HER ALIEN STEPBROTHER

MONSTER BITES #6
MICHELE MILLS
 HER ALIEN STEPBROTHER

I look everywhere for the one and yet she’s nowhere to be found.
I scented my mate and she disappeared before we could meet, leaving
behind a forgotten piece of clothing. It’s driving me crazy. I’ve checked
every unmated human female, asking if this mysterious red fabric is hers.
Pissing off other males in the process, but what do I care? I’m on a quest to
find my future bound, no matter what.
But to no avail.
Then my father, the Don of the Hyrrokin mafia, takes a new bound.
Suddenly I have a new human stepmother, as well as a young human
stepsister—and I’m in charge of this adult stepsister’s safety. “My new
daughter is innocent, and I want her to remain that way,” my father orders.
“Do not let any of these a-holes touch her.”
Does that include me? And is she the one?
I don't know, but I'm going to find out.

Author’s note: This novella is more enjoyable if read after the first three
books in Prince Brimstone’s never-ending quest for the one:

His Human Socialite

Her Alien Ex-Con
Her Alien Bully
Copyright © 2022 by Michele Mills
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means,
including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author,
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Artist: Mayhem Cover Creations
Editor: Aquila Editing

Created with Vellum

 CONTENTS

1. Prince
2. Prince
3. Olivia
4. Prince
5. Olivia
6. Olivia
7. Prince
8. Prince
9. Prince
 1

PRINCE

M y father, the Don of the Hyrrokin mafia, ordered me to escort my

young stepsister from the Omega 9 space station back to her new
home on Tarvos.
At first it seemed an easy enough task, and a natural way to ensure my
new sibling was on my side, prior to her introduction to the rest of our
thieving, bloodthirsty clan. But the assignment turned into an unmitigated
fiasco.
I was unable to find this mysterious child I was sent to retrieve. And the
time spent searching for her on the station was a complete waste of mental
and physical energy. Never again do I want to navigate those chaotic,
warren-like housing levels that exist only on Omega 9. Speaking to (and
roughing up) a variety of beings led to zero leads. It was a house of horrors.
Late last night I returned home via transporter disk, empty-clawed and
exhausted, and promptly fell into a deep slumber.
This morning I remain highly irritated and not entirely sure why.
Maybe because I learned I have a twenty-five-year-old half-brother
living on Omega 9 that no one ever fucking bothered to tell me about. And
he was kept from me my whole life.
I grasp my warm cup of Traq with a tighter grip. A growl rumbles in my
chest.
Or I could be angry because my father not only kept this brother from
me, but also recently took legal vows with a human female who has a
young daughter from a former mating, which means I now have a new
human stepmother and a stepsister. And I haven’t met either of them yet.
 Or maybe my irritation simply stems from the unclaimed red fabric still
tucked away in my pocket, which taunts me daily. How can I possibly
remain calm when my future bound is still unfound?
Last season, I traveled with my father for an annual meeting with the
Intergalatic Mafia Council and found this scarf left behind in a booth at the
VIP lounge on the main transporter station on Salo. The scent emanating
from that silky fabric exploded in my lungs. I immediately began a hunt for
the owner, but she was already long gone. And her identity still eludes me;
all I know is that she is human. Her name and her features are a complete
mystery. But my body has latched onto her pheromones, and the scent from
that fabric—my only clue to her identity—tortures me with no end in sight.
I need this female, the owner of this red scarf, because I am certain she is
my bound and the mother of future Brimstones.
Meanwhile, I steam with low-level rage and recline in my favorite chair.
Black smoke wafts from my flared nostrils as I sip my favorite brand of
morning Traq. “I still can’t believe Father took a new bound,” I grouse to
my two enforcers. “We were unable to find my stepsister on that entire
space station.”
“I can’t believe we couldn’t find her either,” Rojer growls as he leans
his thick body back into his creaking chair. “We’re good at this; it’s what
we do. Normally all we need is a name and a location and we can bring that
being to ground.”
“I’ve found beings with less info,” Jak snorts.
“Right? We found that human locked away in that fancy gated
community, living next door to Dr. Brimstone, didn’t we? We got past
Molten Lava so Prince could scent her. That wasn’t easy.”
They both steam-chuckle and bump their fists together.
My partners in crime drink their own highly sweetened Traq, reclining
in opposite chairs. The fire pit crackles pleasantly. I grew up with these two
in the Brimstone organization and they were groomed from an early age as
my personal enforcers. And somehow, I still enjoy their company. They
often act idiotic, as if they haven’t a brain between them, but in an instant
they can turn into sharp-minded killers, which is what matters. Plus, they’d
give their lives for me.
We start each day in my suite on the north tower because of the perfect
view of whomever enters the compound, allowing great daily intel. This is
where I strategize world domination and plan how I’ll terrorize my
enemies.
Jakyl Brimstone is my father and I’m an only child, the heir to the entire
Hyrrokin mafia. I’ve lived in the family compound my whole life, without a
mother figure. My own mother was gunned down in broad daylight at a
shopping center when I was a toddler. It was a retaliation against my father
from a disgruntled rival.
Although now I’m about to gain more family—my secret half-brother,
Horace Brimstone, and the addition of a human stepmother and stepsister.
Life is about to get interesting. My goal is to come out the other end of this
disruption with new allies. My aunts, uncles and cousins smile and act like
they care, but in reality they’re mostly traitorous assholes who’d murder me
in a moment to gain control of Father’s organization. I need all the back-up
I can get.
“We should’ve been able to easily find one human child,” Rojer
continues, complaining yet again about last night. “But she didn’t exist on
the station database. We personally visited each domicile with a human
child and none of them were Olivia Timlin. It can’t be said we didn’t try.”
“Eh, if we couldn’t find her, she wasn’t there. I bet we were sent on a
fool’s errand,” Jak grumbles as he refills his cup. “Not the first time that’s
happened and it certainly won’t be the last. I’m over it already. I’m stuck on
the fact that the Don found a new mate while on a vacation. Since when
does the head of the Brimstone mafia take solo vacations?”
“It is shocking. And he didn’t take her as a one-time pleasure mate
either, he took her as his legal bound. This human female is too old to birth
offspring, so he didn’t need to make her his permanent bound, but he did.”
I grunt in agreement. “I also find that part surprising. Older Hyrrokin
are less likely to take vows because there’s no ability to breed, and as legal
bounds they’d be mated until the end of their lives, with no legal recourse to
part. So why bother? Most elders choose avowed pleasure mates, which
allows for a change of mind if necessary. The only reason for my father to
exchange vows and take this female as his bound is because he wants to
make sure she will remain with him for the rest of his living days.”
“Well, also because it was the only way to keep this human. He had to
make her his legal bound so she could become a citizen. The Don had to
decide right then—she’s his vacation pleasure mate and he’ll never see her
again, or…she’s his legal bound. There was no middle ground.”
 “What I want to know,” Rojer questions, “is why there are suddenly so
many human females around? How was your father able to meet one on a
Nebula cruise? Humans are everywhere nowadays.”
“It does seem as if I’m constantly running into a human,” Jak agrees.
“And not just the ones we’ve met on Tarvos. Boss found that human’s piece
of clothing on Salo. There were several groups of human families living on
Omega 9. I heard rumors humans are working on Timbur.”
“I’d never heard of that species until recently,” Rojer continues. “What
were humans? And then that female who mated Aegir Touchstone, the one
with that Intelgram channel—wasn’t she the first one on Tarvos?”
“I think so,” Jak agrees. “Then Aegir’s brother took a human as bound
too, right?”
“Yeah, Bergelmir Touchstone has a human bound,” I agree. “Both
brothers mated humans.”
“Even the Fire Lord has mated a human.”
“I’m starting to think on Tarvos you only get a human if you’re rich or a
celebrity,” Rojer laughs.
“Or aristocracy.”
They chuckle over their joke. These two can gossip for hours. “Well,”
Rojer confirms, “Boss, you’re rich. You should have your own human soon
too.”
“I need to find her,” I agree. “The wait is excruciating.” They both
know the future bound I’m looking for is human. Yes, it’s odd that my mate
is going to be a being not of my own species, but it is what it is. No one else
knows I’m looking for her. Well, except for the females I’ve scented and
discarded during my hunt, and their mates who were angry that I scented
their females, but I had to know. I’ve told no one else because nothing can
get in the way of me having her, not even family, or my own father.
“Now that the Don has a human bound and your brother has a human
mate too, you’re next,” Jak agrees. “It’s your turn.”
I finger the soft fabric in my pocket, hoping they’re right. I’ve run into
many unmated females during my hunt, getting my hopes up, only to
discover each human was already someone else’s mate. Where is my
female? How long will it take me to find her and put an end to my misery?
Rojer and Jak exchange glances. “Are we gonna end up with human
mates too one day?”
“I would never want a human mate,” Jak vows.
 “Agreed. No human for me either, no matter how rich I might get.”
What are they even talking about? These assholes are just as unmated as
I’ve been. I’ve never once heard them ponder life with a future mate or
offspring. They take pleasure mates, but no one serious. None of us has
even had an avowed pleasure mate. I don’t know if it’s because, like me,
they don’t want to bring anyone serious into the family to become targets.
Or if they’re just males who don’t want to deal with anyone’s needs beyond
their own.
I often wonder what it will be like to have a mate. I’ll know how to
pleasure her in bed, that’s a given, but anything beyond that is perplexing.
How will a human bound fit into my carefully scheduled life? And
offspring will be inevitable. Am I ready to become a father?
“I like black horns,” Jak remarks. “Human females are beautiful but so
defenseless. They don’t flash-flame. They don’t have tails and they wear
fabric on their feet. How could I live with a being with that human hair?”
Rojer nods. “I love a smooth head and a sharp pair of horns.”
“My favorite female attribute is a barbed tail.”
“That can cut you.”
“Make you bleed.”
Now they’re laughing again.
“I used to feel the same,” I admit, “but ever since I scented my human I
haven’t been able to look at other unmated females. None of my former
Hyrrokin pleasure mates will do.”
“Former? You haven’t taken any of them since…”
I shrug. “No, none of them. I let all of them know I no longer required
their services. They’re all deleted from my contacts list. Only the scent in
that fabric causes my shaft to thicken. This is another reason to find my
mate as soon as possible. Only this one female can unlock my frozen
pheromones.”
“Are you certain the female you scented is human?” My head enforcer
asks for the thousandth time. “Maybe she’s a Hyrrokin from a primitive
tribe.”
“I’m certain she’s human. I wouldn’t continually look for a human
female if I wasn’t certain.”
“Well, now that the Don has taken a human bound and Secret Boss has
too, I’m more certain the Boss’s future bound will also be human,” Rojer
confirms. “It’s like it’s a virus amongst these Brimstones, all these males
falling for humans.”
“Is it a sickness, mating with a human? I heard a conspiracy theory
yesterday where they think human females are trying to lure Hyrrokin
males into legal matings to become citizens.”
“That’s just stupid,” I grumble.
“Well, how do you explain all of these humans dispersing so suddenly
in the four sectors?”
I shrug. “I don’t understand but I’m certain it is pure coincidence and
not nefarious.”
They ignore me and continue to chew on the idea of humans networking
together to gain Hyrrokin mates. These two. Not only do they enjoy gossip,
but also conspiracy theories. They can talk of it for hours. And then
strangely let it all go as soon as it’s proven wrong and start all over again
with an entirely new subject.
I look out the window as they talk because a vehicle is pulling up in
front of the compound. And out steps two humans, an older female and
another younger, adult female. My brow furrows.
“He did not go out on that trip until Horace’s mother had passed away,”
Jak remarks, talking again about my father’s new mating. “The Don
followed all the legal traditions. I assumed he never took another bound or
even a pleasure mate because he was in mourning over his first bound.”
I clench my jaw. I too had thought this whole time my father’s reticence
was due to his love for my deceased mother, only to now discover he’d
gotten over his first bound in short order. The female my father was staying
true to, and recently mourning, was Horace’s mother. “It’s time to go
downstairs to meet with the Don,” I announce and stand, ready to leave.
The two males glance at the time and morph into hard-ass enforcers.
Mugs are quickly cleaned and put away. They both check and holster their
weapons.
“While we were talking I saw an unknown, adult human female arrive
at the compound. Find out who she is and if she’s unmated.”
“Got it, Boss.”
 2

PRINCE

I enter the Don’s expansive downstairs office exactly on time.

This is because it’s never a good idea to be late for a meeting with
the Don of the entire Hyrrokin mafia. Even his heir must be careful of his
indiscriminate fire rage. The Don in a foul mood is to be expected. This has
been his foremost personality trait for as long as I can remember. But
inciting his wrath is plain stupid. Many beings have caught the sharp edge
of Jakyl’s blazing heat over the years and I’m determined to not be one of
those fools.
Father glances up as I enter the room, with an inviting smile across his
harsh features. His white fangs gleam with invitation and friendliness.
“Good morning,” he says with a smooth, melodious voice. He genuinely
looks pleased to see me.
I stumble, missing a step, stunned at this outcome. Who is this stranger?
Since when does the most feared male on the entire planet, smile?
He waves away Jak and Rojer who hover in the doorway. “I want to
speak to my son alone,” he orders.
Both enforcers nod and leave. The door shuts heavily behind us and it’s
just the two of us, alone in his large office.
“Sit.”
I walk to the opposite side of his black ebony desk and take a seat. One
day, this office will be mine and I will sit in the ornate black chair, but for
now I’m still training for leadership. Jakyl Brimstone is the Don, and I am
his heir. Our crime syndicate has been in existence, led by the Brimstones,
for the last five hundred years. My grandfather and great-grandmother were
recent Dons. One day I will lead the Brimstones, but for now I must follow
Jakyl’s exacting orders as much as any other member in our family.
“I couldn’t find her,” I admit, waiting for the axe to fall. “We looked
everywhere but were unable to complete our mission and escort her home.”
I’ve learned from experience never to hide my mistakes because he always
finds out. And if I try and cover up the misstep, the eventual punishment
will only be worse. It’s always best to come clean with errors immediately.
“Who?” he asks absently.
“My new stepsister. You sent me to Omega 9 to pick her up and escort
her back home. But I couldn’t find any trace of her.”
“Oh right.” He waves a claw. “Well, no matter, she’s here.”
I sit up straight. “She is?”
“Yes. Your stepsister arrived at the compound recently to rejoin her
mother, my new bound.”
“Both of these humans are here in the compound right now?”
“Yes. And my bound told me that you and I need to talk about our
mating and what it means for our family.”
“She did?”
“Yes.”
“Heh. Well, I haven’t even met her yet,” I comment. “I haven’t met
either of them. Maybe this is what she means.”
“Yes. Monica said that too, that you two need to meet. All in good time.
But there are many things I need to tell you first. There is much I’ve kept
from you.”
Damn straight, he’s got a lot of explaining to do.
Father glances out the window. And I gaze at his harsh profile—the
long chin and protruding forehead. Sunlight glints off his shiny black horns.
The Don is taller than the average Hyrrokin, with a wide muscled chest and
thick arms. He’s known for his sharp claws and the heat of his flames. I’ve
watched him best a dozen younger males in the annual flame trials. He’s
older but just as imposing as ever.
He taps his claws on the desk, pauses for a sip of Traq, then takes a deep
breath and meets my gaze. “You have a brother.”
I try to act surprised. “I do? Since when?”
This imposing male raised me in his image. I’ve sat by his side for the
majority of his business decisions because he’s been training me to be his
heir. And yet he’s also been lying to me for most of my life. And I’m not as
angry as I thought I’d be. Mainly, I’m impressed. This old male has tricks
I’ve yet to learn.
He blows out a smoky breath. “Twenty-five years ago, after your
mother died, I went on a cruise around the Rings of Fire. I went alone
because I needed to get away. While I was on that cruise, I met your
brother’s mother and fell in love. I made her my bound and filled her with
my seed. She bore me a son she named Horace.”
“I have a twenty-five-year-old brother named Horace Brimstone?”
“Yes.”
I can’t believe he dropped my mother’s memory so quickly. “Why am I
just learning of this today?” I growl.
“I had to keep his identity secret to keep him safe. His mother left me
soon after we arrived home because she found out I was the Don and I’d
been widowed. She learned exactly how my first bound died and decided
my lifestyle was not for her.”
“You brought your new bound to the compound and that was the
moment she learned she’d married into the Brimstone mafia? What kind of
fucked up plan was that?” I boldly question. “You started your mating based
upon a lie?”
His jaw clenches, but he allows my impertinence. “I did not tell her
because she was a female of high value and I saw no other way to keep
such a mate. I hoped once she was mated and I’d filled her with my seed,
she’d be compelled to stay, that our love was enough to make it work. I was
certain I’d learned from my previous security mistakes concerning your
mother’s loss and that I could keep this female safe. But my bound was
smarter and had more connections than I ever assumed. She simply walked
off into a crowd and disappeared. I never found her again. She left a note
letting me know she wanted nothing to do with my criminal lifestyle and
she planned to keep our son safe and happy—apart from me. Finally, years
later, I discovered she was a diplomat on Omega 9, living there with our son
whom she’d named Horace after her uncle, but she gave him my last name,
Brimstone, pretending she was tied to the primitive Brimstones. She told no
one about me and made up some story about a dead bound who had passed
away tragically.”
“The legit Brimstones. That’s a good cover story.”
He nods. “I tried many times to bring the both of them back to Tarvos,
but she said the distance and secrecy was for the safety of our son. She
pointed to the years when I didn’t know he was there, and no one bothered
them.”
“Did you keep trying or eventually let them go?”
His claws tapped again. “At first I thought the only way I could truly
keep Horace and my bound safe was by having them next to me, but she
reminded me my first bound was close when she was executed.”
“I’ve been safe,” I point out.
“Yes. I mentioned that as evidence of my ability to raise another son in
safety. But she also said she didn’t want him raised to become a killer.”
I frown.
He shrugs. “I tried to get them back, sending mercenaries with messages
for him to return to the family, but it didn’t work. My methods might have
been a little heavy and I think all I did was turn Horace against us because
he was very loyal to his mother. Eventually I left them alone. I didn’t tell
anyone about our son per her wishes. This was a valid request. If he wasn’t
with me, he had to remain secret in order to stay safe. I had to accept the
fact that I had a son living on Omega 9 I didn’t know.”
“Did this secrecy pact work?” I ask.
“For maybe a decade. And then our rivals, the Softstones, found out
about him. They tried to kill him to hurt me, but by then my son was older.
Horace had started some sort of security company,” my father says with a
hint of pride in his voice. “He kept himself and his mother safe on his own.”
“You’ve never met him face to face?”
“No. Never. I’ve messaged him, but he never responded. I’ve never told
anyone I have a second son. No one in the family knows. I quietly retaliated
against the Softstones with massive casualties, and I’ve never received
blackmail about Horace. As far as I know, no one on Tarvos knows about
Horace except you and now I assume those two idiots in the hall.”
“Why are you telling me this now?”
“Your mother died in gang warfare,” he reminds me. “Shot and killed
right in front of my eyes. Do you remember her?”
I blink. Normally we never speak of my mother. I’ve always supposed it
was because of his pain at her death and the shame of not keeping her safe.
“I sometimes think I remember her scent, and the sound of her sparkling
laughter.”
“She was a wonderful female. I was lucky to have her as my bound and
the mother of my offspring. It’s a tragedy you didn’t enjoy the gift of her
presence as you grew up. Horace’s mother was of equal value. And now
I’ve got this third chance with another amazing female. I’ve destroyed two
previous matings. I will not let this one go down in flames too. No more
lies. First, I was staying true to your mother’s memory. Then I stayed true to
my legal bound who was still alive on Omega 9. She died two years ago.
Recently, I felt that same need to go on another cruise. But this time I took a
spaceliner to the Nebula. I went alone again, wanting to be incognito, and I
met Monica Timlin, now Brimstone. Yes, she’s human, an entirely different
species, but this time I’m doing it right. I told her who I am and what I do.”
“You trusted her enough to tell her you’re the Don of the Hyrrokin
mafia?”
“Yes. We met while listening to lectures from the onboard Nebula
experts. We always arrived at the same time and sat in the same section and
became instant friends. Strangely, we have much in common. I asked her to
eat meals with me and we became more than friends. I soon thought we
could be more than temporary pleasure mates. That was how it started with
Horace’s mother too. I’d also met your mother while on vacation.”
“You go on vacations to find your mate?” I ask, with a snort of derision.
“How else will I meet worthy females who want me for me?”
We quietly stare at each other for a moment, then he continues. “I’ve
ruined two other matings. That’s how dangerous I am. I don’t want to let
myself off the flame here, I was actively trying to retrieve your brother for a
good decade, watching his every move. I hired mercenaries, planning on
how to kidnap him, looking for weaknesses and ways to blackmail him to
get him to come back. I suspect my obsession was how the Softstones
found out about him. If I’d left them alone as requested, they would truly
have been safe. Then finally my rivals found out and they sent mercenaries
after him too. That’s when shit got real and I realized my bound had been
right about me all along. I am a male who destroys those I love. It was a
difficult realization, but necessary.”
“What about me?” I question, finding myself offended at this statement,
as if it negates my entire existence. “I was here next to you this whole time.
Were you wrong about that too?”
“After your mother’s execution, I thought the problem was that I’d
needed to work harder to keep her safe. And so I kept you safe by teaching
you our ways, by bringing you in and making you my heir. You were raised
by me, your grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins—in the true Brimstone
mafia tradition—the same way I was raised and all heirs have been raised
for hundreds of years. I tried to make sure that despite your pretty exterior,
you’re tougher than me, which you are.”
I nod and cross my arms.
“I thought this was how Horace needed to be raised too, but I now see I
was wrong. I’ve been thinking about your future. About the future of the
Hyrrokin mafia. I decided I want more for you, Prince, than a future where
you also become a danger to the ones you love. I don’t want you to end up
alone, as I did. I decided I needed to do something bold and different if you
or I were ever going to have a chance at happiness. But I couldn’t tell you
about my new plans because no one could know, or they’d try to stop me.”
Smoke wafts from my nostrils. “Father, what have you done?”
“I’m turning legit.”
I roll my eyes and throw up my claws. “That’s it? That’s the other big
secret? I know that already.”
“You do?”
“Of course I do. I’ve been helping you.”
He throws his head back and lets out a deep belly laugh. “Monica was
right. We did need to talk.”
“I didn’t know why you were turning legit though. I thought this whole
time it was because you thought law enforcement was getting too tight.”
“Well, there’s that, but mainly I was thinking about your safety.”
“Me?” A lump forms on my throat.
“I couldn’t tell you until it was all done because the whole family will
turn on me. I’m not stupid, I’m doing this while keeping us all rich. But I
know which ones will support this change and stay, but many of them won’t
accept the drop in power or the need for change in their criminal behavior.
They thrive on the criminality.”
“True,” I say, “that’s why I didn’t say anything either.”
“Who else knows we’re going legit?”
“Only me, and the idiots in the hallway.”
“Meeting Monica was by chance but now everything needs to be
stepped up. I thought I was laying the groundwork to go legit for when I
passed it over to you and hopefully to Horace at the same time, that way
you two could finally meet and work together.”
“You need to make this transition quicker because you have a new
human bound and her young daughter?”
 “Yes, that outcome was unexpected and now I need to bring you into
my plans. I don’t want anything to happen to harm them. I don’t want to
watch either of them killed in front of me. Nor do I want to turn them into
bloodthirsty criminals to keep themselves safe. I want them to live free. I
want you to be able to declare for a bound and know that she and her
offspring will be safe. I know that’s why you haven’t yet declared for
anyone and instead keep a team of questionable pleasure mates and use
double birth control protection, thereby making sure you never fall in love
or impregnate anyone. It’s smart thinking, but I want it to become
unnecessary.”
I purse my lips and change the subject. “Monica knows how my mother
died, and she also knows about Horace and the passing of your second
bound?”
“Yes, she knows everything, there are no lies between us. And now you
know everything too.”
“No more lies?”
“None.” He grins. “I will now only continue to lie to my enemies and
rivals, but not to my heir or my bound.”
I nod. “As it should be.”
“I promised Monica that I was turning legit and that she would be safe,
and her daughter would be safe too. I plan on keeping that vow.”
“You truly have told her everything. Okay. What do you need me to
do?”
He stands up. “First? I need you to make sure my human stepdaughter
remains innocent and that none of these assholes touch her. Your cousins
and the other enforcers will be salivating over her and it’s unacceptable. I
need her to be left alone. Her mother wants her to have a pleasant visit and
then return to Omega 9. You will make sure that happens.”
I rear back. “No one in this compound would harm a child. Well, maybe
some of my distant cousins, but we don’t…”
“What are you talking about? She’s not a child. She’s an adult.”
“What?”
“Olivia Timlin recently graduated from university on Salo.”
I grind my teeth. “I was told I was going to Omega 9 escort a young
child home. No wonder I wasn’t able to find her.”
He chuckles as we walks around the desk. “I think she’s twenty-three
years old.”
 That’s when it enters my mind. “Wait, you said she’s innocent?”
“Olivia is unmated and her mother says she’s never had a pleasure mate.
That’s why none of them can touch her. And I want you, as her new older
brother and sibling, to watch over her and protect her from the unmated
assholes in our compound, while she’s visiting. She knows none of our
mating rules and they will take advantage. Remember, I promised her
mother that she would remain safe and be free to leave at any time and
return to her life on Omega 9.” He grabs my forearm in the traditional
Brimstone vow. “Can I count on you? Can I trust you to help me implement
the plan?”
I reach out and grasp his other forearm. “I’m with you,” I vow. “We
have the same goals.”
Except for one…I’m not so certain I’ll be able to keep my father’s new
stepdaughter protected from me.
 3

OLIVIA

M y mom has married the Don of the freaking Hyrrokin mafia.

Yes, she married a satanic-looking criminal mastermind and
moved to a distant planet called Tarvos.
I still can’t believe.
She met him on a spaceliner and fell in love so quickly she gave up her
entire life on Omega 9 to move with Jakyl Brimstone on his home planet.
When someone tells you they’re a crime lord, believe them. He’s a thief,
a killer, a kidnapper. I’m sure he’s done evil things that would make my
stomach churn. You don’t get to be the head of a planet-wide mafia by
being a nice guy. But they fell head over heels in love and he promised
Mom he’s going legit, and she believed him.
So here we are.
I already knew of the Hyrrokin species, so this part wasn’t a surprise. I
literally went to High School with a guy name Horace, who was Hyrrokin,
so I wasn’t as terrified at the prospect of her marrying into this species as
another being might be, considering the Hyrrokin look like most species’
standard vision of evil incarnate.
And I have to admit I kinda like him.
Jakyl gazes at her with love and devotion in his black eyes and he’s
nothing but nice and respectful towards her. And he’s been kind to me too.
But she left a garden view residence and the business she’d built, for the
unknown with a male who admitted he’s the head of a dangerous crime
syndicate.
Maybe his niceness is all a front and it’s only a matter of time until he
shows his true colors? I don’t know and that’s why I’m visiting until I know
for certain she’s safe. I used every bit of currency in my account to purchase
two secret tickets for the transporter station so we can get off planet in a
hurry if necessary. I even purchased new identity cards for both of us.
Again, just in case.
I might look young and innocent, or so I’ve been told by basically
everyone I’ve ever known—but I have a degree in Intergalactic Law. If
Jakyl ends up breaking her heart, I know how to get us out of here and hide
from this “Don of the Hyrrokin Mafia.” I also know exactly how to make
his life miserable. If he hurts her, he’s going to regret messing with me.
“I’m not selling the garden unit,” she says as we put my new clothes
away, chatting about the future. “You can move into the unit and live there.
It would be a good situation for you.”
“Yeah, I think I might do that, when I leave.” So sweet of her. My
mother is a very charming and nice woman. Maybe she’s too nice. I hope
Jakyl understands how truly lucky he is to have Monica Timlin in his life.
In fact right now she’s helping me get comfortable in my new suite on the
south tower of the Brimstone family compound.
“How long do you think you’re staying on Tarvos?”
“Oh, I’m not sure yet… Where is my pink scarf?” I lost my favorite red
scarf a few months ago. The pink one pales in comparison, but it will do for
now.
“Oh honey, don’t worry. Here it is.”
I’m still a little frazzled and disorganized. I couldn’t let her live here
alone. She’d be the only human for miles, and she wouldn’t know anyone.
I was supposed to move in with my best friend Cherise, but she ended
up moving in with a Hyrrokin of her own. That was weird. She’s marrying
Horace Brimstone, who was her bully in high school. I thought we both
hated him forever and ever. I cannot understand the women in my life
suddenly losing their minds and marrying these bad Hyrrokin. It makes no
sense.
I arrived yesterday but then went out with my mom again for some
shopping early this morning. We had a team of armed guards around us the
entire time, trying to look as if they weren’t guards. At least two of them
were female, although they never smiled.
How can she live like this, needing so much security to simply go
shopping?
 “I’m not so sure about these shirts,” I tell my mom, trying to tug the top
over my ample chest. The bra is nice and supportive, but I’m still shocked
to be showing off so much skin.
“It is weird to get used to wearing these clothes, especially since you
were raised on Salo-type climate at the station and then you actually lived
on Salo these last few years. But Tarvos is a paradise, and this is how they
dress and we need to dress in traditional Hyrrokin wear just like all the
other women on the planet,” she answers firmly.
I glance at my mother, who is thin and svelte and has been that way her
entire life. She’s dressed in a pink tube top, white pants and white sandals.
She’s so very beautiful and has a flair for fashion, always dressed in the
latest styles and there isn’t a speck of gray in her thick auburn hair. She’s
my role model—I want to look like her when I grow up. But I’ve struggled
with my weight my entire life. I tug on the shirt again, worried about
exposing my thick arms. I’m usually the type who wears baggy clothes and
covers my body from head to toe. “I’m just not as sure that these shirts will
look as good on me as they do on you.”
“Are you kidding me? You look gorgeous. That color brings out the
blue of your eyes. That type of top looks better on you than me. It
accentuates your curves.” She shakes her head. “It never ceases to amaze
me how you don’t see how beautiful you are. I don’t get it.”
I roll my eyes. “I grew up amongst all the species in the four sectors and
went to high school and university with them. The Xylan females and
especially the girls on Salo—those are the most beautiful females. Humans?
Not so much.”
“Did I tell you Jakyl thinks I’m too delicate and I need to gain weight?
Actually, I’ve gained weight these last few years, not that he cares. He’s
trying to get me to eat more.”
I laugh at that news. “Well, the Hyrrokin are really big, even the females
are much stronger than you and I. I heard them saying they thought it was
sad we can’t flash-flame and they consider us defenseless.”
My mom pauses while folding clothes and looks at me. “I know you
think the same as Jakyl, that maybe I can’t take care of myself. But I left
New Earth for University when I was only eighteen. I did that all by myself,
back when hardly any humans were leaving the planet and humans were
new to the rest of the four sectors. Then I graduated and got a job on Omega
9. I met your dad, one of the few other humans on the station and we
decided to get married. We started a successful business and were able to
buy a mid-range garden unit. After your father passed away, I’ve been
raising you alone and running that business by myself. I only look nice on
the outside, sweetheart. Inside I’ve got a spine of steel and a heart of stone.”
I laugh at her outrageous declaration. She’s said this to me before, but I
find it hard to believe. I interned in the business many times and still
thought she was sweet to everyone. But on the other hand, her business ran
like clockwork and she fired people herself. So…
“Maybe Jakyl is too nice for me,” she shrugs.
I snort. “I doubt that. I mean, you’ve never actually killed anyone.”
Her brow furrows. “I’m certain he doesn’t do that anymore.”
“So it’s okay that he used to kill beings, as long as he doesn’t do it
anymore?” I challenge.
She sighs. “Olivia, give him a chance. The past is the past. He’s going
legit.”
“That doesn’t mean that the rest of his organization is easily going
legit.”
“I’ve already started meeting some of the other enforcers and I’ve seen
some of the other staff. They’re nice. And I’m here to help him go legit.
You can help too. We’ll get this done.”
“Mom, you have to live in a fortress with a whole team of soldiers out
front. This is how he is going to keep us safe? You’re okay living like this?”
She points at the skylight and waves a hand at the crackling fireplace. “I
like this house, don’t you?”
“Well,” I admit, “it is really nice. It’s like an ancient castle on Salo, but
with a lot more wood. And I think it’s neat how they light those flames at
night at the top of the towers.”
“I think you’re going to be surprised at how much you like it here.”
I look around my suite. “I’m more concerned about the rest of the
Brimstone family than the compound they live in.”
I have a new stepbrother I haven’t even met yet, named Prince
Brimstone. He’s supposed to be returning today. The staff and enforcers
have been warning me about him. I’ve heard lots of stories already. Females
swoon over him and he’s had lots of pleasure mates in the past. But he’s
never taken a bound and doesn’t have any kids. So, he’s single. Maybe he’s
got a girlfriend, but what do I care? Everyone is scared of him and he’s the
heir, which is a big deal.
 I don’t even know how my new stepfather thinks that he’s gonna go
legit and keep us safe if his own son is a killer. Jakyl never mentioned
whether his heir is on his side. I haven’t asked, maybe afraid of the answer.
I’m worried there’s going be an all-out war between old ways and new
ways. Some of them already don’t seem pleased that the Don took a human
bound. Lots of the Hyrrokin I’ve met have given me only half-smiles and
weak handshakes.
We finish putting the last of the clothes away. “I’m going to rest for a bit
and take a nap,” I tell my mom.
“Oh.” She looks disappointed. “I thought we were going to have lunch
in the main dining hall with Jakyl and more of his family. Prince is back
and you and I will finally get a chance to meet him. My husband really
loves his son and they’re close, so I want to get to know him. And I love the
idea of you having a new brother. You’ve always wanted a sibling,
remember?”
I try to hide a frown and then stifle a yawn. Putting off that particular
introduction sounds fine with me. I have a hard time imagining me having
anything in common with an arrogant killer. Forcing small talk sounds like
torture right now. “Is it okay if I meet him tomorrow when I’m in a better
state of mind? I’m worried I won’t be good company. I’ve been traveling a
lot and I’m still on Omega 9 time, or maybe even Salo. I think when we
went shopping this morning so early it basically took all my energy.”
“You’re right, you’re right. I’ve been here longer than you and I’ve
already caught up with the time change. It was easier for me because I was
on the space cruiser, which was aligned with Tarvos.” I start pushing Mom
gently towards the door. I love her but she can chat for days. I listen as she
overexplains everything that’s happened to her since she’s arrived and how
she’s ordered the two of us more shoes and what she’s planning to eat for
dinner. And finally, finally… “Have a good nap, darling.” And she blows
me a kiss from the hallway. I shut the door and let out a breath.
“Finally, I’m alone,” I smile, leaning against the closed door.

I take a long shower .

The bathroom in my suite in the compound is much nicer than the one
in the garden unit I grew up in and much, much nicer than the bathroom I
shared with Cherise at our room in University. There’s a skylight over the
shower. I really enjoy how this area is full of light. I take my time, using the
moisturizing setting for my skin. And then I request a shiny blow out,
leaving my long, black hair over my shoulders and down my back.
I pause to use the mouth cleanser, then pad, naked, over to the adjacent
closet.
I really am tired. We had a big breakfast and then all that shopping and
for me, it’s nighttime. Just a quick nap should be enough for me to get
going again. After all, I’m here to help Mom and spy on her new life.
Hiding out too long in my room won’t accomplish that.
I step into the closet and look amongst all the gorgeous Hyrrokin clothes
and choose pajamas. The nightgown I choose has fabric that wraps around
my waist and chest, but leaves my arms uncovered. But this one is light
blue and silky and it flows loosely over my hips and down to mid-thigh. I
glance at myself in the full-length mirror, deciding I don’t look too bad. The
contrast between my black hair, blue eyes and light pigment are my best
features. Other beings often comment on how it’s unusual. Mom likes to
refer to me as “Snow White,” a character from a story on the original planet
who I guess I look like.
The nightgown is comfortable and even seems to not make my big ass
look too big. Another yawn cracks my jaw and I decide to not bother with
underwear.
I open the door from the fancy bathroom and dressing area, leading
back into the suite, ready to fall right into the comfy bed. And I find a large
Hyrrokin male boldly sitting in a chair next to the blazing fireplace.
I let out a shriek of surprise. “Who are you?”
And then he stands. He’s taller than most of the other males I’ve seen
and a bit leaner. But his horns are very high and sharp. And he’s wearing
more jewelry than the others. Two different necklaces and some rings.
Maybe as much as Jakyl wears. He’s bare chested like they all are. Black
pants, no shirt and no shoes. All the men on this planet are shirtless. This
works out fine because all of them, including older males, all seem to have
perfect chests. So I guess why not show it off?
“Who are you?”
He doesn’t answer right away and looks me up and down, from the top
of my head, lingering on my chest, and down to the tips of my toes. And
that’s when I remember that I’m barely dressed and I’m certain he can see
my nipples through the fabric of this light nightgown. Also, I’m naked
underneath. Oh jeez. My body instantly heats, which is just embarrassing.
“I thought you were a child,” he says with an impossibly deep voice.
I blink. What is he even talking about? “Who are you?” I repeat. “And
why are you in my room?”
“I am Prince Brimstone and I’m here to meet you, alone.”
Oh shit. I take a step back.
He inhales and his eyelids flutter. “Your scent,” he mutters.
“My scent? I just got out of the cleansing unit…”
He pulls something out of his pocket. “Is this yours?” he questions.
It’s a strip of red fabric and I instantly recognize it. My missing red
scarf. “Yes, that’s mine,” I squeal with delight. “Where did you find it?” I
race forward to grab it from him, but when I get close I’m in his massive
arms, his nose in my neck. “Oh!” I gasp. This, I did not expect. “What are
you doing?” I mean, he’s my stepbrother. Jakyl explained he was going to
order Prince to take care of me, sort of watch over me and show me the
ropes around here. So even though he’s got a bad reputation and looks like
the devil, I don’t think he’d do me any harm. Right? Maybe this is some
sort of Hyrrokin sibling greeting I’m unaware of?
He lets go of me and growls, eyes blazing. I have no idea what’s wrong
with him but I use the distraction to snatch my long-lost scarf out of his
hand. “Where did you find this?” I demand. “Did someone give it to you?”
“I found it on Salo, in a booth in the VIP lounge.”
I rub it against my cheek. “Oh my gosh, that was months ago. You’ve
kept it this whole time?”
“I was using it to track you.”
“You were looking for me?” And suddenly I realize we’re so close his
hand is on my hip. I narrow my eyes and lift my chin. “What do you mean?
How could you use this to find me?”
“The red fabric carries your scent. I picked it up in the lounge and
immediately was taken by the scent. I inhaled and that’s when I knew you
were the one.”
“Do you mean you knew I was the owner? But you didn’t know me.”
He reaches out and runs his claws through my long hair, which for some
reason I enjoy. “No, I did not know who the exact owner of that fabric was,
but I could tell by scent alone it belonged to a human female who I wanted
to mate. I’ve been searching for the owner of that fabric, and now I’ve
finally found her.”
My cheeks heat up, as does the space between my thighs. “Does the
word ‘mate’ mean the same in our two cultures? Because maybe you didn’t
mean to say…”
He grins and lowers his forehead so close it nearly touches mine. And
then he pulls me even closer so I can feel his huge erection underneath his
trousers, against my stomach.
And now the heat between my thighs is throbbing, wanting to be filled.
I lick my lips and shift restlessly on my feet. What is wrong with me?
Never in my life have I instantly felt so attracted to a man.
And this male is my stepbrother.
“Mating does mean the same thing between our species,” he explains. “I
caught your scent on that fabric and I’ve wanted you ever since.”
“Oh my,” I gasp. “But, um, I’m your stepsister now. Doesn’t that
change everything?”
“I don’t care,” he growls. “When I first caught that scent, I had no idea
I’d finally find you in the compound with your mother bound to my father.
But it changes nothing.”
“This can’t be right. Your father and my mother both want us to be
family…”
“We will be family, just in a different way.”
“What are you talking about? I can’t have an affair with my stepbrother
while I’m visiting my mom. That’s wrong.”
He lifts a ridge over his left eye. “Olivia, I can scent your arousal. I
know you want me as much as I want you.”
Oh hell.
 4

PRINCE

“A lso, I want more than just an affair. I’ve spent so long looking for
you, how can I want anything less?”
After my protracted hunt I find ‘the one’ in my own compound and a
part of my family? Amazing. The universe was certainly playing a trick on
me.
“Uh huh.” She places her palms against my stomach and pushes back,
then steps out of my embrace. “You pressed that monster erection against
me and I just reacted, as anyone would when presented with something so
hard and massive. But it doesn’t mean anything. I simply lost my head for a
moment but now I remember all I’ve learned about you, and it isn’t good.”
I allow this nonsense because I’m stunned by her incredible beauty and
I can’t take my eyes off her. Watching the movement of her plush lips is
mesmerizing. My female is thick and curvy in all the right places. Her
breasts are heavy and her hips wide. I love the soft arms and neck. I want
my fangs scoring her skin and my forked tongue tasting her heat. Does she
realize she’s wearing traditional mating-night clothing? My cock is hard
and leaking within the confines of my trousers. After all this searching, I’d
wondered what she’d look like when I found her, but she’s better than
anything I’d conjured. I even enjoy the sound of her voice.
I’ve been around many humans recently, having spent so much time
hunting for my own. Human females are well-known as gorgeous and
irresistible. But Olivia is beyond any other human female I’ve ever seen.
She’s striking, with her long, dark follicles and her wide eyes as blue as the
Tarvos sky. She’s lacking in pigment and I know that she has no claws and
does not flash-flame. But I can protect her.
 She steps back from me, her eyes flashing with defiance. “First, we
can’t be together because we’re now legal siblings. But even if that wasn’t a
barrier there’s the fact that I’ve heard about you from the staff and your
family. You have lots of pleasure mates. That’s not how I operate. We are
not like beings. I do not want to become one of many. I’m not a toy for you
to play with.”
I’m so focused on her ass, I have to think about what she said. “That is
in the past,” I explain. “All of those relationships were over the moment I
inhaled your scent.”
“You do have a collection of pleasure mates you rotate through?”
“Yes, I did have a collection of pleasure mates, but you’ll be pleased to
know I contacted all of them the moment I scented that fabric and let them
know I no longer required their services. I’ve been celibate ever since,
waiting for your touch. And now that I’ve found you, you can take on that
job instead. I am certain you will satisfy me more than any of them ever
did.”
Her eyes widen. “I cannot believe your arrogance. You thought, before
even meeting me, that your new stepsister was going to become your
number one pleasure mate? You put the others on hold to fit me in so you
could test me out? No thanks.”
That isn’t what I meant at all. How did she come to that conclusion
from what I said?
And then she steps away from me. I watch the way that odd human hair
falls down her back. Her generous hips sway as she walks. I have to see
how she looks, feels and tastes underneath that bit of clothing. The scent is
not enough. And now she’s taken back the red fabric so I cannot pull it out
of my pocket and inhale it to calm my nerves. It’s the only reason I’ve been
able to sleep and remain reasonably sane.
“You need to leave,” she orders.
“I’m staying,” I inform her. “You are mine.”
She lets out a snort of disgust, then turns and pegs me with an angry
stare. “How did you get in here? Did you pick the lock?”
I find myself pleased with her fiery response. I often scare other
females, even of my own species. But not this female. I assume she will be
equally bold in bed. I can hardly wait to test out this theory. “There is a
secret passage from your room to mine,” I admit. “You were placed here on
purpose so I could quickly come to your rescue, if necessary. But now I will
use it to take you back with me to my own suite.”
She places her hands on her hips. “Are you crazy? I’m not leaving with
you to go to your room and fall into your bed. In fact, I was trying to take a
nap.” She gestures toward her own bed. “I was about to try and get some
sleep. I’m still tired from the time change. Can’t I just get a quick nap?”
And that’s when I note that her blue human eyes are pink around the
edges. Maybe her irritation for me and this situation is actually from a lack
of sleep. “I will help you,” I tell my female.
She points at the door. “You can help me by leaving and going back to
your own room, or wherever you need to be, so I can get some sleep. Then
maybe we can meet up again later, at dinner with our parents.” She rubs her
face with her hands and her shoulders slump. “And maybe we can do
introductions all over again and it will go better next time.”
“You need to sleep, so you will sleep. I will stay with you.”
She throws her hands up. “I don’t want you to stay.”
“Female,” I growl. “You were not listening to what I said to you earlier.
I told you that you are the one. This means I cannot be apart from you right
now. You have taken back the red fabric and I need your scent in my lungs.”
Her eyes dart up to the smoke wafting above us from my nostrils. Then
to my barbed tail, flicking behind me. “Wow, it’s true, you really can be
terrifying.”
She heard I’m terrifying? Heh. This is acceptable.
“You look like something from the darkest pits of hell. How can I sleep
next to you when you look so scary?”
My lips twitch. “Actually, I’m considered one of the most handsome
males on the planet.”
“I cannot believe how inflated your ego is.”
I shrug. “Just stating a fact. Some say my face is too pretty.” I pull down
the covers. “Get in bed. I will not disturb you while you sleep. I will lie next
to you and keep my claws to myself. I might even sleep too. A nap sounds
like a good idea.”
She twirls a strand of hair in her fingers. “You really need my scent in
your lungs? Like you’re tied to me or something?”
“I do.”
“Are you mad at me?”
I let out a sigh of irritation. “Olivia, why would I be mad at you?”
 “Aren’t you angry that you’re tied to me, some random human, who
ended up being your stepsister? Don’t you wish after all your searching that
you’d locked onto someone more appropriate? Some Hyrrokin female
you’d been dating already, maybe?”
I smile indulgently. “Olivia, I am stunned by your beauty and I consider
myself lucky for the opportunity to have a female of your worth in my life.”
She immediately softens. “Oh. Well…”
I gesture to the bed. Olivia nods and sits down, tucking her legs under
the bedding. She tugs at the hem of the nightgown before she pulls a sheet
up to cover herself. That’s when I realize she’s entirely naked underneath
that mating clothing.
Has a male ever been so tempted?
I get under the covers too and lie down next to her. Now we’re side by
side, both of us quietly listening to the sound of the crackling fireplace. I
had a busy day planned but I’ve cancelled everything to be with my mate.
Her scent fills my lungs and I suddenly feel more at peace than I have in
months. I’ve found her and she’s next to me.
“How old are you?” she suddenly questions.
“I’m thirty years old. How old are you?” I ask, even though I know the
answer.
“I just turned twenty-three. Did you go to University on Tarvos?”
“No, I was always home schooled with private tutors. It was too
dangerous for me to attend civilian school. You grew up on Omega 9?”
“Yes… What do you know about me?”
“I know everything about you.”
“That can’t be true.”
“It is true. The moment I learned that you were an adult and unmated, I
spent time doing deep research before I came to your room. But there is one
thing I don’t understand. Why is that scarf so important to you?”
It’s still in her hands and she’s rubbing the fabric between her fingers.
She smiles. “This belonged to my father. It’s been passed down from his
mother to him and then he gave it to me. It was made on New Earth and it’s
important to me because…”
“Because it reminds you of your ancestry.”
“Yes. And I’ve had it since I was a little girl. I was so, so mad at myself
that I’d lost it, because it’s irreplaceable. Thank you so much for finding it
and keeping it safe and returning it to me.” Then she turns onto her side and
faces me. “I’m sorry I’m being so grouchy. It’s just that you showed up so
suddenly and…and I’m not like you at all. I don’t pleasure mate at will. I’ve
had boyfriends, but I’ve never gone all the way. Never had a really serious
boyfriend, to be truthful. I guess I always just wanted to wait for the male I
eventually found who would be right for me and maybe we’d get married.
My parents had a loving relationship and were devoted to each other and
I’ve always wanted that for myself too, and if not that, then I guess I want
nothing? So even though you can scent that I’m attracted to you, and I
know you are addicted to my scent too, I can’t help but think, because of
how you usually have so many partners, that your addiction to me is
temporary. A flash in the pan. And I can’t go all the way with someone who
I don’t already know wants what I want…forever. And maybe that’s making
me grouchy?” she smiles.
She really is an innocent. I will enjoy teaching her. “I think you’ll be
surprised at how much our goals align.” I reach out and brush a strand of
hair off her smooth forehead. “And I will be here, ready to convince you
that what I say is true.”
“Also, I’m just visiting. I have a whole life to return to on Omega 9.”
I chuckle at this statement. She’s not going back. Never. Her future is
with me, on Tarvos. She will learn soon enough.
“Maybe I just need some sleep and then we can start over.” She closes
her eyes.
“Agreed.” This sounds like a good idea. I lie on my back with my palms
on my chest, wondering if I too can sleep.
She closes her eyes and the both of us return to silence. I close my eyes
too, trying to find sleep alongside my female. This will be the first time I’ve
ever slept next to a female, usually I find mutual release with a pleasure
mate, there’s conversation and then we leave. But simply lying next to my
mate and inhaling her scent and knowing she’s being taken care of brings
me enjoyment. Most unusual.
Her arousal continues to waft in the air and I am unable to sleep. My
body is strung tight, ready to mate.
She begins to shift restlessly, her legs moving. “Uh, I’m having trouble
sleeping,” she grouses.
I turn to face her and place a claw on her hip. “Let me help.”
“How?”
 “I can still scent your arousal. Let me give you release and then you can
sleep, here in my arms. I will keep you warm and safe while you sleep.”
“Release? You mean…”
My hand moves to her thigh. “Yes, that’s what I mean. I will only touch
you gently with my hand. Well, I might lick your skin. And it will only be
for you with nothing expected in return.”
She whimpers with need. “I can’t do anything more. I’m just…”
“Not ready for anything more from your arrogant stepbrother?”
“Asshole,” she laughs, but her legs open for me.
And then my forked tongue is against the skin of her neck and her taste
explodes in my mouth and I’m so very hard, but I will keep my vow. This is
for her and her alone. I can wait.
She is in my arms. I want her nipples in my mouth, but this can wait for
next time. My female needs sleep. I am proud of the fact that she is so
attracted to me she can’t rest due to her desire. It is my job as her mate to
bring her release.
My claw delves further between her now spread thighs. A growl of
possession rumbles in my chest. Mine.
Dark human hair covers her mound. It is the most erotic sight of my
life. The difference between her body and mine is not disgusting as some
Hyrrokin would think, instead I find it charming. Desirable.
“Do you want more?” I question.
“Please, don’t stop.”
The heat and sopping wetness in her slit lets me know how much she
wants me. I find her clit, exactly the same as a Hyrrokin female. Our
species are indeed sexually compatible. I spend time strumming her nub,
directly working on bring her to the release I promised.
“Oh, oh.” She grabs onto my barbed tail and screams out her release.
I end up spending in my trousers. I pant, trying to catch my breath
because even that release, without being inside of her is the most intense of
my life. She is most certainly the one. The one female who I will fuck until
the end of my days. There will be no other.
I return from the bathroom and find Olivia peacefully asleep. I smile
and get under the covers, pull her into my arms and fall asleep too.
 5

OLIVIA

I wake from my nap, refreshed, and find myself in the arms of my sexy
stepbrother, Prince Brimstone.
After giving me the best orgasm of my life, he must’ve fallen asleep
too. And I have to admit he was a perfect gentleman. He said he wouldn’t
go any further than touching me and licking my neck and that’s exactly
what he did. And he truly thinks I’m gorgeous. He loved my thighs and my
boobs and even ran his hand over my poochy stomach. He doesn’t seem to
notice that I’m overweight; it’s not even a consideration.
He thinks I’m sexy just the way I am. Which has never happened before
in my entire life. Most men, including other species, think I’m too big.
Previous boyfriends have always, always made remarks about how if only
I’d lose weight, I’d be beautiful.
Ridiculous.
I keep remembering everything that happened. His touch, the feel of his
forked tongue on my neck, his fingers expertly strumming my clit, and his
barbed tail in my hand as I went over the edge. My stomach tingles with
remembered pleasure and I swear I’m wet all over again, ready for more.
Which is crazy considering I met this man a short while ago.
But we didn’t kiss, which I find strangely disappointing.
He snorts, still deep in sleep and suddenly he lets go of me and turns
over.
And now his back is to me. The muscles on his back are entrancing. Oh,
what the hell. I still want him close. His fingers were in my pussy, and I
slept in his arms. The time for distance has passed. I snuggle up against him
with my cheek against his red skin and an arm thrown over his thick waist.
And I sigh with delight. He’s still dressed in his black pants, belt and heavy
silver buckle. I’m spooned up against his ass with my legs against his. His
barbed tail tickles my ankles. And I’m highly cognizant of the fact that I
have no panties on which means my ass is showing a bit right now. Easy
access for more touching and even full-on sex if I so chose.
But I can’t make too much of this situation due to my continued
uncertainty. He says he loves my scent and that he’s been after me for
months. I assume he wants to fuck the girl whose scent he found so
entrancing. All I’ve gotten from him so far is that he cancelled all his other
fuck buddies to make room in his schedule for me. While he’s with me,
we’re exclusive?
And I’m just visiting. This isn’t my home. I will eventually return to my
life on Omega 9. He doesn’t seem to give a shit that we’re stepsiblings and
this temporary fling will create future drama. But I care. I care very much.
My mother would be devastated if I showed up, had an affair with Prince,
had a nasty break up and then refused to be in the same room with him for
the rest of our lives. I’d be ruining this budding family situation before it
had a chance to start.
He said he was searching for me because I’m his mate. But this can’t be
true. None of this matches what I’ve learned of Prince Brimstone, one of
the most eligible unmated Hyrrokin males on Tarvos. He has his choice of
the most beautiful females on the planet. Why would he want me as his
actual mate when he can have anyone? When Hyrrokin take a bound it’s
because they are ready to have offspring. I don’t know if that’s what Prince
really wants with me. We’re not even the same species. Mom and Jakyl
don’t have to worry about half-human, half-Hyrrokin children. The both of
them are at a place in their lives where they only want the joy of
grandchildren in their future.
Prince must be confused by my scent, but he’ll come to his senses and
realize we’re not right for each other long-term. Which is exactly why I
shouldn’t be starting anything with him. It’s not right to have a fling with
my stepbrother. Also, I don’t do flings.
This man is going to break my heart. I’ve only known him for a matter
of hours, but he’s swept me off my feet already. This is exactly the type of
man I could easily fall in love with. I’ve always liked the bold, arrogant
type. It’s a sickness.
 If I know this will end badly, why am I still in bed with him? Why did I
beg him to touch me? My hand strays to cover his fine ass. Why does he
have to be so sexy?
I look out the window and see the suns setting. Uh oh, I’ve been in bed
way too long. Mom must be wondering what happened to me.
Prince rumbles awake and starts to roll back over to face me. I let go of
his ass, and scoot back fast. If I stay a second longer I’ll be trying to
unbuckle his pants. I stand up and pad over to the side table because I need
to remain strong; this is not the man for me. Going deeper with him into
this—whatever it is—is a recipe for future heartache. He might like flings
and zero attachments, but I’m not built that way.
Plus, I’m still not entirely sure I can trust him. Is he with his father or
against him? Is Prince happy to have a human stepmother, or secretly
angry? I have no idea. I barely know this man.
“Oliva?” a deep, sexy voice questions from behind me.
I blow out a breath, keep my back to him and grab my glass tablet off
the table. “My mom sent me a message. She wants me to have a family
dinner tonight with you and Jakyl.”
The bed makes a squeaking sound. “We’re not going,” he says. “Tell her
you can’t make it. I want you alone tonight.”
Time alone with Prince sounds terrific. Obviously, I should be kicking
him out right now, but I can’t. I’m weak. And evil? “But…I can’t just lie
about this so easily.”
He walks up behind me and stands close.
Damn he smells so good. Why does he have to smell this good?
He places a warm hand on my shoulder. “I’m not lying. I am ready to
declare for you right now. But I’d rather not have dinner with them tonight.
I just found you and I want to spend more time alone with you.”
“I’m not ready to tell them about us,” I rasp and “I can’t tell my mother
that I’m fooling around with her new stepson.”
“We’re not ‘fooling around,’ or whatever that means. This is permanent.
You are min
turn around to face him. And then I’m hit yet again with the full force of
Prince Brimstone. The muscular chest. The corded neck and veiny
forearms. The flash of diamond necklace. His stomach is so flat and
enticing just above that belt buckle. I take a deep breath and force myself to
remember he’s not into monogamy. “I can’t tell my mother that I’m fooling
around with her new stepson. I feel like I’m undermining her happiness.”
“We’re not ‘fooling around,’ or whatever that means. This is permanent.
You are mine.”
“I’m certain you say that to all of your pleasure mates. That’s nice of
you, but you need to remember I’m set to return to Omega 9. I don’t have
an exact return date, but I’m only here to make sure my mother is safe.”
He crosses his arms. “First, I did not ever say that to any of my previous
pleasure mates. I’ve never once told another female that I wanted anything
permanent. You are the only one who is mine. You are the one. And second,
your mother will be safe. You will both be safe.”
And suddenly I’m really annoyed at him for teasing me with the idea
that he might possibly want me for real. How dare he! “I don’t see how you
can say we will be safe with you on Tarvos, considering how your mother
died.”
His jaw clenches and suddenly I feel bad I blurted that out. Sometimes I
really am too blunt. “I’m sorry,” I say with a softer tone. “I shouldn’t have
said that. It must be painful for you. I lost my father too and I know how it
feels to grow up without a parent.”
“Thank you. Because of the past, the Don and I are both working hard
to make sure you and your mother have a safe future.”
I nod and look back down at the tablet. “What should I tell her?”
“Tell her you can’t do dinner tonight, that you’re still tired.”
“She’ll be worried, she’ll want to come and check on me.”
“Then tell her that you’re having dinner with me and my enforcers.
You’ll eat with us in my suite.”
“Won’t the staff know that’s a lie and tell my parents?”
He grins. “But it won’t be a lie. Jak and Rojer can arrange everything.”
“Who are they?” I question as I tap my response to my mother, exactly
as Prince said.
“You’ll meet the two of them soon enough. They are my enforcers.”
I look up. “Your bodyguards?”
“That, plus more.”
“Your best friends?”
He doesn’t bother responding, just reaches out and places a hand on my
hip.
 There’s an immediate ping on my tablet. “She’s asking why we just
can’t all eat together.”
“Now is when we start the planned ignoring.” He grabs the tablet from
my hands and tosses it onto the table.
He’s staring hard at my mouth. I lick my lips. Oh jeez. I need to create a
diversion or I’ll end up in bed with him again.
“I need to change into real clothes,” I announce.
His gaze drops to my chest. “You can remain just like that.”
“No. No. Let me get dressed.” I step back and he lets me go. I pad off
into the restroom and do my business and quickly change into a
comfortable pink tube top and flowy long, cream pants. I slide on some
white fuzzy slippers and walk back out.
Prince is reclining in the same chair I originally found him, tapping on
his own glass tablet. He looks up and gives me a devastating smile. It’s
amazing how quickly his harsh, gruesome features morph into sexy steam.
He stands and strides right for me, crowding in close with an arm
around my waist and his barbed tail around my hips. In moments his nose is
buried in my hair and he’s inhaling my scent. Guess, he really does need to
be close to me. Huh.
Finally, he lifts his head and meets my gaze. “We’re going to my room.”
“What? Why?”
“You are moving in with me.”
It’s so outrageous I start laughing.
“You can either leave to go with me to our suite through the main
hallways, carried in my arms for all to see, or you can walk with me
through the secret passage. You decide.”
“You are such a bossy asshole sometimes.”
He grins in response. “What is your decision?”
“The secret passage,” I grumble.
“Let’s get you packed. I will carry your luggage.”
I’m such a wimp. Not a bit of argument. I immediately turn around and
lead him to where all my new clothes are hung. He follows me through the
bathroom and into the closet. He’s in my private space, amongst all my
underwear and shoes and every type of clothing and…it’s okay. There’s a
certain ‘rightness’ to it all.
“You don’t have to take everything right this moment,” he says. “We
can always come back for the rest. Let’s take what’s most important right
now.”
We pull out my luggage and soon I’m packed and ready to go.
I slump my shoulders. “I’m moving with my stepbrother into his suite
so we can continue our secret torrid relationship. I’m evil. How can I show
my face again after this?”
He cups my cheek. “You are moving in with me because you are mating
with your future bound.”
“Bound?” I gulp. “Like our parents? You can’t be serious. You want to
marry me? Is this something you also say to the other females?”
“Enough. There is no one else. You are the one. Why else would I be in
your bed, Olivia Timlin?”
“Because you’re addicted to my scent for a short amount of time and the
moment I return to Omega 9 you’ll speed message your former pleasure
mating team and let them know they’re back on.”
“Wrong. I’m addicted to your scent because you’re my mate. Come
with me to my suite so I can show you where I live and your future
domicile. This will help you understand how you can build a future with
me.”
“My future domicile? I think you’re making more of this than it is. I’m
going to eventually return to my life on Omega 9.”
“I doubt it.”
I blow out a breath, ready to rebel yet again. But he’s right, going to his
room and seeing how he lives will help me get to know him better. Plus, I
have to admit a certain amount of curiosity about where he lives and his
strange certainty that this will all work out between us. I nod. “Where is this
secret passage you were talking about?”
 6

OLIVIA

H e grabs the handle of my suitcase and slides my other bag over his
shoulder.
“My scarf?” I start to look around, panicked. He hands me the red scarf
and I sigh with relief. Then I tie it around the strap of my purse and grab my
tablet. “Ready,” I tell him.
Then he takes my hand and leads me to the wall directly next to the
fireplace. Against a beam of ebony wood, I see a recess. He lets got of my
hand and puts his claw inside and there’s an audible click. And then a
doorway slides open to reveal a lit passageway.
“I had no idea. That’s so well-hidden.”
“Yes,” he agrees. “This compound has many secrets and I know all of
them.”
“Where is your room? Is it far from here?”
“It is upstairs. We are both on the same tower. Your room is directly
below mine.”
I follow him inside the passage and the hidden door slides closed behind
us. We walk up a flight of wide, winding stairs that he can easily traverse
with his bare feet. The space here is large, with room enough for Hyrrokin
who are on average much bigger than me. The luggage doesn’t slow him
down a bit and he patiently waits for me at the top to catch up with him.
Then he pushes open another portal. In moments we are standing in his
fabulous suite.
We enter next to a crackling fireplace in the midst of a spectacular
living area. There are beamed ceilings and a wall of windows that allow a
view of the last bit of sunset, just before total dark. Large, comfortable
chairs and a small couch are clustered around a small table in the middle of
the room, in front of the fireplace and near the windows. Lights glow on
side tables and in strategic locations, lighting up the large room just enough
to make if feel cozy.
I like it.
I point at a door that looks bigger than the others. “Is that the entrance
from the hallway?”
“Yes, that is the main entrance to my quarters. This is the front room.
Over there is the entrance to the kitchen and informal dining. My suite is
also on this level.”
I turn in a full circle, making sure I can take it all in.
“My living quarters are very expansive,” he admits. “Your suite only
has a portion of that tower floor. My suite takes up the entire floor. I also
use the floor above mine.” He points at a set of interior stairs. “Upstairs is
my office and a few other bedrooms. And above that is rooftop access.”
“You basically have your own apartment within the compound?”
“Yes. Follow me.” He crosses the room and opens another door and
then we’re inside his bedroom. More windows and a large bed. A very
large, comfortable-looking bed with dark bedding and ebony wood frame.
I give him a sharp glance. “Is this where you bring all your pleasure
mates?”
“You are the very first female I’ve brought into my private space.”
“Hmm.”
There’s a glamorous bathroom with a huge bathtub and a gleaming
cleansing unit that is certainly big enough for the both of us. I boldly walk
in and open drawers and see only male toiletries. Then I step into the closet.
One half is filled with all his pants and pajamas and the other side is empty.
Not a single item that is not obviously his.
He sets my luggage down. “Do I pass inspection?”
“So far.”
We go back to the front room and he gives me a tour of the rest of this
level. The kitchen is nice, with its own row of windows, along with a small
dining area tucked into the side. There’s a Traq machine, a food dispenser,
and even cooking equipment. A complete kitchen. I nod. “Nice.”
Then he guides me upstairs and shows me his office, with a large ebony
desk and chairs and then three more spacious bedrooms. All of them are
entirely empty.
 “There’s no need for you to leave these quarters,” I comment.
“Yes, it’s perfect. And large enough for you to move in too. And for
future offspring.”
My eyes widen.
And then there’s a distant knock on the front door. “Prince?” a deep,
muffled voice yells out.
“Who is that?”
“My father.”
I place a hand against my chest. “I don’t want him to know… he can’t
find out that…”
“That you’re mine?”
“He can’t find me here, moving in with you so soon. I just met you a
few hours ago and I’m moving into your quarters with you to share your
bed. You’re my stepbrother. This isn’t right.”
“Our parents are legal mates, but we are not related and not even the
same species. Also, you are of age. We are both consenting adults.”
I wring my hands. “I can’t let either of them know yet. Please. I’m not
ready.”
He lets out an irritated sigh. “Return to our bedroom. I will talk with
him and when he’s gone, we’ll have dinner.”
I do as he says but of course I’m nosy. I stay right behind the closed
door of the bedroom, with my ear again the door, trying to listen. Mainly I
hear muffled voices. I can’t hear an all-out shouting match, so that’s good.
The door opens so quickly I stumble and fall into Prince’s arms. My
cheeks heat as he gazes down at me with a smirk on his face.
“Let’s eat.”

P rince wasn ’ t kidding about dinner.

Right after he spoke to the Don, he messaged his enforcers. Soon after
there was another knock on the door, and I’m introduced to two males who
look familiar.
“Have we met?” I ask the first one who shakes my hand.
The next male behind him shakes my hand too and he answers for the
both of them. “We were part of the team that brought all of the packages
from your shopping trip back into your suite.”
“Oh yes, thanks so much for that.”
 And then behind them arrive a few other male and female Hyrrokin staff
members, all bearing trays of food and drink. I give Prince a sharp glance.
The less beings who know I’m in his room the better.
“Trust the process,” he whispers in my ear as he leads me to the stairs.
I follow along with the chatting group heading upstairs. We go to the
second level but continue on and suddenly we’re all on the top floor. The
suns have long ago set, and the stars are scattered across the nighttime sky.
The weather is perfect, with a light breeze that brushes my hair from my
shoulders. I always love inhaling fresh, planetside air. It never gets old.
Some beings prefer living on climate-controlled space stations, especially
after having lived there for so long, as I did. They never have to contend
with natural disasters and unexpected climate fluctuations, and they prefer it
that way. But after moving to Salo for university I was secretly sad to be
returning to station life. Not that I’d admit that to anyone, even to my best
friend Cherise, because it made me sound ungrateful. I was returning to a
rare garden unit on Omega 9, which is basically a recreation of planetside
living. I know how lucky I am to have that but…I take another deep breath
of the perfumed Tarvos nighttime air. I really do adore the wide-open
spaces, the scent, real climate and the genuine gravity of an actual living
planet.
The staff members quickly set down four place settings of food on a
table. Low lights are started on the middle of the table. One of the
enforcers, I think his name is Jak, pulls out a chair for me and gestures for
me to sit. In moments the staff have us all set, including plenty of fire ale. I
thank them profusely and then they are gone and it’s just the four of us. I
can’t help the goofy smile across my face. We’re having dinner on the top
of the tower. It’s wonderful.
I gasp with delight when Prince steps forward and lights an enormous,
blazing fire pit.
“I saw this last night,” I tell them. “I was being given a tour of the
compound and the grounds. I thought it was so awesome. They light this
even when you aren’t here?”
“They light the watch flame on the top of all four towers every night for
the first three hours after sunset,” Prince answers.
I turn in my chair and see he’s right; all four towers are now lit with
flame. I watch longer than the others because I’m new. They’ve seen this a
zillion times so it’s old news, but I’m amazed at how each watch flame is
the same size.
We start eating dinner, which consists of meat sticks and more types of
meat. The Hyrrokin certainly love their meat.
Prince is to my right. He looks amazing in the firelight. The black
horns, red skin, barbed tail and the wink of diamonds on his neck and
fingers—they all make more sense in this setting. He’s tearing into his meat
with his fangs and happily devouring what I assume is his favorite meal.
He blows out the fire that tops my ale and passes it to me. “Do you like
the food?” he questions. “I had them cut it for you into human-sized
pieces.”
“Thank you, it’s wonderful.” And really it is, I’m eating all of it as I
quietly listen to his interplay with his two friends. It’s easy to tell the three
of them have known each other since they were children. They have that
easy comradery, similar to me and Cherise. It’s good to know he can make
actual friends, not just have beings around him through fear or high
payments. It’s obvious these two enforcers would take a blaster shot for the
heir.
I’m perfectly happy with the fire pit’s kiss of warmth on my shoulders
meeting the cool air against my cheeks. I take another sip of fire ale. “Do
you eat up here often?” I ask when there’s a lull in the conversation.
“As often as I can,” my new stepbrother answers.
I meet his gaze, remembering all the reasons why this will never work.
Discontent rears its ugly head. I’m not normally a jealous person, but when
it comes to Prince it’s important that I’m not one of many. Suddenly the
happy evening is marred by the idea that this is nothing special. Maybe it’s
just routine. I could very well be the thirty-fifth female he’s brought up here
for dinner, and Jak and Rojer are bored with having to eat and make
conversation with yet another of Prince’s temporary pleasure mates. I put
down my fork. “Is this where you’ve brought all your other females?”
“Nah,” Jak answers. “The Boss never brings any pleasure mates to the
compound. He always meets them elsewhere. This is the first time there’s
been anyone up here with us besides security and staff.”
“Not even the cousins come up here,” Rojer laughs.
“It’s my private space,” Prince says, staring at me intently. “I only bring
up here the beings I trust the most.”
A tremulous smile softens my lips.
 My new Hyrrokin boyfriend lifts my hand and kisses my fingertips. A
pleasant sensation swoops across my belly. “You are mine,” he reminds me.
“There is no other.”
We continue eating and chatting and laughing. I sip on my third fire ale
of the evening while Jak and Rojer tell funny stories of Prince as a teenager
learning to fight and getting beat up in the process. My chair ends up side
by side with Prince and his arm draped across my back. I lean my cheek
against his shoulder because my head is starting to spin. Jak and Rojer start
a silly, heated debate over fire versus water.
“They’re funny,” I say.
“They’re idiots.”
“I’m sorry you had to lie for me earlier, to your father,” I whisper.
Prince shrugs. “It’s nothing to me.”
I chuckle and lift an eyebrow. “You lie often?”
He kisses my forehead. “To rivals, enemies and idiots. And I will
always continue to lie to protect you. But I will never lie to you.”
“I majored in Intergalactic Law,” I admit.
“I know.”
“This doesn’t bother you? Maybe I’m here as a mole, sent by the
Intergalactic Business Bureau?”
“You’re perfectly trustworthy. I researched you and your mother, and I
understand your strengths and weaknesses. This is yet another reason why
both my father and I consider you females of high value. You’ll both prove
useful in our quest to go legit.”
“Is that the only reason why you want me?” I pout. “Because you’re
addicted to my scent and I’m useful?”
He growls. “Jak, Rojer, get out of here. I need time alone with my
female.”
“Yes, Boss.”
And then they’re both gone down the stairs and I’m off the chair and in
his lap. I gasp with delight when I feel the ridge of his hard cock right
where I need it.
And then he’s kissing me and it’s epic.
 7

PRINCE

I ’ve learned that my female cannot handle more than one mug of fire ale.
Also, she wants me as much as I want her, but she’s denying herself
because she continues to fret over whether we will be fully accepted by our
parents. She thinks my prior lack of relationships means I’m incapable of
monogamy, which is silly. Her human thinking is causing her to rebel
against our bond.
Each night she sleeps next to me in bed, only allowing small bits of
physical progression. We kiss often during these last two days, and I’ve
given her many more orgasms, still only with my fingers. She grabs my
cock through the fabric of my trousers. I know she wants more, but she’s
holding back. She sucks my forked tongue while I kiss her and whines with
need. My female wants to be filled with my cock as much as I want to fill
her.
I cannot believe how my heart reacts to this one. She’s going to live
here forever. She needs to accept it because I’ve already made peace with
the idea long ago. I’ve lived in these quarters, alone, for the last fifteen
years. But I am ready to include her in my world. And maybe the idea of
offspring in a nursery isn’t so bad.
In fact, I want her swollen with my offspring.
Obviously, I will not be using double birth control with this one. I will
take her bare. This causes my shaft to grow harder.
Her love for me glows in her eyes. She hasn’t yet admitted that this is
how she feels. Neither have it. The both of us are keeping this close. I have
a certain admiration for this female, wanting all or nothing from me. She’s
always been ready to walk out the door and never have anything to do with
me ever again, if she does not get all she feels she deserves from a mating.
She messages her mother often, letting Monica believe she’s still in her
original suite.
The pretense is ridiculous. I follow along to keep her comfortable, but
I’m itching to show her off to the outside world.
“Thank you for helping me come up with excuses for the fact that I’m
too busy to see my own mother. It’s crazy. I should feel more guilty about
the lies than I actually am. But I’m really having a great time just spending
whole days, mainly alone with you.”
I slam my mug of Traq onto the kitchen table. “Are you ashamed of
me?”
“No,” she gasps. “No…Well, maybe?”
A growl of possession rumbles in my chest.
She gets up and sits on my lap with her arms around my neck. “Oh
Prince, come on. You know I adore you. I think we’re becoming great
friends.”
“But…?”
“At first it was because of your violent reputation, and I had doubts
about having an affair with my stepbrother who is also the heir to the
Hyrrokin mafia.” She purses her lush lips. “But I’m still indecisive, which I
suppose is silly. It’s just if I have sex with you that crosses a dividing line.”
“When I fill you with my seed you’re legally mine.”
“See? I want to make sure that’s what I really want and what you want
and what would make my mother happy too. I can’t just think of myself.
There’s so much. I still can’t decide how to explain our relationship to my
mother.”
“Tell her you are mine.”
“But maybe that’s only your body locking onto me.”
The anger returns. “Why do you deny us with these fake excuses?”
“Thank gods one of us is being level-headed and cautious. We’ve only
known each other for a few days. How can you want me to move in with
you and stay forever from the first moment you met me? That doesn’t make
sense. That’s why I keep thinking it’s because it’s a biological thing and
that’s all this is. Maybe we’re not right for each other long-term.”
“Do you like our quarters?” I question.
“You know I do.”
 “Do you like Tarvos?”
“Oh, it’s beautiful here. The weather is amazing.”
“Do you like living in the compound as a Brimstone?”
“Well, that part I’m still not so sure about because I haven’t met
everyone but I’m starting to think…”
“Are you starting to understand that I’m telling the truth about going
legit? I’ve given you your own desk in my office. You were there with me
the entire day yesterday, listening to my conversations. I let you analyze my
accounting practices and listened patiently to your lectures about how to
avoid deceit and corruption.”
She gives me a kiss. “I appreciate your transparency.”
My claws dig into her hips. “I give only you my trust. Why do you still
deny us?”
“I can’t decide on our future so soon. I don’t know how you can decide
so quickly.”
I pick up her and carry her in my arms into our suite. Then I toss her
onto the bed and cover her with my body. Her eyes gleam with lust. I inhale
her arousal. And then I place my hard cock, through two layers of fabric,
between her thighs and wrap one of her legs over my hip. “This is what we
both want.”
Then I move down her body and my face is between her thighs. She
spreads her legs and I finger the edges of her glorious pink slit with the tips
of my claws. “I cannot believe how pretty this pussy is. I’m going to love
taking this.”
“Maybe I’m ready?” she pants.
“Maybe?” I question and shake my head. I don’t want “maybe” from
my mate. I’ll wait until she comes to me in heat. Then I’ll finally give her
what she wants.
I am on a campaign for this female to beg for my cock. I assume she
will capitulate soon.

T he very next day I take her virginity.

It all begins after my two enforcers leave to run an errand for me on
Omega 9.
I love her so very much. She’s not just the female who’s scent I’ve
latched onto. She’s the mother of future Brimstones. And I will keep her
and my offspring safe. I’ve already been in contact with Horace about plans
for our future safety. I can see already that my brother will be instrumental
in plans for the legit side of security.
Father was right—after watching the fiasco of his mating life, I cannot
simply follow along and make the same mistakes. I suppose in the past, the
Don married females who they either kept on watch in the compound, or
who were as fierce warriors as they were. But these are modern times and
the organization needs to change. The Tarvos and intergalactic laws have
tightened, making black market commerce more difficult. Many of our
former money-making pursuits have been turned legal my the government
so that they can reap the currency instead of the black market.
She exits our room in that same mating clothing that she thinks is just
pajamas. And she’s not wearing a robe, nor is she wearing underwear. I
learn this because she bends over to pick something up from the floor that I
suspect she meant to drop, right in front of me. I glance up from my tablet
and get a full view of her glorious round ass and a peek of her glistening slit
and that erotic dark hair.
A growl of desire escapes my lips and I toss the tablet aside.
I scoop her up into my arms and stomp to our bedroom. I toss her again
onto the bed and flip up her clothing. She laughs with delight.
I dive between her thighs and lick her with my forked tongue. I’ve
always used my fingers, so this is different. She moans with desire and
grabs onto my horns, pushing herself closer to my face. I grin and get to
work bringing her over the edge. Soon she’s screaming out her release then
she flops back, exhausted.
I stand and use the back of my hand to wipe her juices off my face.
Normally this is where I turn and stalk off to the cleansing unit so I can
stroke myself to release. But this time she surprises me.
“Prince, I need you.”
“What do you want?” I question.
“Please give me everything. I want you.”
“What, specifically do you want from me?”
“I want you inside of me. I want your seed.”
I pause.
“Please,” she begs. “I want all of you.”
I smoke with delight. “Clothes, off,” I order. She reaches down and
pulls off her mating clothing and she’s entirely naked. I’m going to love
finally having full access to her glorious breasts. I’m already imagining
those nipples in my mouth.
In seconds my pants are gone and I’m stroking my angry red cock.
“Oh my gods, I had no idea it was so big. Are you sure that’s going to
fit?”
“Do not worry, I will go slow and make sure you can take me. It will be
painful at first, but the pain will soon fade.” I notch the head of my shaft at
her entrance. It’s true that I am large and many females have trouble taking
me. But my female is wet and ready. I push the head of my cock in first,
slowly, giving her time to adjust. “Touch yourself,” I order.
Her eyes widen.
“Do it.”
Her cheeks flush pink but she reaches down and starts strumming her
clit. Her channel gushes with more moisture and I move further inside of
her. “Hold on.” Then I slam inside of her and she cries out, tears forming on
her eyes. I kiss her face, her eyes and cheeks and back to her lips, remaining
still while she gets used to my size. I’m fully seated inside of her.
She kicks her feet against my ass. “More,” she pleads.
And I start moving in and out, slow and careful at first, then going faster
as the feeling grows more intense. “I’m not going to be able to last long this
time,” I choke out. “You’re so tight.” And then I’m coming, coming,
coming. My seed is spilling into a female for the first time in my life and I
might be creating my offspring with her. She grasps onto my tail as her
channel clamps down on me as she screams out another orgasm.
It’s so intense I fall against her and maybe black out for a moment. “Are
you okay?” I finally question groggily as I pull out of her and look down at
her swollen channel. Maybe we need to wait…
“Yes. Can we go again?”
I blink with surprise as she gets onto her hands and knees and looks at
me over her shoulder. “Can we try it this way?”
My shaft is already hard again. She is the one, able to keep up with me
and wanting more. I growl and shove my cock into her from behind and she
moans with delight, digging her fingers into the bedding. I cover her soft
back with kisses and wrap my arm around her thick waist.
“Oh, Prince,” she wails as I pound into her again.
E ach day she’s moved in more into our quarters. I’m not sure if she fully
recognizes the change. All her possessions she brought from Omega 9, or
that were purchased in her initial shopping spree, have now been emptied
from her original suite and placed into the closets and bathroom here, in our
quarters.
“Oh, this is the exact same type of Traq brewing machine I have back
home,” she exclaims on our eighth day of confinement. “And I like this
type of mug too.”
I nod and smile.
“Where are Jak and Rojer?” she asks.
“They’re on Omega 9.”
“Why?”
“They are meeting with Cherise and closing out your apartment. Most
of your possessions are here already, the rest are on their way.”
She stamps her foot. “You’ve colluded with Cherise? I can’t believe my
best friend is working with you.”
I shrug. “Her bound is my brother. And I already met her on Omega 9.
We get along well.”
She blinks. Then sits down heavily. “True. She says nice things about
you.”
“Another reason why we’re right for each other,” I confirm over the rim
of my mug.
“This still does not mean we’re getting married,” she proclaims.
“You’ve taken my seed. You’re mine.”
“Humans don’t work like that. I still need time.”
“While you take your time deciding, I’m returning to work today. Jak
and Rojer are returning in an hour and we’ve got business to take care of.”
“I’m going to be alone?” she pouts.
My female is addicted to my cock. We both know she’s got plenty of
her own work at her desk, working alongside our Hyrrokin lawyers as our
intergalactic law expert, to keep her busy while I’m gone.
But I pull her onto my lap then start to push aside her underwear. “Undo
my buckle,” I order. “I will service you before I leave.”

I slam a fist into the face of the Hyrrokin who dared break the rules within
Brimstone territory.
 This fucker thinks it’s okay to deal synth drugs to children at the local
fire school.
In the midst of my interrogation I receive a vid message from my
female. “Take over,” I order Jak. Then I pause to wash blood from my
claws and tap on the screen.
“What are you doing?” Olivia asks.
“Taking care of business.”
“What is that on your cheek?”
I reach up and wipe off a stray drop of blood. “All in a day’s work,” I
grin.
“Prince…”
“Olivia…”
“I thought you were going legit.”
“I am, that doesn’t mean I can’t also keep the streets nearest our
compound free of delinquents.”
“That’s what the peacekeepers are for. It’s literally their job.”
“They suck at their job. I can do it better.”
She rolls her beautiful eyes. “Your dad is asking questions.”
I tense. “What questions?”
“He messaged me again today and asked if I was happy.”
“And what did you say?”
“I said I’m reasonably happy.”
Reasonably happy? I’m going to have to work harder at giving her
countless orgasms.
“Prince?” she smiles.
The little devil. She loves to goad me. “You’re lucky we’re not in the
same room. I would be making sure you were happy, to the greatest extent
of the law.”
“Promises, promises… Jakyl also wanted to make sure that no one was
bothering me. I said no one was, but he was staring at me very intently.”
“Are you ready to end this?” I question. She knows I’m more than ready
to announce to the world that she is mine. I’ve already filled her with my
seed. It’s only a matter of time until she’s carrying my offspring. I’m only
waiting on her consent. I never thought I’d fall for a female who didn’t
want to gleefully announce that she is my future bound.
“I’ve actually been thinking of that. I’m trying to think of a way to
break it to them gently. I mean, we’ve been hiding this from them for over a
week now and it’s going to be a surprise, so we’ve got to tell them just the
right way. I know exactly how to distract your father and get him to accept
our mating.”
“You know there is no need for all of this? I will simply tell him that
you are mine and he and your mother will have to accept it.”
“Uh huh.”
“What is your plan?”
“Does the Don know that Cherise is my best friend?”
“No, he’s still at the level of barely knowing his long-lost son took a
mate. He does not know who Cherise is and that she’s your friend. I’m not
even sure if he knows Horace took a human bound.”
“But he does want to form a relationship with Horace?”
“Yes.”
“Good, because if I do end up moving here with you for reals, I’ll still
need to spend time with Cherise. So you see, this is perfect. We can all be
one big family. Horace and Cherise need family. Horace’s mom died and
Cherise never knew her mom. And Cherise’s dad is worthless. Your mother
passed away and my dad died when I was young. What I’m saying is that
for all of us, the only parent-figures we have are Monica and Jakyl
Brimstone. I think it would be nice for us to be a family. Horace and
Cherise will, I’m certain, still live on Omega 9, but that doesn’t mean we
can’t all visit often and vid message all the time. Let’s surprise your dad by
bringing Horace and Cherise to Tarvos.”
I crook an eye ridge. “You are more devious than I’d first assumed.”
She claps her hands. “And that’s when we’ll tell our parents that we are
also a couple. I think that they’ll be so happy and distracted our news will
be secondary.”
“All of this subterfuge is unnecessary,” I repeat. She is still uncertain of
our future and I do not know why. I often wonder if she truly doesn’t want
them to know, if or is she’s the one who isn’t ready to commit. “How can I
convince you that you are my bound?”
“I can be bought with diamonds.”
“And…?”
“And orgasms.”
I grin. “I will be returning home soon.”
I wake up the next morning with my female in my arms and scent a second
pheromone trail.
My bound is carrying our offspring.
She is pregnant.
Our time is up.
 8

PRINCE

“W e’re going to lunch at the Brimstone restaurant today,” I

announce before we even get out of bed.
Olivia panics and leaps from the mattress. “We’re going out together in
public?”
“Yes, and we’re meeting our parents there for lunch.”
She starts to breathe more quickly, and her body tightens. “Do you think
that’s a wise idea?”
I sit her down on the edge of the bed and lean her forward, so her head
is between her knees. “Breathe, steady,” I tell her, rubbing her back. Finally,
she’s back to normal, leaning into my side with a look of worry in her eyes.
I take her hand. “No more lies. I am going to show you off as my mate.”
“I haven’t said I want to marry you yet.”
This female. “You’re mine. I’ve already told you the moment you let me
give you my seed you are mine. The rest is mere formality.”
“And I told you that’s not the human way and I need to think about it.”
A growl rumbles in my chest. She thinks I’m the one who is bossy?
Why is she being so stubborn when she obviously loves me so much? “We
are going to lunch with our parents to let them know we are not siblings but
are in fact mates. I’m tired of sneaking around.”
She lets out a heavy sigh. “I’m tired of sneaking around too,” she
admits.
W e pull up to the curb in my large black vehicle, across the street from the
restaurant. I continue to recline in the back seat, pausing to glance out the
window and survey the scene. The Don and Olivia’s mother stand in front
of the main entrance, chatting with some of my aunts, uncles and cousins. I
didn’t plan on this becoming a family matter, but I suppose this is as good
of an intro as any. This way Father will learn first and they will all know
soon after. Makes things much easier.
Olivia grabs my claw. “I’m nervous. My mom wanted me to marry
another human, like she did, and I know she was hoping I’d return to
Omega 9 and take over the family business she and my father started.
Becoming your mate means all those dreams are gone. She likes you as her
stepson, but I think she’s not going to be happy to have you as her son-in-
law. Plus, I’ve been lying to her for the last week.”
“She will get over it.”
“You’re always so sure about your decisions.”
“He’s always like that,” Jak cuts in from the front seat. “He’s the Boss.
The heir. Confidence is his superpower.”
“Arrogance too?” Olivia questions. “And a huge, big head that makes
him think he’s the most handsome, smartest being ever invented?”
“Yeah, that too,” Rojer chuckles.
“Shut up, all of you,” I order. “Back to business. Time for the Don to
meet his new daughter-in-law. Let’s go.”
All of us exit the vehicle. My father turns his head and notices as I step
out with Olivia. He smiles at us from across the street, probably thinking
it’s kind of me and our best enforcers to have driven her over here. Then I
place a possessive claw on the small of her back. A frown of puzzlement
furrows the ridges on his forehead. I take her hand in mine and boldly walk
side by side with Olivia across the street as we hold hands. His features
darken.
“My mom is watching us and she’s figured out we’re together and she
looks irritated,” my female whispers to me as we get closer.
I grunt my understanding.
And then we’re in front of them, still holding hands. In fact I proudly
pull my gorgeous female into my side and wrap an arm around her waist.
She leans into me. It’s her and me against the world—as it will always be
from here on out. I understand how lucky I am to find her and I will not
lose her.
 “I told you to keep your new stepsister safe,” the Don growls as we step
onto the curb. “I said I didn’t want anyone touching her. That meant you
too.”
“Olivia?” Monica gasps. “Is Prince your boyfriend? I just…I didn’t
even know you two were interested each other. I, um, I thought you were
going to be siblings.”
“Mom…”
“I feel so stupid,” her mother cries out, getting more upset. “I didn’t
even know you two knew each other that well, but actually you were hiding
this from me the whole week? You kept having excuses to not meet me. But
really you were with him this whole time? Olivia, you were lying to me.”
“Mom, I’m so sorry if I hurt your feelings. Prince and I just needed
alone time to pursue this. Time to get to know each other better.”
“You were pleasure mating her in our compound,” the Don growls,
“hiding this from me because you knew of my displeasure at the thought of
you treating this innocent human as one of your…your…”
“How is this going to work when you two have a messy break up?”
Monica breaks in. “You’ll go back to being stepbrother and stepsister and
hating each other as ex-lovers for forever and refuse to be in the same room
together? That’s going to be terrible. I can’t believe you didn’t think this
through.”
I purse my lips. “She is not simply a pleasure mate. I would never have
mated with her otherwise.”
And then the Don steps closer to Olivia and inhales my female’s scent.
He meets my gaze. “Prince,” he growls. “What is this female to you?”
“I gave Olivia my seed,” I proudly confirm, loud enough for my voice
to carry. “She is carrying my offspring, therefore she is my legal bound.”
There’s an instant chorus of gasps and a buzz of conversation from the
crowd who’ve been listening in.
Olivia groans with embarrassment. “You didn’t have to say that so
bluntly, or so loud,” she hisses.
“I thought you wanted to go back to Omega 9 and run the family
business,” Monica wails. “How is that going to happen now?”
“Mom, we can work something out…”
“She is mine,” I again declare.
My new stepmother meets my gaze with a hint of irritation. She steps
forward and grabs onto her daughter’s hand. “I want to make sure you
understand the legalities here. When you give birth to his child, on Tarvos,
you’ll legally be his bound, or his wife, for the rest of your lives. There is
no divorce on this planet. Do you understand, Olivia? This isn’t like New
Earth, or Omega 9 or Salo. If you have his child, you’re his wife for the rest
of your life. Is this what you want?”
I bristle with irritation. “She carries my seed. Of course she—”
“Let her answer,” my father booms. “Let Oliva speak for herself. I need
to hear her consent. The both of us need to hear her consent.”
“Olivia,” Monica questions with a soft voice. “Do you love Prince and
want to marry him and become his wife and have his children? You’ll be
legally bound to him for the rest of your life, or his life, whichever comes
first. Sweetie is this what you truly want? Maybe we should step away for a
moment and talk about this in private. I want to make sure you can tell me
your true feelings in this matter.”
My female pauses and looks up at me.
And all my errors suddenly flash before my eyes. I haven’t yet told her
how much I love her. I’ve focused on her pleasure, but did I make a mistake
by not yet telling her how she’s captured my heart? They’re going to try and
take her from me and she doesn’t know I can’t live without her.
“Boss, watch out,” Rojer yells.
And suddenly I’m hit on the side with a weight large enough to knock
me to the ground and keep me there. A blaster shot fires behind me. Human
female screams fill my ears.
I roar with rage, shove Rojer off me and leap to my feet, looking for my
female. My father lets go of his bound then unleashes an epic burst of
flame. He rushes off with my cousins and other enforcers, I assume to finish
off our enemies.
Olivia is on her knees, over the prone form of Jak.
She’s weeping. I bend down and pull her into my arms.
“Help him,” she begs me. “Help Jak. He put his body in front of mine
and took the blaster shot that was meant for me and now he’s bleeding.
Help him.”
I glance over at Rojer who has his bloody claw around Jak’s neck
checking for a pulse. We both see the visible rise and fall of Jak’s chest.
Rojer slumps with relief. Emergency med vehicles blare in the distance.
“He’s being helped,” I tell her. “I want you checked too.”
I bend down and pull her into my arms.
 “Where’s my mom?”
“She’s fine. Dad took her with him. We’ve got to get you off the street
too.”
I order the responders to take her, Jak and Rojer, to the nearest med lab,
the one that Brimstone currency built. Rojer rides in the vehicle with Jak
and I go in another med vehicle with my female. Olivia and Jak are each
given their own rooms. Jak needs a surgery shield. Rojer stays at his side,
tears streaming down his face.
I walk back into my female’s room in time to watch as the wand moves
over her. I give her an update on Jak’s progress, letting her know the male
will recover, it will just take time.
“That’s all I needed to know, that he’s going to be fine.”
“And now we’ll check that the baby is fine, too,” I say.
She nods and gives me a watery smile.
“Olivia Timlin is indeed pregnant and perfectly healthy,” the med lab
attendant confirms. “She is far enough to only exhibit an extra pheromone
scent, but the pregnancy is still viable and the scent strong. She was
uninjured.”
And then suddenly I’m filled with smoke and ire. The reality of how
close I came to losing her and our offspring boils instant rage throughout
my veins. I pace back and forth across the room, my barbed tail whipping
the air behind me.
My female sits up. “Prince, come here.”
I shake my head. Then I slam a fist against the wall.
The med attendant squeaks with fear and leaves the room.
Olivia just stares at me with worry.
“I almost lost you and the baby,” I shout, “just like I lost my mother.
Maybe,” I pant. “Maybe we shouldn’t…”
“Well, it’s too late for that now, isn’t it? Don’t you dare let this consume
you and come between us or this life.”
“Will you want stay with me? Are you going to leave me like Horace’s
mother did? Should you stay?”
“Prince, I’m not an idiot. I know my mom was saying all that stuff
earlier, like I’d heard it for the first time, but I knew all of that already. My
only fear this whole time is that you don’t…”
“What? What don’t you think I’m doing? How can you think there’s
something I haven’t done for you? You’re everything to me. How can you
not see that?”
She grabs my claw and pulls hard. I sit down next to her on the med
bed.
“You knew all along that when we met them at the restaurant your
father was going to scent the baby?”
“Yes, that’s why I suggested we meet him for lunch today day. I needed
to at least let him, as the Don, be the first in the family to know of your
change in status as my legal bound and the female who carries my heir and
his grandchild.”
“Does this mean Jak and Rojer knew I was pregnant as we drove over?”
“Yes, they knew.”
Her exotic blue eyes fill with tears. “I thought you were only with me
because your pheromones were latched onto me. Those same pheromones
were driving you to want to mate me and get me pregnant. I’m never certain
if you would’ve picked me if we’d just met normally. I always thought
you’re not really ready to commit. You’ve never even said you love me.”
I cup her cheeks and lean my forehead against hers. “I love you more
than life itself. I’d die for you. If you’d died today, I’m not sure I would
have lived.”
“Oh, Prince.”
“I’m not sure a human can handle all my obsession, all my love. I’ve
been worried you won’t stay with me your entire lifespan because that’s
what I need. All the pleasure mates were because I didn’t want to start
caring. I always used double birth control to make sure I never impregnated
anyone. I didn’t want a bound or a family because I didn’t feel I could keep
them safe. I’d lost my mother and my father was living unhappily alone.
The moment I discovered my father was trying to take us legit I saw a light
at the end of the tunnel, a way out. I didn’t think so clearly that I can now
have a family, but I did like the idea of there being less risk. The Don lived
for twenty-five years without his bound and I witnessed what that did to
him. He’s been tortured. Can you…can you pledge to stay as my bound? Do
you feel safe enough here to do that, despite what happened earlier?”
“You’re on board with Jakyl’s plans to go legit? You’re not just
humoring me, letting me think that’s what’s happening? I can count on you
to be with him and to change the future of the Brimstone mafia?”
“Yes, I’ve always been on board. I’ve been actively helping him. It’s a
good plan for the future of the Brimstones. In the distant past the only way
for us to gain prominence, wealth and power was through criminality. But
in modern times we are smarter, diversifying and stabilizing our
organization. This does not mean I will suddenly turn into some ordinary
Hyrrokin businessmen. You need to know I’ll always be a vigilante. I’ll
always have bodyguards. I will often meet with not entirely ethical beings.
But you can always know my motives curve towards justice.”
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice,” she
remarks, with a smile.
My brow furrows with confusion.
“Eh, it’s an original planet saying. As long as I know you love me, and
I’m enough for you, meaning no cheating—then I’m all in. I’m yours until
death do us part, which is another human saying. I think I needed that
whole week with you alone to get to know you myself and know for certain
that we were in love and a team, before sharing it with the world. Being
with you isn’t going to be easy, but I am ready Prince. I wouldn’t have
begged you to have sex with me without birth control if I didn’t love you
and I wasn’t ready for the risk. I am standing my ground and fighting for
our future. Nothing and no one will scare me away or take me from you.”
My female looks delicate but she’s as fierce as a fire dragon. I kiss her
dainty hand. “Till death do us part,” I repeat. “Will you be my bound? The
mother of future Brimstones?”
“Yes, of course. Will you be my husband and the best son-in-law my
mother could ever wish for?”
“I will do my best,” I respond with a solemn vow.
And then we hear commotion in the distance. “Where is my son-in-law,
Prince Brimstone?” A human female voice barks from the hallway, “I need
to know that my daughter and grandchild are safe. Where are they?”
“Hmm. I have a feeling this distraction will make them forget they were
upset and they’ll accept us,” my female says.
“True,” I chuckle. “You didn’t plan this, did you?”
“No,” she laughs. “I’m not that devious.”
 9

PRINCE

M y bound is out of the med lab quickly, but Jak takes longer to heal. I
visit the asshole often, bringing along his favorite Traq because he’s
so damn picky—the med lab’s Traq isn’t pure enough for him.
I arrive in the room and find Rojer kissing Jak and the two sharing a
quick lovers’ embrace. I’m surprised for a moment at this passionate clinch,
but then I’m not. I stare at them as the pieces of the puzzle click together
and make sense.
“You’ve always been a mated pair, haven’t you?”
“Yes,” Rojer coughs nervously.
“I could care less that you two are mates. Do whatever makes you
happy. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We wanted to be able to go into any club, any situation and be there
right alongside you, picking up female pleasure mates when you did. We
couldn’t leave you alone.”
“All those times it looked like you were taking a female to a room…?”
“We always paid them. Or just talked or played cards and gave them
presents. We made a lot of friends. Lots of good contacts. It was good
times, while we waited for you to finish.”
I’m stunned at their deception. “You two are smarter than I thought.”
Jak grins. “True.”
“Same-sex mating is frowned upon within the families,” Rojer points
out.
I nod. “You thought the Don would fire you.”
“Or at the very least stunt our career. We wanted to be trusted with the
highest clearance. Pretending to be just friends and males who didn’t want
to yet take on a bound because our jobs were our lives and too dangerous, it
was a good cover.”
“Have you exchanged vows?”
They share a glance. “No…”
“Well, it’s legal now. Why not?”
“The Don…”
“Why would you care what he thinks? I can understand when we were
younger because that was back when you had to hide that shit. But society
has changed and the families need to change too. And who is the heir? Me.
You are my personal enforcers and I choose who works with me, not my
father. If he dared to try and snuff the two of you out, I’d leave and take you
with me.”
“You’d do that, for us?”
I look at them like they’re idiots, because sometimes they are. “Of
course, I would.”

O ne week later they’ve got me readying for a damn bound declaration

ceremony. Everyone on the planet involved with the mafia is outside on the
grounds of the compound today, waiting for me to publicly ask this human
female to be my bound. Doing this quickly was the only way to sooth our
parents.
My only solace is that I was able to invite Horace without the Don’s
knowledge, which is what he deserves for making me take part in this
ridiculous tradition. Why can’t I take my pregnant bound directly to the
courthouse and be done with it?
My new mother-in-law quickly forgives me when she understands her
daughter loves me deeply. Olivia is not going back to Omega 9 to run the
business and live in the garden unit, which was Monica’s dream. She spent
a decade setting up a life for her daughter’s future security, so I understand
her disappointment and I admire her dedication towards her daughter, which
causes me to instantly bond with her. Now Monica and I work together as a
team. We’ve both vowed to protect the Don as well as Olivia, with our lives
if necessary. What more do we need to have in common?
Also, she soon realizes that she’s going to have her daughter with her in
the compound, as well as her grandchildren close by. She quickly warms to
the idea.
 “Let’s go,” my female yells from the front room. “Why do you always
take longer than me to get ready?”
She’s already dressed in some sort of white gown that she and her best
friend and her mother all agreed was necessary. I slip on another diamond
necklace and clasp my most ornate silver buckle, then stride out to meet her
in the front room. In my pocket is a very large diamond ring to give her as a
mark of my possession. I know my female loves diamonds as much as I do.
And she loves orgasms too, of which I will give her many.
“Oh, you look so handsome,” she beams, with lust shining in her eyes.
“And you are the most beautiful female I have ever seen. Let’s go
before I fuck you on the couch and we’ll never get out of here.” I take her
hand and quickly walk her down the stairs and outside to the front lawn
where all the commotion is. I show off my dazzling human to all the nearest
males, letting them scent her secondary pheromone trail. Now they know
she’s mine and to stay the fuck away.
The both of us stand on a stage in front of everyone and exchange vows,
wherein we say basically the same words that we said to each other in the
med lab. A repeat is fine, I can never hear her declare her love for me often
enough. It will never get old. And then I take out the large diamond ring
that was hiding in my pocket and slip it on her finger. She cries out with
joy. How can I not love a female who admires diamonds as much as I do?
Afterwards we are both swept up into the loud chaos of a Brimstone
party—complete with live music, food and fire dancing.
“Where are you going?” Oliva questions, over a sip of her second fire
ale.
I take the offending mug from her hands and pass it off to Jak with a
stern glance. Then
I kiss her cheek. “It wouldn’t be a proper Brimstone bound declaration
ceremony without the perquisite secret family dealings in the Don’s office.
I’ll be back soon,” I tell her. “And don’t get drunk while I’m gone because I
have plans for you.”
Then I leave my female behind with her best friend and a few other
human females who’ve shown up for this ceremony. I gesture to my brother
from across the crowd. He lifts his chin and follows me along from the front
lawn and into the compound. “Where are we going?” he questions.
We pause in front of our father’s office door.
“Will you meet with him?” I request.
 Smoke wafts from Horace’s nostrils. He growls and takes a step back.
“It will never be my responsibility to fix that relationship. I never did the
damage. I have accepted my situation and don’t hate him, but I am
indifferent. I will not be reeled in again.”
“I thought your plan was to be open to the idea of coming to Tarvos
regularly, to see your family.”
My brother shakes his head. “No. I am here for you and for my female’s
best friend, that is all. To spend time with my brother. I am not here to…”
Another growl rumbles in his chest.
I step closer and place a claw on his shoulder. “I understand your rage.
He treated you like shit, lied to your mother, and kept us apart for twenty-
five freaking years. But I also think our father deserves another chance.
He’s changed over time, and I know he wants an opportunity to make things
right. A do-over.”
“The Don almost got me killed,” my brother rages. “I had to grow up
early and learn to keep me, my mother and my female safe from him and
his rivals, without any help.”
“That too. And your accomplishments prove that you are a true
Brimstone… Will you meet with him?” I repeat.
We stand quietly in the hallway as Horace assesses the situation. My
brother had to have known he’d end up meeting our father if he came to my
bound declaration ceremony. He just didn’t know the place and time. So I
give him a moment to regain his composure.
He looks at the door, then down at the floor, then back at me again.
Finally, my brother gives a curt nod. “One quick meeting.”
“Quick,” I confirm.
I place a claw on the heavy doorknob and meet his dark gaze. “Ready to
meet your father, the Don of the entire Hyrrokin mafia?”
He snorts and rolls his eyes. “Yes, let’s get this over with.”
I open the door and we go inside. Together.
The look of surprise on my father’s face is worth its weight in fire gold.

T he meeting goes well . No blood is drawn, which is always a good sign.

“Do you really believe it’s possible for me to still be a part of this
family while not also being part of the mafia?” Horace asks.
 “My brother left the lifestyle when he left for university to become a
doctor,” the Don replies. “At the time he had to break off communication
entirely, there was no half in, half out. I’ve barely spoken to him for the last
thirty years. But he’s lived peacefully, outside of our protection but also
beyond our rivals’ notice. This makes me think I need to contact him. The
old ways no longer apply.”
“You’re saying yes, you believe it’s possible?”
“I do. I think that we can now come to a compromise wherein you do
not have to return fully to the mafia. Your older brother can continue to be
the heir and take eventual responsibility as the future Don. His offspring
can carry on the Brimstone mafia.”
“Is it still a mafia if you go legit?” Horace questions.
The Don rears back. “Of course we’re the Brimstone mafia, the most
elite criminal organization on Tarvos. I will still sit at the table with the
other mafia organizations in the four sectors.”
“But…didn’t you say you went legit? I’m confused.”
“I would define legit as more vigilante,” I comment.
“And what’s the difference?”
“We no longer deal in synth drugs of any kind,” our father declares.
“There’s no need for the front businesses, those are instead our actual
businesses because they’ve grown to where they make a huge profit.
Nowadays I’m more business owner, than mafia Don. But we don’t contend
with any other rivals trying to bring their drugs in either and will take care
of that more swiftly than the peacekeepers.”
“Who did it?” Horace questions. “Who tried to assassinate Olivia?”
My jaw clenches and blood lust churns again in my stomach. “It was
my crazy aunt, my father’s sister. She instigated the assassination attempt
and tried to make it look like it was the Softstones. But in truth she found
out that we were going legit and was trying to take us out and take over.
And if that didn’t work, sucking us into warfare again was second best.”
“We retaliated with maximum consequences,” the Don thunders.
“After tonight there will never be anyone near us who is not loyal,” I
confirm.
“How can you be so sure?”
“There’s a meeting with the entire family this evening. I will lay out the
steps we’re taking for going legit and allow some to stay and others to go, if
they want.”
 “What does ‘go’ mean? Execution?”
Horace is more bloodthirsty than he realizes.
“No,” I answer. “It means banishment to another planet or work
amongst another mafia family off planet. They can never return to Tarvos.”
My most trusted aunt and uncle knock on the door and enter in on the
conversation. They want to go legit as much as we do and were sent over
the edge by the attempt on my female’s life. I leave them to it; they don’t
need me now that Horace is involved. I trust these individuals to get rid of
the rot and plan a better future. Also, my female needs attending and she
always comes first.
Literally.
I return to Olivia and find her in the midst of a discussion with her
mother and her best friend.
“…I cannot believe I’m married to the mafia. Not once did it ever occur
to me that I’d be married to the man who one day will be the head of the
Hyrrokin mafia. Oh, and the head of the mafia is my stepdad.”
“Is it weird that all three of us are married to these guys who are in the
same family?” Cherise Brimstone laughs.
I smile indulgently. “Excuse me ladies, but it’s time for my female to
receive her gift from me tonight.”
They all turn to look at me. Olivia raises her hand and wiggles her
sparkling ring at me. “More diamonds?”
“No, my love, more orgasms.”
She throws her head back with laughter.
And then I sweep her off her feet and carry her in my arms back to my
tower in the compound.