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It makes your deepest, darkest desires well up uncontrollably. It makes your lust so powerful it can melt your mind.

If I’m feeling this now…

I can’t imagine how intense it would be if I was Bonded to Garrick’s triad.

Vinicus’s palm cracks down against Tasha’s ass over and over, showing her no mercy. It’s not just her ass that’s on fire, bright red. Her cheeks are burning. From this far, I can’t tell if it’s shame…or something else. I wonder is some part of her is enjoying this, or if it’s only me who has the shameful desire to be punished by the beasts.

The crowd is changing. Aurelians are flexing their muscles, growing aggressive, fists clenching and veins bulging. Their cocks are surging up, and if the punishment doesn’t stop soon, Captain Aelon is going to have a mutiny on his hands.

A mutiny focused on the only two women on the entire ship.

I force my eyes to Vinicus. If the warriors watching are on the verge of losing control, how is he holding back?

I swallow dryly. He isn’t holding back. He’s losing himself to the Mating Rage. I can see the signs. The way his neck vein throbs, hot red blood surging through his body, filling his huge bulging muscles and causing his cock to stiffen like a steel rod.

What can I possibly do?

If I run to stop him, I’ll be within arm’s reach of dozens of aggressive, powerful alien warriors who are an inch from turning Rogue.

If Vinicus loses himself to the Mating Rage, I’m going to be helpless to watch my best friend fucked hard in front of the crowd by the alien captain and his triad.

Then I’ll be next.

Vinicus spanks her over and over again. How many has it been? Fifteen? Twenty? I couldn’t handle ten of those hard spanks before I’d be sobbing and crying. He’s not being gentle with her. This must be the most intense experience of her life.

Iunia catches his breath behind him, and I step away. I eye him from the side. He’s affected, just like Vinicus, his hands forming fists as he imagines pinning Tasha down andtakingher.

Will Captain Aelon realize this was a horrible idea before it’s too late? Or is he doing this on purpose, showing to his men that he’s the one who can control even his darkest urges?

Tasha pulls her head up. Her eyes are glistening and wet. “A-aren’tyougoing to take a turn?”

Her voice is weak, gasping, but has the challenge in it. I know why she’s doing it. She doesn’t want Captain Aelon to respond to her insolence with the traditional Aurelian dominance. She just needs Vinicus to stop beforehebreaks.

Captain Aelon snaps his fingers, and the spanking stops. Vinicus gasps for air, his muscles bulging, then he stands up, lifting Tasha like she’s a little doll. Even in his combat pants I can see the outline of the thick rod of his rock-hard cock.

Fuck.

It’s fuckinghuge.

If Garrick has anything like that, there’s no way it could fit.

The Aurelians laugh and jeer, but they aren’t just mocking her. There’s a rough edge to the laughter. Some of the men are growling. The tension in the room builds, and every warrior triad looks like it’s on the verge of snapping.

This is a sick game Aelon is playing. He must forbid women on boardThe Instigator, which makes sense because otherwise the triads would kill each other over them. He’s showing that he’s the only one who can have one. Every man in the building is imagining pinning Tasha down and fucking her hard, but only Aelon can touch her.

Every man but the six who look at me like I’m the only thing that exists.

Captain Aelon turns to the crowd, addressing them like a showman. “The womantestsme!” Aelon announces. “She’ll regret it—I’m not as gentle as our friend Vinicus.”

I gasp in fear for Tasha as the Aurelians snarl and hoot in pleasure. Theywantto see Tasha punished, and punished hard. The cruel bastards crave it. This is what they live for. They probably each have their own harems on Colossus, where women flock to them in search of the fabled brutal dominance of the species. When they’re finished with this mission, they’ll return rich with the spoils of war to enjoy the dozens of women who attend to their every need.

Captain Aelon stands above Tasha, snarling out something too low for me to hear. Whatever it is, she snaps. She’s still got some fight in her. Her hand whips forward to slap Aelon…

But he just grabs her hand by the wrist, holding her tight. Then he flips her over his lap as he sits in the chair.

His hand comes down hard, cracking down so hard I know it’s going to break her. Poor, poor Tasha. I feel so awful for my captain…

But some dark part of me craves knowing what it would be like to be the center of attention of the huge alien beasts.