Claimed Beauty (The Cubi Book 2) Read online

  Claimed Beauty

  The Cubi: Book 2

  By

  Meraki P. Lyhne

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Claimed Beauty

  1. edition

  Copyright © 2016 Meraki P. Lyhne

  ISBN 13: 978-87-997289-3-0

  Cover design by Jay Aheer

  www.simplydefinedart.com

  Edited by Laura McNellis

  www.alternativedits.com

  Find more about the author

  www.merakiplyhne.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without written permission except in the case of brief quotations included in critical articles and reviews. For information, please contact the author.

  This book is a work of fiction.

  That means I made shit up. All of it.

  Chapter One

  Daniel almost had to jog to keep up with Lord Caledon’s long strides as the House Lord carried Daniel’s bag with his few worldly belongings. He seemed more quiet and perturbed than the few times Daniel had met him, so Daniel kept quiet even though his mind was racing with questions. All he knew was where they were going—Caledon was leading Daniel to his place. But what exactly had happened? Oh, he remembered some of it, and had a difficult time finding himself in the memory of holding the green-eyed Incubus Seldon down and telling him he wanted to bring him mind-numbing pleasure by fucking him. But a lot of the classification, as Seldon explained it, was gone in a fog filled with such lust that Daniel had trouble processing it.

  Seldon’s sad expression, as he told him about having accidentally dosed him, stayed clear in his mind. So did that everything’s-going-to-be-okay smile, Seldon had offered up before he left. Seldon had been arrested and would have to stand trial. What did that mean? What would they do to him?

  His next thoughts went to what kind of a Master Caledon was since Daniel obviously belonged to him. Being a Lord, he had to have higher expectations than Seldon. How would he train him? And since Daniel turned out to be a Changeling, what would he be trained to do?

  It hadn’t really registered until right then that he was turning into some supernatural sex-vampire and what that meant. The realization made him stop as memories of red eyes on the train and someone coming at him with a needle came to him. That’s what he was becoming.

  “Oh, shit,” he muttered and sought support by a wall. Caledon turned further ahead, looking annoyed, but Daniel’s mind spun. He was one of them now. He was going to hunt and have sex to survive.

  “Daniel?”

  Daniel looked up, but his surroundings didn’t really register. He felt tired. Confused. And a headache settled behind his eyes.

  Caledon returned to where Daniel slid down the wall to sit on the floor. The Lord squatted in front of him. “It finally registered, huh? You’re not the first to be shocked by the realization. Come on.” Caledon took his arm and hauled Daniel to his feet, steering him the rest of the way through the maze to a door. They entered a huge apartment, but Daniel didn’t have the surplus of energy to take in the surroundings. He just slumped next to Caledon and followed him through the less modernized, more antiquely decorated rooms.

  They ended up in a bedroom with a big four post bed of some dark wooden type. Caledon placed Daniel’s bag by the end of it and guided Daniel to sit on an Ottoman Bench.

  “You okay, Daniel?”

  “Yes, Master.” He looked up a bit and focused on the man in front of him. “My Lord.”

  “No, you’re not. Come on, let’s get you showered.” Caledon rummaged through Daniel’s bag and brought his toothbrush. Daniel followed him into the adjoining bathroom where Caledon put the toothbrush on the shelf before undressing. Daniel did the same, but his mind was still uncooperative, so he just went through the motions and stood there with his clothes in his hands, waiting for Caledon to tell him what to do.

  His mind replayed the three purple-eyed Cubi taking Seldon away. He felt naked without the collar on. Unprotected.

  “Daniel?”

  He looked up, finding Caledon staring at him. “Yes, My Lord?”

  “It’s going to be okay. First, go shower, then get some sleep. Put your clothes in here.” Caledon opened the lid of a hamper, and Daniel put his clothes in, letting Caledon close it again. He noticed Caledon’s clothes lying on the floor. He picked them up and deposited them in the hamper as well. In the meantime, Caledon turned on the water and stepped inside. He motioned for Daniel to join him and he did.

  Caledon stepped closer and turned Daniel around before pouring shampoo into his hair. Daniel didn’t object. He didn’t object to being nudged through everything from drying off, brushing his teeth, or being steered to bed, either. He just felt…empty.

  * * * *

  Once out of Daniel’s line of sight, Seldon dropped the façade of everything being okay. He was scared shitless. He’d heard of two other Cubi, who had been entrusted with an Untouchable, who had ended up dosing them. Both had suffered starvation, but not just for a week as he had figured he’d put Gordon through. He was far older than Jonah, and Jonah would get hurt from that long. Three days was a maximum for someone so young. Seldon, on the other hand, wouldn’t be physically or energetically hurt from a month, but that wasn’t saying he wouldn’t be in severe pain.

  The two Seldon had heard about had dosed their Untouchables because they lost control and wanted to feed on them. Both suffered more than a year of starvation for their transgression. Going that far would age a Cubi. Take away their youth, and they couldn’t get it back. They were called ghosts and were only allowed to feed on the aged breeders who were moved to labor. That was the House the ghosts lived in with no access to the rest of the compound.

  God, he hoped they wouldn’t take it that far since he, unlike the two he’d heard of, hadn’t done it on purpose. Since punishment in their world was measured by the consequences of an action and not the intent, he truly feared he’d end up a ghost, cut off from everyone. Even his children.

  The Grand Ladies and Lord took Seldon to the floor of the Grand House without speaking a word to him. He was grateful for that in some way. As they entered the prison, Seldon noticed that Jonah sat in one of the cells. Seldon looked away, angry that the red-eye’s lack of respect for the rules in his home had cost both him and Daniel so much.

  One of the women opened a cell further down. Seldon entered and plopped down on the bed, which was more comfortable than he had expected from jail. The cell even had a small kitchenette and a divider so there was privacy at the toilet.

  “We will be by later for your statement. As we suspect you are more than satiated from classifying the Changeling, you won’t feed before tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Yes, Grand Lady. Thank you.” Seldon cringed as the lattice door closed with a metallic sound. He sighed heavily and got up to check out the kitchenette. He had coffee. Fantastic. But he was more or less mentally exhausted, so he took off his clothes and went to bed.

  His mind went over the last week. From when he first learned that Lord Caledon thought him worthy of the honor of train
ing an Untouchable to the first time he saw Daniel and his beautiful green eyes. The boy had grown so much in a few days. Maybe the difference was so noticeable because he had completely withdrawn into himself after he saw Seldon rip the nails off a troublesome breeder? Once the boy had found out what training meant, what he was expected to learn and become, and how Seldon planned to go about it, he had opened up little by little as he grew more secure in his new life.

  From that to a complete power-bottom who was extremely focused on visual stimulation during sex. Seldon hadn’t expected that. Well, maybe the part about needing the visuals during sex, but not that he was so naughty. It didn’t matter if he didn’t feed until tomorrow night because he was full. Then again, maybe Daniel was his last feeding for a year. The thought made him shiver, and he desperately tried to think of something else. Or sleep.

  Neither seemed to be a possibility, and he passed the time by going over his statement again and again in his head until sleep finally claimed him from sheer exhaustion sometime early the next morning.

  Chapter Two

  Daniel woke up, staring into the heaven of Caledon’s bed. Next to him, the Lord reclined against the headboard, reading an old tattered notebook bound in scarred leather. He turned his head and peered at Daniel over his glasses, smiling at him. He looked quite hipster intellectual.

  “Good morning.”

  Daniel sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Good morning.”

  “Hungry?”

  “Yes, My Lord.”

  “I must say, Seldon certainly taught you to answer respectfully.”

  “Uhm…thank you, My Lord.”

  “Let’s figure out a way to tone it down, though.” Caledon closed the notebook and turned to face Daniel. “When I asked if you were hungry, I also meant sexually. Do you need to feed?”

  “I don’t know. I just know I could eat food.”

  “Hmm…does your skin tingle?”

  Daniel focused on feeling his body. He could feel his ass without trying hard, but that was about it. His mind fed him memories of riding Seldon hard, and his stomach fluttered. Not what he wanted right then, so he shoved the thoughts away.

  “No, My Lord.”

  “Okay. We can wait a bit then.” Caledon turned his attention back to the book, and Daniel thought about how hunger worked. Then the word we struck.

  “My Lord, can I ask something?”

  “Mhm?”

  “If…if Cubi can only feed on lower energies, does that mean I can only feed on humans now?”

  Caledon turned his head again with a pleased smile. “Yes and no. Until your eyes change to full red, you can feed off doses and get as much if not more energy as you would a fully satisfying fuck. Actually, you will continue to be able to, but it becomes less and less fulfilling compared to sexually obtained energy.”

  “What kind of energy?”

  “Since you are a Changeling, you will start school along with the other Changelings. There you will be told of our history and physical functions. But the short answer is that it’s a change in hormones and a protein. We’re a mutation, and the dose triggers mutations in people with a certain gene, making them Changelings. This mutation then makes a part of the preoptic area of the Changeling’s hypothalamus grow. It regulates mating behavior and is also responsible for creating the doses. Once it has reached its full size, your eyes turn. The rest is determined by stimuli. That’s why it was so important to get you thoroughly dosed upon the change, because the stronger you’re dosed the first time and before your eyes change, the stronger you and your doses will get.”

  “Okay. Then why isn’t it only purple-eyes who dose Changelings?”

  “Good question. The answer to that lies in the strength of our doses. A pure dose of that strength can kill you or cause brain damage. That center in the brain can short-circuit from overload if the body hasn’t been subjected to a dose before. Thus, we never classify breeders and don’t feed from them until we know whether they’re Changelings or not. Now that we know that you are, I will be your primary doser until we figure out what will happen with Seldon and where you should go.”

  “He didn’t do it on purpose.”

  “I know, I was there, remember?” Caledon looked sad, and he sighed heavily before returning his attention to the notebook. “These are our laws. As the Lord of Seldon’s House, it is my job to act as his lawyer so to speak. It is also my job to come up with a punishment. It’s kind of a negotiation with the Grand House. They’re like…our government. You will have to appear at the hearing later on today. I’ll have to leave earlier, but someone will come and get you.”

  “What am I supposed to say at the hearing?”

  “The truth. If you lie, I will punish you.”

  “Yes, My Lord.” Daniel’s brain began a list of possible punishments, but he was pretty sure it wouldn’t be anything like having fingernails removed.

  “We better get you some breakfast. If you start feeling a tingle in your skin, let me know immediately.”

  “What if you’re gone? To the hearing?”

  “I’ll dose you before I leave just to make sure.”

  “Just dose?”

  “No.” Caledon laughed. “That would be cruel, and I’m not cruel.”

  Well, that was good news, especially regarding punishments. But the realization that he’d be fucked by Caledon set a fight off in Daniel.

  Caledon got out of bed and padded naked to the closet to find clothes. Daniel took in the man’s body more closely than he had been able to when the Lord had fucked Seldon. Okay, the guy was attractive, everyone in the place was. With what he remembered from last night, he chose to just not think of having to have sex until it had to happen, and then he’d just let his thoughts go in a dose. Jeff’s advice about just letting it happen or be sulky was good, but it was far easier said than done.

  Daniel found his bag and emptied it to find clothes, remembering he had a set in the hamper. He picked a set and put the rest back into the bag. He smiled at the makeup bag and looked around the bedroom, finding a beautiful ornate vanity table made from wood in a corner. He had no idea what kind of wood, and he had no knowledge of antique furniture. But it matched the bed, bedside table, and dresser, and it all looked suitable for a Lord. He left the makeup out, wanting to sit at the vanity table and apply it. The freedom still amazed him. It made him feel good looking his best.

  Caledon came over and put a pair of slacks and a t-shirt on the bed. “You should probably just dress in something easy to remove for now. You can put the nice clothes on when I leave because you can be picked up at any time after that.”

  “Yes, My Lord.” Daniel found a pair of loose pants and a t-shirt, figuring he’d wait with the makeup until he changed into nicer clothes. He laid the clothes out over the bridal chest so they wouldn’t wrinkle and placed the makeup bag next to them.

  “Are you going to wear makeup again?”

  Daniel looked up. “Do you want me not to?”

  “No, by all means.” Caledon smiled secretively. “You were pretty hard on Seldon wearing that yesterday.”

  Daniel smiled, knowing he had been. Then a thought occurred to him. “It’s all my fault, isn’t it? If I hadn’t worn it, then this wouldn’t have happened.”

  “No!” Caledon said, pointing at Daniel. “Jonah chose to touch you even though he had been told not to. His lack of self-control is on him, not you. You could have been dancing that ass-shaking dance naked, wearing makeup, glitter, and a fucking tiara, and you would still not be to blame for his choice to touch you. So, wear makeup and shake your ass to your heart’s content, cub.”

  That made Daniel smile and he felt a bit better, but he still felt like he had a hand in it.

  “Come on, let’s find you some breakfast.” Caledon left the bedroom and Daniel followed, pulling on his t-shirt as they went.

  There were six naked men in the kitchen, all very attractive, going about their business, which was either eating, talking, drinking coffee, or
working through a thick book with Sudoku’s.

  “Good morning, everyone.” Caledon stepped behind Daniel and put his hands on his shoulders. “This is Daniel, a new Changeling. He’ll be staying here for a while. He’s almost been fully classified.” Caledon half-turned Daniel to get eye-contact. “No touching my breeders without permission.”

  “Yes, My Lord.”

  “And that might seem easy now with the amount of doses you got twelve hours ago, but I promise you, you’re going to have trouble following that order. Always tell me when you get that itch.”

  “Yes, My Lord.”

  “Good. Now, coffee and breakfast.” Caledon went further into the kitchen, and Daniel glanced around at the six men who smiled and nodded at him. He finally joined Caledon who was offered a cup of coffee by one of the naked men.

  “What would you like to eat, sir?” the man asked, and Daniel gaped at being called sir.

  “You’re an Incubus now. Normally, you wouldn’t be addressed as Sir before your eyes turn red, but you are a guest in my home, so you will be.”

  “Oh, thank you. I don’t know, just…something. Cereal.”

  The man smiled. “I’ll bring you something, then. Coffee, too?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Come on.” Caledon took him to the dining table where he sat at the end of the table. Daniel sat next to him, looking around. It was so different from Seldon’s place which was modern, glass, chrome, and smooth black, white, and gray surfaces. Everything here was warm wood and impressive handy-work.

  Caledon continued to read in the old notebook while Daniel ate his cereal. Daniel spent the time listening in on the men’s conversations. They seemed happy and like good friends. One came over and topped off their cups, brushing against Daniel’s arm as he took Daniel’s empty bowl. Daniel pulled away a bit as the short physical contact stirred something in him and he got a boner. But his skin didn’t tingle.