2. Mantis

2

MANTIS

M y gaze drifted up and down her body, my cocks hardening as she spent the last of her coins trying to beat my high score. I watched from the darkness as the woman shouted at the machine, her frustration clear.

For years, she had come here. I had watched since the first day she'd stepped foot into GalaxyGames. Watching her from the shadows, wanting her but never daring to pursue her.

My mandibles clicked in satisfaction as she continued to play, even as the other humans left the arcade. The mall would close soon, going from a hub for humans to a place of monsters.

We didn't bother each other. I was aware there were other creatures that roamed Creepy Court, but they had their own domains. I heard them in the night, their growls and roars and the scratch of their claws over the linoleum.

GalaxyGames was mine.

And this woman who fought so hard to beat my high score?

She was mine too.

The attendant approached her. He tapped her shoulder, and I listened as he informed her the arcade was closing. She argued with him, insisting she had to beat me.

Where she was competitive and fierce, I was slow and methodical. It had taken me some time to decide that she was the one, but her scent called to me. Her body made me lust, and she was smart. Smart, cunning, competitive.

Everything I looked for in a mate. I knew she was mine.

I would give her my life and give her my eggs.

She gave the man a curt nod and then headed towards the front. I watched as she went—but then she did something she had never done before.

She ducked out of sight and then slid behind one machine.

She was hiding .

Both of my cocks hardened. I let out a low growl, looking down at them. Cum dripped from the tapered heads and I felt the eggs inside of me buzzing with anticipation.

I had to restrain myself.

I pushed both of my cocks back into their pocket, grunting as I adjusted myself. I was large—larger than any of the humans that roamed around. My skin was bright green. I had four legs that were long and angled. My upper half was humanoid, but my arms stretched long and ended in points, spikes running along the underside.

The lights in the arcade dimmed, the silence settling as the attendant locked the doors.

The woman was now locked inside.

With me .

At last.

I waited for a few minutes. She eventually emerged again, muttering curses as she went to the machine. It illuminated her, casting a soft iridescent green glow over her body. Her dark hair fell down her back in a tumble of curls, her faded jeans tight against her skin. She wore a green shirt too, one that was similar to the color of my skin.

I ached to pull her clothes off and admire her. To taste her.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Her voice was full of surprise and determination.

My mandibles chittered together with happiness. I had been waiting for this moment for so long—the chance to be alone with her. To have her standing here in front of me, trapped in this arcade with me.

My yearning for her was obsessive. Ever since I first saw her, it was her face that came to mind any time I touched myself. My cocks seemed to have a mind of their own when she was around.

She bent over, slipping a coin into the machine. It whirled to life as the game began, her shoulders stiffening as she focused on it.

She would need more coins if she were going to keep playing.

I emerged from the shadows. I crept along the rows of machines, quiet as a mouse, as I went to the counter at the front. I found the bag of coins that they kept and picked it up.

My offering.

I hoped it would please her.

I went back into the maze of whirring machines, the bright sounds pinging here and there. The arcade was never truly silent. I slowed as I came around the corner, peaking my head around to study her.

She was standing in front of the machine, her hands on her hips. My gaze fixated on her ass, the shape of her hips. I wanted to grip them as I pumped my eggs inside her dripping cunt.

"Fuck," she growled. "I'm out of coins."

My mandibles clicked together, and I couldn't help it. A cloud of pheromones burst from me, invisible to the eye but pungent in the air.

She stood still for a moment, but then let out a soft breath. Her arousal became stronger, and she let out a confused moan.

"What the fuck?"

My pheromones would send her into a heat if she was truly my mate.

I left my hiding spot, creeping towards her. She gripped the sides of the machines, letting out a low moan as she fought the waves of need pumping through her right now.

My little gamer girl had no idea that she belonged to a monster.