Deceptive Lord (Lords of Bondage) by Corinne Balfour Page B

tried to force herself to calm down, so she could think of a way to thwart him. “Please let me go.”
    As she went limp in his arms, he tightened his grasp on her. “There is no choice here.”
    A couple of minute s later, she experienced a wave of nausea and dizziness. When her eyes cleared, she found herself in a completely different location. She had a bad feeling she was far away from Avenal, likely in alien hybrid territory. She did not know much about Asstrumnia, but she had heard that the few humans that had entered th e area had never returned and were never seen again. She looked around her and noticed they were in a large room. It was occupied by several males, all with dark hair, and they were staring at her in shock.
    One of the Asstrumnians , Brennus Donovan, approached them. “I see you brought something back with you. Looks human.”
    “I took her from Avenal for the obvious reason,” Drest stated.
    “I had no idea that you were so desperate for a female. I could have fixed that for you.”
    “Not that reason,” Drest replied. “She discovered my identity.”
    Brennus gave Drest a skeptical look, as his friend was naked and the female in his arms was nearly naked, wearing a bit of cloth that barely covered her. “What will you do with her? She cannot be returned to her home.”
    “I’ll figure something out,” Drest replied. “I had no choice but to take her.”
    Brennus turned toward his two brothers, Brett and Brendan, and he told them to leave the room. They responded with rude s tatements and cursing, but they did exit after he gave them a murderous glare. “Some of our kind place great value on human pelts. I’ve never had one, so I cannot judge whether the claims are valid. What do you think about it ?”
    “You actually skin humans?” Eden asked. She had never heard any stories of people being skinned, but she did not know much about the alien hybrids. Who knew what they were capable of doing? She did not like the way the stranger was looking at her, like a fresh piece of meat. Feeling apprehensive, she leaned into Lord Woodcock, who was still clutching her tightly. She knew that he had to have given a false name, and she had no idea of his purpose in coming to Avenal, but he had not harmed her yet. She had enjoyed talking with him before and he had not seemed dangerous. She instinctively knew that she would be safer with the false Lord Woodcock than with the others. She was less sure about the other Asstrumnians. They had looked threatening, despite having features that appeared very human. They wore strange clothing, including trousers and tunics unlike anything she had ever seen. Ornate gold armbands and rings that were encrusted with fine jewels adorned their necks and fingers, suggesting great wealth.
    Brennus laughed. “ No, you would have no value to any of us dead. Captives of war are given to the King , to do with as he pleases. More than likely, you will be given to the fine and made available to any of the unmated males.”
    Eden shuddered at the thought of being given to these alien hybrids. If they were able to do as they pleased with her, she could be subjected to unimaginable abuse. She was afraid to ask what they did to captives. Was there any chance of being ransomed? They may exert a little more effort to keep her alive if that was a possibility. She started to tremble as her brain conjured up various horrible scenarios in her head. She felt an urge to flee, although it wasn’t like she could hop from place to place like the hybrids. She was aware of a cold chill on her skin . How she regretted acting on her stupid impulse to take off her outer tunic! What had she been thinking? Surely, she could have found some other cloth to drape over Lord Woodcock’s invisible body. Now she was paying the price. She was nearly naked in a room full of hybrids who wished to make her “available” to the males. Those beasts would surely ravage her and she had to get away from