Crath, page 1
Crath
The Vorge Crew – Book Six
By Laurann Dohner
Crath by Laurann Dohner
Since being betrayed by her home planet, Kelsey Bowen has been sold at auction as a human incubator. Until she’s rescued by a feline alien who claims to want to marry her. He’s got to be crazy, right?
Since joining the crew of The Vorge, Tryleskian male Crath Vellar wants what his family has—a human life-lock. His littermates and cousin are very happy with the Earth females they’ve rescued and claimed, and after a lifetime alone, Crath wants someone to call his own. He’ll just have to make sure she survives long enough to give him a chance to win her heart. Not an easy task, when other alien males also want his Kelsey.
The Vorge Crew Series List
Cathian
Dovis
York
Raff
Cavas
Crath
Cavas by Laurann Dohner
Copyright © March 2023
Editor: Kelli Collins
Cover Art: Dar Albert
eBook ISBN: 978-1-950597-22-2
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal, except for the case of brief quotations in reviews and articles.
Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is coincidental.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Crath – The Vorge Crew – Book Six
By Laurann Dohner
Chapter One
Kelsey gripped the bars of the small cage she’d been locked into, staring out at dozens of aliens in the large room. They came in all sizes and shapes, from what she’d seen over the past twenty or so days since she’d been taken from Earth.
The pale pink alien in the next cage had been with her since she’d been transferred from the first spaceship onto a second one. That had been at least a week before. Maybe two. It wasn’t easy keeping track of time while being held captive.
Kelsey turned her head to stare at Nexis. Her race was Titan, which proved that space alien races made no sense. She believed that a titan should be something large and scary. That definitely wasn’t her new friend. Nexis almost appeared human…if humans had delicate, puffy fur covering their pink skin and violet-colored eyes that were a tad too large for their faces. She also had pawed hands similar to a puppy, with petite fingers instead of claws. Her ears were pointed like an elf’s.
Nexis looked like some adorably sweet fairytale creature who stood about five feet tall.
The two had already shared their “how we ended up here” stories. Nexis’s planet had been invaded by raiders. She’d been kidnapped and sold to some alien jerk who’d made her his sex slave. She’d spent almost a year being abused by that male, until he’d tired of her and sold Nexis to her current alien captors. She’d been loaded into a cage next to Kelsey’s, and now they were both about to be sold at a large slave auction held on some space station.
As for Kelsey, she’d been betrayed by her home planet. Everyone complained about overpopulation on Earth, but the government had hit a new low when they’d started trading unwilling women for alien technology. They hadn’t even had the decency to ask for volunteers. That would have implied they’d informed the public of the plan—which they hadn’t.
Kelsey sighed, running one hand down the skimpy nightgown she’d been given to wear. It didn’t cover much but it was better than being totally naked. “So this is the auction house, huh?”
“Yes.” Nexis didn’t sound any happier than Kelsey felt. “Big ever auction slaves held in year. I wish new owner nice over last.”
Kelsey filled in the blanks in her new friend’s speech, feeling lucky they could communicate at all. It probably had something to do with the little surgery that had been performed on her by the aliens from the first spaceship. The surgical wound behind her ear had at least healed and didn’t hurt anymore. Given Nexis’s odd speech, Kelsey couldn’t imagine the aliens had implanted the best translator. She’d probably gotten the cheapest one on the market, judging by the language difficulties.
She remembered what Nexis had told her about her previous owner. He’d grown annoyed with the female’s shedding. Kelsey glanced at her friend’s cotton-candy-like fur. She could see how pink bits of fluff shedding everywhere might become a problem. Especially since the bastard had regularly yanked Nexis around by her fur. A few bald spots confirmed the abuse her friend had suffered.
“Look big red aliens. Wish to gods don’t buy.”
Kelsey stared down from the stage at the aliens gathering to bid on slaves. The big red males were easy to spot. They had tall, stocky bodies, and their features were harsh. “They look mean.”
“Dolten alien eats,” her friend hissed. “Us food!”
“Shit.” Like the prospect of becoming some alien’s sex slave wasn’t bad enough for Kelsey. “Seriously?”
“Yes. Green with the moist skin? Nupas. Wish don’t buy.”
Kelsey figured her friend now had to be talking about the toad-looking aliens. They stood on two legs but had long arms with suction cup fingertips. Their skin did indeed have a wet-looking sheen in the bright lights. A few of the guards belonged to that alien race. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but tell me why.”
Nexis made grunting sounds and pumped her hips. It was her way of saying sex.
“Ewww.”
Her friend gave a sharp nod. “At all time.”
“Great. Alien toad guys are super horny. They look disgusting.”
“Yes. Much wet from body. Mouths.” Nexis pointed to her crotch. “Bad ever.”
“Enough. Don’t make me barf. I get what you’re saying. Nupas are disgusting.”
“Bigger body blue man with face damage? Good. Nice. Wish to gods buy.”
There were a lot of blue aliens, but there was one of that color who stood taller than the others, and had a lot more muscles. He had a scar on his blue cheek.
Kelsey pointed. “Him?”
“Yes. Parri. Many live home on my planet. Theirs die. Good. Nice. No pain. Good. No…” She mimicked being punched, then pretended to tear at her flimsy gown.
“I think I understand what you’re saying. Those types of aliens aren’t going to force us to have sex with them or beat on us?”
Nexis nodded. It seemed she could understand Kelsey just fine. The translation technology Nexis had must be better than whatever had been shoved into Kelsey’s head.
“Cristos!”
The fear in her friend’s voice had Kelsey stiffening. “What are those?”
“Scales,” Nexis hissed. “Worst ever bad!”
Another race that was easy to spot. The scary-looking reptilian aliens had just arrived. Their heads reminded her of those of a snake, but their bodies were like upright, walking crocodiles. They had thick arms and legs, with long, bulky torsos. Their mouths were large slits, their eyes pitch black, and dark scales covered their skin. She also caught a glimpse of thin tails hanging out the back of their black pants.
“What’s worse than eating us?” Kelsey turned to peer at Nexis but the female had moved away from the front of her cage to huddle in the back, on the floor.
Nexis’s big violet eyes filled with tears and she uncurled a little, touching her tummy area. “Buy warm female. Need us. Fill with much eggs.” She made the grunting noise for sex. “Much pain. Eggs break inside.” She threw both arms out, making a popping sound. “Eat us in to out. Us baby food. Die!” Nexis curled into a tight ball once more, her small body shaking.
Turning her head back toward the buyers, Kelsey stared in horror as more of those scaled aliens entered the auction area. There were ten of them in all. The blood drained from her face. She was certain she’d understood exactly what Nexis was saying. Those things would rape a slave, implant them with eggs, and they’d become a feast when the babies hatched inside their bodies. They’d eat the mom.
Which would be her and Nexis, if they were bought by the creepy-looking Cristos.
“Shit.” Kelsey had seen a very old horror alien movie somewhat like that once. She didn’t want aliens bursting out of her body while she was still alive. Especially knowing how they got inside her in the first place. A shudder ran down her spine, and she backed away from the front of the cage too, going to the back.
“Cristos,” Nexis whimpered, rocking her body.
“It’s going to be okay,” Kelsey lied. They had no control over who bought them but there were a lot of aliens coming to the auction. More kept arriving. She glanced at the other cages at the back of the stage, doing a slave count of the females present. There were thirty-six women up for auction. Her and Nexis were the only ones of their kinds. A good majority of the females were of the toad alien race.
If they were anything like the reptiles on Earth, they probably wouldn’t be warm-blooded.
“Shit,” Kelsey softly chanted again. Maybe a dozen of the alien slaves for sale looked like they’d be warm-blooded enough to become breathing incubators for reptile eggs, including herself and Nexis. The ten Cr
Those were bad odds.
A big yellow alien, looking like a cross between a gorilla and some kind of bird with short wings on his back, took the stage. “Bring order,” he demanded loudly. “Auction start. Bid must pay at win. No promises of later. Will die if lie.”
One of the cages on the far left was lifted by a crane from where it rested, slowly moved to the edge of the raised stage, nearer to the crowd of buyers. Curiosity drove Kelsey to inch closer to the front of her cage to watch what would happen. It would be her turn up there, at some point.
The Nupa female inside the cage stood, gripping the bars and glaring defiantly at the buyers. She only wore a loose wrap type of skirt around her body. All four of her breasts were on display. When the auction began, alien males lifted little colored sticks. Then some lowered them. It went from about two dozen bidders lifting white sticks to just six with red ones.
“Next round,” the auctioneer called.
Four of the six lifted orange sticks. The other two backed away.
“Next round!” The auctioneer sounded excited.
One bidder lifted a pink stick. The other three males glared at him.
“Winner!” The auctioneer brayed a snort-laugh. “Pay! Take.”
The thin blue alien with the pink stick came forward, withdrew a pouch, and met with one of the guards. He dug into the pouch, passing over something that Kelsey couldn’t see, before another guard strolled to the female’s cage.
He unlocked the door, reached in to grab the female slave by her throat, and withdrew a thin chain with a bracelet attached. He snapped the bracelet on her wrist like a handcuff and yanked her out, leading her to the buyer. The female didn’t fight. The blue alien accepted the chain and the guards escorted him toward the back of the room, out of sight.
In seconds, the guards returned.
“Next slave,” the auctioneer yelled.
The second slave was a mouse-looking type of alien. She stayed curled into a ball on the floor of her cage. One of the Cristo aliens bought her, and she began to shriek. The poor alien fought the guard when he hauled her out of her cage. Her buyer punched her in the face, knocking her out cold, before throwing her over his shoulder. He stalked out of the door with a big grin on his ugly snake face. None of the guards escorted him.
“Oh fuck,” Kelsey muttered. That would probably be the way she’d leave the auction if a Cristo bought her. She’d be unconscious because she’d fight too.
Two more of those snake/crocodile aliens bought females, and when it became Nexis’s turn to be sold, Kelsey stood inside her cage, gripping the front bars. “No!”
Nexis managed to stand when her cage was placed at the front edge of the stage. Over a dozen buyers held up sticks at first. Two were the creepy reptile aliens. There was also the scarred Parri. He really was a big blue son of a bitch.
“Hey, Parri!” Kelsey yelled suddenly.
It drew attention from the buyers, the blue alien included. She met his gaze. “Buy her! Her name is Nexis and she thinks you’re cute. She pointed you out to me. She really wants to belong to you.”
Two of the guards rushed toward Kelsey’s cage, and she backed up.
“Silence!” one of the aliens snarled, withdrawing a shock stick.
“She’ll be so grateful,” Kelsey continued to yell. “Best slave ever. Buy her!”
One of the guards shoved the shock stick between the bars and jabbed her in the stomach. Agony dropped Kelsey to her knees and stole her ability to breathe as the electrical current surged until the guard yanked the stick away and stalked off. The auction was over by the time she stumbled to her feet once more.
The Parri was leading Nexis away on a thin chained bracelet.
Nexis met Kelsey’s gaze, her violet eyes wide and full of tears. Her friend smiled at her gratefully.
“Thank fuck,” Kelsey sighed in relief, forcing her own smile. At least her friend wouldn’t die a horrible death.
Her cage was suddenly jolted, and Kelsey jerked her head up. A massive hook attached to the top of the roof, and her cage was suddenly lifted. She grabbed the bars to stop herself from falling to her knees as the cage swayed. It settled down hard at the front of stage.
Four of those scary Cristos rushed to put up sticks, along with five other aliens. One of them looked like a pink blob. Three were toad aliens.
The last looked like a mix between human and some kind of feline. He was big, with lots of muscles. He had thick blond hair, almost like a mane, and golden feline eyes. She’d always liked cats. His expression wasn’t the friendliest, but out of the bunch, she prayed he’d buy her. She forced a smile to her face and released the bars to give him a small wave.
His eyes widened.
Round two of the bidding had the feline guy still there, but so were the Cristos. Two of them hissed at him. The cat alien withdrew a dagger from somewhere on his clothing and barred sharp teeth back at them. Kelsey was impressed. He wasn’t one to back down from intimidation.
“Please buy me!” she loudly pleaded, staring right at him.
“I’m attempting to, human.”
His extremely gruff voice gave her chills, sounding very animalistic. Not that it dissuaded her from hoping that he’d win the bidding. Between him and the Cristos, he was her best option.
“Thank you! I’ll be the best slave ever,” she promised. Kelsey wasn’t above begging and kissing some alien cat-man butt if it meant not being forced to incubate eggs that would turn into killer babies as they hatched.
“Silence!” the auctioneer yelled. “Slave, you hurt if talk more.”
Kelsey sealed her lips but kept her gaze locked on the feline male. Two more rounds of bidding took place before one of the Cristos handed his pouch to the other and backed off.
The feline alien snarled loudly. “You’re cheating.”
“It’s not cheating to give brother funds. Give up. We own female.” The Cristo hissed, flicking out a long, thick tongue. It nearly hit the feline male in the eye—but he dodged, caught it in his fist, and the snake screamed as his tongue got brutally yanked.
Guards rushed forward and got between the remaining two bidders to separate them. Another round of bidding. A third Christo passed a pouch to the one still bidding. The feline alien snarled again and tried to lunge at him, but the guards blocked his path.
Her alien bidder gave her an angry look and shook his head.
“No!” she whispered, understanding when he didn’t lift a stick during the next round of bidding. He couldn’t afford her.
A guard came to her and unlocked the cage. She didn’t wait for him to grab her by her throat.
Instead, she backed away, before running forward again, jumping up, grabbing a bar from the roof of her cage, and swinging her body, kicked out with every ounce of fear she possessed—which was a lot.
Both of her bare feet hit the guard in the stomach and he staggered backward. She dropped to the floor, flinching at the feel of the unforgiving metal, and rushed out of her cage toward the still doubled over guard.
She attempted to yank his shock stick away, but other guards rushed forward. Avoiding capture was impossible as four of them surrounded her. Two grabbed her arms as she kicked and screamed, bucking in their hold. Cold metal locked around her wrist from a third guard. Electricity brutally shot through her entire body, coming from the bracelet.
The fourth guard held the remote, his finger pressed to a button as he smiled viciously.
Kelsey nearly passed out, going limp. The bracelet was far stronger than the shock sticks. Blackness edged at her but she fought to remain conscious. The two guards who held her aloft passed her to someone else. She was tossed over a shoulder, the body beneath her cold, and her skin brushed against rough scales.
The guards had given her to the Cristo buyer…and he was walking away with her.
She took a few deep breaths, playing possum. Her long blonde hair blinded her as it curtained around her face, but she listened carefully. The loud voices of the buyers faded as a door slammed behind her. The asshole who held her made noisy footsteps as he stomped down a dim metal hallway, probably taking her to his ship.
