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General Ra’al can’t hide his anger. His eyes widen, his gaze cold and violent. The insult to Rachel is an insult to him.

“I earned the virgin! Lola belongs to my triad, by right of conquest, and by her own need. She is in heat for me!”

My cheeks flush red, humiliated. My body betrayed me as he grabbed me. The three of the triad tasted my tendril of lust, and it’s only further justification that I belong to them. I had longed to find a noble triad of Aurelians, to escape the drudgery of life and the commonality of the men who leered at me.

Not like this. Not savage Fanatics who follow a cruel War-God, who want to destroy all that is just and honorable in the world.

Krazak steps forward, hand on his blade, ready to cut down the General.

Do I want him to win?

Or do I want all six of the Aurelians to cut each other down here and now, so that I have a chance to escape while the chaos of the newly conquered world is at its highest?

There’s a pang inside me. As brutal as they are, I don’t want them to die, but my words trying to call them off, for them to stand down, die in my throat.

“She is our Mate.” Ra’al states the sentence, keeping his gaze on Krazak, hand on his blade, never blinking. Rachel’s eyes widen in shock.

I didn’t think there was anything that could stop the coming duel, but to my shock, Khra bows his head. Krazak and Bolden take their hands off their blades, shoulders shrinking, seeming to deflate.

I will never understand Aurelians. One moment, they are about to draw blades, the next, they are standing filled with grief, heads bowed.

I don’t know what happened—and I don’t know if Rachel freed me by offering herself in my place, or if I’ll be sold off to some other triad of brutes. What I do know is Rachel just damned herself, giving herself up willingly to the triad of Generals to save my life.

I’m filled with guilt. I didn’t ask for this. I know how brutal Aurelians can be. Rachel has no idea what she’s just done.

The threat of violence over, the huge beast of an alien, General Orr, steps in closer to Rachel. “You would trade yourself, willingly, to us.” His voice is dark, hypnotic.

“Yes.”

“You do not know what you do, my sweet little Mate. We would not be gentle masters.” Rachel looks down, and no matter how strong she is, she’s realizing what she’s done.

“I’ll trade myself to you. For Lola. For these nine to be set free.”

“Nine? You change your bargain.”

“Because I know I’m valuable to you. I’m your Mate.”

That sentence drives a knife into Krazak. He buckles, then regains his composure with rage. He seems to default to anger every time he’s hurt, and I know how he survived the whipping that scarred his back. He must have let that rage burn up until he could barely feel the pain. “Mate or not, she insulted my honor.” Krazak barks it out, his voice filled with fury.

“Whatever punishment I earned, I’ll take it,” says Rachel, standing tall. She just took up a rifle for the first time in her life to defend us against Scorp, and compared to that, being punished by the alien species is nothing.

Orr’s cock surges up, his robes tenting, and he slowly grabs her wrist, savoring the feeling of touching her skin. His hand envelops her.

Rachel doesn’t know Aurelians like I do. She doesn’t understand what their punishment is, or how public her humiliation will be. I can’t even look at her, I’m so filled with guilt.

She’s tougher than anyone I know, but she has no idea what’s about to happen.

General Ra’al steps in towards her. “You’ve been through much. You may come to our palace, to recover before you take your punishment.” His voice is filled with a caring that is alien to the species.

Take the offer, Rachel! You don’t need to prove anything. Please, please Rachel, take his offer.

“No. I do not need special treatment.”

I wince. Foolish, brave Rachel. Either she doesn’t know what’s going to happen to her, or somehow, she’s sacrificing herself again, stopping any chance of Krazak and his triad from exploding in rage that she avoided her public humiliation.

Aurelians don’t have the same sense of shame and privacy as humans. It was a rare gesture for the General to offer to bring Rachel back to his palace.

On their home planet of Colossus, warrior triads display their harem women, parading them naked and leashed, and they think nothing of breeding or disciplining their women in the streets of the city. Spanking a defiant woman only makes them more primal.