by Milana Jacks
A smile tugged on her lips, and she flipped the card in her hand. “Like a universal key set. Opens every lock I jab it into.”
“Yeah, like that.”
“Nice. When I said I want to live in the sky, I meant I enjoy riding. I love Beast City, the noise, the tech, and I loved our home. But I understand if you prefer the quiet of your ship.”
“Hm. Let me get back to you on living arrangements after my meeting. And another thing,” I added in a rush, because I really needed to get going over to the military room. I pointed at the book on the table. “I’m gonna find out who this Prince Charming guy is, so if you want one, you’ll have one.”
Dewlyn put her palm over my heart and said, “I already do.”
Dewlyn
Rey served Vice and me breakfast inside her new suite up here on the ship. The suite had a bedroom, a small living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen a quarter of the size of her kitchen on Earth. I didn’t think she was all too happy about her small kitchen or yet again being moved into a new place, but Jamie wouldn’t relent, wouldn’t put her back on Earth until the house repairs were finished.
Jamie’s idea of repairs was tearing up both our homes and everything on their side of the street and ordering the construction of a stone fortress, the biggest, meanest building on the planet. He strode inside the kitchen, piled a plate with biscuits and gravy, and straddled the chair. Under his massive frame, it squeaked. Nobody spoke the entire time we stuffed our faces, but I felt Jamie’s growing anxiety, a complete opposite to Vice’s steady calm. Once done, Jamie pushed his plate away and pierced Vice with his silver gaze. “I’m taking a vacation,” he declared. Vice’s eyebrows jumped, so I figured this was something important. I leaned in, and Jamie continued. “I’m vacating Earth, settling my ass right here with my mate. When I’m ready, we’re going back down, but not sooner.”
“Oh, Jamie,” Rey said, “you don’t have to do that. Dewlyn is staying with me.”
“Peach, I got this.”
“No, really,” Rey said, a plea in her voice. “Maybe cut hours, but you don’t like to sit around.”
“I love sitting around.”
“You’ll get bored.”
“You’ll keep me occupied.” Rey scrunched up her nose, and he continued, Vice and I just bouncing back and forth. “What the fuck?” Jamie said. “You don’t want me around?”
“I do, it’s just that you get so grumpy sitting around.”
“You’ll get used to it. So, as I was saying, Vice’ll go down and take over.”
“This is news to me,” Vice said, gaze locked with mine. He’d said this would be our new home, and now it sounded like we’d be moving back down.
“You’ll get used to it too.”
Vice wiped his mouth with a napkin and set it aside. “Jamie. You’re the Alpha of the beasts. You cannot vacate Earth.”
“It’s temporary.”
“Get over yourself,” Vice told him. “You had a bad fucking day. Shit happened. What could’ve been, should’ve been, in the end didn’t happen. Get used to it.”
“No can do. They went after my mate and my kids. I need her up here, away from everyone and with me at all times.”
“And Beast City?” Vice asked.
“It’s yours.”
“And our people?”
“Yours. Tell them I’m on vacation.”
“Jamie, vacating and vacation aren’t the same thing,” Rey said.
Vice shook his head. “It’s not how it works, and I’m not moving back down. Besides, you have to show your face or Men of Earth will think they’ve won. The communities will join them.”
“Don’t care what they think. Let them think.”
“They’ll think you’re weak.”
“Let them. I’m having kids, and they need a safe place. Nobody’s getting up on this ship.”
“No,” Vice repeated, a little more firmly now.
Jamie leaned back in his chair. “I didn’t expect you to refuse.” He scrubbed his jaw. “You and your mate saved my world.” He put a hand over Rey’s. “In return, I am giving you the whole world.”
“Thank you, my brother. You owe us nothing.”
Silence resumed. Vice continued eating. Rey and I pushed eggs around our plate, and Jamie just sat there, stunned. Vice refused to become Alpha Beast even temporarily.
“Very well, then. Hail Mayhem. Tell him to get his ass up here.”
“What for?” Vice asked.
“He’ll take over for me.”
“It’s a bad idea.”
“He’s my man. I trust him. We trust him.”
“He’s also primitive. Even for Earth.”
“Men of Earth don’t like how I run things, so I’ll send them Mayhem. They’ll look up at this ship in the sky and pray for my return.”
I cleared my throat. “I broke into his house and left the storage key inside the Bible in the nightstand of his bedroom. Just so you know.”
“He’ll get over it. Are we a go on Mayhem, Vice?”
“Yes, Jamie.”
“Excellent.
“Dewlyn girl,” Jamie said. “You protected my mate, and so I owe you. I tried to repay in kind, but my brother is stubborn. Never mind him, girl, what can I do for you?”
Wow, okay. “I have a sister,” I rushed to say. “Her name is Hanna. She’s young and still has a chance at a somewhat normal life. If she’s not with my parents, then she’s with Men of Earth somewhere in Texas.”
Jamie nodded, and rolled his shoulders. “I got something for you.” He winked at me. “You gonna like it. I’m gonna put you with Rey and train you. I hear you like cold weapons. I like them too. Wanna learn how to throw a knife and hit between the eyes? Every time. Never miss.”
Jamie and I had never had a civil conversation, but he was Vice’s brother, Rey’s husband, and, for better or worse, my family. These people in the kitchen sharing breakfast were my only family. I had to give this family thing another try, perhaps trust them some. Jamie, in his own way, was offering me a gift I was pretty sure his entire nation would covet. They were a violent race, and to be trained by the Alpha was considered an honor. For me, I couldn’t refuse a peace offering or a gift. “You don’t owe me,” I said. “I’d do it again if I had to. I’d love to train. I want to know how to defend myself.”
Vice shook his head. “No. No, no, no.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because I have plans for you.” Vice stood and offered me his hand. I took it. We all followed him outside the private quarters, through a brightly lit hallway and all the way to the upper deck. The doors swished open, and we stepped into a dimly lit, clean, warm room filled with beasts in uniform and the low buzz of working tech.
Behind me, Jamie was telling Rey where they were, and from what I understood, she’d been here before. But I hadn’t. It was amazing. Half the room including half the roof was done in glass or whatever the beasts used, so it gave the illusion of an open space. To the right, the crew nodded, acknowledging us, then stood at attention.
To the left was Beast City. My feet moved as if on their own, and I came to stand closer to the screen. “It’s beautiful up here,” I said, then turned around, realizing I’d ignored just about everyone in the room. Vice made the introductions and sat down behind some sort of a console, next to another blond beast man.
Vice motioned me over, and I sat on his lap, looking down at the blue, yellow, and red patterns on the console before us. Vice swiped his hand over the patterns, hit some buttons, moved things around, and a blueprint of the ship showed up on the screen. The blond next to him grunted, moved his hand over his console, and once he was done, ours read: “Flight training mode.”
I leaned back against Vice’s chest.
He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and whispered, “You can’t train with Jamie because I’m gonna teach you how to fly this ship.”
I gasped and turned so I could look at my beast. Vice looked smug, a smirk on his f
ace. He’d planned this, and I knew he’d planned this because the crew in the back, along with Jamie and Rey, scattered around the room and sat on the chairs against the walls, strapped and ready for an untrained pilot. “Fly the ship?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“This entire ship.”
“Yes.”
I threw my arms around him. “I love you.”
***
Thank you for reading Wild Beast Mate. Following is a peek into the next in the series.
Afterword
Milana
If you could go back in time which historical figure would you love to meet?
Here is mine. Dewlyn’s story is inspired by historical tellings of Serbian Princess Olivera. In order to preserve her people during the Ottoman rule, Olivera’s mother, Milica (Militza) gave Olivera to the sultan. Before she gave her away, she took her to a woman and had her organs removed. When I first learned about Olivera, I found her a heroine.
I want to meet her. But I can’t.
When I wrote Blind Beast Mate, I knew who Dewlyn was and what drove her. However, I kept Dewlyn’s character close to my heart and didn’t intend to share her story. It wasn’t until readers asked for Vice that I decided to pen Dewlyn. I wondered how could I give Olivera a life after such a tragic experience not of her choosing. So I gave her someone who’s gonna make her blissfully happy.
Thank you for reading Wild Beast Mate. On the next page, sneak a peek into Sent Beast Mate, a book with a lighter theme and tone.
Sent Beast Mate
***uncorrected proof pending release
Reagan
Hushed voices awoke me from a dead sleep, and I turned my head to look at the light coming from underneath the door. Mike’s watch on my wrist read three in the morning.
“Reagan?” Hanna, my bedmate, whispered.
With our bodies crammed on a single bed in a tiny trailer and facing each other, I couldn’t safely roll my eyes without offending her. She was one scared puppy, but man, the girl talked a lot. “Shhh, I’m trying to hear,” I said.
“Me too,” she said. “Are they coming?”
The putrid stink of tobacco and alcohol filled the trailer as Douglas, one of the Men of Earth, stumbled inside. I closed my eyes, my back to the door.
Hanna and I pretended to sleep. We’d been pretending for several nights while listening to the men get drunk in the circus tent next to the trailer. Late in the night, they’d wobble their drunk assess across the camp, debating which one of us girls they’d take.
They hadn’t taken any of us. Yet. But we all knew pretending to sleep soon wouldn’t be enough. And I’d seen the way Douglas looked at Hanna, a pretty girl with long red hair, dark skin, and dove-brown eyes. A perfect victim. Young, naïve, and left without family.
Men of Earth had taken over our camp here in Butt-fucking Nowhere, New Mexico. Apparently, their transport broke, and they sought shelter. They saw our circus camp. We took them in. They didn’t leave. And neither did the five girls they brought with them. I’d kept Hanna safe since Men of Earth had taken over our camp, held Mike, the man who’d raised me, hostage, and killed more then half the performers, the same people I’d grown up around.
“Crawl out of bed,” Doug said. “I know you ain’t sleeping.”
This was the day. I knew it and so did Hanna, and next to me on our shared bed, she started snoring. Under my closed eyelids, I rolled my eyes and scooted closer to her. Hanna didn’t know what was good for her. The snoring would only serve to piss him off. I kept my back to him but heard his heavy footsteps. He’d grown a belly in the past two weeks. Even the pants I’d expanded at the waist just last week didn’t button anymore. The gluttonous beast.
His palm hit the wall above us, and he leaned over our bed, his knees brushing my ass. The other hand threaded through Hanna’s red locks, and he bent over me to sniff a strand of her hair. “Clean and smelling like a lady. You know I gave you that expensive oil you’re using, so won’t you pay me some respect in return? I know you’re awake.”
He dropped the hair and continued at my ear, “If you don’t leave, I’ll take you instead. Get out.”
“I hear Hunters of Mayhem are close,” I said and turned to lie on my back, my eyes trained on his brown ones. “Is that why you never made it to Texas? You’re scared they’ll follow you, find your big safe house if they catch your trail? Or did your boss tell ya to hide out here?”
“Shut up, slut. You should mind your business.”
The men got so loud while drinking, everyone within a mile radius could have heard their story. Except we were the only people out here. “You want a taste of us before they raid this place and make sausages out of you, eh?” I wiggled my eyebrows. “’Cuz ya know they will. All y’all Men of Earth are dead when they ravage that big yellow tent you’re hiding in.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Men who drink, talk. They say your men went after Alpha Beast’s pair. They say he brought a savage from their home planet and let him loose. They say Mayhem’s ruthless, takes all the goods, takes all the women and kids, kills all else. No man left behind, but not in a good way. When he comes here, you gonna die.”
The back of his hand whacked across my cheek.
My head snapped to the side. Heat warmed my cheek, and it swelled. I smiled. I wouldn’t put myself in trouble for anyone else, but this young girl reminded me of myself when I first came here. Homeless and without any family. Ol’ Mike had been here for me, and I believed in paying forward. I felt a kinship with Hanna, even though I knew little about her. Besides, she was far too fragile to be raped. Me? Well, he could try. Still, my face throbbed, and I winced as Douglas lifted his hand again.
Next to me, Hanna whispered, “She doesn’t know what she’s saying, Doug. She’s a little dumb.”
“There you are, my sweet girl.” His raised hand found its way to her cheek, and he stroked it slowly. I almost gagged.
Hanna sat up and kissed the hand that had hit me. One spaghetti strap slipped down her shoulder, and she quickly fixed it while giving me a look. I knew what she meant. She didn’t want to go, but she didn’t want me to get in trouble either.
Under the pillow, I gripped a six-inch-long nail made for holding seven-foot steel swords to the wall. It was large, heavy, and rusty. If I couldn’t kill him, at least he’d die of an infection after I got him.
Hanna’s eyes found mine, and she begged me to do it and she begged me not to at the same time. “I’ll come with you, Doug,” she finally said.
“That’s a good girl. This one”—he jerked his head to me—“I’m gonna sell.”
“You don’t own me,” I said.
He didn’t want to kill me. How gallant of him.
He tugged Hanna’s hand and turned to leave.
I leapt out of bed and onto his back. Before he screamed and woke up the entire place, I jabbed the nail though the back of his head, then hung on his back with my hands over his mouth. We fell, my back hitting the floor with a thud. The big man on top of me struggled, but I kept my hands over his mouth. From the back of his neck, blood seeped onto my face and spread on the floor. He kept jerking, trying to get away, while I chastised myself for not jabbing him harder.
I couldn’t have even if I’d wanted to. They hadn’t fed us in three days, and I was skinny to begin with, so I gave it the best I had. Hanna rushed to us and placed her hands over mine, her eyes filled with horror. But she understood we had to do this. If they kept drinking and forgetting to bring us food and water while keeping us prisoners, we’d die.
Even with the nail in his neck and our hands over his mouth choking him, it felt like he took a year to die. With one last twitch, his body stilled.
Hanna’s bloody hands flew to her mouth. “Oh dear God, what did we do?”
I pushed the body off me and sat up. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I said, “We had to. If he kept getting drunk, one day he’d forget us and we’d starve in here. Don’t thin
k about it.”
She sat next to me, and I hugged her shaking body. “Forget about him. You have maybe fifteen minutes to get out of here before the others find him. Go.”
“Go where?”
“Anywhere but here.” I couldn’t leave Mike, even though I’d pay for this.
“I don’t have money, food, nothing.”
“I heard them say there’re cans in the broken-down truck, maybe a half a mile from here. Go north and it should be there.”
Bending, I searched Doug’s pockets, looked for money, but found nothing. Of course, the ugly bastard had gambled it all. “Shit,” I mumbled. “Nothing.”
Hanna handed me a brown sack, and I took it. She glanced at the nail. “I might need that.”
“Good idea.” I placed my foot on his shoulder and yanked out the nail. It dripped with blood, and I wiped it on my dirty black drape. It used to be a dress. Now it was a drape. I spat on his dead body. Men of Earth had come to our circus, promised us money in exchange for room and board. Now that I knew they intended to take some of us girls to Texas so they could breed us with whomever and by force if necessary, I knew better.
I should’ve run away with that one blonde girl when I had the chance. She’d picked up on their bad intentions when they’d killed the first performer. She’d taken off into the night. I stayed, staking my fate on Mike. Poor Mike. He couldn’t keep me safe from these monsters.
I turned to follow Hanna outside.
Then froze in mid step.
A man stood at the door. Behind him, three more observed us the way spiders watched trapped butterflies. The one in the front flipped the light switch. Doug’s dead body lay at my feet. Our hands, our dresses, our faces were bloody.
“Stay,” he ordered the other three men and closed the door behind him. He walked past us and sat on our bed. “Hm. What to do with murderers?”