Chapter 8 #2
“When are you going to learn that Max is indestructible? He’s a force of nature. Nothing can damage him, he does the damage. Roar.” Trace makes some claws and pretends to be ferocious, and Sim, Fuse, and I dissolve into laughter while Maxsim crosses his arms and frowns at Trace.
“Ha-ha, asshole.” He flips him off and grabs my hand, dragging me in the direction we need to go.
I can hear the other three following us, their giggles echoing in the hall.
I smother my grin, proud as can be of my fierce protector.
Once we get to the elevator, we all pile in together.
There aren’t many other quarters on our level, only Zala the larnuk mistress, who has enough space for her horses as well, but I don’t see any sign of her, so either she’s already there or still to come.
I don’t know her very well, but she’s quiet and solemn and kind to her animals, so she’s okay in my book until she proves me wrong.
When we get to the correct level, we exit the lift.
There are a lot more people around. A few wave and say hello, but most are wary when we venture out into the ship.
Natalia hasn’t always been very welcoming, so it makes people reluctant to approach us.
Even though we stick to ourselves, their reaction always sends an uncomfortable pang to my heart.
It would be nice to make some friends while we’re here, maybe someone to have a drink or meal with between shows, to play a game of Conqueror with, or to invite to hang out.
As we reach the dining room, the crowd grows even bigger, and the sounds and smells of our fellow performers become invasive, but not unpleasant. My fur bristles with excitement at being here all together.
I sigh wistfully and look around at all the interesting creatures involved with the circus.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spy the Vilaxians.
There are three new ones who came on a day or two ago, and there looks to be some friction between them and two of the regular females.
They are arguing in one corner, their body language is stiff, and the harsh expressions they are wearing reflects how unhappy they are.
They are speaking too quietly for me to pick up what they are saying though, which is a shame since I do like to keep up with all the circus drama.
The five of us take a seat at a free table, and I continue my perusal of the crew.
I pause on the two new shifters who also came on board—another dragon to replace the previous one, but a naga as well.
Naga shifters aren’t common, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen any others before.
There is another snake-like species in the galaxy, but they are not shifters and only have one form.
I study the naga closely, his green, orange, and black scales shining in the artificial light.
His massive body is curled up underneath him as he carries on a conversation with the dragon, and he has no shirt covering his top half.
I can see glinting rings in each nipple, and he has rippling muscles down his abdomen.
His body tapers into his tail, but there are two elongated bumps under his scales in his groin area, which is where my eyes lock onto.
Fuck me. Does he have two cocks?
A hand grips my mane, turning my head away from the interesting shifter, and I find myself staring into amused silver eyes.
“What are you looking at, my omega?” Maxsim’s words are quiet and grumbly, and accompanied with his tight grip on my mane, it sends a shiver down my spine.
I see Maxsim’s nose flare as the scent of my arousal drifts to his nostrils. I’m getting closer to my heat, and it’s getting harder and harder to control my desire.
“Nothing?” I hedge sheepishly, and his grip tightens. A moan is begging to leave my lips, especially since we were interrupted by the announcement. Maxsim knows what he’s doing to me.
“You weren’t admiring the pretty snake and his double cocks, were you?” He growls a little more, his jealousy stoking my arousal even higher. I try to shake my head, but it’s useless. He knows I’m lying, and his grip is just too tight.
“No,” I mutter, and his amusement changes to lust in an instant.
“Oh, you are a brat for lying to me. I will enjoy doling out your punishment in the form of my pleasure.” He releases my hair, and I shake out my mane before continuing my perusal of the crowd, being sure to skip over the naga and his two cocks.
Truthfully, I’m looking for the little Earth girl.
Maybe if I can study her closely, I can figure out what has me so interested, but she’s nowhere to be seen.
I’m about to ask Maxsim if he can see her when two new people sit down next to me.
It’s the merman and his sister, both in their human forms. I’m a little surprised that they are sitting at the same table as us.
Everyone mostly avoids us, but I guess without Natalia around, we might be able to make more friends.
I feel excited at the prospect and smile at both of them.
“Hello, ferocious ice kitty. Have you seen my little coolmy shell? She doesn’t seem to be here.”
I blink a couple of times, surprised that the merman is talking to me.
He is another creature who hasn’t been particularly social, if the ship gossip is to be believed.
His golden hair shines in the artificial light, and his green skin sparkles vibrantly.
He preens when he sees me looking at him.
“Ah, I see you see how magnificent I look in this light. I was hoping my little starfish would admire the wonderfulness that is me as well. I am thinking maybe the dim lighting of my cave made it so she couldn’t appreciate my brilliance.
” He pushes back his golden hair as my mouth drops open.
Maxsim snorts not so politely on the other side of me, and I can see Trace, Sim, and Fuse are just as stunned as I am, but the arrogant creature doesn’t acknowledge our reactions. He just puffs up his chest and continues to look around the room.
“No, it won’t be hard to convince her to stroke my fins when she sees me in this light. It will be all she can do to control herself.”
He doesn’t even sound wistful, he sounds confident.
I try to form words to make a coherent sentence, but I can’t, and I don’t have to, because a blue hand on the merman's shoulder has him looking up into the eyes of Lila’s kraken mate, Caspian.
“You wouldn’t be thinking about forcing yourself on my mate, would you, fish?
” His growl is almost as impressive as my alpha’s, and I feel my toes curl slightly.
Damn heat hormones. Max’s hand comes down on my knee and stops my leg, which had been bouncing up and down.
I grimace, but he just looks amused, thankfully.
“No, I remember consent is required, but how could she say no with all of this wonderfulness?” Nikos waves a hand up and down his body, and I spy Caspian’s hand tightening on his shoulder before the merman winces slightly. Clearly, he doesn’t like pain.
“Good, see that it continues.” Caspian releases him and undulates up to the front where he stands off to the side with the warlock.
I wonder what happened to the cyborg. I guess we will never know, and that might be a good thing, especially after watching what the warlock did to part of his harem.
The crowd settles into silence as William and Eric Adams enter the room.
There’s no sign of John, and both the brothers wear scowls.
This was not an unusual occurrence prior to Lila’s arrival, but since she has been here, they have been all smiles.
What could have caused them to be so upset?
I suppose we are about to learn what’s causing their distaste.