“I’m assigned to diner #075, but I was told to report here today.” Leda responded.
“Oh! another one of you.” Her voice was diverted, but there was no malice in her expression.“This is a bit different from diner service, so I hope you learn quickly. The food preparation area is through there, ask for Kane and tell him that I said he should get you a attire.”The woman turned away and resumed yelling into her headset, dismissing her before Leda had the chance to ask anything else.Leda wove through a puzzle of tables, each laid out with a full service of flatware and fine china. This would be substantially different from serving in the diner as the meals there did not tend to come in multiple courses.A complicated art piece made from multiple glowing lights hung above the center of the arbor, seemingly suspended in midair. In reality, the fixture likely hung from a complicated set of wire and pulleys but the surrealLeda worked as if her mind was outside of her body. She placed plates piled high with chicken heavy under cream sauce and freshly picked vegetables just lightly steamed. She recognized herself to be in a haze, with only enough awareness of her surroundings to perform the most basic of tasks. Luckily, that was all that was required of her. She retrieved the empty plate from in front of a man who did not even bother to look at her as he demanded his wine glass be refilled. She complied, face empty and placid, as the feedback from a microphone going live came from a nearby speaker. When Leda’s gaze moved to the podium at the front of the pavilion, the same Alpha woman she had met earlier was standing at the podium. “Thank you all for being here this evening. My name is Helen Hart and I am the chairwoman of the Aquila Children’s Hospital Foundation. As you all know, the proceeds from tonight’s event will support the expansion of the Center for Genetic Disease on
His threat was clear. There were dozens of males within range of her scent who would fall on her at the firstest opportunity without reason or restraint. She could already hear the shouts and raised voices just on the other side of the wall. Others in the pavilion had already caught her scent They were moments from being discovered. And part of her wanted nothing more than to be filled so completely that it tore her apart, regardless of the consequences. Leda ground her body against his thigh, but the light friction wasn’t enough to slake the fire burning in her. She needed something that only an Alpha could provide. The aroma of their combined scents had saturated the air. And the smell of him made her feel crazed, it was like the most delicious meal, the sweetest perfume and the headiest intoxicant all rolled into one. His hot mouth pressed against the delicate skin of her throat, with just the slightest press of teeth as he spoke. “Decide.”
Leda was engulfed in an agonizing haze, as if she had leaped from a skycar hovering over the Astropolis and plummeted hundreds of miles to the ground. Her entire body was on fire, with a deep ache pulsating from every part of her being. She felt as though she had been torn apart. As she struggled to open her eyes, all she could see was an overwhelming darkness. The soft surface underneath her only amplified the searing pain emanating from the wound on her shoulder. She was paralyzed and surrounded by stillness, unable to perceive anything except a constant throbbing. Leda's body reacted to her despair, as she curled up into a ball and held herself tight. She felt as though she was only a consciousness trapped in a silent, painful void, perhaps resembling what death would feel like. Suddenly, a bright light blinded her, bringing a stark contrast to the darkness. The light was as agonizing as the pain, causing Leda to produce a keening sound akin to a dying animal. Each breath was a s
Realistically, Leda knew this would not be an easy feat, given Brumeh's power and resources. Nevertheless, her determination was unwavering. She was determined to find a way out, regardless of the cost.Brumeh reluctantly acknowledged the doctor's words and allowed his mate to sink back onto the sheets. "I'll be back. Let me know if anything changes. And don't forget that if she dies, you die too," he warned before turning on his heel and slamming the door shut behind him. His eyes blazed with molten gold as he surveyed the room.Leda watched as the doctor leaned over her with a calm expression. He gently examined her body, in stark contrast to the Alpha male who had pawed at her. However, Leda still flinched as each bruise was prodded."I can't give you enough pain relief without knocking you out again," the doctor explained, typing on a beeping terminal above her head. "But in your current state, unconsciousness might be a blessing."Memories flooded back to her. The Alpha had done
A green-gloved hand swept across the large display that made up the surfaceof the desk. It then turned the block of text scrolling across so that itoriented in her direction. His second hand casually pushed the stylus towards her.Leda had never been told the man’s name. She had only ever heard himcalled The Whoremonger.She winked down at the tiny printed lines, trying to make sense of thecomplicated legalese that might as well have been written in anotherlanguage.“With you?” She tried for flippant to cover her mounting unease, but hervoice rumbled on the last word.The older Alpha chuckled, the tone was intense and full-bodied. But the smile didn’t quite catch the eyes that polled her with a calculated coldness. The silence sloped for a long moment as his gaze never broke from hers.A steady buzz of shuttles flying past the window of his high-rise office wasthe only sound, but even that drew her away. Heavy curtains, far finer than
Leda had acquired her history lessons in school as well as anyone else,but that didn’t mean all the questions about her world had been resolved.Details of the thousand-year war that had destroyed humanity had beendiscussed to exhaustion. Those who survived had been forever changed bythe biological and viral agents that were used without approval by all sides asthe world dissolved in war. But huge gaps existed in the fossil record,so it was impossible to know how far they had come from their ancestors.She had wanted to explore history at the College, perhaps become anacademic or a researcher and unearth the secrets that hadn’t withstood thegreat wars of the past. According to the archive records, the people of Earthpast had used nuclear energy not to power their world but to destroy it. Thatdestruction had forced civilization into the sky patterns and off of thelarge swathes of the planet too injured by fallout and radiation to beha
They kept her alone in a darkened chamber, lit only by a single lantern on the bedside table. Stillness descended around her like a burden. The sound of voices and music from downstairs had faded as they stepped further upstairs and then cut off entirely after the door shut behind the Whoremonger and his Beta clients.Leda cursed the courage that made her teeth and hands tremble. She wanted to be like Larisa who is happy and simple, contented with what the world presented her. But she couldn’t be like Larisa, or even like the two girls kissing and grinding against each other on the couch, because she was something wholly different.You’re the girl that likes to be broken. Because she knew exactly what that meant and it terrified her.That first estrous was still burned in her memory. She had barely made it home before the heat cycle heightened and she became a shaky mass of sweat and slick, so desperate to mate that her family had to lock her up for
In a motion too fast to follow, the Alpha grabbed her around the waist and plucked her across his lap. He was so much huger than her that her entire physique fit across his thighs, with just her forearms and the lower part of her legs left swiveling. She battled against him but the halo of his arm might as well have been compelled by an iron.“I am going to whack you,” he informed her as if talking with something as commonplace as the climate.“I don't expect you to enjoy the grief, you little Beta, but the more you resist then the more punishment you will receive.” He said still holding her.I don’t want you to enjoy the pain. He could not mean it, she thought frantically. Is this what got the Alphas in the Aquila to blow their loads…physical misuse?She had anticipated a bruising rut from a giant Alpha, and a little pain was to follow that, but this was something different entirely.Still Panicking, Leda