Page 4 of Mated to Monsters
“I want a dozen of them.
“You breed your beasts and know the ways of animals. So, hound master, I leave it to you to gather what you believe are viable specimens for my experiment. I will provide you with a small army to back your efforts, and whatever else you need.”
I blink, hardly able to believe that he would put this great responsibility on me. “Thank you, my King,” I say in reverence, bowing deeply. “If I may…”
“Speak your mind,” he says with a wave.
I lick my pale lips. “Why me? Surely, there are plenty who could complete this task.”
I can’t see it, but I swear a smile graces his shadowed face. I can hear it in his voice. “I could not trust this to a general or one of my sons, because they would scorch the earth with chaotic energy, and war would most certainly follow. I have no interest in engaging the races of Protheka just yet, not while our armies are depleted.
“This task is of the utmost importance, and I believe you, Giroth, will take the proper steps to maintaining a level of indiscretion that is necessary to execute my commands without failure. Do you have any further questions before you leave here?”
My mouth has gone dry. I can only shake my head.
“Good,” he concludes. “Then meet the Soz’garoth in the war room and they will prepare you for the journey. My guards will escort you there.
“Take care, hound master.”
I am led away, still speechless as reality dawns on me. A chill grips my pallid flesh, and my stomach is in knots. The ground continent? I think whimsically, wondering with dread how the soil of Protheka will feel under my boots. Sounds unpleasant.
3
CORA
They throw me at the feet of Gidresu before turning to guard the tent entrance, that heavy canvas which separates us from the rest of the settlement. Gidresu doesn’t have to say anything. It is understood that this is his domain, and I am at his every whim.
Out there, he had to pretend he wasn’t undressing me with his eyes, coveting my body and will. That sort of thing is below even his merchant caste, at least publicly. But we all know what the dark elves do to people behind closed doors.
The bastard looks down his nose at me, gloating. “You certainly have a mouth on you,” he says with a hateful, growing smile.
I glare at him. “I said nothing-”
“You speak when you’re spoken to, human!”
The silence is deafening, but it does not have the effect he craves. He wants me to be afraid of him. I can not find it in me to fear a spineless weasel. I may not say it, but my stare speaks volumes. It seems to unnerve him before he whips around so I can’t see his expression any longer. He desperately wants to maintain control, and I am all that stands between him and total domination of this little settlement.
I know what’s coming next, but I remain rigid, defiant.
Still, I’m on my knees.
“I’ve heard about you,” he says with his back to me.
Flattered, I think to myself, watching his narrow shoulders tense before he turns back around, a practiced mask of neutrality dawning over him. I wonder who on Protheka buys this joke of an act. I’d laugh if he didn’t have a hundred guards to pin me down waiting just outside. The more I bruise his ego, the more pain he’ll inflict on me.
He drags a chair out from the long table and sinks into it, crossing one knee over the other, and that gluttonous look is back. “Word is, your positivity is infectious. It raises the hopes of the slaves here, even on the darkest days.
“I’m sure you understand why I can’t have that.”
My jaw works in irritation.
“Come here,” he says, beckoning me with a finger. When I hesitate, he cocks his head to one side. “I own your papers, human. I can surrender you to the dark market, or sell you to an irreputable pleasure house in Pyrthos, if I so choose.
“Instead, all I demand is your obedience.
“So, I’ll say it one last time: Come here.”
Grudgingly, I rise from my knees and go to him. Before I’m within reach, he snaps forward with lightning speed and drags me onto his lap, where I can already feel his cock hardening beneath his finely embroidered pants.