3
 

 

 

 

Monsters could lurk in the shadows as well.

At that thought, a new kind of dread seeped into me.

I needed to find a shelter, but how would I know where to go? Maybe I should have stayed in the ship, guarded Thane’s body, and fought to my last breath.

Tears rolled down my sooty face again, and my red-golden hair was disheveled. If anyone from the Tarzona kingdom saw me unkempt like this, they’d be shell-shocked and talk about it for days.

But appearance was my last concern, when survival was everything.

Thane would want me to keep going. He would want me to fight to the end.

I would not insult his memory.

Our bodies are shells for our spirits, I reminded myself.

I would meet my friend again when the time came for me. Right now, I needed to quit wallowing in my own self-pity.

When a large, shadowy figure appeared just up ahead, I ducked into the scorched remains of what might’ve been a warehouse long ago. Though I couldn’t shift, I was fast and stealthy. I pressed tightly against the wall and peered through a crack while an alien approached. His head turned left and right as if he was searching for me.

When he loomed closer, I could see the scales on his gray skin and iron fangs as he opened his mouth. 

What kind of monster was that?

My heart slammed in my rib cage, and I tried my best not to breathe too hard. The dagger was slippery in my cold, sweaty hand.

What if he assaulted me before I could run? I wasn’t sure I could take him since he was double my size. But I could give him the element of surprise and attack first. As soon as he peeked into the warehouse, I’d jump him and cut him down.

I swallowed, calculating, and rehearsing the most effective moves. I wished I had Thane’s energy blast weapon, but it had lost power the same time the ship had.

The monster halted at the opening of the warehouse, pricked his pig-like ears to listen.

I held my breath, ready to lash out my blade. 

Wolves howled in the distance.

The monster snarled and dashed away. 

I rasped out a breath and leaned into the wall to steady myself.

It was stupid of me to run blindly like this in panic.

I needed to come up with a strategy.

I knew nothing about this city or this planet other than what I’d seen for a few minutes. The stronger preyed on the weaker. That seemed to be the only law and order here. My best bet was to continue on my original path and seek shelter in the jungle, and I must get there before nightfall.

There didn’t seem to be enough light in this city, and it would only get worse at night.

A trail of regret floated through my mind.

I’d thought any place would be better than Jeroboam’s bedroom.

But look what I had gotten myself into.

If I had been more docile and gone to Jeroboam’s bed as arranged and spread my legs for him, Thane would still be alive.

And I wouldn’t be here terrified of being eaten or torn apart, or worse.

No, I shook my head. I couldn’t think like that. I wouldn’t look back.

If I wanted to stay alive, I couldn’t leave any room for doubts, mourns, and regrets.

I tightened the straps of the backpack and dashed toward the trees. 

As I drew near, the dark jungle seemed more sinister than any forest I’d ever visited. Birds chirped a night song that sounded more like children screaming than any soothing melody. Even the voices of the beasts howling from within the canopy of trees were more pleasant than the winged monsters.

A cold wind picked up, bringing with it the smell of damp earth, bitter blossoms, and sulfur.

I froze.

Did I really want to go inside there?

I darted my eyes around wildly. Where else could I go? Every inch of the city was wrought with danger.

I bit my lip and pushed forward.

I would stay at the outskirts of the jungle. If it didn’t work out, I could always retreat to the ruined city. Right now, the jungle was still the better option.

A piercing shriek like no other blasted over my head.

I clamped my hands over my ears, looked up in alarm, and wished I hadn’t.

Three beasts with enormous red-taloned wings and female human faces dove toward me from the canopies of the forest.

Freak of nature!

I almost laughed at the irony. I’d escaped from another galaxy only to become a monster’s lunch. There wasn’t a chance I could outrun the three of them.

There was no escape this time.

Rage burned through me, filling me with an intense heat. I stepped back and crouched low. “Come on, bitches!”

Before I went down, I intended to kill one of those things, or at least wound one, for the sake of my pride. So on my grave, someone could etch: “Here lies Princess Bella Felim. She—”

I stopped short.

There would be no funeral for me. No tears. No gossip or recognition.

There wouldn’t be anything left of me, if those flying beasts had a penchant of swallowing bones.

If I’d thought the world was a fucked-up place before, I had no idea now.

I raised my dagger before my chest as I kept withdrawing backward, my burning eyes never leaving the beasts.  

Do not bolt. They’d surely capture and devour me if I did that.

Slowly, slowly. Move carefully. Maybe the flying freaks would spot something else, something fattier and chewier than me.

A white flash shot toward me out of nowhere and blocked my retreat. 

Fucking storms! Could this day get any worse?

That’s when I recognized the beast—the white wolf from the arena.

He’d fought like a wolf god, and I hadn’t been able to tear my eyes from him. 

He’d tracked me here. Pure rage and violence hadn’t receded from his blue eyes.

I suspected it was his furious howl I’d heard from Virgin.

He must have seen Thane dead and gotten a whiff of my scent, knowing I’d fled.

Wolves were better at tracking than leopards.

And my father had wanted a grandson, who had the superior traits of wolf and leopard, to be on the future wolf king’s throne.

The scientists had confirmed that I carried the special gene and it could be done.

They had never asked what I wanted. It sure as hell wasn’t to be a breeder.

So, I’d stolen a ship and sent them the “fuck you” message.

So now a homicidal wolf and three terrifying flying freaks had a chance to sandwich me.

Who was the worst enemy?

I was no match against either. But if I could get the monsters to fight each other—

In an instant, the wolf shifted.

A naked, gorgeous man stood before me and held out his hand. “Come with me.”

I blinked. My lips parted, but no words came out. So, I closed them.

I didn’t slide my hand into his, but I shot past him, hoping I could outrun him, and the freaks would be more interested in the newcomer than in me.

The flying beasts stopped chasing altogether.

“They’re Furies.” The man caught up with me easily and ran beside me. “They don’t come to the territory of the City of Nine, unless Akem orders them.”

So, I’d crashed to the City of Nine.

This post-apocalyptic city was full of bloodthirsty savages and the jungle was guarded by winged beasts. And Akem, whoever he was, might be more terrifying. 

The man seemed to read my mind. “All nine clans here originated from other planets and galaxies, but the jungle belongs to Akem.”

“Who’s he or she?”

“No one who has seen his true form still lives. Some say he’s an ancient elemental entity, who causes ships to fall and feeds on their energy. His deadly jungle is home to creatures of nightmares. Furies are only one of the monsters. No one can enter Akem’s jungle and come out in one piece, except for the Wickedest Witch.”

“Who is the Wickedest Witch?” I asked. “How wicked is she?”

The man glanced at me. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you another time.”

I hadn’t expected to come to a fairy land, but I hadn’t completely believed the existence of the realm of nightmares either. Not until now.

Where else could I go? 

The man slowed down when he saw I tried so hard to catch my breath.

“I’m Antonio Evans,” he said, not breaking a sweat. “I’m the general of the Wolf Clan. I’ll take you to the Keep.”

I stopped. “No.”  

He also halted and stared at me, as if I were an idiot, and I stared back.

He had a sculpted face, a sturdy jaw, a slightly crooked yet strong nose that seemed to have been broken more than once, and sensual lips. For a brief moment, I wondered how it would feel to have those lips kiss mine.

I blinked back to reality.

A gust of wind blew, and he sniffed.

Something like shock flashed in his blue eyes, then they turned indigo in an instant, like the color of the ocean at midnight. Fire arose from their depths, emitting heat and caressing my body.  

Liquid flame materialized from the ether, licking between my thighs.

An unseen force brushed open my folds like thumbs, letting the fire course through my channel.

It burned but caused no pain; only desire throbbed in me, demanding to be filled.

To be filled by—this man’s cock.

I’d never felt like this before.

What the fuck?

I licked my lips and swept a glance at the wolf.

He gazed at me as if he’d never seen anything quite like me. As if he’d just found an unforeseen fortune and couldn’t believe his luck.

I regarded him. 

This specimen’s large body was all hard muscles, probably honed by decades of efficient fighting and killing. Everything about him emitted predatory and masculine beauty.

He stood erect in front of me, his large cock pointing to the sky.

I couldn’t help but stare.

Under my gaze, it jerked between his powerful legs.  

It was hard and silkily smooth.

My mound grew slick with thick desire.

I urgently needed to mate with him. I needed his cock, all of it, inside me.

Lust, primal and raw, filled his eyes as well.

I panted. The fever I hadn’t known seized me. I had to mate. My sanity depended on it.

Why the hell not?

My life had been hanging on a thin thread ever since I’d taken Virgin across the universe. Based on my current luck, King Felim and King Jeroboam might have sent bounty hunters after me. If and when they came, I’d make sure all they got was damaged goods.

I’d let this wild wolf have me. I’d bear their enemy’s mark, and that was my revenge with a message; No one owned me.  

My world had shattered when Thane died.

I’d go further and crash all the way.  

Antonio stepped toward me, and I didn’t back off but gazed up at him in thrilling anticipation.

Lust coursed through me like the summer rain.

The tip of his cock reached me first, prodding against me.

He pulled me into his arms, his hands wrapping around me tightly, and his whole hard length strained against my belly.

I didn’t resist him. I needed this more than he. The lush wetness in me turned to liquid fire. 

Antonio dipped his head, his sculpted, firm mouth slanting on mine.

The kiss was fuel to my fire, scorching me inch by inch.  

A sweet, bitter moan slipped past my lips.

He growled back, low in his throat, a demanding sound. His wolf needed to mate, which aroused me even more.

My blood burned hot and my heart pounded. The anticipation was driving me mad.

If I could be in heat like that, I might have the leopard inside me, though she might be dormant. But I’d responded to the wolf mating call.

My gaze darted behind him. How could we mate in the ruin and wilderness, surrounded by unknown danger? From what I’d seen, monsters and beasts could be upon us at any time, and we’d be defenseless in the middle of mating.

Yet I still wanted to fuck him more than anything.

I was a moth to the flame that didn’t mind being burned. Maybe I was the self-destructive type after all. That was why I had had the courage to steal a spaceship and charge headfirst to this doomed planet where no sane person dared visit.

Antonio slipped my backpack off my shoulders and slid it across his own. Then he scooped me into his arms.

“There’s a cave ahead,” he murmured. “It’s the only natural shelter in this wildness.”

His mouth found me again as he took me to the cave he’d promised. He urged my lips to open, and I obliged him. His tongue thrust in, sweeping on mine.

Seduced by it, my tongue mated with his, dancing with his every move, and the fire only burned hotter.

We were in perfect sync. Soon he would do more to me and sate the sexual hunger in me. 

He stepped into an ovoid shaped cave. The walls below the ridge curved to the floor; the walls above arched over a hundred feet to giant stalactites.

Cold air filled every corner, yet it couldn’t cool my heated blood.

Antonio broke the kiss, and I protested.

“I have to find a suitable place for us to fuck,” he said. “Is there any blanket or clothing in your bag?”

“Yes.”

Antonio put down my backpack, zipped it open, and pulled out a small blanket.

He laid the blanket on a vast, flat rock, and sat down on it, his cock strained and erect and huge. There was a moist bead on the slit of his crown.

He wanted to fuck me badly.

He sat me on his lap. His hand inserted into my blouse and he cupped my breast roughly. I arched my back and moaned as the electric shock turned to pleasure.

The liquid fire swayed between my thighs, and I wanted him inside me now.

Antonio pulled off my pants and dragged off my panties.

He hesitated.

I opened my eyes and peeked at him.

What was he waiting for?

He stared at my bare pussy, awe twirling in his lust-riddled eyes.

“It’s lovely,” he murmured. “I’m going to fuck you.”

His words aroused me further, and my plump folds shivered in need.

Antonio let out a curse, his eyes heavily hooded, and there was a heated, dreamy expression in them, as if he couldn’t believe he had a pussy in front of him.

His large hand palmed my sex, rubbing it back and forth. His thumb moved to fondle my swollen bud in slow circles.

I cried out at the intense pleasure and thrust my sex toward him.   

His hungry look turned feral. His finger dipped into my moistened channel.

I arched my back with a series of moans as the sensation spread to my nerve endings.

Could I survive this?

He kept going, thrusting his finger into me, in and out and in, and thrusting again, until I was at the verge of an orgasm.

Antonio withdrew his finger and I objected, but then he licked the cream on it.

“The sweetest taste ever,” he said.

Fire swept all over me again.

The scent of our mixed arousal was thicker than a rainstorm.

“I need your cock inside me now,” I urged, opening my legs wider for him.

I’d do anything to get him to fuck me. I would even beg. I’d never been like this before. The wildfire had come over me, and I let it drive and burn me.

Maybe it was because my body needed to bounce back from the trauma of the crash and Thane’s death, so I could keep going.

His blue eyes blazed with scorching heat at my nakedness.

I bucked my hips up to urge him to enter me.

But he didn’t need any spurring. He had his cock nudged at my slick entrance and brushed my folds open. His shaft was so big my folds flattened under his press.

He thrust in an inch, and I cried out in pain.

I hadn’t expected this. I wanted it so much and I was wet and ready. How could there be pain? Shouldn’t it be all pleasure and bliss?

“You’re too tight,” he said.

If he thrust all the way in and broke my maiden head, then the next thrust should bring great pleasure. My girlfriends who had laid with men had said there would be some pain the first time, but the pleasure that followed would be worth it.

Antonio shuddered from restraining himself. Judging from the feral lust in his eyes, I knew he wanted to drive all the way in and thrust into me fiercely.

He was for sure a wild thing.

While he warred with himself, I barked, “Just push.”  

He stilled as if something struck him, then he uttered my name, “Bella?”  

I froze as chills slithered up my spine.

I hadn’t left any trail about my identification inside Virgin. Thane and I had been very careful. There was no way this wolf shifter could know my name.

“I dreamed about you,” he said. “I dreamed about your coming, Bella.”

How could it be possible?

I needed to slow down.

I needed to think this over and cool the heat inside me before going any further.

But if he didn’t get my last name, then I should be safe.

The aching need for a relief was too great. Was it worth the risk? Maybe I should leave now.

He seemed to read my thoughts and growled.

“You’re going nowhere,” he said. “You came all the way here for me to fuck you, and I’ve been waiting for you.”

He lay sideways and pulled me to him with my back against his hard chest, his strong arm wrapping around my waist possessively. “We’ll fuck this way, just like in the dream.”

He hooked my leg over his arm and had my pussy bare to him. Then he placed his cock at my entrance and glided in, one inch, then another inch.

Tiny electric shocks sparked across me, and I moaned at the carnal sensation.

Fire and lightning. Fucking storms! I want his whole length.

His hand went around to my front and stroked my sensitive clit. I rolled my eyes to the back of my head at the incredible stimulation.

Our lust grew thicker, burning and fueling each other.

I could tell he was proud of his self-control, but he was slowly losing it.

“Your pussy is so hot and wet for me,” he groaned. “I need to fuck you hard, even though you’re a virgin.”

Right, he got my number.

“Just fuck me!” I said. “That’s all I want.”

“That’s all you want?” he growled. “I’ll show you what else you want.”

With one powerful thrust, he drove all the way to my molten core.

I cried out. Pain burned me, but then waves of pleasure rolled over it.

Antonio thrust into me, harder and harder, while his fingers rubbed my swollen clit.

He could no longer stop fucking me, once he got going.  

His cock was granite hard inside my pussy. The steel rod wrapped in silk stroked my inner walls, and the hard crown squeezed into the narrow passage that led into my cervix.

I could feel every hard inch as it rubbed my skin, its weight building pressure in me and sending pleasure to my receiving nerves. 

He thrust and thrust, each stroke hitting my core, and I welcomed him into my depths.

Antonio pulled back an inch before shoving back into me, his speed turning savage. He fucked me with abandon, as if it were the end of the world—it could be—and I was the only female who mattered to him.

I allowed myself to indulge in the carnal pleasure that was beyond the reach of this fucked-up world.

Everything was forgotten, or irrelevant, except for our vehement fucking driven by animalistic lust. I slammed back toward his base, to his heavy balls. We moved with rapid tempos and building savage paces.

I moaned, and he groaned, and we listened to the erotic sounds of flesh slapping against flesh, all raw, rough, and arousing.  

Lust was a living thing that bound us to the moment.

“After this, I’ll fuck you a hundred different ways,” he promised. “You’ve come for me, female, and your pussy is mine to fuck forever.”

That’s a bit overstretching.

This one time would be fine. I needed it now, but I had no plan to stay with him and let him fuck me a hundred different ways, no matter how much my treacherous body wanted to say yes and was already addicted to the copulation.

He combined long thrusts effectively with short ones, then long thrusts again. Every stroke sent caressing fire all over me.

He must have endless energy, considering he’d just come from the battlefield and he could fuck me with such vigor.

If I let him, I believed he could fuck me like this forever.

Fire and waves. Storms!   

I was at the verge of a climax. I was going to burst, and I didn’t mind going up in a flame.

Lust could do such things to you.

Then I felt a stir.

I knew what it was. No, no, no. Not now!

My leopard had just awoken and wanted to claw to the surface to play.

Fuck off! Not now! I commanded, but how would I put a leash on her since I was never prepared for this? Since I’d thought she would never come to me?

She purred at the wolf shifter’s raw, hard thrusts.

All my life, I’d wanted my leopard to manifest, yet she’d never responded to my call, my beg, or my threat. She made me a humiliation in front of the whole leopard nation.

I had to choose the fate of self-exile because I’d been shiftless. I’d been stripped of the title crown princess because she’d refused to show herself in my ceremony. In the end, I had to come to this cursed place just to escape becoming the mistress of King Jeroboam’s harem.

Now when I was having a little fun, she wanted to come out?

I didn’t mind her enjoying it in secret, but if she exposed herself, she would screw things up for me.

There was no fucking way I would allow her to reveal herself.

The beast knew only passion and heat and instinct, but I was still her master and held her to reason.

I snarled at her, threatening to put her on a leash forever if she didn’t back off. I even tried to kick her.

My leopard pouted and swept her golden tail.

The fuck I cared about her mood.

Stay away and let me finish this, I warned. You can come out and play later when I’m away from the wolf. You’re too late for the party anyway. Tell me, when I needed you, where the fuck were you?

My leopard sat on her rear with a solemn expression, lurking and watching my mating.

Antonio plunged to my center with rapid thrusts, power rolling off him, his dominance demanding I surrender to him.

Not yet. I wiggled my hips.

His rhythms became erratic with accelerated, short thrusts. His eyes were dark fire on his carnal, handsome face.  

When he pushed through to my depths again, the high wave pulled me under, its power irresistible. 

I moaned, my nails sinking into his muscle-corded arms.

My pussy clenched his cock, my inner walls convulsing uncontrollably.

An erotic, animalistic sound rumbled from his chest. His wolf peeked out.

“Your pussy is so tight, woman!” Antonio said. “It milked my cock like no other. The hottest and tightest pussy I’ve ever fucked.”

Letting out a hoarse groan, he pumped his seed deep into me just as I reached the peak of my orgasm.

My leopard broke my bounds, surfaced, and purred in answer.