by Milana Jacks
A soft rap came from the door. I knew it was her. I cleared my throat, fixed my hair, patted my beard to make sure it was all in place, and said, “Come in.”
Sienna closed the door behind her. She’d changed. This time, she wore a black dress. “You look lovely in that color,” I said. “It brings out your eyes.” Another thing I knew about females around the universe. Always compliment the female.
Sienna set the tray down and sat on my bed.
Pieces of mirror littered the floor, but she didn’t comment on the mess.
“Do you think there’s enough light in the room?” she asked.
“There’s more now than before you came in.”
“I brought you food.”
“At midnight.”
“Breakfast.” Plate in hand, she turned, forked a piece of egg, and proceeded to feed me, her gaze never really meeting mine. Silence consumed us as she moved the fork from the plate to my mouth. It was as if a robot sat there. I hadn’t known her all that well, but my hearing was still great, my smell superior, and my instincts intact. Her heart beat slow and steady while her palms sweated and the scent of her fear twisted my gut, made my instincts scream. I lifted my hand. “That’s enough.”
“Tea?”
“Water.” She pressed the cup to my lips, and I took a few sips.
“Medicine?”
“No, thank you,” I said.
“Have some.”
“I’m fine.”
“They help you sleep.”
“I’ve slept enough.”
“Have some!”
My eyes narrowed. “What’s the matter with you? And don’t say nothing, ’cause I smell your fear. I’m not gonna hurt you. You understand that, don’t you?”
She popped the black stopper from the vial. Yesterday’s meds stopper was red. “Take your meds,” she said and pressed it against my lips.
Her hands shook, and I grabbed her wrist, trying to stop her from spilling it. Sienna pressed it to my mouth and turned up the vial. Before the liquid spilled all over my chest, I swallowed.
She dropped the vial and stayed frozen in that moment, staring at my mouth. “Sleep well,” she said.
“Ain’t tired. It’s early in the night. Any books around here?”
“Quran.”
“Playing cards?”
“I don’t know.”
“Fuck. What do people do around here?”
Sienna shrugged. Her lips tipped up, and relief flooded me. She’d probably had a bad day or I’d gone crazy and smelled things that weren’t there. This delusion that she might be happy lasted all of a few seconds before she leaned in and pressed her soft lips to mine. She lingered there, eyes filling with tears.
Something had changed. Sienna had just kissed me. “What’s wrong?”
“There was a beast man who once took me from my dad. My life has never been the same.”
“That beast was an asshole. He made a mistake,” I rushed to say. “He’d make it right if he could, but believe me, he’s being punished for it.”
“Dewlyn told me he burned with the other dead beasts after the raid. She lied, she lied because of her beast, Vice. I thought she was my friend. I have no friends.”
“You know it’s me,” I said.
“I know your beast. Those eyes, the way your lip curls up, and the patch of reddish hair that sprouts on your shoulders. Your tattoos, your voice, your everything is in my nightmares. I remember your everything. I hate you and yours. I don’t want you to get better. I want you to die.”
I gripped the back of her head and kissed her back. She let me, opened her mouth so I could taste the sweetness of her tongue. I wanted to suck it, I wanted to devour her, but I had enough sense to let her up. “Listen to me. That beast is dead. I’m not that beast, and I’m here,” I said. “Hate is a powerful word. There’s only one other like it. It’s love, baby, and I love you. I’ve loved you all this time. When they broke my leg, I thought of you. When they broke it again, I thought about you. Out there in the desert, I thought about you. I kept going, thinking one day I’d see you again. You are all that’s kept me alive.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” she whispered. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen to me. I’m…I’m bouncing with whatever gets thrown at me. From one place to the next, from one person to another. This”—she waved her hand about the room—“all that’s happening around me is some sort of twisted game where only the fittest survive. And I’m sorry, but I don’t know what else to do with you. You will pair…with…me…”
I blinked, my vision blurring, her voice echoing as if she were miles away. I tried to lift my hand and wipe her tears. I tried to say I’d take care of her from now and forever, but my jaw slackened, my muscles went weak and unresponsive. I swallowed drool, and my eyelids dropped.
I welcomed her soft embrace.
Chapter Eleven
Sienna
The beast slept. His breaths shallow, his body warm. During the time I’d spent with Momma Jo, he’d cleaned up nice, even braided his hair. I hugged him once more, then glanced at the clock. It was almost one. By now, Hasel would have retired and the kitchen would be empty. I took the vial and the stopper, put those in my pocket, and cleaned up around the sleeping beast. Perhaps I could’ve found it in me to forgive him. Perhaps I would have if I didn’t believe Momma Jo would shun me for not following her instructions.
Nobody would know, I told myself as I left his room. Nobody would know I’d poisoned him. He would pass in his sleep. Hasel and the others would think he’d died from his wounds, that his body couldn’t recover, or that he’d self-medicated more than he should’ve. On the other hand, had I not killed the beast, everyone in the human wing would know I’d disobeyed a direct order from Momma Jo. Momma Jo would declare me a “beast lover” and shun me as an outcast. Where would I go, then? To the beast side with Torrent? I shook my head. I couldn’t. He’d taken everything from me.
And, damn him, I shouldn’t feel guilty.
Down the hall, I rounded the corner and went into the basement where Hasel stored medicine. I took three vials—as many as Hasel had given me before—emptied them down the sink, and put them in my pocket, then went back into Torrent’s room and dropped them on the floor by the bed. Two broke into pieces. It was done. He’d overdosed.
Now what? I had to act like all was normal. I didn’t know where to go, where to hide, so my feet, as if of their own accord, took me outside, past Cole, who shouted after me, and straight inside the shed.
I bolted the door behind me, then leaned against it. I fisted my hands at my sides, nervously biting my lip, waiting for someone to chase after me, call me a murderer, and end my life. I stayed like that for quite some time, perhaps five minutes, perhaps fifty, I couldn’t tell, and when no shouting came from the main house, on shaky legs, I walked a few steps to the workbench and got my spare backpack from behind it. Inside, I didn’t have fresh water, but the week-old water bottle would sustain me for a few days. I walked to the door, hand on the wooden bolt.
I should leave.
Definitely.
But if I left, they’d know. They’d know, and Daddy wouldn’t find me. I had to stay at the community.
It was the beast or me, and I’d eliminated him, moved on with my sad existence.
Backpack off my shoulder, I decided to spend the night working. One of the benefits of growing up with a guy was that I knew how shit worked. Like this engine I’d found in the shed. I was trying to fix it so that I could put an engine on the bicycle and make myself a motorbike. If I made this work, I wouldn’t have to pedal through sand when I got out to mark the community for my dad.
The work occupied my mind. Instead of thinking about his hazel eyes filled with compassion I rarely saw in humans, let alone the monsters, I thought about my screwdriver and fastening the bolts holding the brake pads. Instead of tasting his lips, I tasted blood from chewing on my lips. Instead of feeling guilt over h
is death, I forced myself to think of my dad and what it would be like if he found me here.
He’d take me back home to the mountains. We’d go fishing.
My dad was coming. I wanted him to come and rescue me from this hell. Until then, I’d manage to survive. Momma Jo would let me stay in the human wing. Hasel would never know.
A hand on my shoulder awoke me. I peeled open an eyelid and rubbed my eyes. Under my fingertips, they felt swollen. Light streamed from the wide open door. Someone broke inside.
“Been looking everywhere for you,” Cole said, curt and to the point. He was still upset with me. “Hasel wants to see you.” He hooked a hand under my armpit and jerked.
I twisted out of his grip. “Hey, cut it out.”
“Don’t make me drag you.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what she wants.”
“Why do you always ask me what people want?”
“So that I know beforehand.”
“You can’t lie your way out of this one. You’re in trouble. Big-time.” Cole glanced over his shoulder. He bent to whisper in my ear, “Did you put something in Torrent’s food?”
My breath hitched. “No.”
“He’s been sick as hell all night. Hasel went in this morning, and, man, was she pissed. Puke all over his sheets, bed, floors, everywhere. Had to clean his ass up, move him into another room.”
“Oh my God.” Oh my God!
“Your Holy Mother, Father, and Spirit. Call up your saints too, ’cause you gonna need the entire crew.”
“Tell her…” I looked back at my finished motorbike with the desire to ride out of there. I didn’t have any gas. I could pedal really fast, though.
“You fed him something.”
“Only bacon and eggs.”
“Beasts don’t get sick from bacon and eggs.”
“He could’ve eaten something out there and gotten sick a few days later. It’s not unheard of, and we don’t know beasts enough to tell what all things on Earth they might or might not be able to digest. Maybe it was the paprika sprinkled over the eggs. Allergies to nuts from yesterday. But not me.”
Cole shrugged. “Torrent got Mayhem’s big room. For two.”
“Why?”
“He proclaimed you’re his pair.”
My life couldn’t get worse. “I am not.”
“You will be.” He smiled, and I shivered. Something about Cole had changed. He seemed…bitter. But I couldn’t worry about him. Damn it. I should’ve run.
Chapter Twelve
Torrent
Back on Tineya, many traveled around our system to watch the beasts and other species compete in the blood games. Games of survival. The fittest survived, the losers died in dishonor, their property awarded to the winner. Winner took it all. Sienna had mentioned there were games played in this community. I didn’t know the rules, but I knew I appeared unfit to play. She’d tried to kill me.
A loud rap came on the door. I peeled open my heavy eyelids, lifted my cheek from the soft fur I’d slept on, and said, “Come in.”
Zarik walked inside and set a tray with tchai on the floor. The smell of chicken soup made my stomach roll. “What time is it?” I asked him as he sat across from me on the floor. He handed me a new set of dressings for my leg. “Seventeen thirty.”
The light beige curtains obscured the window, but I could see the sun making its descent. “What are you doing here?” I hated not being able to look for my mate. At that thought, I pinched the bridge of my nose. Useless motherfucker. I vaguely remember vomiting for the better part of last night, and Hasel coming in the early morning, right before I passed out again.
Zarik began unwrapping my dressing, but I jerked away, sensing something amiss. “Where is Sienna?”
“We put her away.”
“What?” I sat up straight.
He pulled up a knee and rested his elbow on it. “Caged. Hasel suspects she tried poisoning you.”
“She did not. I ate something bad.”
Zarik raised an eyebrow. “We all ate the same thing. None of us are sick.”
“She’s done nothing.”
“She recognized you.”
“She did not and has no reason to poison me. We had a pleasant bath.”
“Sienna’s here and separated from her dad. She resents you a whole lot, so we believe she has every reason to poison you.”
“She doesn’t know it’s me. I didn’t look like this when we met. She did not poison me.”
“Hasel—”
“A few days ago, I ate a poisonous snake.”
Zarik shrugged. “I’m following orders.”
“What are your orders?”
“Bring tchai, change the dressing on your leg, and help you wash.”
“I would rather eat pigeon crap again than let you bathe me.”
“That’s what I told Hasel, but there’s nobody else and you need help.”
I pointed at the door. “Bring me a wet cloth and my mate.”
The scar over his cheek winked when he smirked at my order. “Can’t do.”
“You will not bathe me. Bring me Sienna.”
“Hasel said no.”
“Did she now? Hasel!” I hollered. “Hasel!”
Zarik winced. “Hasel is searching the east wing for poison.”
“While my mate is in the cage.”
“Of course. She’s safe.”
“Why did you cage her? Surely you can hold her in a room.”
“When the boy went to get her, she tried to run.”
“Run? I ate a poisonous fucking snake.”
Zarik smiled. “You’re creative with the snake.”
“Have you called in the incident with that emergency line?”
Zarik scrubbed his beard. “Nope.”
“Why not?”
“We’re still investigating.”
“Bullshit. You fucked up. If she had poisoned me, which she didn’t, this would mean you aren’t taking great care of a mated pair. Hasel wouldn’t want Alpha thinking she’s incapable of taking care of a mated pair.”
Zarik shook his head. “Think what you will. Sienna is your mate. Your unregistered mate. Mates working for Men of Earth are known to poison their males. In such cases, Alpha Beast ordered separation of the mating pair and containment of the female and male. We’re following his orders.”
I growled. “She did not poison me, and she doesn’t know it’s me who kidnapped her. I want to keep it that way until I can get up and function like a male.”
Zarik sipped my tchai, then leaned back. “Your healing will take time. Until you’re picked up, I will keep her safe.”
“In a cage.”
“Yes. It’s our way.”
“It’s our way, not the human way. She’s terrified. Bring her to me.”
“Alpha Beast’s orders.”
“My mate is innocent. There will no caging of my mate. Jamie had meant containment, but not in a cage.”
“Oh, he means the cage. So does Mayhem. You’ve been out there for too long. Lots has happened on this planet since then. Men of Earth are growing stronger, using everything they have, and their best tools are their women.”
“Sienna is not one of those women.”
“That’s what we thought too. If she wasn’t before, she is now. Momma Jo worked on her. Hasel allowed them freedoms, and that’s how they repaid her. Poisoning a male in our house.”
I huffed. “You need proof.”
“That’s how they do it. They know we won’t hurt them. They know we need them for mating.”
“Mating. Careful, Zarik. We protect the mating. It’s why we use the term pairing.”
“Our secrets aren’t safe anymore. By now, they know everything. Women are disappearing, being taken into their hives to be used for breeding. Those who stay in the communities are trained to kill. It’s a silent war. It’s one we don’t know we can win.”
I searched the tray for a spoon. Even though the soup smelled awful
, I needed to eat something. “Jamie will raid this entire planet. He will find Men of Earth. We will get mates, unharmed, and we will make them happy.”
Zarik snorted. “We have raided. It doesn’t work. Now our orders are to separate the couple and keep the female under observation.”
The soup tasted like rubber. Hasel had spiked it with something. “Mated males won’t stand for it.” I chugged the rest of it, swallowing when the fluid threatened to return topside, and plopped back on the fur.
Zarik glanced at the floor, then back at me. I could almost see the wheels spinning in his head. This guy was up to something. Despite the unease in my belly, I sat back up. “Yes?”
“I was once mated. Let me help you.”
“All right. Bring her to me.”
“I can’t do that.”
“I outrank you. All of you. I have not imposed my authority, but I can.”
“We take orders from Mayhem, Keeper of Earth.”
“He isn’t here.”
“Sienna’s staying where she is.”
Fucking hell. I yanked at my dressing, unwrapped it, and bent to see if the wound had closed. The bleeding had ceased, and a thin layer of skin had formed over the open flesh. It wasn’t completely closed, but it was better than I expected.
“She’s a fine mate,” Zarik said.
I snapped my eyes up. “You have no business speaking of my mate.”
“The heart does what it wants. My Jorta was sweet too. Golden hair. Like Mayhem’s, like Sienna’s.”
“Mm-hm. Keep talking.”
“You are not suited to mate.” He was right, of course, so I ground my teeth. “I could let her out and bring her here provided you and I agree to do what humans have done in this community.”
My missing foot began itching. In my mind, I kicked his head with it. “What…what are you talking about?”
“You failed at mating. You can’t protect her, you can’t have her, and you can’t give her up. I have long lost mine. We can help each other. Sienna is better protected and cared for with two of us than only with you.”
