Hunger
Authors: Harmony Raines
Hunger
Chosen by the Karal
(Book Four)
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Note from the author:
My books are written, produced and edited in the UK where spellings and word usage can vary from U.S. English. The use of quotes in dialogue and other punctuation can also differ.
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All rights reserved. This book, or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent of the author or publisher.
This is a work of fiction and is intended for mature audiences only. All characters within are eighteen years of age or older. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, actual events or places is purely coincidental.
© 2015 Harmony Raines
Silver Moon Erotica
Kindle Edition
“I don’t know why I had to come here,” Ishk complained, stepping over a dirty puddle of water onto an even dirtier piece of road. “I have no intention of becoming soft on these Earth people like you, Okil.”
“Lytril wanted you to see Earth for yourself. Anyway, your visit is nearly over; the next lottery draw is tonight. You will be expected to receive the winner as your mate and then you can go home to Karal.” Okil paused and then added, “Lytril did you a great honour making you the next Karalian to receive a woman to breed with.”
Ishk snorted. “There is no honour; he did it to keep me occupied. I am no fool.”
Okil’s expression, although quickly hidden, begged to differ. Ishk had to admit he had perhaps overstepped his role on the council when he had Vanessa, the Hier Ruler’s mate, whipped. But the Hier Ruler
had
spoken of the punishment in front of a guard. And the Hier Ruler
had
to be obeyed in all things. If that were not true, Ishk would have refused to come to Earth. Instead, he had obeyed orders, and now found himself surrounded by more filth and dirt than he had ever seen on Karal. Even in the animal pens.
What worried Ishk was the way Okil followed him. On the first day here, he had become suspicious of Okil. It might have been paranoia, but Ishk had a feeling Okil had been given orders to kill him. Would they invent an accident, and then use their Earth friends to cover it up?
He must have read Okil wrong, though; they had been on Earth for five days and nothing had happened, no instance where Ishk tripped and fell down one of the incredibly deep mine shafts that peppered the surface of the ruined planet. However, there was still time, and until the lottery was drawn, Ishk could be replaced. Okil could easily step in and take the lottery winner as his mate, and Ishk would never be seen or heard of again.
However, as the day wore on, and Okil had given Ishk a tour of the most terrible places on their Earth, Ishk had instead sensed Okil was getting some perverse kind of pleasure from watching Ishk drown in disgust.
The planet had upset him so much that he had trouble controlling his emotions, and the colours often took on a life of their own, skimming across his skin. For a proud alien, being out of control was unbearable; yet now he had an idea of what the other Karalians had gone through.
Only instead of feeling sympathy towards them, it made him harden his resolve. It was time that the citizens of Karal thought about ousting the Hier Ruler. The idea that humans deserved some special treatment from Karal was false, and his species needed to wake up and see this before it was too late. Someone new should take up the reins.
Someone like Ishk.
“Come, we should go to the space cruiser. Soon they will announce the winner and we should head over to where she is, so that you can meet her properly.”
“I have no wish to meet her. You go, since you love this species so much, Okil. Bring her to the cruiser. I do not want to touch her until she had been through decon’.”
“Ishk. It is your duty. We will fly there in seconds, you meet her, and then tomorrow we go home to Karal.”
“Not a moment too soon.” Ishk imagined the first deep breath of pure, clean air he would inhale when he landed on his beautiful planet. Instead of this overpolluted gas, which threatened to choke him—he hated to think of the permanent damage he had done to his lungs after only three days here. And they were breeding with females who had spent their whole life in this contaminated pit. The Karal must be very desperate indeed. Hungry for the next generation to be born before they were past their prime.
They returned to the cruiser, Ishk trying to ignore the starving people they saw along the roads, huddled together for shelter. If Okil had expected Ishk to extend his sympathy to them, he was wrong. They brought nothing but disgust to Ishk; he could see how allowing these humans onto their home planet would destroy it.
Yes. It was time for Karal to choose a new ruler. It was also time they came here, took the women they needed and shut them away in the breeding house, just as the mothers had been. Ishk held no pity for the human race. To him they were animals and should be treated as such.
If Ishk wasn’t so aware of how much the Karal needed the human race, he would simply walk away from the planet Earth. There had to be a better species to mate with. But he knew only too well that the current generation, his generation, had searched far out into the universe for any suitable breeding females. A fruitless task, for the long range pilots, until they had found Earth and it’s sorry inhabitants.
It had become increasingly clear that they had run out of time. He, and the rest of his generation, were nearing the end of their Prime. The years when they were capable of procreation were diminishing rapidly. He would never admit it to anyone, he tried not to admit it to himself, but these humans were the Karal’s only real hope.
Evie wandered through the backstreets knowing she would need to find somewhere safe to sleep soon. The night had already closed in, and as she looked at the lights in the houses all around her, she envied them the small sanctuary of having somewhere to call home.
Home was something alien to her, and had been for the last five years, since her parents were killed. Too young and too poor to take over the small house on her own, she had been evicted. At first, other families in the village had taken her in, but she was a strain on their already limited budgets. They didn’t have to tell her: she had heard the whispered conversations, witnessed the worry in their eyes. She could have waited for them to ask her to leave, but she saved them the heartache of throwing a teenager out on the streets. Instead, Evie had left, saying she was going to live with an old aunt. They had all known it was a lie, but they had all accepted it out of necessity.
The city beckoned. It was supposed to be a new start, not the downward spiral from which she could see no way out.
Down and down her life had slipped, ever more hassled by pimps who wanted to sell her body to the highest bidder. A curvy, voluptuous body was becoming a rare commodity. Now she hid from them, after being caught out one night when she first arrived here. Too trusting, and with nowhere to sleep, a man who she thought was a friend had offered her his sofa.
He had given her a drink. She thought it was simcoff, but it had something else in it. Her inhibitions had gone, replaced by a state that left her open to suggestion. What they made her do that night still made her feel sick. Only the fact they would get more for selling her virginity had stopped them raping her. When her senses returned to normal, she had the hard cock of a man she had never seen before down her throat.
Gagging, he had grabbed her hair and made her stay in place while he came in her mouth. As she lay retching on the floor, one of them had kicked her and then tried to force her to drink more of the drugged simcoff. Taking the cup, she had flung it in his face and then run. Evie hadn’t stopped until she reached the outskirts of the city. If she had the coin she would have gone back to her hometown right then. But she knew she would never have the option to do that now. With little hope of a regular job, she would never be able to save the money for the return fare, and walking the roads alone left her an easy target to men who would hurt her.
Evie crossed the street. Behind her, she could hear the sound of the Stream. Twenty-four/seven, the big screens flashed up their images, it was one of the hardest things to get used to. At night, one of her main requirements, when finding somewhere to sleep, was to make sure she was out of earshot of them. She liked to sleep where it was quiet, with no one else around, hidden. Then she could close her eyes and dream she was back in her small hometown, safe and comfortable.
Brushing away a sentimental tear, she tried to ignore the nagging hunger which was her constant companion. She hadn’t had a full stomach since she arrived in the city. If she didn’t find a steady supply of coin soon, she would not have to worry about anyone wanting to sell her curvy body. Like the rest of the city’s population she would be thin and of no real value. When she first arrived, her puppy fat had sustained her, but now that had gone and Evie had grown into a young woman. An increasingly desperate young woman. How long would it be until she stopped avoiding the men who would sell her body and instead went to them, willing to do anything for a full stomach?
Going into a warehouse she had used before, she checked to make sure it was empty. Then she made her way upstairs. There had been offices here once, when this was a thriving business. Now it was empty of anything useful or of value; it stank of urine and rot. Heading to the back of the room, she went to a large built-in closet that once would have held stationary. It was half concealed, especially in the dark, the ceiling above it hanging down to hide the door.
Taking out the thin blanket, which was the only thing she had to stave off the cold night, she placed it on the floor of the closet and then lay down. To conceal herself she pulled the door to and closed her eyes, trying to sleep. Today was another day that she could claim to have survived, a thing she no longer celebrated. Tomorrow it would begin again, the desperate search for work and food. While she tried to forget about her hunger, she fought to block out the painful truth of her life. A life where all she had to look forward to was another hard day where she would once again question why she bothered to live.