Page 15 of Beast

“Turn around, put on your seatbelt, and do what the pilot says,” I commanded firmly.“If you do, I might let you touch my new boots.”

“What would touching do?”Ruth asked, her curiosity tinged with defiance.

I fixed her with a hard stare.“I did something good and got a reward I wasn’t expecting.I earned these boots.If you don’t turn around and buckle up, you’ll earn something too, and trust me, you won’t like it.”

My glare did the trick.Ruth sank into her seat without another word and disappeared from view.King raised an eyebrow, his lips quirking into an amused smile.Ruth actually followed my command, and the surprise on his face mirrored my own.

I propped my feet on the seat in front of me, admiring my boots as we prepared for landing.King’s grin only widened as he watched me.

“Boots are your Kryptonite.Good to know,” he teased.

“Not just any boots,” I corrected, running my fingers over the leather again.“These are Doc Martens.”

Chapter Seven

King

We landed in the southern part of Indiana, where a large settlement of people had banded together and made their home after the hellhound invasion.The outpost founders had been smart and chosen an area with a long planting season and several lakes in the area that provided enough water.

This was where Beck first encountered Missy and Ruth.Or, more accurately, where Missy had shot him from the sky.That connection had given us critical intel about the Federation.We now knew they had been using “join or die” tactics for years to commandeer soldiers throughout the country.Now they had added exploiting hellhounds for their own agenda, whatever that agenda might be.Maybe the destruction of the world was their goal, and things were going exactly as they planned.Before the hellhound invasion, the U.S.government had been in the worst turmoil the nation had seen since the Civil War.That corrupt system led to the one we faced now.

I stepped out of the plane into weather that was about twenty degrees cooler than the island.Several Shadow Warriors who had stayed at the outpost to guard the villages were waiting for us.I clasped arms with those in charge, exchanging brief words of greeting.Marinah’s voice rang out, and I turned just in time to see her running toward her human friend, Landan.

She caught herself before slamming into his chest, realizing mid-stride that he was staring at me with the kind of fear that only came from knowing I might kill him in the next twenty seconds.Marinah froze, understanding the danger she was putting him in, and halted her momentum.

Kill.Beast growled within me, but I ignored him.I drew a deep breath, letting the simmering aggression of K-5 fade.We didn’t have time for it right now, and Landan was one of the good guys.

Marinah turned away, and they both walked toward me, still a little too close for my beast’s comfort, but I held him in check.Extending my hand, I said, “Thanks for meeting us.”My tone was stiff, but I didn’t care.Landan took my hand, and I added, “We’re dropping off Warriors who will disperse to different outposts while my personal team searches for the Federation soldiers who did this.”

Landan visibly relaxed.“Thank you, and good to hear.We have information that might help with your search.Half of your Warriors are patrolling on the outer perimeter of the outposts, combing the surrounding areas for Federation soldiers and hellhounds.If you can spare about twenty minutes, we can catch you up on what we’ve learned.”

I glanced at the activity around us and noticed a small lean-to with a picnic table beside the runway.The locals had built the runway ten miles from their outpost.Without a word, I abruptly turned and strode toward the table.

“Hey, Neanderthal,” Marinah called out behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder, and she lifted her hands in mock surrender.“Would you like us to follow?”she asked.

I pivoted, took a large stride backward, and grabbed her hand, dragging her along with me.The sleep had done her good because she laughed.“Come on, Landan.His majesty is requesting an audience.”

I shot her an annoyed glance, which only made her laugh again.Seeing Landan had obviously put her in a good mood.I fought off a shot of K-5 and forced Beast to behave.

“Hold it back, baby,” she whispered.

“Stop pushing my buttons,” I growled in mild annoyance.

She couldn’t have cared less.Before Marinah had a chance to respond, I saw Beck and Missy walking in our direction.Another man I didn’t recognize was beside them.

When they reached us, Missy stopped beside me and made introductions.“This is Garret, our governor.He wanted to speak with you.”

Missy’s eyes flicked to Beck and caught his pointed stare.She moved away from me immediately, trying to avoid provoking him.She’d had a hard time with Beck’s mating rage.As a human, it didn’t affect her, and that fact drove Beck crazy.I hid a grin.Missy had definitely made things interesting for one of my most contrary Shadow Warriors.It had been amusing for the rest of us.Marinah and I had dealt with the mating rage without killing anyone, and that seemed to make Beck uptight.He wouldn’t be outdone by us, so he kept telling himself he wouldn’t kill anyone over his mate.At least, that’s what he hoped.Beast grumbled again because he liked the idea of killing.

Yes,I whispered internally when Beast grumbled.We will find many to kill.Sleep had come in shallow waves during the flight, my thoughts churning with the senseless murders of innocents.My tightly coiled rage had built steadily, and I knew it would need an outlet soon.The key was finding Federation soldiers so I could let Beast free.

We reached the bench beneath the overhang, and everyone except the governor and I took a seat.He watched me warily, his eyes darting as though gauging the danger.I glanced at him as I spoke.“We need any information you have that will help us deal with the soldiers responsible for wiping out the village.I’m leading a strike team as soon as I have that intel.”

Marinah stood and wrapped her hand around my arm, deliberately leaning into me so I stayed calm.“What King means to say,” she interjected smoothly, “is that we’re deeply sorry for the loss of life, and we take these matters very seriously.Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.”

Garret, a man with the kind of build that looked more suited to a battlefield than a political office—six feet tall, broad shoulders, muscular—shifted his gaze between me and my mate.His lips parted slightly as though he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words.Marinah leaned into me a bit more, her body language clear:Play nice.She understood my distrust of politicians.Garret might be a decent man, but what kind of person willingly entered politics?The doubt lingered.

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