Wild Beast Mate (Beast Mates Book 2) Read online

  She looked at the white trail down her stomach, then back at me. I wanted to take her under our fluffy bedsheets and tuck her nice and safe under my body. And I would after we got our initial greeting party out of the way. I saw the moment she decided to kill me but found she didn’t have a weapon.

  She swung.

  I caught her fist, twisted, picked her up by her waist, and carried her into our bedroom.

  I threw her ass on the bed.

  She vaulted upright, kicked my shoulder.

  I stumbled back then jumped her.

  She rolled to the floor. My body hit the bed.

  She gunned for the door.

  I rolled off the bed and launched across the room, caught her ankle, and got a kick in the face. I blinked in surprise. She aimed another kick at my face.

  I caught both her legs and brought her wiggling body under mine. “I fucking love this,” I said. “Is that all you got?”

  She bit my shoulder. Fuck! I clamped my mouth shut and jabbed two fingers inside her, where I found her soaking wet. To prove my point while she clamped her teeth so hard she might just tear off a piece of my meat, I lifted my pussy-juice-coated fingers and showed them to her. “Liar, liar.”

  Growling like a bitch in heat, Dewlyn bit down harder. A beast male could only dream of a human mate like mine. I counted my blessings every day. No other fucker was this cursed and blessed at the same time. I shoved my fingers back inside her and moved them, not in and out, but up and down so I could catch the spot I knew she liked. Dewlyn shook her head, teeth clamped on my skin.

  And she didn’t let go of my shoulder even when she spilled herself on my fingers. She didn’t let go even when I moved us to our bed, and she didn’t let go when I tucked her under me, and her breathing evened when I stroked her hip.

  “I’m gonna own that spirit of yours. One day at a time.”

  “Mmmm,” she mumbled.

  “Baby, does someone have you working for them? You can trust me. You know you can.”

  She let go of my shoulder and said, “Fuck off, Vice.”

  Then she tucked her nose into the crook of my neck and slept. Again.

  Such was my mating. There would never be a dull moment in my life.

  Chapter Six

  Dewlyn

  Two mornings later, in the house next door, Alpha Beast’s mate, Rey, served us breakfast in her white-and-polished-black-steel modern-interior kitchen. Vice’s kitchen was all happy yellows and red flowers. I’d scrubbed it spotless yesterday.

  Rey’s long pigtails bounced as she scrambled our eggs, while I scrambled for ideas on how to get out of my situation, deliver the key, and probably go into hiding for a year before I forgot how to hate Vice or even why I hated him, before I put everything behind us and committed to spend my life at his side.

  If I didn’t run, Vice would have me, and I would let him. It defied my purpose, made everything about his leaving me that damned first day worthless. I got wet for him just thinking about his naked body and his cock penetrating my virginal hole.

  Rey placed a large white serving plate of eggs and bacon on the high breakfast bar they all sat around. I tried to ignore her pregnant belly that brushed the side of my arm when she passed me a plate.

  After my Prince Charming left me with my parents, they took me into our pair training program. Dad explained we didn’t breed with beasts, and women took care of themselves with some sort of a tea. The tea tasted like iron and crap. Not only did I not want to drink the crapola tea, but I also intended to deliver beast babies.

  I’d declared my undying love for the beast man who’d bought me. My parents stared in shock. Then they got busy. A woman I’d never seen before came. She carried drugs. The needle struck me in the thigh, and I slept. I woke up a different person. So, fuck Vice, and fuck my parents. Fuck the whole world. I gritted my teeth, suppressed these harmful feelings of worthlessness and guilt. And resentment. I smiled at Rey’s belly brushing my arm, then spoke past the lump in my throat. “Thank you,” I said.

  Rey served a plate to Vice, then to the oddly quiet Jamie. “Did you really parachute from a building?” Rey asked. She bit her lip, her eyes, like a child’s, wide and curious.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “I don’t like heights. Weren’t you scared?”

  Vice grunted and begun cutting his bacon. Who cuts bacon into small pieces? Only Vice, because Jamie shoved three pieces into his mouth. Piglet.

  “I was terrified.”

  Rey frowned. “But you do it anyway.”

  “Mm-hm,” Vice pitched in. “If only to piss me off.”

  “It’s not about you. I didn’t know you were there.”

  “Fear is healthy,” Jamie said. “The fearless are a risk to everyone around them, including themselves.”

  I flipped him the bird.

  “You’re wrong, bro. Fear drives her. My mate gets off on fear.” Vice cut the eggs next. I watched the precision and how every piece on his plate got moved around until all the pieces had their place. Weird. Vice began eating eggs only, no bacon, and he ate like a prince—not like his brother—with small bites he picked up while watching me. This morning, he wore tailored gray pants with a button-up, cuffed white shirt, not the military pants from yesterday. His claws were polished and sharpened. A row of small, bright lights above the bar reflected on his shiny black dress shoes. I hoped the suit meant he’d go to work in the office up in the high-rise about a mile away.

  A fork clinked against a plate. Across from me, Jamie cleared his throat. “What were you doing in the building?”

  “Diving practice,” I said.

  “In the middle of the night?”

  “Ah-ha.” I moaned around the food in my mouth. “Oh, Rey, even your eggs rock my world.”

  She smiled and opened her mouth when Jamie interrupted. “The project manager called saying the key to the food storage is missing.”

  Vice put his fork down and wiped his mouth. “I presume it’s been missing for three days?”

  “Mm-hm,” Jamie said.

  I munched on my food.

  “When did you hear from him?” Vice asked Jamie.

  “An hour ago. Medrix called, told me the news.”

  “Dewlyn, baby,” Vice said, “did you take the key?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “There you have it,” Vice said and continued eating.

  Jamie didn’t buy my lie, so he continued. “I wonder how it’s missing, why it’s missing, but more importantly, why would someone risk their life to steal it. So we’re clear, New City is being built for Vice as Vice is ready for his own turf. So I ask again, nobody in this room would happen to know how the key disappeared the same night someone in this room was there without permission, and why the cameras were disabled while someone searched the room, broke into a drawer, and stole the key.”

  I shrugged. “Wasn’t me.”

  “Then I gotta find the stupid who stole from Vice and me. And the only stupid I can think of are Men of Earth.”

  Vice growled.

  I looked between them. “Who are Men of Earth?”

  “A new movement,” Vice said. “They want to retake control of Earth. Started out overseas, moved here a little while ago, and we’re trying to identify them.”

  “Got nothing to do with them,” I said. True.

  “So why you hunting down pairs?” Jamie asked.

  “Because every girl deserves to choose her man,” I said.

  Vice cupped his chin and leaned an elbow on the table. “Mates are not forced.”

  “But they’re not asked anything either.”

  “Such is your leadership,” Vice said. “The agreements to the Pairing Program come from them.”

  “And,” Rey said, “the pairing is better than the alternative.”

  “What’s the alternative?” I asked.

  “Wiping all adult males from the communities,” Vice said.

&n
bsp; I gaped.

  “Which, by the way,” Jamie added, “is still an option. They’re all at our mercy. We only need females to populate this place. The men we keep around for no reason. And they keep fucking with us.”

  “That’s vile,” I said.

  Vice steepled his fingers. “Interesting observation,” he said. “Men of Earth. Never heard of them?”

  “No.” An honest response.

  Vice nodded while Jamie narrowed his eyes. He didn’t believe me. Whatever.

  Vice continued, “They are dedicated to killing us. They call it cleansing. You should be familiar with the rhetoric, seeing as your history tells tales about a man named Hitler. I recall he cleansed as they intend to clean.”

  I shook my head, not familiar with this Hitler guy. I’d look him up when I got out of here. “I don’t know anything about them, I swear.” The girls would starve if they didn’t have a way into the storage place. Once I got the key back, I needed to figure out how to steal a truck and transport the food to Beast City without getting caught. Ugh. I had work to do, and instead, I sat here being fed and pampered.

  Engines roared on the street. Rey’s long dark pigtails swung behind her as she turned her head toward the sound. “Mayhem’s here.”

  Mayhem, the Barbarian? Oh man, I’d broken into that guy’s house. The loud bike parked, and Rey let a tall beast male inside. The blond didn’t believe in a T-shirt, only an ankle-length leather kilt and boots. He wore rings on his fingers and, unlike many beasts, had a clean-shaven jaw, a shaven body, and no tattoos. A pretty boy in a kilt. Made me wonder why he got the barbarian title.

  I wasn’t into pretty guys, or any guys, for that matter, but this beast smelled damn fine. The hint of his fresh Everest cologne reached my nose, and I almost whimpered. The orange around his pupils paled as he bent to peck Rey on her cheek. “Good morning, beautiful.” His eyes still twinkled with mischief when he pulled up a chair next to me.

  A faint pink colored Rey’s cheeks. I rolled my eyes even as the corners of my lips lifted. The beast pointed at my rope-bound hands. “Got shackled, huh?”

  I winked at him. “Fell off your bike, huh?” This beast rode an ancient type of bike called a Harley Davidson on the ground, not in the sky, and I’d seen his dumb ass eat shit into the bushes. The space bikes glided, and the difference between riding on the road and on the wind was like apples and oranges. “Need training wheels?” Wiped the smirk right off his face. I continued. “You didn’t think anyone saw that.”

  “Wait a minute,” Vice said. “That shiner wasn’t from cage fighting, it’s from the bushes?”

  “Nope,” I said, “it’s from the bike handle. Laughed my ass off when he started beating up the bike.”

  Vice threw his head back and laughed. I joined him. He raised his hand for a high five. Before I could think about it, I slapped his palm. When I attempted to jerk back, he seized my wrist, locked gazes with me, and placed a kiss on said palm.

  The room quieted.

  Sometimes, the world stopped spinning. This was one of those times. I took a brief moment to appreciate this man I’d forsaken. With all that red firing up the color in his eyes, I wished we could travel back in time. Another technology someone should invent. I turned away and said, “I need to use the bathroom.”

  Vice looked around the kitchen. I hoped we didn’t need to discuss the natural human process in front of all these people. I felt my face heat up. “Oh, come on, man, don’t be an asshole.”

  Jamie rounded the counter and rested his elbows on it. He leaned in, inches from my face. Pale silver danced in his eyes. This motherfucker was scary. Still, up his ass too. I licked my lips. “Wanna make out?”

  His mouth twitched.

  Rey giggled.

  “You’re something else, Dewlyn girl.”

  “You know it, champ.”

  “Listen here, I’m remodeling the downstairs bathroom so it fits my babies when they come. You may use the one in my bedroom. But, if you do something stupid, I will bend you over my knee, girl, and you will not like it, not even a little bit. This is my house, my city, my brother. Feel me?”

  “Mind your mate,” Vice growled.

  “I’m minding all of us. Brother.”

  Vice stood. “Walk it off, Jamie.”

  Jamie didn’t.

  Instead, he walked around my chair and stood in front of Vice.

  Their chests thumped as their tempers flared.

  I slid the blond beast a gaze to see if he’d try breaking them apart when he opened the fridge and got a beer. He sat back down, popped open the bottle with his teeth, and chugged. Looked like he’d settled in to watch.

  I crunched on bacon and leaned back, crossing my arms over my chest. Nothing like a good brawl. I guessed Rey didn’t agree with me, because she said, “Mayhem, would you walk with me outside?” She stretched out her hand as if she needed help. I’d seen her run though this house.

  The blond jumped out of his chair and took her hand. He put it at the crook of his elbow. “Pleasure’s all mine.”

  Jamie’s nostrils flared.

  Vice smirked. “See how that works? Let him walk your mate outside. Maybe he’ll rub her belly. Maybe your babies’ll think it’s Daddy and do a happy dance.”

  Jamie grunted. “I’ll bite his hand off.” He slapped Vice on the shoulder. “We gotta talk about this.”

  The three of them left, leaving me and Vice alone.

  “I broke into that guy’s house,” I said.

  “He knows.”

  “And?”

  “He’ll learn to deal with it.”

  “Tell him I took some clothes. I’ll replace them.”

  “I took care of it.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Okay. I’ll wait for you outside,” he said and kissed the top of my head while untying the rope around my wrists. “Ten minutes, and I’m coming in.”

  Vice left.

  Upstairs, I washed my hands and went straight for the drawers. During my second capture, I stayed for about three weeks. Rey visited with me, while Vice and Jamie worked the days. Rey and I got to know each other pretty well, so I knew Jamie stashed rope in his nightstand.

  I opened the drawer. Bingo! An entire bundle. Long, thick rope in hand, I pondered the best route. They were in the front, so I’d head to the back of the house.

  I stepped inside their tub and wiped the sweat from my forehead. The tub tilted. Dizziness and nausea washed over me like a cold shower. My stomach, unused to heavy, rich food like bacon and eggs, voiced its protest. My palms grew clammy, and I felt the blood drain from my face. I didn’t have time to vomit or be sick. It would pass.

  Feet planted firmly in the tub, I allowed my body a minute to prep for this run. It was my only chance. I wouldn’t get another one, because our house was on lockdown and Vice watched me like a hawk. Too much activity in the past few days as I broke in and out of Mayhem’s house, hid from neighbors and guards, didn’t get enough sleep, coupled with the adrenaline highs and lows, tired me. The adrenaline jumps alone felt like after-drug highs, and now my body simply wanted shutdown. It was all catching up, my body demanding I rested some more.

  Head between my legs, I drew long, deep breaths. Just this one last time so I could get the pairs in the shelter food.

  After a few minutes, when blood returned to my face and the cold sweat subsided, rope in one hand, I opened the window. Rey’s hound, Dark, swam in the pool, his body gliding as capably as an otter’s. Beyond the pool was the beach, but around the front and to the left was the City Park. A few floors with a rope were doable, and I was light enough to hold. I tied the rope around the tub’s faucet, calculating it was the closest strong point that would hold my weight. Rope tied in place, I looked out the window again.

  Grass would be better than gravel, but it would have to do. Thick rope around my middle, I swung my legs over the window. The rope bristled in my hands when I lowered down, then untied the knot and hung. My muscles trembled,
and I shook my head in disbelief when my fingers locked. I had to do this, had to leave, so I forged on.

  I let go of the rope and hit the gravel. Knees bent, my left side hit the ground. Huffing, I sat up and dusted off the small rocks imbedded in my forearm. Good to go.

  Dark barked.

  I put my finger over my mouth, eyes wide. He shook out his wet fur after he came out of the pool to stand before me. I crouched. “I bought you a meal and saved your ass. Don’t give me up now.” Dark sat back, his intelligent eyes locked on mine. Okay, maybe we understood each other. I plastered my back against the house and sidestepped quietly around the back corner to the one in the front.

  I peeked around the corner.

  Vice

  Outside, I stepped up next to Jamie and Rey. Four good males had died recently in their sleep, and their pairs were still at large. We’d only discovered Men of Earth after plowing through Rey’s community and coming away with a few men as prisoners. Jamie had intended to hang them at Beast City gates, but I convinced him they’d talk. We hailed Mayhem from Tineya. He made them talk.

  Interrogation revealed a group of males intent on exterminating us. If Dewlyn worked for them in the way we presumed the pairs of the dead mated beasts had, she wouldn’t try running, she’d stay and catch me off guard. We’d slept together for the past two nights, and Dewlyn hadn’t even moved in her sleep.

  It was the only time she seemed at peace.

  We stood on the driveway, a little way from where Mayhem inspected Rey’s bike. “What’s he doin’?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” Rey said.

  “He’s gonna ride that thing?”

  “I hope not,” Jamie said.

  “He got a mate?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Maybe he’s nesting, preparing,” Rey said. “It’s cute.”

  I slid her a side-glance. Mayhem was an obnoxious, arrogant ass. A great hunter, but also a complete ass. The concept of nesting required a nurturing nature, so that couldn’t be it. He did collect strange bikes like that old Harley, so maybe he wanted an obnoxious pink one to add to his collection.