Page 51 of Free Beast Mate

Chapter Sixteen

Amoris

We flew high and fast,then descended slowly toward the city, my intention not to alarm the patrol and burn through the hydro fuel reserves before landing. The communication on the Ferry didn’t work. Of course it didn’t. If Nie’s beasts left it enabled, Ferry would respond to my voice. They couldn’t risk it. I had to wonder, why Ferry? Why would Nie leave me with a way out? A guess would be that he didn’t trust Tom and wanted a way to infiltrate and escape Community X in case they turned on him when he visited. He’d do anything to save his own ass. Ferry could’ve acted as my prison but also his entry and exit point in case he needed to come down there and shit didn’t work out. He sure as fuck hadn’t left the Ferry for me. He couldn’t care less about me.

Emma slept on the ride over.

John assured me her pulse beat steadily, that the heat booster they’d injected her with had worn off. But he couldn’t be trusted when it came to assessing her well-being. Only Lers, our beast medic, would do.

We cleared the clouds, and there it was. Beast City, with high-rises silhouetted against the sea. Not just any high-rises, but a replica of our home in Tineya. The fortress rose above all else, like an evil black queen surrounded by her minions, topped with red mushroom heads that were Earth-designed homes.

“Jamie built this?”

“It’s a long story,” Felicia said. “He’ll brief you, I’m sure.” Her hands flew over the holograms. She moved the ship toward the docked boats. “Gonna park her like a boat.”

I stared at the city. Never thought I’d see it again.

She nudged me. “My lord, I’m gonna dock her.”

“It’s shallow,” I said.

“Duh. Kidding,” she said.

“This is the coolest thing ever,” Cole said, then added, “Or not.”

Hundreds of round black pods surrounded us. Like ants on a breadcrumb, they moved busily around the ship. We stopped, hovering. I had no com, so I folded my hands over my chest.

“I’m sure they’re hailing,” Felicia said.

I pictured my brothers in their observatory, Jamie’s fists on the table while he glared at the Ferry, Vice rubbing his jaw, wondering what the fuck he was seeing. “I take it Jamie and Vice haven’t killed each other yet.”

“Not yet,” Felicia said.

“Jamie’s gonna open fire.”

Felicia nodded.

“Vice’s gonna keep us alive.”

Felicia nodded.

“Okay, then. Nothing has changed with my brothers, I see. That’s good to know, at least. We just gotta sit it out.”

I walked to Emma, unbuckled her, and sat in my chair with her on my lap. I strapped us in and buried my nose in her hair. Against my warm body, hers felt cold, as it should for a human female. I shivered, not from the cold, but from the unreasonable fear she wouldn’t mate me now that she would be presented with choices.

Gently, I rocked her, whispered sweet nothings in her ear. I hadn’t even claimed my mate. I promised her I’d claim her as soon as she recovered. An onslaught of laser fire shook my ship. I kept whispering. I put my faith in Vice. He was levelheaded and would want to take the ship down with the crew intact. I put my faith in Jamie, who would mercilessly defend his city from Father’s beasts when they came. And they would come on my heels. Father wouldn’t rest. He wouldn’t rest until I burned on a pyre.

And so I asked Emma again, “What did Nie want from me?” She didn’t respond. I promised to mate her sweet and slow. I promised to torture her pussy with my tongue and cock until she caved in and told me. Emma knew. Emma knew everything. She reminded me of my mother. Not in a creepy way, but in a way that she knew everything and still chose to ignore it. Mother could’ve prevented Jamie’s exile. Mother could’ve changed the way my father governed the state, because he loved her unconditionally, and if she asked for something, it would be done. She chose not to get involved, chose to ignore her sons. Right or wrong, she would always support our father, something the three of us had accepted long ago.

The circuits caught fire, alarms blared, red lights flashed, and Cole, the poor kid, shrank in his chair, screaming his throat raw. John took the pilot’s seat. He and Felicia held hands.

“We’re going down,” I said.

The pressure in the cabin built.

Ferrytilted, then plunged. My hair rose, and if I hadn’t been strapped in, I would have splattered on the ceiling. “Brace for impact!”

Ferryhit the sea.

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