Page 34 of Beast

The clipped tone told me everything I needed to know.He then turned his back, his shoulders as stiff as a board.

Alrighty then.

I decided on a methodical search, starting on the floor directly below us.Our island was well-equipped, but every now and then, we came across something we couldn’t get back home.The process was slow, and I had no problem taking my time and giving King a chance to unwind.I righted desks and opened drawers to sift through their contents.Most of it was office supplies, paperclips, pens, and other useless remnants of the old world.

Then, tucked into one of the drawers, I found an old-fashioned rag doll sealed in its original package.It looked like a collectible from before the world went sideways.It was worthless now, but maybe a certain young girl would appreciate it.That was if she had any childlike innocence left in her at all.

Further digging unearthed two pocketknives.Ruth might not care for the doll, but she and Che would love the knives.They already carried sharp military blades on their hips, but these folding ones were perfect for stuffing in their pockets as backups.

I kept searching, gathering a few other small trinkets to bring back for friends.Eventually, I stumbled across something that made me think of King.A faint smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as I tucked it into my pack.

The search took a few hours, but it felt good to be doing something useful instead of standing around watching my mate sulk.My backpack was nearly full by the time I finished, and the extra space left by my destroyed boots came in handy.

It was midday when I returned to the roof.King and Beck were gone.Axel was napping beside Garret.The prisoner sat against the short wall, his eyes closed, head tilted back.Labyrinth had taken King’s position as watch, his posture as rigid as King’s had been.

“Boys checking out other parts of the city?”I asked casually.

Labyrinth always seemed carved in stone, but he had no problem, at least in the past, answering my questions.He kept his head turned away and nodded.I already knew I was in deep shit, and this wasn’t helping.

“I found somethings for Ruth, Che, and even Maylin,” I said.

It finally got his attention, and he turned to me, his gaze fixing on mine for a brief three seconds.He blinked once, slow and deliberate, before looking away again.Damn those eyes.He needed a good woman who would melt beneath them.

“It’s not much,” I added, “I wanted to thank Maylin for the boots I destroyed.”

He didn’t seem to hear me.Instead, his focus remained on the city.I was getting nowhere.

“What’s the prisoner been up to?”I tried again.

“Singing with the ladybugs,” the prisoner himself called out from a few feet away.

“He’s nuts,” Labyrinth mumbled.“We think he’s been living in the city since the bombs.Sometimes he’s mentally here, and sometimes he isn’t, if you get what I mean.”

I looked into the prisoner’s unsettling eyes, and he grinned at me, revealing blackened teeth.

“Should we let him go?”I asked.

“He tried to kill us.”

I counted to ten to keep my temper in check.When I was sure I could speak without grinding the words out, I tried again.“He’s been attacked by the government, and he’s still alive.He didn’t manage that by being nice.And I can’t believe I have to remind you that he didn’t pull the trigger.We need to know more about him.”

Labyrinth ignored me, of course, and started a conversation of his own.One I didn’t like.

“You need to fix things with King.”

Wow.I do, do I?“I wouldn’t change going after Garret, so I don’t think an apology will work.”

He finally turned to face me, locking his eyes on mine.Ms.Beast grumbled.Quiet, I told her.Labyrinth inhaled, and I knew whatever he said, I most likely wouldn’t appreciate.

“You’re the first female Warrior in generations.The women even took the female children with them.”He paused.“There is nothing we can do to change that history.No Warrior has mated with our own kind since the women left.”Another pause.“We know how special you truly are.If King held a vote, you’d be locked in a padded room eating bonbons.”

“Try it,” I fumed.

He ignored my challenge.“King is making you as militarily strong as the rest of us.But he knows what you mean for our race.He cannot stand by and let you risk your life needlessly.I would give anything to find a Warrior female, but we have no idea if another exists.The child you create is the Shadow Warrior future.”

For a man of few words, he seemed to be on a roll.His entire speech danced around the topic of mine and King’s relationship.It didn’t seem to matter how we felt.I had a job to do for the Shadow Warrior race, and that was that.Argh, I needed something heavy to brain Labyrinth with.

I counted to ten again.“Each day we wake up, we risk our lives,” I said with frustration lacing each word.This stubborn Neanderthal was driving me to the brink.“I will not stand back and let everyone else face danger while I do nothing.”

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