Chapter 36
BURN
Burn watched with narrowed eyes as the Trollox lumbered closer, the auctioneer trailing at his side with a sycophantic smile and the silver remote clutched in one webbed hand.
The massive creature—who had to be twelve feet if he was an inch—loomed over them, casting a shadow that swallowed even the harsh light of the stage.
His three heads bobbed and turned, but the attention of all six greedy yellow eyes was locked right on Noelle.
Their new owner’s payment went through in a ripple of digital sound and a glittering hologram of credits spinning across the air. Burn saw the auctioneer’s lips curl with pleasure as she handed over the pain collar remote.
The Trollox’s middle head—clearly the one in charge—bent low, leering at all three of them. His breath hit Burn like a gust from an open sewer—hot and fetid with an undertone of old blood and something meaty that made his stomach churn.
“Well, well—hello, my little piggy-wigs!” He bared his tusks in a parody of a grin.
Noelle shrank back, trying to shield her bare breasts with her arms, only to jerk as the collar shocked her—again. Burn heard her faint, stifled gasp and saw the way her eyes filled with pain and shame.
“Ah—she’s wearing a non-con collar,” the Trollox’s middle head observed, tongue flicking between its teeth.
“Yes indeed, Sir. But don’t worry—the collar only works to keep her from touching or pleasuring herself,” the auctioneer assured him. “Her two males can touch her and she can touch them, as you saw earlier—if that’s what you desire.”
The Trollox’s grin widened, all three heads grinning at once, though the right one still snored wetly and the left seemed to be giggling to itself over a joke only it knew. The middle head’s voice was a deep, gravelly rumble that reverberated through Burn’s bones.
“Yes…as a matter of fact, it is. That suits our purposes quite well—leave the collar on her.”
Noelle’s cheeks went dark with humiliation and Burn felt a protective fury blaze in his chest, hotter than any flame.
He stepped in front of her without even thinking, putting his own body between her and the Trollox’s enormous bulk.
He could feel the force of the enormous creature’s presence, but fuck it—he’d take on a whole clan of the bastards if he had to.
The Trollox cocked its middle head, a ripple of amusement passing over its lumpish face.
“Ah, so we see you’re protective of your little mate, are you?
” The middle head barked out a laugh so loud it rattled the stage floor.
“Never fear, we won’t touch her. We know some of our kind like to use humanoid females as receptacles for breeding an heir, but we’re too big for that.
Why, our cock is as big around as your thigh, little male! ”
He roared with laughter, spittle flying, and Burn barely kept himself from snarling outright.
“No, no, my little friend,” the Trollox continued, glancing over at Burn with a sly wink. “Don’t worry—we have other plans for the three of you. Much more… exciting plans.”
As he spoke, a huge purple tongue flicked from between the tusks of his middle head, flickering out and curling back in a gesture that made Burn’s skin crawl. The left head tittered and the right one finally blinked awake and stared at them with bleary confusion.
Burn squared his shoulders, meeting the Trollox’s gaze head-on.
“Whatever your plans are, you’d better keep your distance from Noelle. She’s not here for your fucking amusement.”
The Trollox laughed again, the sound booming through the auction chamber. “You’ll find out what amuses us soon enough, my brave little bodyguard,” he said. “But for now, let’s get you settled into your new accommodations. We can’t wait for our little piggy-wigs to see their new home.”
He turned, motioning for a pair of Skow guards—those disgusting, mouth-faced freaks in their tattered black robes—to come forward and herd them off the stage.
Burn reached for Noelle’s hand, careful not to startle her, and felt Bright’s steady presence at his back as they followed the Trollox off the stage. The thick metal pain collar prickled coldly against his skin—a constant, humiliating reminder of who was in charge.
Fuck this. I’ll find a way to get us out. I don’t care how big this bastard is or what kind of sick game he’s playing—he’s not touching her. He’s not touching either of them, Burn vowed, jaw set, muscles tight as steel cables.
But as the doors of the auction hall closed behind them and the noise of the auction faded, Burn couldn’t shake the feeling that things were about to get a hell of a lot worse before they got better.