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The Royal Hunt

I was unchained but still very much bound to the Duke as he gleefully dragged me through the mansion, Yir protesting impotently behind us the whole while. We entered the main hall, which was starkly empty in comparison to when the party was being hosted; I almost did not recognize it with all the tables missing.

“There are matters of state to be handled!”

“Matters of state?” The white-furred Lupiad paused, scratching at his broad, black nose dumbly, “Aren’t you supposed to be handling those?”

“We’ve already booked you to have a meeting in Middle Columbia with the local government representatives.”

“Regarding?”

“The reconstruction of the crude oil extraction facilities in the north.”

“When did those get destroyed?”

Yir flashed a disbelieving and slightly annoyed glance at the Duke, “Since we bombed and invaded this sorry rock.”

Stretching his arms, Horith groaned, “I think you can handle that one. Besides, I have royal business to attend to...”

“Your Grace! Traipsing off with this human is not royal b...”

Horith placed a finger over the Vulpeculan’s tiny mouth, “We’re going on a hunt together. Me, him, and a few other representatives in honor of Prince Litho’s memory. An imperial tradition, if I’m not mistaken?”

Yir stared back in silence, the bridge of his muzzle beginning to twitch ever so slightly, “You’d take the prime suspect of his murder on a hunt in his memory?”

“Well, I never really cared for Litho, so, why not?” Horith left my side towards a hallway, tail swaying back and forth, revealing his bare ass for a few moments, “Watch him for a moment, will you? I must get dressed.”

The Duke vanished down the hall, leaving me and the Prime Minister alone in the party hall together. To say the atmosphere was a little tense would not be doing it proper justice. His red fur was raised on its ends and his long, sharp ears were folded back. You didn’t have to be an expert on Vulpeculan body language to guess how he felt.

Still, for some reason I felt the need to break the ice. Maybe it was out of respect for the fact that, although he hated me and perhaps my entire species, he was the only alien I met in the past few days that didn’t give off the slightest hint of wanting to have sex with me, willing or not. Regardless, I spoke.

“So, uh, how’s Beta Vulpeculae this time of year?”

A tiny growl escaped Yir’s throat.

“Is it a nice planet? It looks nice, in pictures, but every Vulpeculan I’ve talked to seems to hate it,” I paused, scratching my head anxiously, “Of course, they were all slaves, so I guess they’d be a little bitter about it. What do you think?”

His brush lashed violently.

Clearing my throat, I changed the subject to something a bit lighter, “You, uh, you got any human computers you need repaired? I kind of run my own...”

“I am not interested in conversing with a naked human unless I have to.”

I looked down at my limp penis. Honestly, I had completely forgotten that I was still just as naked as the Duke was.

“Heh, you know...”

“I am not interested in your primitive computers, nor am I interested in talking about my home planet, my people, nor anything you have to say unless I am explicitly commanded to!” A slight snarl revealed his canine teeth. He was bluffing, for sure, but I figured it wouldn’t do to piss off the man behind the throne, so to speak, so I backed off.

Eventually the Duke returned, wearing a markedly different getup from before. Clinging to his legs were a pair of blue jeans modified for the Lupiad’s digit-grade legs and with a hole at the back this allowed his tail to be free. Wrapped about shoulders was a heavy brown duster. Most surprising of all were the two old bolt-action hunting rifles, one in his hand and the other on a sling across his shoulders. In his other hand was a bundle of clothes.

“Howdy, Nate,” he said with his best attempt at a drawl his muzzle could muster, “Lets hit the trail.”

I couldn’t help but giggle. I tried to cover it up with my mouth but that just made it more obvious. For the most part, it was easy enough to see the aliens as separate beings from the animals they resembled, but dressed up in a get-up like this, he looked like a wolf pretending to be human.

“Is this not how you dress when hunting?”

“I, heh-heh, I wouldn’t know, I’ve never gone!”

Shaking his head, he muttered, “Omnivores,” and tossed the clothes at me. They were similar, except the jacket was just a normal, brown leather jacket with a fur-trimmed collar. It was overkill for the month as it was rather warm out, but I definitely needed some clothes and my suit would not be proper hunting attire, so I quickly put them on.

“Fit alright?”

I nodded.

“Good. Catch!”

He tossed his spare rifle at me. I had never been good at catching things even with advance warning. As a result instead of catching it, I accidentally slapped it on the wooden stock, sending it hurtling towards the ground…

BANG!

We all ducked, hands covering our heads. Carefully raising my head, I saw a thin stream of smoke coming out of the rifle’s barrel.

Yir was still in cover, his tail fluffed up so much it was nearly larger than his torso. The Duke was still on the ground but his head was raised. His eyes met mine.

“I think you’re going to have to teach me how to use this thing.”

* * * * * * *

Horith was a quick learner, especially since I, his teacher, had fired significantly more digital guns than real ones in my time, I was, after all, too young to have fought when the Regulians invaded even if I was apart of one of the more desperate militias, and I felt no pressure from the constant recruitment campaigns to join the fight against whoever the Empire was at war with hundreds of light-years away. Of course, if the rumors were true, I could very well have joined the Royal Army and had my memories edited afterward.

Regardless, after a few minutes of training, we left behind a party hall now riddled with the marks of war and filled with slaves sweeping up casings and plastering bullet holes; and sauntered outside to the front yard.

Yard would be a very conservative description of the place. It was just about nearly as big as the town I grew up in, or at least it sure seemed that way. Except it was empty, except for the sweeping grass, meticulously curated by an army of groundskeepers to be controlled, yet give the slightest hint of wildness in the form of long patches in certain areas. If it weren’t for the Lupiad cultural aesthetic principle of embracing their wild side in art, it could be seen as sloppy gardening, but in this case it seemed to broadcast that this was intentional. The lack of any exotic, ostentatious flowers or other luxury gardens only furthered to show this was a choice and a surprisingly austere one on the Duke’s part.

And why should it not be wild? This mansion was a wolf’s den, was it not?

My thoughts were interrupted by a heavy grunt. Turning to the right, I saw a young, brown Vulpeculan with an equally brown uniform leading two horses, one white and one black, each wearing an elaborate leather saddle and harness with gold, ornamental studs.

And I have to specify, thanks to what I saw when I was leading Rit to my room, these horses were ordinary. They weren’t aliens, didn’t have two legs, and weren’t intelligent; at least, they sure didn’t show any signs of it.

“Thank you, Pit!” Horith exclaimed, holding the Vulpeculan’s head with his palm and rubbing his nose against his cheek and lingering. An iron necklace peeked out from the brown collar of Pit’s shirt. Still holding his slave’s cheek, the Duke peered back at me, “I don’t suppose you’ve ridden, have you Nate?”

I shook my head.

“Of course, it was always a privilege for the nobility of your planet only, was it not?”

“Perhaps a thousand years ago.”

“Nevertheless,” Horith shouldered his rifle, “Today you shall have the honor.”

I was tempted to mentioned that when I was a child, I lived next to a stable that offered riding lessons for fifty dollars and they didn’t ask you for proof of noble lineage, but decided to let him enjoy the feeling of giving poor, lowly me a chance to elevate myself.

Pit shifted nervously, lower jaw quivering. The Duke didn’t notice and I had to motion towards the slave before he caught his attention.

“Pit, you can speak freely.”

“M-Master,” Pit lowered his head as he spoke, “The mare isn’t hunting trained.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, she’s bound to bolt if you fire...”

He was interrupted by the Duke, in one expert motion, pulling the bolt back on his rifle and firing a round into the air. The white horse screamed, rearing back and kicking, causing Pit to jump out of the way. I followed suit as she burst into a full gallop, tearing past us. Pit climbed to his feet and made chase, calling out desperately to the horse as he did.

The ebony horse, in contrast, just stood there, staring blankly at the two of us.

“I guess he was right. Poor Pit,” the Duke slung his rifle back over his shoulder and swung himself atop the horse, “He’s been through a lot. I promised to help find a partner for him.”

“A partner?”

“Yes,” he ran a paw through the horse’s mane, “I like to help my slaves out when they need it, it’s only fair.”

“But earlier you lingered when greeting him.”

“Hah!” His jaw flew open, exposing his sharp teeth, “Yes, I have fucked him, wouldn’t you too? But he is not exactly in a position to refuse me and I’d like for him to have someone he can love for himself.”

This surprised me. At first, it seemed his only motivation was his own gratification. To hear him acting the slightest bit selflessly, even if it was in a rather unusual and controlling manner, was shocking.

“Nate, if you were my slave, I would let you have Rit as yours. I think she likes you.”

Blushing, I looked to the side, trying to hide my reddening face. Upon feeling some tension in my pants, I shifted my legs as well to conceal the bulge before it showed. She was something else and even though I only knew her for a few hours, I couldn’t help but imagine ourselves naked, passionately kissing in bed as I run my hands down her chest, across her rows of nipples. I put my face into her long ears and whisper, “I love you.”

Then I’m yanked back by the neck, a metal collar choking me. A heavy, white paw plants itself on my shoulder and I feel a thick cock press against my butt-cheeks. Whiskers tickle against my cheek and I hear the Duke huskily whisper, “My turn.”

Once again, I shook such thoughts out of my head. It wasn’t worth it. Not for the freedom I had, not for a girl I knew for such a short period. I loved Char too once and if I had made a commitment like this to her, I would have regretted it in the long run.

“Just think about it, Nate. Think about it,” said Horith as he extended his paw, “Come on.”

Grabbing his hand, he lifted me up and I swung my leg across the saddle, taking my place behind him on the horse. I had very little room to move, being pushed against his back and not exactly knowing where to put my hands. Eventually, I was not given a choice as the Duke guided my hands onto his hip.

“Don’t be afraid to hold tight.”

* * * * * * *

It didn’t take long to reach the gathering point but it was just about the most terrifying experience in my life. Like most things, the Duke did not hold back and urged the horse to gallop at full-speed through the yard and into a narrow trail leading into the woods. I had no choice but to hug him tight from behind, like a fair maiden rescued by her knight.

He only slowed slightly when we escaped the trees and the trail led us beside a cliff’s edge. Vertigo set it as I saw the tops of massive Douglas fir trees below, almost ant-like at the bottom of the valley. Thankfully, the goal was just after that, for I would have fainted had we continued any further, and if I had done that, I just knew I would have woken up with Horith’s nose resting against my cheek.

There were less people at the site than I had expected. Only three aliens of note and status and their bodyguards. My eyes instantly locked on one of them though, for seeing her in person was almost as surreal as meeting the Duke, whom I had seen on television so much, for real.

Duchess Aleesh of Africa was a Sirian, everyone knew this, but she looked exactly like a slim, female Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the dead in Egyptian mythology. The enduring story was that her father, the original Duke, were fed bad intel by an African scholar who defected when the Regulians established their first occupation in South Central Africa, that they looked like an important god in North Africa. In preparation for the push north, the Duke had him and his family genetically modified to had short black fur and a pointed jackal’s muzzle, so that they might appear as chosen ones by the god. By the time they consolidated control and realized that said god was specific to one particular area of North Africa and the vast majority of people in that area had long since converted to other religions, and said god, while important, was not really a ruling god; it was too late to change back and they stayed the way they were.

Aleesh, for her part, appeared to be continuing the god-ruler aspect, if her cold, uncaring gaze was any indication. She only had been on the throne for less than a year and was very young, but tales of brutal crackdowns in rebelling provinces showed she was devoted to establishing her authority. Her bodyguards, two Sirians who had been made to look like her family’s invented species as well, clung tight to her, as if they expected trouble.

I didn’t recognize the Regulian nervously lounging about next to her, but he was royalty of some kind; likely from a concubine as he had dark brown fur rather than the gold that most of the royals had. My attention was caught by the familiar Sirian leaning against a tree, whose brown eyes softened as they saw me.

“Argus!”

The horse came to a stop and I climbed off. Argus took me by the shoulders and pressed his moist nose against my cheek and sniffed repeatedly. I tried to pull back but he held me in place and continued smelling me.

“Your Grace,” he said, finally pulling away and greeting the Duke in the same traditional way, “Have you been abusing my friend?”

Inhaling, the Duke pulled back from Argus’s hug, “He’s my prisoner of honor today. From sunrise to sunset.”

Argus’s long jowls frowned. His voice betrayed no irritation but I felt it there regardless, “I am glad to see you two are getting along so well.”

“We are!” The Duke shot towards me, raking his long tongue against my cheek, “Aren’t we, Nate?”

I nodded.

Argus’s gaze was frozen stoically. He was good at this. Perhaps if I was a Sirian, I could smell the annoyance on him, but now I could only speculate.

“Your Grace, should we continue our conversation last night?” Argus smoothly changed the subject, “My daughter’s engagement has fallen apart and as you are without a...”

“Do you intend to waste our time?” A cold, feminine voice shot in. Aleesh, flanked by her bodyguards, had approached us. Despite being shorter than the rest of us and being equal in height to me, she seemed to somehow made herself seem like she was looking down on us with her bright, yellow eyes, “We have important business back home. Let us be done with this charade at once!”

“My Lady,” Horith said, smoothly approaching her in greeting, stopped by her goons who got between her and him. With a single, sharp order from her, they dispersed and allowed the Duke to approach her and rub against each other, “I would not dream of wasting your time.”

“Do not linger.”

“I would not dream of that either!” Horith said, swiftly breaking contact and giving her back her space.

The Regulian remained alone in the meadow, idly inspecting his hunting rifle as if he had never held one in his life.

“Horith!” Aleesh pointed an ebony claw at me, “Why is your slave holding a gun?”

“He’s not my slave, he’s...” he paused, wrinkling his muzzle, “Well, he’s a prisoner.”

“Your prisoner?” She glared at me, twitching one of her long, sharp ears, “He is the one who killed the Prince?”

“Suspected,” I said, to the shock of everyone around me, “I’m innocent, by the way.”

“Horith,” Aleesh said, ignoring me, “Your human is talking.”

“He’s allowed to.”

“If he were ours, we would have his tongue removed.”

“Good thing he’s not,” Horith rubbed my shoulder. His tail brushed against my rear and I nearly jumped, “I can think of a few uses for that...”

“Enough!” Aleesh stomped her foot, “Let us get on with it!”

“As you wish.”

The Duke motioned for us to follow and we gathered in front of him. The Regulian shuffled towards us silently, not uttering a single word.

“In honor of Prince Litho’s untimely passing, we are to go forth and not return until each of us brings back a trophy worthy of his memory.”

Argus interrupted suddenly, “Or until sundown.”

“Traditionally...”

“Are you traditionally one for tradition, your Grace?” Said Argus, flaring his nostrils, “We all know how these Regulian ceremonies tend to drag on and we all have business to deal with.”

“Argus, the Prince’s brother...”

“Oh,” the Regulian suddenly spoke up. His tone was casual and awkward, no doubt the odd one of the family, “No, uh, actually we only just met yesterday. He’s...was my brother, but uh, you know...”

“Well said,” Argus nodded.

“I actually really want to see Yellowstone before I leave Earth. It’s a big park but it’s on top of a super-volcano and...”

“I said, ‘Well said,’ your Grace.”

The young Regulian quieted and went back to silently playing with his rifle.

“Argus, you may have a point,” Horith sighed, “Very well, we will return at sundown, trophy or not. We will all split up, alone. Each of our tribute shall be our own.”

“Your Grace,” Argus interrupted again, holding up the old, American rifle he was given, “Must we use these ancient things? I would prefer to use a needler or a Sirian...”

“We will use human weaponry. Consider it something to make it more interesting,” Horith paused, raising his free paw in the air, “Alright, everyone clear? We begin now!” His hand whooshed as he flung it down, signifying the beginning of the hunt.

The hunters all scattered in different directions, vanishing into the deep greenery of the woods with their entourage of bodyguards. The Duke began tying up his horse to a tree trunk.

“Go on, Nate.”

A little bit nervous, I looked from side to side, “Shouldn’t I be with you?”

“As long as you remain within smelling range,” he grinned, tapping the side of his nose.

“I’m human, my nose doesn’t work that way.”

“Ah, right,” he said, licking his lips, “Well, you’ll know when you get out of range.”

“How?”

In a flash, I was pressed up against a tree and all I could see were two amber spheres surrounded by a field of white grass. Two heavy hands were on my shoulder and I felt bulging jeans rub against my crotch.

“When I hunt you down and pounce on you. Then you’ll know,” he closed his jaws around my neck lightly, just enough to make me gasp, “Perhaps you’d like that? To be my prey?”

I tried to say no, but I was at a loss for words; having sharp teeth pressed against your throat tends to do that.

“Well, we’ll see, won’t we?” He released his grip, giving my cheek a single, friendly lick before backing off, “Go on, now! And be careful! The Royal Claw would tear me apart if I let you get eaten by wild animals before they had a chance to meet you!”

With permission to leave, I immediately left, pushed a branch out of the way before climbing a hill into the woods.

I took one last look back at Horith, who was brushing his horse gently. Sighing, I continued forward.

Time to honor Litho. I thought with a bitter grimace.