Page 46 of Free Beast Mate

“I’m sorry.”

John kissed her on the mouth. “We got problems.”

“We always do.” Felicia walked to me, bent one knee, and dropped to the floor. “Lord Amoris. It’s a pleasure to serve you again.”

I gathered up my mate and scooted away until my back hit the wall. “My mate is bleeding.”

Felicia paled, her green eyes widening. “May I see?”

Still in my battle form, I growled. Felicia dropped her gaze to the floor and crawled to me, making her submission clear. But I couldn’t force myself to change back, not when I knew my mate could die in my arms. I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t seal the wound. I couldn’t make it stop bleeding.

Emma was unnaturally quiet, hanging on to me as if hanging on for her life. It killed me that I couldn’t do anything to help her. Or maybe I could. “John.”

“Yup,” he said from the monitors. I hadn’t even noticed he’d gotten up and walked past us to the other side of the room.

“I would never hurt my mate.”

“One never knows.”

“John,” Felicia said, a note of warning in her tone.

“I don’t believe him, baby. He’s been caged for too long.”

“Call Tom in here,” I told John. “Tell him my mate needs help.” It pained me to have to resort to calling that evil man for help. But she’d told me he cared about her, and with them wanting to find my mate, maybe they valued her life more than mine.

“Tom’s dead,” Emma whispered.

Both Felicia and I heard her. John kept monitoring the situation outside. I still didn’t know, nor did I care what was happening out there. Tom needed to come at once.

“I’m sorry. What?” I asked her, regretting she had to talk again, but I had to be sure of what I heard.

Emma licked her lips, rubbed her cheek against the rough fur on my shoulder. “Tom is dead.”

Felicia and I locked eyes. She shook her head, telling me she hadn’t done it. I glanced at John, then back at her.

She shook her head again, telling me John hadn’t killed him either.

I opened my mouth to ask Emma how Tom had died or even when, but John cursed. He ran his fingers over the monitors. Blinking red lights replaced the hologram sky on the cage’s ceiling. Alarms blared and rang in my sensitive ears. Felicia covered hers. John ran to the door and opened it. The blond kid, Cole, rushed inside. He was also covered in blood, and he carried a machete.

“Jesus, kiddo,” John said, yanking the weapon out of Cole’s hands. “Where did you get that thing?”

“From the kitchen.” Cole’s eyes found us and widened. “Emma?” He ran to us and dropped to his knees. His tears came instantly, spilling out of his big blue eyes and running down his cheeks. “Emma?” He tried to talk to her, but Emma didn’t take her eyes off me.

“You’re such a big monster,” she whispered.

“Oh baby, don’t talk.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t believe you.”

“No.” I shook my head. “No, don’t say that.”

Felicia put a hand on my shoulder. “Something’s wrong out there.”

“They’re fighting over supplies,” Cole said. “The people from Above said they didn’t get enough and the people from Com X wouldn’t give them their share. Shit hit the fan. Tom got called and never showed up.”

“Riots,” Emma said. “Sectors are fighting over supplies. Tom keeps the peace.”

“But he’s dead, right?” Felicia asked her.

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