Page 12 of His Beast Mate

I peeked above his shoulder, my eyes slowly adjusting to light. Still, I squinted and wiped the tears. We were on Alpha’s street, coming at it from the west. I hadn’t known how close I’d been to Alpha’s house. I turned my head. Wait a minute. Not his house. His father’s house. “Stop!”

John slowed down and put me on my feet. I hooked a hand under his elbow lest I fell. “What…what is this?”

“Jamie’s new home. And yours, I presume. What’s the matter?”

Before me rose Alpha Nie’s fortress, a black menace about four thousand feet tall, made to appear more frightening by the calm blue of the sea and sky around it. The humans must think a perfectly carved asteroid had dropped on their land. The structure was made to function as a country of its own. It could hold thousands of people, including the three battalions of beast warriors inside the concrete-supported steel that rose from the bottom for about two thousand feet. Then came rows of floors housing military personnel, and on top of it a layer of business offices. Sunrays bounced off the dark windows.

On the very top was family housing, which looked different from the housing on Tineya. Single-family homes with red rooftops decorated the top. Dozens of pods circled the fortress, their engines humming like busy bees.

The soft touch of the homes with their red roofs and charming, beige facades couldn’t take away from the horror spaces at the bottom. On Tineya, Alpha Nie had imprisoned my entire family. As I was too young to execute, he’d kept me and killed everyone else. I knew every corner, every hallway, every small claw mark on the walls. I could smell the wretched scent of urine and desperation that would never reach the top floors. I could hear the beasts howling as the guards tortured them. Their screams also could never disturb the walls of the charming settlement up top.

John nudged me.

I couldn’t move. I’d been imprisoned far too long, and the knowledge this fortress was Jamie’s didn’t seem to help. “I won’t go in there.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nope. Not going.”

John stepped in front of me. “Kitten, I went to hell and back to get you. You’re going in there, and if I have to carry you, I will.”

I gritted my teeth, then snapped my gaze up. A pod left its post, descended, and paused, hovering in front of us. Two beasts hopped off. Twin beasts, Norem and Zenor. I couldn’t tell them apart until one enveloped me in a hug. I inhaled. Zenor. A rumble rose from the bottom of his chest, then he threw his head back and howled. His brother followed. Beast howls spread through the city. I heard every one of them as they welcomed me home. Then they paused and waited.

I looked up. Jamie stood on top of the building, a tiny figure, but his long white hair—same as his father’s—was unmistakable. He spread his arms and roared, welcoming me back home.

A door opened at street level, and Torrent walked out wearing the High Priest robes. He strode hand in hand with a blonde human girl. They rushed over, and when brisk walking wouldn’t do, the girl ran and threw her arms around my mate. I looked from Torrent to the girl and back but didn’t get to say anything because Zenor picked me up and loaded me into the pod heading for med bay.

Below me, John stayed with the blonde. “Torrent got his mate,” I said, just to confirm what I was seeing and what John had said to William when they played poker.

“Mm-hm. How are you feeling?”

“And she’s friends with John?”

“She’s his daughter.”

I knew that already but it didn’t hurt to confirm.

* * *

John

Lers forcedme into the med bay when all I wanted was to return to my bunker and think about the mating Felicia had mentioned. I needed a few days to process what she’d told me. But Lers had plans, and they didn’t involve my leaving this fortress. “There are girls at the bottom of that house,” I said.

“Vice is on it.”

He left me in the white room. I presumed this was what hospital rooms had once looked like on Earth. There were subdued monitor noises, lots of screens, equipment I couldn’t name, and two beds. The back of my head hit the pillow as I lay down, closed my eyes, and sighed. It was done. Felicia was home, and in around three days’ time, I’d go about my business back to Retreat, Texas. Once I had Tom, I’d deliver him to the Alpha Beast. My crazy life would settle down, and I’d go back to my bunker.

Except now I had a woman. A mate. What would I do with her?

I’d never married, never had a woman. Oh, I’d been with women, but since it took effort to get myself worked up over their naked bodies, I never felt the urge to keep any of them. I’d accepted my solitary existence. My own company was often enough. After my parents passed away, I found it even easier to be alone.

But then I found my girl in a basket in the middle of nowhere. I named her Sienna because she was covered in dirt, making her skin brown. It wasn’t really the right name for my daughter. She was fair, and that was a blessing since many have told us we looked alike. We were both fair skinned, and people often remarked on the pale gray of my eyes and the pale blue of hers.

“Hey, Dad, you sleeping?”

“Come in,” I said and sat up.

Sienna walked in, carrying a tray full of first aid stuff. “I’m glad you’re back,” she said and set the tray on the counter. She proceeded to fuss over my cuts while I watched her for any signs that would tell me my son-in-law had fucked up. My kid looked well, her cheeks rosier than I’d even seen, her blue eyes clear. She turned up my palm and sprayed the nasty cut I got when I’d lifted the couch. The liquid burned. I breathed through my teeth. “You look happy,” I said. She picked up the gun-looking thing that sealed and healed wounds on the spot. I’d get one of those for Texas. Bury that bitch somewhere in case I needed it. “How’s Torrent treating you?”

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