Chapter 2

two

. . .

Thundar

"The princess is on board, Your Most Brutal Highness." Hailar, my second-in-command, crosses his arms with a proud puff and bows.

I nod at him with a grunt and the captain takes us higher outside Earth's atmosphere, and from there into hyperspace. It won't be long before we reach Aysgoth. It won't be long before I'm done with this charade of a ritual.

"Where?"

Hailar folds his arms again in a sign of respect before he answers.

Sometimes I wish he'd drop the formalities. We've known each other since we were children, wrestling in the courtyards of the palace. But Hailar comes from a long line of royal warriors and he takes his role as my lieutenant very seriously. Too seriously. He doesn't need to treat me like a prince every single time, at every single question. But it's tradition. And where would Aysgarthians be without their damned traditions?

"The wenches are preparing her and the room for your arrival."

I grunt again.

Everything is going according to plan. Everything is proceeding like clockwork.

Good, because the less time I waste on this drak the better. I've got more important things to do than abduct, court, and marry a woman. Like getting back to my duties as the Crown Prince of my planet.

"Grrr." I let my frustrations out in a snarl, and the captain, seated in front of me, jumps.

I narrow my eyes and stare at his back. He's new to the Royal Command but that's no excuse. I can't have any Aysgarthians–a captain, no less–getting scared by nothing. We have a name and reputation to uphold after all.

"Five minutes!" I growl at Hailar and stalk off the bridge.

The ship's crew stands at attention as I pass them on the way up to the officers' quarters. I slap my hand on the panel beside the door and escape into my quarters. I let out a heavy sigh and fall into my bed.

I close my eyes.

Five minutes.

Five minutes before… before my life changes.

I sigh again at Hailmak's familiar chirp and open my eyes just in time to see him drop from the ceiling and onto my stomach, knocking the wind out of me.

"Little drak!" I curse at him, but I give him a scratch between the ears anyway.

His chirps get even louder and he nuzzles up against me. The vibrations he emits reverberate through me and I scratch him harder.

"This is the last time," I warn him.

He knows he's not supposed to be in here. And the ventilation ducts should be secured in case of spies or assassins, but this little mutt still manages to sneak in here like he owns the place.

I grab the phalanx bone from the plate on my bedside table and throw it across the room. Hailmak chases after it and brings it back to me like the obedient mutt he is.

"Enjoy this now, because it's over. You hear me?" I wag my finger in front of his face but all he does is smile, open his eyes wider, and chirp, nodding his head at the bone.

Spoiled brat. I throw it again.

Might as well enjoy this now while I can. Who knows what other pleasures I'll have to give up when we get back to Aysgoth? What kind of pleasures I'll be denied after my nuptial ceremony is complete?

My father and grandfather, my commanders, and anyone who's been married reassure me that nothing has to change. We're still men and we can still do what we want. But I've seen all of them change. I've seen them reject things they used to enjoy and I know—I know it in my bones—that it's all because of their women.

Damned tradition.

Why can't I rule my planet as a single Aysgarthian? Why do I need a woman? What does that prove? Congratulations, Thundar, you can successfully abduct a woman. Big drakking deal.

Five minutes pass and I force Hailmak back to his daddy's room via the ducts. The wenches will be here at any second.

My ceremonial robe is hanging next to the bed. Pure white and heavily embroidered, it covers me from head to toe. I snarl as I pull it over my shoulders and fasten the clasps. It's heavy. And itchy. And restrictive. I hate it. We, Aysgarthians, barely ever cover our bodies for any occasion but for some reason, the isolation interlude is where we draw the line? We're supposed to be draking the whole time, for drak's sake.

Stupid traditions.

The wenches arrive right on time. They're also dressed in the white ceremonial cloth and I roll my eyes as they escort me to the mating chambers.

Hailar and the rest of my men stand in formation outside the doors of the mating chambers. If we were on Aysgoth, my parents, the royal council, and the entire aristocracy would be in attendance to witness the beginning of the isolation interlude. Because it is so important for everyone to know what I'll be doing for the next five days.

The wenches turn to face me and as one, they bow.

"Your Brutal Highness, she awaits," says one of them and the door opens.

Five days. Locked in a room with the human woman with nothing to do but eat, sleep, and drak. That's not so terrible. Besides, what is five days? It's nothing. A blink in the epic timeline of my reign. I can survive five days. I am Thundar.

I huff and grit my teeth before stepping across the threshold. Then the door closes behind me for good.

"Who… who the fuck are you?" says someone at the corner of the room and I take a deep breath as I set my eyes on her.

She's tiny. So tiny, I fear I might crush her just by looking at her. Her hair is mylk brown, and her skin… her cheeks are so pink and light I fear for her health.

But no, that's just what some humans look like, or so I've been told. I don't know much about them, to be fair. I never had much interest in the primitive planet she's from. But no one's ever mated a human before, so when the royal council informed me I needed a strong candidate to strengthen my claim to the throne, Earth was the first place that came to mind.

"I don't know who The Fuck is but I'm Thundar, Crown Prince of Aysgoth."

The human grimaces and takes several steps forward. Bold of her. Disrespectful, even. But she is an alien, so I will forgive her for not understanding our traditions.

"Why am I here? Why did you kidnap me?"

I pause and tap my temple. Is my translator malfunctioning?

"Are you a kid? I assumed we were abducting an adult female human. Are you a goat?"

"What the fuck? Did you just call me a goat?"

Here we go with this The Fuck again. Who is she referring to?

"I did not. You said we kidnapped you. Isn't that a term for abducted baby goats?"

The human lets out a growl that is actually quite impressive. I wasn't aware that humans were capable of growling. She lifts her hands, fingers stabbing through her hair. The wide sleeves of her robes fall to her elbows, revealing more of that pink skin. So strange. So fascinating.

"Oh my God. What have I gotten myself into? No, I'm not a baby goat. I'm human. Kidnapping is what you did to me. You know. Abduct. Taken. Captured. Are you an idiot?"

I narrow my gaze on her and purse my lips.

"No. I'm a Prince."

She huffs. "Well, the two aren't mutually exclusive."

"I… uhm… I'm sure they're not."

I have no idea what she's saying. I don't understand a single word that comes out of her mouth, even though my neural translator seems to be in perfect working order. And she's talking so fast. Maybe that's why I can't make sense of any of it. Because the translator must not have time to process her confusing sentences.

But, then again, we've dealt with more primitive species before, and the translator has always worked perfectly. No, it must be her. Maybe she doesn't speak her own language well.

"Please slow down," I tell her.

"Me, slow down? You slow down! You took me. You abducted me. What are you going to do to me? What do you want from me?"

Did Hailar not explain the situation to her? I'm going to wring him out when I get out of here. I'll just have to placate her myself.

"Princess Alexandra..." I take a step forward when something snaps at my ankle and makes a high-pitched rumbling sound.

I look down at this… thing. This tiny little four-legged creature has its teeth around half my foot and attached itself to me.

I shake my leg but it doesn't let go. The rumbling sound grows louder. Is that it's form of a growl?

"Is… this thing yours?" I ask the human and shake my leg again.

"No… yes… it's not."

"Are you not sure? Did you hit your head on the way up? How many locks of hair am I holding?" I move three distinct locks in front of her.

She gasps. She lifts her hand and tries to touch my floating hair, equal parts of confusion and fascination written across her face. Has she never seen living hair before?

I arch my brow and it's as if she remembers herself and snaps her gaze back to me.

"Hit my head? How dare you? You people just snatched me up like… like… like barbarians and you dare ask me if I hit my head?"

I shake my leg once more to no effect. The thing is latched on for dear life, determined to protect his human. I bend down and grab it by the neck. It immediately snaps its teeth around my fingers and I jump back to avoid it. My foot catches on the hem of my robe and before I can right myself, I land on my ass.

Great. Very good first impression.

"Get him… dog thingy," she shouts at the little creature who stands between her and me, all four feet planted firmly on the ground and barking his head off.

I grunt and pick it up. It's about the size of Hailmak, though covered in strangely soft hair. I'm fully prepared for its teeth this time, but upon closer inspection, they're harmless. Huh. What was I even afraid of? They aren't even sharp.

I let it nibble on my finger and approach the human. She backs up, but I continue my advance until she hits the wall behind her. We're only a breath apart.

"Don't… get out of my face… what do you want from me?"

Despite her harsh words, her features are soft, delicate. I haven't seen a woman quite like her in all my life and I've been to so many planets across the galaxy.

Her mylk brown eyes glow in the dimly lit room as if they're a light source of their own and her lips, bright deathly pink as they may be, are so inviting. They look almost… delectable.

Maybe...

Maybe this won't be such torture after all.

Maybe she will be a great wife.

I'll have to deal with the language problem somehow. Maybe abduct a teacher from her planet to teach her to speak properly so my translator can understand what she's saying, but… yeah… this could work.

"I want to marry you, of course."