Training His Human (Zandian Masters 3)

Chapter One

Veck, no.

Seke wasn’t taking on a human slave.

It had been one thing for Zander, the prince of their species, to purchase and breed the human slave, Lamira. Her genes best matched his for producing offspring. But Seke had no desire for offspring, not after the pain of losing three.

Nor did he have need for a sex slave. Or a mate.

He’d sworn celibacy when he lost Becka, his mate and the mother of his children, during the Finnian invasion of his home planet, Zandia.

But Prince Zander stood, moody and dark, at the palatial pod window, ordering him to take control of Leora, Lamira’s mother. The proud and beautiful female human. The one who had captivated him from the moment she arrived. At fifty solar cycles, he was still in his prime for a Zandian, and his libido had not slowed, despite his vow.

She fascinated Seke with her delicate, soft features and exotic looks. Her proud demeanor befit a queen more than a slave. It showed strength of character. Power and self-control. Things he didn’t expect in a female. But that didn’t mean he wanted to own her or train her. To keep her in his room as his sex slave.

“I’m not a slave-keeper.” He sounded stiff. It was not often—perhaps never—he and Zander crossed hairs. Though his role as master at arms was that of loyal protector, as well as director of all war strategy and security, the prince was like a son to him. He’d practically raised him since he rescued him from Zandia during the takeover. He’d saved Zander, rather than his own family—a choice he had to live with every day.

Zander usually demonstrated a deep respect for Seke, who functioned not only as a friend and mentor, but also as his Master at Arms, who’d trained him in battle arts. Now, though, he made an impatient gesture. “Nor was I, but circumstances necessitate adaptation. I believe you’ve told me that at least once.”

Seke closed his eyes, debating whether his sense of honor would allow him to outright refuse this order. “You wish me to punish her and train her to obey me as her master?”

“Exactly so.”

“Do you imagine I will breed her?” The Zandian species was nearly extinct, with no females of breeding age remaining, which was why Zander had taken a human for breeding.

Zander at last turned from the window and leaned back against it, folding his arms over his chest. “No. I promised Lamira that when her mother arrived she would never be used that way. You will honor my word in that respect.”

He ought to be relieved by the pronouncement—breaking the vow of celibacy he’d made in Becka’s memory would be cause for quarrel. Besides, as a Master Warrior, he believed sex had the effect of scattering one’s energy. Before Zander had bought Lamira, Seke had advised him not to dally with females until it was time to breed. But the fact Leora was off limits niggled Seke, too.

“So why don’t you do it? You already keep and discipline one slave. How different—”

“Punishment arouses them.”

Seke’s jaw went slack, visions of a humbled and aroused Leora making his cock thicken. “Pardon me?”

Zander nodded. “You understood me. Daneth inserted sensors in Lamira to aid in breeding. I discovered—”

Seke’s chest had constricted, and he waved a hand, not wishing to hear more. The thought of any male monitoring Leora that way—or observing her arousal during a punishment—made him clench his fists. It was an odd reaction for him—a highly trained and disciplined warrior who usually kept all emotion in check.

“So I cannot punish her, as I am mated to her daughter. It would be wrong. You seemed like the next best alternative.”

“Why?” he demanded, though he already knew the answer. He’d shown a proprietary interest in Leora since the day she arrived. That didn’t mean he wanted her, though.

He had no desire for a female—not for mating or for sex.

“Shall I ask Daneth?”

Vecking Zander! Too vecking observant for his own good. He knew Seke wouldn’t stand for any other male touching Leora.

“No,” he clipped. If the vecking physician so much as thought about putting monitoring devices in Leora or punishing her, he’d tear his limbs off.

Seke changed tactics. This order to train Leora wasn’t about the human being unruly or undisciplined. It was about Zander’s unresolved anger with his own slave-mate. The pregnant Lamira had essentially run away—leaving with her mother and the warrior Rok in pursuit of her sister, causing Zander to give chase and enter a war between humans and Ocretions they could not afford to engage in.

“Have you punished your mate yet for leaving?” He knew Zander had not, because the prince had hardly spoken to her that morning, acting like a stranger. Both Leora and Lamira had been quiet and subdued, Lamira’s sad eyes following her mate with longing.

Zander’s eyes flashed dangerously purple. “That is not your concern.”

Like veck, it wasn’t. If the leader of the Zandian species allowed his personal relations to affect the way he led and the decisions he made, it was exactly Seke’s concern. But he didn’t say that. Respect, honor, obedience. He had pledged himself to Zander’s father and to the crown of Zandia. He did not give of himself conditionally.

He rubbed his ear. “You wish Leora punished. And trained.”

“Daneth will send the equipment to your chamber and can instruct you in its use. You will keep her there, with you, until she demonstrates complete obedience and bonding with you as her master.”

Bonding. Was that why punishment aroused them? Was that how the Ocretion slave masters had enforced obedience? Punishment and breeding? Was their arousal at punishment the trait that made humans good slaves? He’d always thought it was their weaker physical and over-emotional constitution. The thought made him want to kick down a wall. Who else had punished Leora? Had they used her for sex? For breeding?

But no. Both her daugh

ters had been sired by Johan, the human revolutionary, killed during the last slave revolt. Seke relaxed by a degree. Still, the need to know each and every master who’d ever touched her, to seek those masters out and destroy them, rose like a hot flame, giving him a restless, angry energy. He flexed his fingers to keep them from clenching.