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We reach the top of the stairs. In addition to the auction chamber having dry floors, instead of the ankle-deep filth we had to wade through before, the humidity seems significantly lower the higher we climb.

At the top of the stairs, Marcel turns a corner and the atmosphere dries even further. I take a deep breath in and it’s not thick and heady as it was – and my skin feels less sticky and disgusting. We stride down a wide corridor, until we reach a big metal door at the end.

Marcel leads, and I follow behind with the chain pulled almost taut between us. Behind me stride Marcel’s two battle-brothers, and I can feel their lustful gaze burning holes through what remains of my clothes as they stare at me hotly.

You’d think it would make me feel uneasy, but the truth is that their hunger ignites something deep inside me – a part of myself I’d never known existed before.

The shameful truth? The moment the three Aurelians get me alone, part of mewantsthem to lose control andclaimme. That part of me is becoming more and more controlling – building an inexorableneedinside of me. I know Ishould feel hatred for these Rogue Aurelians – buying me at an auction like a piece of meat.

However, all I can honestly feel is gratitude – immense relief that I’m not destined to be dragged into the aquarium of that scarred, hateful Bullfrog. If I had been, the last moments of my life would have been filled with shame, hate, and disgust – and I’d have never reemerged.

So, I have that to be grateful for – and as a newly-purchased slave, I didn’t think gratitude would be something I’d experience so quickly.

In addition to my relief at being spared from the Bullfrog, I’m feeling more and more comfortable with each step I take as the air dries. It’s a welcome change after hours spent in the dragging humidity of the Toad quarters – where the moisture hangs in the air like a cloud, and filth and stink teem all around.

Finally, we reach the towering metal door and Marcel slaps a keycard against the sensor. The big, steel doors slide open.

The room beyond is huge – even by the standards of a Toad mothership. It’s an open concept, luxury living facility – with a sofa, a well-stocked bar, and a full kitchen. To live like this on a Toad mothership? The Aurelians must certainly beguests of honor.

This just adds to my suspicion of the three men. I know they’re Rogue Aurelians – but even the Rogues have standards. What have these three Aurelians done that have aligned them with the immoral, craven, profit-thirsty Toad confederation?

Marcel enters, and I step forward to follow him – until Marcel stops so abruptly I almost barrel into the back of his huge, muscular frame.

Turning around, Marcel snaps his thick fingers.

“No,” he commands. “No bringing your filthy clothes in here. Strip! Put them in the compactor.”

He points to the wall – where there’s an opening for trash. His voice has an edge to it – as if he’s struggling to form words. I can feel the tension emanating off his body – radiating like heat.

As I listen to his command, the doors slide closed behind me – and I glance over my shoulder to see that all five of us have entered this sanctuary. Me, Tessa, and the three Aurelians.

But while this room – well-appointed, dry, and clean – mightbea sanctuary on this Toad ship, it’s feeling more and more like a prison as the gaze of those Aurelians remain on me. I know if I strip and throw out my clothes, I’ll have nothing else to wear – and no doubt, that’s the point.

I’ll be naked with three towering, lustful aliens – creatures I’m grateful to but I don’t trust an inch. These Aurelians are three men I should hate on principle.

But it’s fuckinghardto hate men this gorgeous. I know it’s a trick of my mind – that I’m weak, and feeble, and responding to the lies my tingling body is whispering to me…

…but I look at those huge, statue-like warriors and I find myself looking foranyjustification for why they might be on this Toad ship – anything other than the disgusting desire to profit off piracy and slave-trading.

I’m torn. I know theysavedTessa – when if they’d truly been monsters, they’d have just left her to her terrible fate, and fucked me regardless, without a care for my feelings. Instead, they listened to me beg to save her – and then they did.

Maybe I’m crazy – or maybe there’s something redeeming about these three. Iknowthere is – there must be! Unless I’m just another foolish young woman, swayed by my hormones – just like most Aurelians view the rest of the comparatively short-lived human species.

While I was told to strip naked, it’s clear the rule about clothes isn’t only directed toward me. Marcel kicks off his big boots, too. They’re high enough that his pants didn’t get damp – but the boots land with a wet squish and I can understand why he wouldn’t want to track that damp filth across the clean flooring.

Then, without me even asking, Marcel unclips the leash from my neck, freeing me.

I freeze as he does so – his fingers grazing my skin and sending a tremble through my body. I have to press my thighs together at the intensity of it – and I shamefully ache for more.

I’m shocked by my reaction – and to him freeing me so readily. I certainly don’t protest, though. I’d imagined him dragging me into the bedroom without any rigmarole – yanking me, kicking and screaming by my leash, until he threw me across the bed and tore my clothes off.

We’ve been in these luxurious quarters for less than a minute now – but by this point, I’d already expected Marcel to be fucking me hard and fast, and his two battle-brothers to be patiently waiting their turn.

How terrible is it that part of me is disappointed that he hasn’t?

But then I look into Marcel’s slate-grey eyes and I instantly recognize that he’s tense. I wonder what could possibly throw this towering warrior off balance. I can’t believe it was the confrontation with that Bullfrog. At the time, Marcel’s eyes had flashed almost as if he’d have welcomed the Bullfrog attacking him.