by Milana Jacks
“Have you been up here before?”
“Nah, Mayhem caught me stealing from his house. We made a deal, and I worked a job with a truck supply.”
“The doctor seems to know you.”
“Alpha Beast wanted me to have implants. He worries about my well-being.” Daddy snorted. “I met up with their doc while undercover, and he put shit in my body. Now I’m a cyborg.”
I chuckled. Traffic lights over Beast City reflected over its sea. Everything twinkled. “It’s really pretty from up here,” I said.
“Only on the outside.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re not free inside its gates.”
“I’ve seen humans in the City. They seemed free.” And wealthy.
Daddy tsked. “They’re careless. Most of them swim in money, hardly even know what life’s like outside the gates. Idiots. The beasts could devour them anytime they want. We are food.”
“Speaking of food,” I said and hooked my thumb over my shoulder. “You hungry?” Dinner plates filled with fish and chips waited for us at the table. Daddy nodded, and we sat down to eat. We ate in silence. Comforting and much of the same. Daddy wasn’t a big talker. He answered if asked but otherwise kept to himself. Once finished, he slid his plate to the side, pulled out a roll of paper and some tobacco.
“You’re still smoking.”
“Mm-hm.”
“It’s not good for you.”
“Mm-hm.” He rolled a cigarette.
I stood to leave.
“Where to?” he asked.
“Look for Torrent.”
Daddy lit up and walked back to the window. “Don’t you worry about him, baby girl. I know my rights. We’re going home.”
“What rights?”
“Don’t worry about him.”
“You gonna kill him?” Daddy kept quiet, a veil of smoke around him. “I’ve seen things out there. Don’t treat me like I’m twelve. I’m not the same girl I was before.”
“That’s why I gotta get rid of him.”
“I don’t think he should die. Lots of people died. I’m tired of death. I don’t want any more people to die, and I don’t want to be responsible for it.” I’d tried to kill Torrent. When I thought I’d killed him, I had time to think about things. Revenge didn’t make me feel better. I thought it would, but it didn’t. I was still out here, and without him, I felt truly alone. However, Torrent had come crashing into my life, and now he was a part of it.
Daddy crossed the room and hugged me. He kissed the top of my head. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you that day. I hated failing you. That’s why I let them integrate some of their tech shit inside my brain. It gives me strength, night vision.”
“Superhuman powers,” I said and looked up.
Daddy smiled. “Cyborg.”
I ran a hand down his forearm. Under my palm, the skin was smooth instead of rough with hair. “You didn’t have those scars before,” I said.
“Burned down that shelter you were in. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to find you.”
“I know. You joined Men of Earth.”
“Mm-hm. Creepy bunch, but it got the job done. Here we are, and soon we’ll be home. We’ll forget about everything and move on.”
“You think we can go back to before?”
“We can.”
Something pinged. Daddy looked around the well-lit room.
Ping. Ping.
“A doorbell?” I asked.
He shrugged.
Behind me, the doors slid open with a whoosh, and Vice came in. He wore dress pants and a pale-blue button-up shirt. A pen stuck out behind his ear. “Alpha Beast, my brother, wants a word with you.”
A beast stepped around us and inside the small room. He wore jeans, boots, and a simple white cotton T-shirt. At the sight of him, my heart started pumping. Torrent was big, a monster of a male, but this one? I whimpered. This one made me want to crawl under a rock. Daddy seemed unperturbed. He said nothing.
Alpha Beast snorted, flipped a chair around, and sat. His frame dwarfed the chair, and he folded his powerful tattooed arms on the chair’s back. The doors closed, and Vice sat across from the Alpha Beast. He crossed one leg over the other and stretched out a hand. “Have a seat.”
Without protest, Daddy sat down. He pulled out a pair of shotgun bullets and put them on the table. “I want my gun back,” he said.
Vice ignored him. “Sienna, how are you feeling?”
“Better. All healed and fed.”
“Dewlyn would like to see you. An escort outside will take you to our quarters.”
A polite way of telling me to leave so they could chat with my dad. “How is Dewlyn?” I hadn’t had a chance to speak with her in the pod.
“She’s doing great. Go and see her.”
“Maybe later.” I stacked our food plates.
“Go on, Sienna,” my dad said.
“Later,” I said a bit more firmly. I didn’t know where I got this sudden burst of defiance, but I wanted to hear what they had to say.
Alpha Beast tapped his knuckles on the table. “Up here,” he said. An order directed at me. I felt it down to my bones. I snapped my gaze up, and our eyes locked, briefly, before I found a tribal tattoo at the V of his T-shirt to look at. “We’re here to speak with your dad about Torrent and your pairing. Among other things.”
“That’s great, Alpha Beast, because I’d like to talk about it too.”
“I have a big orange cat upstairs.”
“Oh, you do? I have a big orange cat at home.”
“Go on and see him. Meet my mate, Rey. There is cake.”
“I will. Later.”
Alpha Beast sighed. “Girl, I will carry you upstairs, and if you disobey me again when I’m trying to be nice, it’s not gonna go well for you.”
“Don’t threaten her,” Dad said.
“You know what? Suit yourself,” Alpha Beast said. “Let’s talk pairing. Half a million in gold.”
My jaw dropped.
Daddy whistled, his lips turned up, and he coughed as he tried to hold back laughter. He couldn’t. He threw his head back and laughed. We all sat there staring at him. I smiled, happy to see him this happy, though I didn’t find any of it funny. At least someone could still laugh about something.
Alpha Beast drummed his fingers on the table, waiting for Daddy to calm down. When he had, Alpha Beast said, “Almost as much as I paid for my mate. Just so ya know.”
Daddy sobered and leaned his elbows on the table. He locked eyes with the Beast and said, “No.”
“One million. In gold bricks.”
“You’re buying his life,” Daddy said. “And I—”
“How much?” Vice interrupted.
“You’re buying his life, but my daughter is not for sale.”
A pause. Tears clouded my eyes. I was so proud of Daddy. Many had sold their kids for much less, many who were not as desperate as us. Some days we rationed the flour for bread, some days we didn’t have bread and Daddy went hungry, but he’d rather go hungry than sell me. I couldn’t imagine all the things he could do with all that money. Buy an island from the beasts, probably. Kick back somewhere in the tropics, have purple birds coo on his windowsill.
“This leaves us with the other option,” Vice said. “The one where you execute Torrent. He is destined to become Earth’s High Priest, our line with our Beast Mother. Torrent chose to enroll in battle training. Every male in this fleet, from the moment Torrent stepped foot on this planet, hopes one day he will accept his position. You will rob us and our people of a royal bloodline, not to mention our spiritual connection with our…god. If you choose to put him to death, you will do so publicly in the Beast City. Every beast will know your face.”
“I don’t care if they know,” Daddy said.
“I do,” I said quickly. “They’ll come after you.”
“They won’t. They need me.”
“What for?”
“Information. I’ll go back,
finish what I started.”
Alpha Beast cracked his neck as if preparing for combat. “You ran out in the middle of your mission. Twice now. Men of Earth will ask questions.”
“And I’ll give them answers.”
“And those are?”
“None of your business.”
The tension in the room grew. The men glared at each other.
“Easy,” Vice said to Alpha Beast, whose teeth descended and whose jaw jutted as he readied to eat my dad. “Do you want her to watch you die?” he asked my father. “If not, mind your tone.”
Daddy gritted his teeth.
“No,” I said and put my hand over my dad’s. “No, he doesn’t want to die.”
“Good,” Vice said. “Torrent’s life is yours, John. These are the rules, and we will honor them. But we will not protect you or kill any more beasts if they want to avenge Torrent. We will not protect you unless you go back and retrieve a beast female they are holding captive.”
“I don’t need your protection. I’ll take care of any beasts who come after me.”
“Like you took care of Torrent?” Alpha Beast asked.
“You gave me implants. I’ve tested them. I can lift a fucking car.”
“Even with implants, you can’t outmatch most of our rookies. You’re helpless. You want his life because you think it’s best for your kid. You know he’ll never give her up. I’ll say it again. He will never give her up, he will never replace her with another, he will never love her less, only more with each day of his life. He does not love anyone more than he loves his mate, and he will give her a home she deserves. I know what you want. I know what fathers like you want. You wanna man for her.” Alpha Beast growled low in his chest. “Find me a human who can promise her all that, and I’ll kill Torrent myself.”
“You don’t know me,” Daddy said. “You don’t know what I want for her. You only know what I don’t want. My answer is no.”
“You gonna take her back to a two-by-two bunker and ration cans.” Vice stood, leaned his palms on the table. “When beasts come for revenge, and they will come, she will be left alone. So you think about your upper hand in this situation and do what you must.”
“She is not for sale,” Daddy said. “One day, she will pick a man to be happy with. And that’s who she’s gonna marry. Someone she chooses, not someone she’s forced to choose.”
“You never asked if I chose,” I whispered before I lost my nerve.
Daddy’s eyes widened. The beasts glared at me. “You didn’t ask. None of you asked,” I said, louder now. “You…you…sit here talking about me as if I were a statue.” Apparently, I’d opened some sort of an internal can that held a whole bunch of things I needed to say. I stood and fisted my hands. “Just because we’re poor, it doesn’t mean we don’t have pride.”
“Wait a minute. I didn’t mean it like that,” Alpha Beast said.
“I’m not Daddy’s property. I’m nobody’s property. I should not be sold. I should not be bought. I’m not a second-class citizen. And most importantly, none of you have any say in matters of love. If you think buying someone gives you rights to their heart, then you don’t know what love is. Love is free and abundant. It’s also patient and kind, and when it makes mistakes, it forgives. It forgives because it’s blind to them.”
“You know I ain’t never gonna sell you,” my dad said. “You know I did everything I can to keep you away from them.”
“But that’s the thing too. I say if I will forgive him, I say if I will mate him, I say if I will reject him, and he should not die because I rejected him. His death will not make me forget him. It will not make any difference.”
“It will, baby. It’s the only way,” Daddy said.
“No, it won’t.”
“He’s not a man,” my dad said. “I will not let you lie with a monster!”
Angry heat rushed to my cheeks. “I already lay with him! He’s not a monster.”
“That’s enough, Sienna.”
“I want to see Torrent.”
I marched to the door and paused, waiting for it to whoosh open.
It didn’t.
Gosh, nothing beat a blocked exit after a speech like that.
I kicked the door, then spun around and lay down on the bed, my back to the men.
“All hear Sienna of Torrent,” Vice said.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Torrent
My Judgment time. I glanced through the high window. The stars covered the moonlit sky. It would be a nice new day. I yawned, surprised my heart still beat. I’d expected Sienna’s dad last night, but perhaps he’d decided my death could wait until the morning after he rested. I hoped he slept well, guarded and safe inside our ship. Oh, the irony.
At least the wall clock didn’t tick off my last minutes. It quietly showed 3:00 a.m. Last night, Jamie and Vice had visited Sienna and her dad. Nobody had to tell me what her dad said when they’d offered him money. He refused every penny, his mind set to take off my head. Down at the community, I saw it in his eyes.
They needed him for a job that would wipe out Men of Earth, return Felicia home, and he’d liberate my mate from her nemesis, as she’d called me. I couldn’t find better reasons to die for. Not on the battlefield, not of old age, but for a mate who wanted to be freed. Jamie would honor the Pairing Program laws and hand me over. He wouldn’t like it. Vice wouldn’t like it, but I knew they would honor it. I accepted my fate, and for a change, I didn’t fight it.
I owned my mistakes. For the millionth time in my life, I regretted my impulse, I regretted how I’d come into her life. Sienna would be free of me. She’d go back with her dad and move on. She wouldn’t fear I’d come and demand her body and soul. If I lived and she left me, as soon as Lers released me, I would get up off this bed and head back to the damn lake with damn cold water and howl her name from sunrise to sunset.
If they moved, I would hunt them. I would hunt them until I found them. If he didn’t want me to have her, he’d have to kill me. There was no other way. He knew that. I closed my eyes and prepared for prayer. I hadn’t prayed in so long, I might’ve forgotten how to do it. Zivot Maka, our great beast mother, receive my prayer. I seek forgiveness.
Ping.
The door announced a visitor. Before leaving, Lers had dimmed the lights and left me with soothing music coming from the speakers. I shut that noise off now. “Come in,” I said.
The door whooshed open.
Sienna walked straight to my bed. The last person I expected to see in the middle of the night. She wore white pajamas, and her long golden hair curtained her upper body. She was so beautiful. I smiled. “You’re quite a sight.”
Sienna said nothing, simply stood by the bed. I tilted my head. Come to think of it, her eyes were opened, but sort of…unseeing, with a glazed-over look I didn’t recognize. She was barefoot, and I worried she’d catch the human cold. She shouldn’t be walking around barefoot. “I’ll call someone to bring a chair,” I said.
Lers had removed the visitors’ chairs and wanted me to rest and sleep undisturbed. Sienna simply stood there.
I shifted onto my side and propped my head on an arm. The moment I moved, my mate did something extraordinary. She climbed up and lay down with me, her back to my side. For a second, I didn’t move, allowing her time to change her mind. I scooted a little to give her more room. She moved with me, her back pressed against my front.
I rested a hand on her hip, moved my thumb over the bare skin there. Under the thin sheet, my dick grew, nestled right between her thighs. I pulled the golden hair away from her neck and buried my face into the crook of her neck. I inhaled the scent of my mate.
I kissed her skin.
I rubbed my beard on her shoulder.
Sienna didn’t complain. In fact, her breathing grew heavier. It sounded almost like a soft snore.
The laser replicator scanning my healthy foot beeped. Ah, when I’d moved, it scanned Sienna’s foot, and the measurements didn’t agree. I
didn’t know why Lers bothered replicating my foot from the image of my healthy foot. I wouldn’t need a transplant. Not sure why he treated me as if I’d recover. Not sure why he’d even wasted his time with me. In any case, I wasn’t supposed to move. Groaning, I kicked the stand that held the laser, and it rolled away. Wanting privacy with my mate, I glared at the camera in the corner. The tiny green light shut off. No eyes in the room.
Okay, so now we would sleep together. I pressed my dick with the heel of my hand, tried to move it away or maybe even deflate it. No luck. Even half-asleep, my mate was the sexiest girl on the planet. I inhaled peach shampoo. Peaches. Rey used that shampoo. Sweet peaches. My dick pulsed. But I had enough sense to slide back and give our bodies some more distance. I didn’t want to scare her off.
Sienna scooted back with me.
Eventually, I’d fall off the bed.
I lay there with her for a few minutes wondering what the hell was going on, listening to her steady breaths. I hovered over her to see her face. Yup. Sleeping. What in the world?
Down the hallway, footsteps sounded. One of the med staff probably checking in on me. I sniffed, frowned, and tensed, recognizing his smell.
“Come in,” I said, and the doors slid open.
John stood in the hallway. Barefoot and shirtless, wearing only his jeans. He didn’t walk in but leaned his shoulder on the doorjamb and tucked a hand into his pocket. Cold gray eyes regarded me, softening only when he watched her.
I let him stay there. He’d come in here after her, hadn’t expected to find her in my bed. I hadn’t expected her to come, so we were both lost in her world.
“She sleepwalks.” He fiddled with something in his hand. “I bet you didn’t know that.”
“No,” I said. It explained her behavior.
“One early morning, when she was thirteen, she woke up screaming.”
All ears, I sat up a bit. I wanted to know everything there was to know about my mate. Even if he shot me later. This night, he’d give me something worthy to die for.
“Her sheets were covered in blood, but otherwise, we didn’t see any cuts, any open wounds. Took her to the healer, paid him with two sacks of flour and a bag of tobacco. Guess what happened to Sienna?”