Page 12 of Their Beast Mate

Chapter 5

Zenor

After my second run, I’d showered, shaved, slicked my short hair, put on cologne, jerked off twice, then descended the steps and found the basement. In Beast City, Mayhem's harem of willing human women was something of a fairytale. Alpha Beast prohibited mention of it near the mates, and since both Vice and he were mated, the rest of us weren't even sure the place existed. We'd heard it worked by the honor system, similarly to one in our compound in Beast City.

Women came there. We took them. No big deal. But Mayhem's harem was supposed to be different. It came with girls trained in the art of pleasing a beast male. Everyone wanted to come here. Myself included.

So I got me a drink and sat down, thinking of all the places I wanted to lick the housekeeping girl I saw this morning. I admitted to wanting to fuck her right against the door. Not sure why I hadn't, other than her seeming a bit uncomfortable.

Then she screamed. In my gut, I knew it was her. I leapt out of my chair and followed my instinct behind the red curtain and into a room, where I found my brother's face covered in her pussy juice.

I almost killed him.

He assumed his battle form, and then it happened.

I heard him scream in my head. Mine, mine, mine, he said, while everything inside me told me she was not his, but mine instead. Unsure why the mating instinct got delayed—why I didn’t recognize my mate when I first saw her, the way other beasts did—I didn't know what to do. Snatch her first and kill him as he tried to stop me, or kill him first and snatch her after?

A hard decision.

Which he made easy for me when he attacked.

We ripped into each other until the hunters separated us.

Now I sat inside Mayhem's office, a warm and cozy place with a large desk and a couple of guest chairs. Paintings lined the wall on my right, and a full bookshelf display sat under a dim light behind the desk and across from me. He even had a fake fireplace with fake wood and sparkles. A modern cave.

I peeled the gauze off the gash on my cheek. Blood leaked out again. I put the patch back, to stop the flow, and glanced at Norem, who sat next to me while Mayhem's kilt slapped his boots as he paced the room.

Mayhem paused and spun around, his braid hitting his chest. He walked behind his chair, where Shayma sat in tears. My heart hurt. The first thing I did to my mate was make her cry. Way to go, me.

"I'm sorry," I said to her.

"Don't speak with her," my brother said. "Shayma—"

Mayhem lifted his hand. He didn't look happy. "Shayma is a favorite around here. Has been here the longest, has behaved, has listened, and only complained once. She is also the first girl to address me as Master Mayhem—the reason why I let her oversee the girls in the basement. Did you know that?"

We shook our heads. Much in the same way as we'd done at four years of age, after we broke Father's favorite vase.

Mayhem continued. "I always knew Shayma would become a beast mate. What I didn't know is that her mate, whichever one of you it is, would be a complete disgrace to our people. I'm disappointed this happened in my court, but I'm relieved you are not mine. You scared your mate to tears."

"Crocodile tears," Shayma said.

"Mm-hm," Mayhem said. "You might also learn Shayma refused to return to Beast City with her sister, Shanice of Medrix, when he completes his tour with us. Shayma is staying because our people came here. She hopes for a mate. A kind mate, who would treat her as Great Mother knows he should."

"Master Mayhem?" Shayma said.

"Yes, sweets."

"So which one is my mate?"

I stood and thumped my chest.

My brother punched my knee.

Pain shot up my side. I gritted my teeth but remained standing.

"Sit down, Z," he said. "Don't make me kill you."

"Z?" Shayma asked.

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