Strength is found when surrendering to destiny.
Graham has suffered so much at the hands of the Nall. Ever since he was enslaved after the invasion, he’s been raped and tortured by the Alasharian Supreme Commander and his cohorts. Condemned to die by hanging for his part in the human rebellion, Graham gives in to the inevitable, no longer caring if he lives or dies. But an unexpected event occurs and at the last moment, Graham is saved.
Balor is a guard to the Nall, but he’s also a part of the growing rebellion among the Alasharians. When one of the Nall’s advisors enlists his help in getting a human prisoner to safety, Balor comes to his aid. Startled by the soul match hum that sparks to life when he touches Graham, but unable to do anything about it, Balor is determined to protect his human match at all costs. When Advisor Oman arrives on the scene to rescue Balor as he helps Graham to escape, it becomes clear that yet another alien/human triad is forming—even if Graham may never accept being bonded to two aliens after the trauma he’s endured at the hands of Alasharians.
The time has come to depart to the secret military complex located in the Rocky Mountains where the human and Alasharian allies will stage their final assault against the Nall and the Void. Families are reunited and others torn apart as they prepare for battle. But the biggest question that remains is where Chris has gone. The allies fear what will become of them all if the special human Sha Sha Ar chose to lead them spiritually is no longer there to guide them.
Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of battle violence, and mentions of rape and torture.
Graham huddled with his dad and brother on the warm concrete surface of the desert park’s amphitheater. Their hands were bound in front of them with a thick, scratchy rope and a curtain separated them from the stage where whatever preparations were being made for the show that was about to take place. Show? Our execution. He pressed his lips together, stifling the cry that threatened to burst out. It amazed him how he could still be shocked or terrified by the actions of the sadistic monsters who had taken over Earth.
It’s better this way. Better that I die.
Ever since he’d been captured during the initial invasion, his existence had been nothing but a series of events that had kept him in a constant state of fear, had scarred his body or had fucked with his head. The aliens who had conquered their planet were too strong—they’d easily beaten down the Earth’s military forces in less than a month. What point was there in continuing as one of their sex slaves? And anyway, now that he’d been recaptured for being a part of the human rebellion, his sentence had been made clear.
Death by hanging.
He peered up at his brother, Paul. As he gazed into his petrified eyes, Graham wished he could have somehow saved him and their dad. They’d never given up on their resolve to take back the planet. By comparison, Graham was weak. Once he’d gotten away from the aliens the first time, he hadn’t wanted to fight anyone. He’d begged them to leave the city with him, to find somewhere in the wilderness where they could live in safety and peace. His father had taken him by the shoulders, had shaken him and destroyed what little hope he’d had left when he’d told him that such a thing wasn’t possible.
‘That’s where they captured so many of the others, in the foothills, far from anything. We barely escaped the round-ups there. We can’t hide anymore, not for good. We take back what is ours however we can, no matter the cost.’
Graham swallowed hard, his heartbeat picking up a quicker pace at the sounds of a crowd forming, the noise building on the other side of the divider as it became obvious that he and what remained of his family were drawing closer to the end. Graham sniffed, glancing at their surroundings. Three huge Alasharian guards watched over them as he, his brother and his father awaited their fate. The Nall—the Alasharian version of their king, as Graham had come to discover—was likely due to arrive at any moment. Why else would they have been removed from their cages and brought to the Palm Desert Civic Center Park, then had their clothing ripped from their bodies right before their wrists had been tied together?
Graham couldn’t hold back a sneer as he caught the eye of one of their guards. The alien’s large eyes darkened, narrowing in clear anger. He didn’t give a shit. Beaten to a pulp or strangled by a rope, it hardly made a difference. As he continued to stare down the guard, he noted that the sparkling, prismatic quality of the Alasharian’s eyes that he’d found fascinating when he’d first been captured had seemed to dull as time had gone on. At least for some of them. Strange.
Paul and his dad had managed to evade capture for a while and they’d never been used as sex slaves. Graham was glad that at least they’d been spared that humiliation. From what he’d been able to ascertain after his capture, his brother or father wouldn’t have met the criteria as an alien sex toy anyway. All the human men and women he’d seen at the cages, or after he’d been sent to the Nall’s residence, had been smaller and slender. The type of human sex slave they seemed to prefer ran contrary to the build of the large, muscular aliens.
Paul nudged Graham in the side with his elbow. Graham had sort of drifted in his mind. The horrors of what he’d been enduring over the past few weeks wouldn’t release their hellish grasp on his thoughts. He made himself focus on his brother, his eyebrows raised in question. They’d both been smacked across the face the last time they’d tried to speak to each other.
It was difficult to get into a comfortable—or even reasonably non-painful—position, so they’d been using each other as support. Graham laid his head on Paul’s shoulder, angling it to one side to be as close to his brother’s lips as possible. Paul’s breath blew past the shell of his ear as he whispered, “We need a diversion. Something to distract them so we can get away.”
Graham closed his eyes, sighing. His first instinct was to just shake his head then leave it at that. But he couldn’t. He’d seen the anguish in Paul’s expression, knew his brother wasn’t ready to die. He might have given up, but Paul hadn’t. He owed it to him to at least try.
Graham cleared his throat softly, turned his head more until his face was almost buried in the side of Paul’s neck. “How?”
Paul whispered again, “You’re the closest to the curtain. If we keep shifting like we’re adjusting our positions, but continue moving in that direction, once you get to the point where you can yank it down—”
“Quiet!”
Graham cried out in pain as a guard’s boot connected with his ribs. He instinctively curled into a ball to protect himself while Paul was backhanded by a different one. His dad yelled out for them to stop and Graham watched in horror as his father was punched so hard by the third Alasharian that blood gushed from his nose before he slumped onto his side.
“Dad!” Paul rose on his knees and was smacked again. He landed with a grunt on top of their father, and they both struggled together, raising their tied wrists in front of their faces to fend off more blows the best that they could.
“Halon!”
Graham gasped, rolling away from the tussle, shocked at the outburst from the female Alasharian who had rushed in waving her arms before shoving at the guards. Maybe she doesn’t want us too damaged for the show. He recognized her as one of the aliens who would show up at the Nall’s residence then disappear with him into another room with similarly-attired aliens. They would all wear the same bland, beige robes, a stark contrast against the Nall’s grander ones. Graham assumed she had to be part of their government in some capacity.
His move had caused him to become separated from his brother and dad so that the guards and the female alien stood between them as they argued over something he couldn’t understand. He found himself on the outer edge of the backstage area, with a grassy expanse of the park extending beyond the amphitheater toward the college. He gazed at it with longing, his heart beating high in his throat, the idea of freedom a tease that his mind had latched on to. Graham licked his lips then turned back to the confusion. Not without Paul and Dad.
The female rushed toward him and he cringed. One of the guards grabbed her shoulder right before she reached him and she whirled around, punching her fellow Alasharian hard in the face. The alien’s head snapped back and he flew into the two other guards, knocking them down. Paul cried out and Graham stretched his neck to see what had happened, but all that was visible was a confusing mass of alien and human bodies flailing on the ground.
Graham squeaked as the female yanked him up by his upper arm. She got right in his face, growling through clenched teeth.
“Run! Get out of here. Now!”
“Wha…?” He shook his head in confusion, his body shaking uncontrollably from the adrenaline coursing through his veins. “But…my brother, father…”
“I’ll get them, but you have to run right now. It will create more of a distraction if they go after you, but you have to go!”
She shoved him away from her right as another guard who had surged to his feet grabbed her in a chokehold. She jerked her head back, whacking him hard with her skull, and their grappling began anew. Graham stumbled down the two small steps, landing on his knees and sucking in a sharp breath from the sting of his flesh where it had been scraped away. The chaos of shouting and fighting echoed behind him, but he didn’t stop to look. Run. Now. A distraction.
Graham used his elbows and restrained hands to propel himself upward and scrambled to his feet, running as far and fast from the amphitheater as he could, not daring to glance over his shoulder. The stretch of grass behind the concrete structure was thankfully free of the Alasharian crowds. A line of bushes along the sidewalk next to a grouping of trees seemed as if it would be a great place to hide while he caught his breath and assessed who might be after him. I don’t want to lose Paul or Dad either. They’ll be coming this way any minute.
He dove into the cluster of trees, ignoring the scratchy hedges tearing at his skin while he squinted toward the direction he’d come from. It’s too dark. While there had been plenty of light near the large gathering, the rest of the vast area was only illuminated by the occasional streetlamp shining along the roads that wound between the college and park. He wiped at the sweat that ran in rivulets down his face using his forearms. Have to get this fucking rope off somehow.
Right as he began to ponder why the female alien would want to help them, he was grabbed from behind, a large hand covering his mouth before he’d even had the chance to scream. He was held tightly against the massive form of the alien who had captured him. He fought with all that was in him, kicking backwards, jabbing with his elbows as he tried to twist his body free.
“Hush! We don’t want them to catch us.”
Us?
It’s better this way. Better that I die.
Ever since he’d been captured during the initial invasion, his existence had been nothing but a series of events that had kept him in a constant state of fear, had scarred his body or had fucked with his head. The aliens who had conquered their planet were too strong—they’d easily beaten down the Earth’s military forces in less than a month. What point was there in continuing as one of their sex slaves? And anyway, now that he’d been recaptured for being a part of the human rebellion, his sentence had been made clear.
Death by hanging.
He peered up at his brother, Paul. As he gazed into his petrified eyes, Graham wished he could have somehow saved him and their dad. They’d never given up on their resolve to take back the planet. By comparison, Graham was weak. Once he’d gotten away from the aliens the first time, he hadn’t wanted to fight anyone. He’d begged them to leave the city with him, to find somewhere in the wilderness where they could live in safety and peace. His father had taken him by the shoulders, had shaken him and destroyed what little hope he’d had left when he’d told him that such a thing wasn’t possible.
‘That’s where they captured so many of the others, in the foothills, far from anything. We barely escaped the round-ups there. We can’t hide anymore, not for good. We take back what is ours however we can, no matter the cost.’
Graham swallowed hard, his heartbeat picking up a quicker pace at the sounds of a crowd forming, the noise building on the other side of the divider as it became obvious that he and what remained of his family were drawing closer to the end. Graham sniffed, glancing at their surroundings. Three huge Alasharian guards watched over them as he, his brother and his father awaited their fate. The Nall—the Alasharian version of their king, as Graham had come to discover—was likely due to arrive at any moment. Why else would they have been removed from their cages and brought to the Palm Desert Civic Center Park, then had their clothing ripped from their bodies right before their wrists had been tied together?
Graham couldn’t hold back a sneer as he caught the eye of one of their guards. The alien’s large eyes darkened, narrowing in clear anger. He didn’t give a shit. Beaten to a pulp or strangled by a rope, it hardly made a difference. As he continued to stare down the guard, he noted that the sparkling, prismatic quality of the Alasharian’s eyes that he’d found fascinating when he’d first been captured had seemed to dull as time had gone on. At least for some of them. Strange.
Paul and his dad had managed to evade capture for a while and they’d never been used as sex slaves. Graham was glad that at least they’d been spared that humiliation. From what he’d been able to ascertain after his capture, his brother or father wouldn’t have met the criteria as an alien sex toy anyway. All the human men and women he’d seen at the cages, or after he’d been sent to the Nall’s residence, had been smaller and slender. The type of human sex slave they seemed to prefer ran contrary to the build of the large, muscular aliens.
Paul nudged Graham in the side with his elbow. Graham had sort of drifted in his mind. The horrors of what he’d been enduring over the past few weeks wouldn’t release their hellish grasp on his thoughts. He made himself focus on his brother, his eyebrows raised in question. They’d both been smacked across the face the last time they’d tried to speak to each other.
It was difficult to get into a comfortable—or even reasonably non-painful—position, so they’d been using each other as support. Graham laid his head on Paul’s shoulder, angling it to one side to be as close to his brother’s lips as possible. Paul’s breath blew past the shell of his ear as he whispered, “We need a diversion. Something to distract them so we can get away.”
Graham closed his eyes, sighing. His first instinct was to just shake his head then leave it at that. But he couldn’t. He’d seen the anguish in Paul’s expression, knew his brother wasn’t ready to die. He might have given up, but Paul hadn’t. He owed it to him to at least try.
Graham cleared his throat softly, turned his head more until his face was almost buried in the side of Paul’s neck. “How?”
Paul whispered again, “You’re the closest to the curtain. If we keep shifting like we’re adjusting our positions, but continue moving in that direction, once you get to the point where you can yank it down—”
“Quiet!”
Graham cried out in pain as a guard’s boot connected with his ribs. He instinctively curled into a ball to protect himself while Paul was backhanded by a different one. His dad yelled out for them to stop and Graham watched in horror as his father was punched so hard by the third Alasharian that blood gushed from his nose before he slumped onto his side.
“Dad!” Paul rose on his knees and was smacked again. He landed with a grunt on top of their father, and they both struggled together, raising their tied wrists in front of their faces to fend off more blows the best that they could.
“Halon!”
Graham gasped, rolling away from the tussle, shocked at the outburst from the female Alasharian who had rushed in waving her arms before shoving at the guards. Maybe she doesn’t want us too damaged for the show. He recognized her as one of the aliens who would show up at the Nall’s residence then disappear with him into another room with similarly-attired aliens. They would all wear the same bland, beige robes, a stark contrast against the Nall’s grander ones. Graham assumed she had to be part of their government in some capacity.
His move had caused him to become separated from his brother and dad so that the guards and the female alien stood between them as they argued over something he couldn’t understand. He found himself on the outer edge of the backstage area, with a grassy expanse of the park extending beyond the amphitheater toward the college. He gazed at it with longing, his heart beating high in his throat, the idea of freedom a tease that his mind had latched on to. Graham licked his lips then turned back to the confusion. Not without Paul and Dad.
The female rushed toward him and he cringed. One of the guards grabbed her shoulder right before she reached him and she whirled around, punching her fellow Alasharian hard in the face. The alien’s head snapped back and he flew into the two other guards, knocking them down. Paul cried out and Graham stretched his neck to see what had happened, but all that was visible was a confusing mass of alien and human bodies flailing on the ground.
Graham squeaked as the female yanked him up by his upper arm. She got right in his face, growling through clenched teeth.
“Run! Get out of here. Now!”
“Wha…?” He shook his head in confusion, his body shaking uncontrollably from the adrenaline coursing through his veins. “But…my brother, father…”
“I’ll get them, but you have to run right now. It will create more of a distraction if they go after you, but you have to go!”
She shoved him away from her right as another guard who had surged to his feet grabbed her in a chokehold. She jerked her head back, whacking him hard with her skull, and their grappling began anew. Graham stumbled down the two small steps, landing on his knees and sucking in a sharp breath from the sting of his flesh where it had been scraped away. The chaos of shouting and fighting echoed behind him, but he didn’t stop to look. Run. Now. A distraction.
Graham used his elbows and restrained hands to propel himself upward and scrambled to his feet, running as far and fast from the amphitheater as he could, not daring to glance over his shoulder. The stretch of grass behind the concrete structure was thankfully free of the Alasharian crowds. A line of bushes along the sidewalk next to a grouping of trees seemed as if it would be a great place to hide while he caught his breath and assessed who might be after him. I don’t want to lose Paul or Dad either. They’ll be coming this way any minute.
He dove into the cluster of trees, ignoring the scratchy hedges tearing at his skin while he squinted toward the direction he’d come from. It’s too dark. While there had been plenty of light near the large gathering, the rest of the vast area was only illuminated by the occasional streetlamp shining along the roads that wound between the college and park. He wiped at the sweat that ran in rivulets down his face using his forearms. Have to get this fucking rope off somehow.
Right as he began to ponder why the female alien would want to help them, he was grabbed from behind, a large hand covering his mouth before he’d even had the chance to scream. He was held tightly against the massive form of the alien who had captured him. He fought with all that was in him, kicking backwards, jabbing with his elbows as he tried to twist his body free.
“Hush! We don’t want them to catch us.”
Us?
Sunday's Safe Word Shelf
M/M Erotic Romance author Morticia Knight enjoys hot stories of men loving men forever after. They can be men in uniform, Doms and subs, rock stars or bikers - but they're all searching for the one (or two!) who was meant only for them.
When not indulging in her passion for books, she loves the outdoors, film and music. Once upon a time she was the singer in an indie rock band that toured the West Coast and charted on U.S. college radio. She is currently working on more installments of Sin City Uniforms and The Hampton Road Club, as well as the follow-up to Bryan and Aubrey's story from Rockin' the Alternative.
B&N / DREAMSPINNER / KOBO
EMAIL: MorticiaKnight@gmail.com
Surrendering for Two #4
B&N / KOBO / PRIDE PUBLISHING
Series
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