Page 56 of Free Beast Mate

Chapter Eighteen

Emma

Vice,Amoris’s brother, and his mate, Dewlyn, invited us to dinner in the evening. I found a long, light green dress in my closet that belonged to someone a little bigger than me, but Amoris said the green went with my eyes. So I wore the too-big dress, postponed surveying my new home until tomorrow, and waited for Amoris on the balcony of our bedroom. It overlooked the endless sea, so unlike the tiny stream of water inside my former community. I could spend hours paddling a canoe on this sea.

Strong warm hands wound about my waist. I tilted my head, and Amoris dropped a kiss on the side of my neck. “I smell fear,” he said. “Why?”

“I’m nervous to meet everyone.”

“Don’t be. Everyone likes Vice.”

I’d already met Vice in the med bay, though not the other beast. “Is Alpha Beast gonna be there?”

“Mm-hm. Why?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Jamie is a giant teddy bear, that’s all. You ready?”

“In a minute.”

Amoris took the steps down the balcony and waited for me on the small paved road, which, I presumed, led to his brother’s house. I never imagined that a neighborhood could be built on top of a structure. It felt like I lived on top of the world. Ironic that most girls my age lived on Earth while I either lived below or above it. I hoped I wasn’t socially awkward tonight, I hoped I wasn’t different from other mates.

The wind blew and carried my loose hair over my face. I smiled, thinking it would take a bit to get used to random air hitting my body. Before I headed out, I lifted my dress to see my new shoes, the ones Lers had delivered for me this afternoon. They were black leather with a purple bow on top, and one sole was twice the thickness of the other. When I walked to the stairs, I didn’t need to step on the toes of one foot, I simply walked without a limp. I liked these shoes. I wished someone had made them for me when I was a child.

I wished for a lot of things. But regretted none. Maybe one day, I’d meet a Catholic priest and confess my sins, namely how I’d killed Tom. I could’ve, maybe, saved his life. Certainly, I could’ve tried. Dolly was only a few steps away, and if I shouted for help, she would have come. The simple truth was that I didn’t want to save him, and if that counted as a sin, I could live with it.

At the bottom of the stairs, my lord waited for me. He wore black leathers and a tight black T-shirt that hid none of his muscles. His hair was loose, his grin was wicked, and he licked his lips as I intertwined our fingers. My shoes clicked against the ground as we walked down the narrow path, between a railing on the left and single-family homes on the right.

Two homes down, we reached Vice’s front door. It was painted red. Ours was white. We didn’t knock before a woman opened it with a big smile on her face. “Welcome!” She kicked the door wide. “Dewlyn,” she said and extended her hand. She wore low-riding jeans and had fiery red hair that covered her shoulders and most of her tube top, her belly left uncovered and…her belly button pierced. There was an earring in her navel. I tried not to stare, shaking her hand as she kick-closed the door behind us.

I failed at not staring at her jewelry, but then Dewlyn excused herself just as Vice descended the steps. I’d met him already in med bay, so we skipped introductions. He passed me a bottle of red wine. “Put this on the table, would you?”

“Sure,” I said. I held the bottle against my chest. I glanced back to see where Amoris had gone. I couldn’t see him but heard him talking to Dewlyn. I presumed they’d left for the kitchen. These homes had their own kitchens. Cold sweat accumulated on my palms, and I clutched the bottle while Vice fiddled with a glossy egg-shaped black object propped on a stand in the corner of the…common room. It looked out of this world. Probably some tech from their home country.

A hand fell on my shoulder. I jumped. Amoris squeezed it and tsked. “Vice, you’re scaring my mate.”

“What? No,” I said.

“Come here,” Vice said and motioned us over to the giant egg thing. It looked like it held something, but the glass top was black, and we couldn’t see inside. Dewlyn joined us, so four of us stood around the egg-shaped object. Vice scrubbed his shaven jaw. Dewlyn didn’t make eye contact.

Amoris broke the silence. “I’ll need the pairing papers.”

“We abolished the Pairing Program,” Vice said.

I listened, though I didn’t understand.

“Okay,” Amoris said. “So what did you replace it with?”

“Charm school.”

Amoris chuckled.

“I’m serious. Gonna make our males attend charm classes as a requirement. Start enrollment next week, in fact.”

Amoris broke into laughter. We stared at him. I smiled too, because happiness was infectious, and because I hadn’t seen him laugh before. When he came to, he asked, “Who is teaching charm?”

Vice sighed. “I couldn’t get volunteers. Only one came forward.”

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