smell bad.”
That one caught me a little off guard, and I couldn’t help looking at myself. For the first time, I realized that I was pretty dirty, and I could smell some of the stink of not being able to bathe in a long time.
“I probably should’ve worded that better. I didn’t mean to offend you,” the fox lamented. He stood up, offering me a hand, though I hesitated on taking it as I noticed the claws he had for his fingernails. He seemed to realize that too. “It’s all right. I’d never hurt you, and I’m very good at being careful with my claws. I promise.”
What choice did I have but to take his word for it? While I also didn’t like him seeing me naked, I quickly realized that it was a moot point. I’d been naked in that cell and when he’d brought me here. He’d already seen everything.
With this in mind, I reluctantly got off of the bed, though my legs were shaky as I tried to stand. I ended up having to hold onto his arms to do it. “Take it easy. It’s probably been a while since you’ve stood up or even eaten. I’ll help you get cleaned up, then I can make you something to eat,” he told me.
I managed to nod, letting him help me walk toward the left. I was looking around us as we did. This place looked much like the inside of a home, although there was this mystical elegance to it.
The room was very wide open, with a huge skylight over the ceiling, casting soft light down on everything. I could see various pieces of furniture, including a small round table and chairs, along with where the bed was set into the wall. I also noticed another smaller room off to the opposite side of where the bed was that looked like it had many plants in there.
We ended up going through an archway on the far left of that massive room, which led into a bathroom. It had a decent amount of space in it too, with a basin sink, toilet, and what looked like a large shower set across from the sink. That shower had glass walls around it along with a marble floor.
The fox led to me that shower, pulling open the sliding glass door and helping me to sit on the marble floor. I watched as he stood up straight, moving to the cabinet beside the sink and opening it. “Now, let’s see. We can definitely stand to wash your hair, and this soap should easily remove that dirt on you.”
I remained still as he came back with two glass bottles. He sat them on the floor, then stood up and removed his shirt. I tried my best not to let him see me staring when he did. I was right. He did have a strong-looking body, lean but well-toned with a firm chest and well-defined abs.
