Apprentice (Galaxy Circus, #1)

by Lexie Winston

“I owe it to myself to give it the year. If I decide to give it up after that, I can at least say I gave it a go. Who knows what kind of experience I will have gained and where it will take me?”

As happy as I am for her, there’s just something about Mark that rubs me the wrong way. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it’s like he tries too hard to be my friend.

“Yes, well, I’m John Adams, and this is William—buzz cut—and Eric—man bun. We are so excited to finally meet you, Lila.

I store the suitcase on a shelf above a clothing rail that already has outfits hanging on it. I guess they wouldn’t put me in here if I wasn’t free to poke around. That in mind, I browse through the clothes and find some very space age-looking black jumpsuits with the Galaxy Circus logo on them. How very Star Trek, I hope they have size tits and ass.

“Link is from the planet Cybartronian, and he’s a cyborg—half man and half machine.

I push open the door to find Dylan on the other side, waiting, so I guess he wasn’t lying about that part at least. “Everything okay?” he asks, frowning as he looks between me and the door that has closed behind me. “Everything’s great. Let’s get going.” I link my arm with his and drag him out of there as the nurse exits the exam room and watches us go, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. Yikes, way to go, Lila. Making friends everywhere you go. First Natalia, now this one. God, I hope everyone in this circus isn't bitchy.

“How dare you protect her! I heard you offer to take care of that needy bitch’s horniness, throwing away your professionalism and reputation! Don’t you care how that reflects on you? Actually, forget you. Don’t you care how that reflects on me? Your mother promised me your hand in marriage, and I will not have you lowering yourself to those standards. ‘Taking care of’ a Skarrian would be at least some step up. But a human? What would everyone at home say?”

“What the fuck?” My voice echoes around the arena while the grandpas load up on whatever else they can find to throw at me. “Come on, this is ridiculous! I can’t do it, so scaring me isn’t going to help,” I plead, but the whistle of a blade past my face and the sharp sting of pain, followed by a trickle of warmth, on my cheek tells me they’re not listening at all. “You are fucking crazy!” I scream at them and start running. Screw this! They can fuck right off. Nothing else hits me as I race out of the arena, but the echo of their laughter trails after me. “Assholes!” I scream.

On the right side is a small faded black circle with what looks like two black angel wings with extremely long feathers at the bottom. On the other, there are two marks. One is a faded blue circle with a sideways figure eight, and the other one kind of looks like the medical symbol on Earth. There are two snakes entwined around a staff, but instead of wings at the top, there’s a cog.

“I thought you said they were a matriarchal society?” I ask Willam. He nods his head ruefully. “They are, but between you and me, Natalia is a raving bitch, and although their council was hoping this group would become a streak, I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen. The others all look to Maxsim for protection when she's in a shitty mood because he will and does stand up to her.”

“Did you seriously not do that?” John asks Xavier, a curious lilt to his voice. I watch as the blur shudders violently. “No, I’m not sure exactly what happened. It’s like our consciousnesses merged until we became one. I’ve never heard of something like that happening to a warlock. We are taught how to do that from a very young age, so our minds are like steel cages. I’m going to have to consult with my parents about it.”

What is your damn problem?” Another growl escapes his mouth, and I watch as his teeth lengthen and sharpen before he shakes his head and they shrink back to normal. “He’s a warlock and not just any warlock. He’s the crown prince.” “Yeah, and?” “Warlocks are psychic feeders. They feed off of strong emotion. It’s how they power themselves up. Warlocks as strong as Xavier have harems of feeders who they siphon emotions off of, usually through sex. I was worried he was doing that to you.” So he’s a magical emotion-eating vampire? Also something to probably keep in my head. They should just let me define what all these species are. It’d be so much less complicated. Maybe that’s why William was upset when he thought Xavier was doing something to me.

“Your attraction to Caspian, of course. I saw a mark on his shoulder during the act, and when I grilled him about it after the show, he admitted it appeared after he had tried to scare you off. Why him? Lila, that is going to end in nothing but heartbreak. Caspian would never be interested in someone like you. He couldn't be.” And that’s my last nerve for the night. Hurt like nothing I’ve ever felt slams into my chest, and I flinch involuntarily. Shit, I thought this guy was my friend. A tear escapes despite me not wanting to expose myself right now. “Fuck you, Dylan.”

Dylan's mouth drops open in surprise. “You’re not freaked out? Most women avoid him because they know what he needs, and nobody is willing to risk accidentally sealing the bond.” I guess even alien women can be super shallow even though they have their own weird “extras.” Maybe that’s why Caspian comes off as such a dick. I’d probably be pretty cranky too if I thought every woman I talked to was just biding her time until she rejected me.

“Just because you’re not attracted to me, Dylan, doesn't mean other people aren’t.” Glancing at the reflective wall behind me, I can see Caspian and Link’s marks, and next to it is the new one I’d felt form earlier when Xavier’s mist enveloped me the first time. I was so distracted by the coldness of the mist that I hadn’t recognized the burning for what it was. He must have liked what he’d seen and felt. Dylan's face just about matches William’s when he catches sight of the three marks.

I guess I misjudged him. Not the kind of friend I thought he’d be. Oh well, I’ll have to call Susie and tell her about the three hot guys who are interested in me. Leaving out all the alien deets, of course. Imagine telling her about Caspian and his ovipositor... She’d absolutely lose her shit. Susie isn’t the most vanilla person on the planet, but there’s a big difference between how adventurous the two of us are.

I’ve got to admit I’m super fucking curious. I’ve watched anime tentacle porn before, and it definitely lit some kind of fire in me. Freaked out is the exact opposite of how I feel right now; honestly, Caspian’s personality is much more of a deterrent th...

“So, our little princess, what did you think of the show, especially your most amazing grandpa?” With his words, the tension in the room relaxes. I’m not sure if he’d been listening, but he’s successful in lifting the mood. “I’d have to say the overacting ringmaster was a bit much, but the rest of it was spectacular,” I reply tongue in cheek.

Looking around, I wince. Fuck my life. On my bedside table is my favorite bad dragon dildo and a book of alien erotica. I’ve been horny all damn week, and last night I finally did something about it. I hurry toward them in the hope he doesn't notice, shoving them into a drawer as nonchalantly as I can, which is probably a huge failure. When I turn back, his eyes are on the drawer I just closed. Yep, I’m still going to pretend he didn’t see anything. Avoidance, thy name is Lila.

“Is this the form you’re the most comfortable in?” I ask him directly, but he refuses to look at me or answer. So I grab him by the chin and make him look at me. Obviously. New rule of thumb: Boundaries belong to people whose cum isn’t currently dripping out of my body.

As I gaze down at the woman my beast just mated, a stranglehold of terror grips my heart. I’m scared that when she wakes up she’s going to reject me before we can even get started. This was only supposed to be a bit of fun to distract her from take-off, but when she insisted I change form, my beast took over.

He was taking the matter out of our hands by doing the thing I couldn't make myself do—take away her choice. But the asshole didn't just give her the mating bite; he also implanted her with our eggs. Lila is going to wake up mated and pregnant, and she’s going to hate me.

Her body is completely wrung out by what we did to it, but she just kept begging for more. He’s not wrong about her being perfect for us, but women don't like it when the choice is taken out of their hands. That’s a universal fact no matter what their species, and all I can feel right now is shame.

“I really am sorry. I know none of this was what you thought would happen when I hopped into your capsule tonight.” I turn my head to look at him. “No, Caspian, I really didn’t, but you’re a fucking sex god and I’m a horny bitch, so I guess we’re a match made in heaven. But you will have to excuse me if I ignore the pregnancy thing for a moment. I need to wrap my head around it all, so let’s just start with the mate angle and then jump back to the whole egg, vagina, tentacles situation. Please don't push me,” I practically beg him, and he nods immediately.

“Whatever you want to do. We can tell your grandpas, or not. I’ll let you lead. Especially because they’re probably going to kill me anyway.” He moves down and peppers kisses all over my belly, whispering to it, and my heart bursts. Oh my god. I hate insta-love in my stories, but I get it now. Boom! Heart gone. Just like that.

“Meh, there are worse things to be than horny, and at least I have a sexy mate to take care of all of that.” His eyes heat as he crawls back up my body, but he shakes his head to clear away the fog of lust. Damn him. “Yes, but not just with me. You will also emit… fuck me pheromones, to put it bluntly. It’s those same hormones hoping to influence your mate into giving you more eggs. Unfortunately, it’s not just exclusive to my species.

If the warlock ends up in our family, then we have powerful protection. If he loses interest now that you’re mated to me, well, he wasn’t worth it to start with. Stop stressing and let me hold my mate for five more minutes of peace before the world butts in once more.”

“And let me warn you all now. Caspian is mine. I licked him first, so he is mine. That means I will cut any one of you that thinks they can try my kraken out.”

“You just told everyone in the elevator that we were having sex. That I was yours. You claimed me in front of them all, including your cousins.” He sounds awed by this, but I honestly just don’t understand why it’s a big deal. I mean, I get why it is to him since he told me a bit about his history. But we’re on a spaceship surrounded by aliens, for fuck’s sake. How are tentacles the weirdest equipment someone’s packing around here?

Even now, I can feel where she is on the ship; it’s like my soul has become attuned to hers, and now it must constantly remind me of her existence. I’ve never heard of that happening with a non warlock. In fact, I don't know of any warlocks who have mated outside of our race. Warlocks are all about purity, so for this to be happening with Lila is an anomaly. It would be frowned upon back home, but I’ve never been very content to just do what was expected of me.

“It’s okay, Link. Caspian explained it all to me. I’m going to give off fuck me vibes. Maybe that’s why my mark appeared on you.” I can’t help the disappointment that’s in my voice, and I look away from the gorgeous cyborg. I don't want hormones to have manipulated this man into liking me. “The marks appeared before you were pregnant, Lila. Don't worry about that,” he assures me quietly, and when I look up, his eyes have changed back to showing me what he really wants.

Well shit, since Caspian gave the go ahead and the Doc is offering so politely... “That would be great, thank you,” I answer just as politely even though all I want to do is mount him and ride him like a pony. Save a horse, ride a cyborg!

Whoa, this just got all soap opera-like. Hello, Jerry Springer. Ready to give me a spot on your show now? I’ll take surprise alien egg babies and raise you a slutty dragon with boundary issues! I could sign a multi-episode contract with all the shit that’s going on.