by Milana Jacks
Sienna walked in, carrying a tray full of first aid stuff. “I’m glad you’re back,” she said and set the tray on the counter. She proceeded to fuss over my cuts while I watched her for any signs that would tell me my son-in-law had fucked up. My kid looked well, her cheeks rosier than I’d even seen, her blue eyes clear. She turned up my palm and sprayed the nasty cut I got when I’d lifted the couch. The liquid burned. I breathed through my teeth. “You look happy,” I said. She picked up the gun-looking thing that sealed and healed wounds on the spot. I’d get one of those for Texas. Bury that bitch somewhere in case I needed it. “How’s Torrent treating you?”
“Good, Daddy, he’s fine.”
“I sense a little attitude. I’m allowed to ask.”
She jabbed me with the gun. It burned the wound, then closed it. I gritted my teeth.
“You didn’t have to go after Felicia alone. Torrent said you could’ve taken backup.”
“I do my best work alone.”
“Are you done now?”
“With what?”
“Your mission to rescue every girl in the world?”
“Not yet.”
Sienna banged the gun on the tray. “Daddy, I don’t want you to go to Texas.”
“I know, baby girl, but I’ve made up my mind.”
“Why? Why you? Why can’t it be someone else?”
“There is no one else. The beasts are here to stay. God knows I’ve tried fighting them. I’ve tried everything I knew to stay out of everyone’s business, but then he took you anyway. It made me think and rethink. I’m too old to change, but things can change for you and thousands of other girls. I need to do this because it matters.”
“You matter to me.”
“Come here.” I spread my arms. She laid her head on my chest, and I inhaled the smell of her lavender shampoo. “I’m gonna be fine. Have faith.”
A knock preceded Felicia, followed by Lers. He helped her up on the other bed and covered her with a sheet. She didn’t even glance at us, just kept staring at the ceiling. “Hey,” I said.
“Hey.” She kept her eyes averted. “Alpha will debrief us together. So, I’m…here.”
Sienna walked around my bed and went to Felicia’s. She extended her hand. “Sienna. John’s my dad, and I’ve heard a lot about you. You pushed Torrent out of a moving truck so he could find his mate. I’m forever grateful you did that. I wouldn’t have been so brave.”
Felicia smiled. “Thank you. Mating is a sacred union. It is what we live for, especially those of us who are on Earth. Our numbers are rather small, and the threat against us rather great. It was important that he makes it. And here you are. May you give us strong beasts.”
“Hear,” Sienna said.
The door opened, and Alpha Beast stepped inside. He went straight for Felicia and whipped the sheet away from her. He perused her body covered with a thin white gown, pausing at her declawed fingers. He picked up her hand and examined it, then put it back down. “Your teeth,” he ordered.
She showed him.
He bent and kissed her forehead, remaining there for a moment. I tapped my finger on the steel railing of the bed, fighting an irrational urge to kick him.
Finally, he moved back but kept her hand in his.
“I got the ones who did this to me,” Felicia said.
“We found four dead civilians and arrested the security at the house. Which ones would you like us to feast on tonight?”
“The civilians.”
Alpha Beast nodded. “Sienna, how are you?”
“Good.”
He winked at her and jerked his head to the exit.
She folded her arms over her chest.
Jamie folded his.
They were having a standoff.
Felicia giggled again. I took pleasure in hearing her laugh.
My kid rolled her eyes and stomped out of the room.
Jamie shook his head. “Like father, like daughter.”
“Mm-hm,” I said.
“Thank you, John.”
“Welcome.”
“Are we still on for Texas?”
“Definitely.”
“Take backup,” he said.
“You know I can’t.”
“We’ll arrange something.”
“I work alone. Fuck off and let me work.”
Jamie sighed, then glanced at Felicia. “Do you see why I can’t spend time with humans, hm? Makes me want to eat them.”
“Your mate is human,” she reminded him.
“A rare exception.” He moved a stray hair away from her face. “Vice will debrief you later. I just came around to tell you they’re preparing your quarters. Welcome back.” Jamie stepped away and turned for the exit.
“A beast visited the house once,” Felicia said.
Silence.
Alpha Beast froze, then spun around, his eyes, clear as ice. Fuck. I sat up straight and swung my feet over the bed. I got her sheet and covered her body, then stood by her bed.
“I tried to reach out to him. He nearly killed me. Owner saved my life, in fact.”
Jamie gripped the edges of the footboard. The metal bent. “Who was it?”
“I didn’t know him.”
Jamie bared his canines and let us see them elongate into fucking daggers. “We’ll line up every last beast on Earth until you find him. You will make an example of him.”
“That’s the thing, Alpha. I don’t think he was of Earth. Our dialect has changed during our time on Earth. His sounded…proper.”
Jamie leaned in and whispered, “What are you telling me, Felicia?”
“I think Nie’s beasts have landed. I think he’s coming for you.”
Jamie inhaled, and his chest swelled. He thumped it. “He’s welcome to try.”
Chapter Five
Kitten
I awoke in the middle of the night and put a hand over my chest. Beneath my palm, my chest burned. The thing about heat? It comes at the least convenient moments. The heat flashes come first. I pulled the sheet over my head and covered my face. What the hell do I do? In an hour, I’d jump my poor human mate, and he’d have to pry me off him. Embarrassing, really, especially because he didn’t understand.
Beast males understood. Hell, most of the single ones around the compound couldn’t wait for one of us to go into heat so they’d get their rocks off while helping out. It made them feel useful as it eased our pain. We called the process “servicing the single female.” Fucking was different. Servicing had a purpose.
John wouldn’t know or understand the first thing about servicing a beast bitch. Even if he knew, I’d met him just last night, and humans didn’t mate; they didn’t feel what we felt. I flung the sheet away from my body and swung my legs over the edge. The floor cooled my soles, and I sighed in relief.
“Hey,” John said, his voice rough with sleep. He scrubbed his face. “Man, I fell asleep.”
“We both did.” Oh, he was sexy as he pushed up on his elbows and his abs flexed. His chest looked strong, his eyes looked cold, and his forearms were wide and manly. My pussy wept for what he packed under his pants.
“Can I get you something?” he asked as he got out of bed. “I’m sure you should be resting.”
“I’m good. Gonna see Lers. These beds aren’t so comfortable. I need my own quarters, you know. Do my girly stuff.” Girly stuff? Mentally, I rolled my eyes.
“Right. I’ll walk you out.” He put a hand under my elbow as if I’d collapse while walking a few feet.
“I can walk on my own.”
“Just in case.”
His touch burned. I needed to get away from him, or I’d make a total fool of myself begging and pleading for his cock. I’d begged and pleaded enough. I wasn’t gonna do that anymore. I had to retain some form of pride, even at the expense of suffering for days on end. With my mate around and uninterested, the pain would only get worse. But I’d done it before, and I’d do it again until he chose to be with me. I wasn’t a beggar. No more.
We walked outside and into the receiving area, where Lers dozed in a chair before a monitor. His head jerked up, and he stood. “I was…I was…”
“Resting your eyes?” John asked.
“Why, yes. And you seem to be going somewhere.”
“I’m going to walk Felicia to her quarters. Where are they?”
“Upstairs. Singles floor. But you can walk there tomorrow morning.” He glanced at his watch. “After twenty-four hours have passed.”
“We’re feeling well enough,” John said.
“No.”
“Yes,” I said.
Lers came from around the table. I backed off toward the door immediately, didn’t want him near me. The sensors on the doors slid it open with a whoosh. Music to my ears. “Come on, John.” I grabbed his elbow and pulled. He stood firm.
I jerked.
Nope. Couldn’t move him. “Wow,” I said, remembering how he’d lifted the objects in the house. “You’re soooo strong.” I gripped his bicep and squeezed, wanting to stick my tongue out and lick every curve of his body. Oh Mother, it had started. The part where I lost my sensibilities and did whatever I had to do to make him mate me. My brain would disengage in about fifteen minutes. I’d make an ass of myself.
“Wait a second,” Lers said. He turned up his nose, and his nostrils flared. Don’t say it. Don’t say it. “Female, you are in heat.”
I huffed out a breath.
“Come back inside. Don’t make me lock the doors. The alarms will blare. Rey will lose sleep. Jamie gets grumpy about her sleep. Vice will complain, and the people in the park will know something important is happening in the fortress. They’ll think the heirs are coming. It’ll be a mess to sort out.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it,” I said. “It will pass.” I glanced at John, who listened quietly.
Lers motioned us over and took my vitals again. They aligned with what females experienced during heat: fever and ovarian spasms. My pussy began throbbing as if I’d been kept on the edge of an orgasm for twelve hours with no release in sight. It hurt and would hurt more because his seed wouldn’t come.
“John, give us a minute,” Lers said.
Involuntarily, I squeezed John’s bicep again where I’d permanently parked my hand. Hey, at least I hadn’t groped his groin. Yet.
“What is happening?” John asked.
“Felicia is in heat.”
“I heard that. What does it mean?”
I held up a hand. “Lers, do me a favor. I want to go upstairs and rest. That’s all.”
Lers looked from me to John and back. “Okay. Do you want painkillers?”
“They don’t help.”
“Based on…your recent history, I recommend not having anyone service you.”
Ah. He spoke of things I didn’t remember but knew they’d happened. My brain simply deleted the memories of the last heat I’d gone through. I’d been a mindless animal looking for anything and everything that would get me off. Those men were there. I said no, but the body said yes. Luckily for me, my memory of the ordeal was muddy. When Lers had examined me earlier in private before moving me into the room for Jamie’s visit he said my memory loss was a way of coping. The mind simply refused to access pain points and times of great trauma. Many a woman would love to be able to forget. I was lucky that I could. “I’m not gonna have anyone over.”
“If you change your mind and the pain becomes unbearable, ping me over the com. Though I advise against it, if you want, any male would proudly service you.”
“Hold up.” John raised his hand. “Service her how?”
“Don’t worry about it, John,” I said. “It’s a beast thing, and I’m gonna ride it out.”
John ignored me. “I’ll do it.”
The awkward moment stretched. Monitors hummed in the background while Lers and I stood there looking anywhere but at John.
Lers twirled his mustache and pretended to check something important on his tablet, then put it back on his desk. “Do you understand what kind of service she needs?”
“I’m human, not stupid. It took me a bit to figure out, ’cuz you’re beating around the bush.”
Lers eyed John’s crotch. “You are not aroused.”
“You don’t turn me on.” And then something magical happened. He threw a hand over my shoulder and squeezed. I took the liberty and put a hand on his ass. I squeezed. Nice and firm. I imagined it flexing as he pumped into me. A whine escaped my throat.
Lers didn’t take the cue. He misunderstood my whine and said, “Um, yes. A beast male is more suited for her needs.”
“How so?” John asked. I felt the tension in his body.
“A beast male knows how to best please a beast female.”
“Don’t you worry about that.”
“I worry because a quick romp between the sheets won’t do. A beast female needs to feel subdued. Felicia is a female with dominant tendencies. She would enjoy a male forcing her submission. Forcing is…inappropriate for her at the time when what she went through is fresh. I recommend she…”
“Shut the fuck up,” John said. “You’re operating under the impression that because I’m human, I don’t know shit. I know shit. I’ve come a long way and earned my right to stay at this beast fortress. I’m willing to accept the differences between our species. My daughter is mated, has a life of her own. I’ve thought about getting a woman for myself all my life, but it just never happened for me. I gave up, convinced there was something wrong with me. It wasn’t wrong. The beast female just hadn’t come to me yet. Isn’t that how this mating thing works?”
Lers and I stared. John continued, “I’m in my forties. I ain’t getting younger, but I ain’t getting older either. Because of this woman, I will see my great-grandkids and the world set to peace. I will always have this woman by my side. She said I was her mate, and I got two days in here before I head to Texas. I’m gonna do right by her.”
Stunned, Lers and I still stared.
“What?” John barked.
“That’s the longest I’ve heard you speak,” Lers said.
“I have my moments.”
“Well then, all hear John of Big Bear has mated Felicia.”
“Howard. We got last names around here. Thank you. Bye.”
John spun around, taking me with him. Lers stopped us. “Not so fast.” We turned back around. “I have…” He poked the hologram screen with his finger, and a small vial appeared on his desk. “This.”
He took it, rounded the desk, and passed the red liquid to John.
John swished the vial. “What is it?”
“For your state of arousal.”
John looked at the vial, then back at Lers. “What about it?”
“It will help.”
“My state is fine.”
“You are in your forties and human.”
John smiled. “You think I can’t get it up.”
“It is not…up.” Lers pointed at John’s groin.
“Like I said, you don’t turn me on.”
He meant I turned him on. During the poker game, it was up. And hard and big. Thank you, Great Mother, for gifting my mate with a big dick.
John
Felicia and I rode the elevator to the singles’ floor. We found her rooms among the unmated beasts’ quarters, since the housekeeping had prepared them for her while she rested in the med bay under the impression she was still single. Restless beasts roamed the hallways. They threw awkward glances at me, paused as we passed them, but nobody said a word.
I strode down the hall as if going home. It felt that way to me. I finally understood why I’d had shit luck with women in the past. Lers hit a nerve when he asked about my arousal. In the past, I thought there was something wrong with my dick or that because I had a kid already, women weren’t interested. Granted, I hadn’t tried hard enough, but only because most of them didn’t quite interest me. Other women, or any women, for that matter, simply weren’t for me. This beast female w
as for me. I’d be dammed if I was gonna let someone “service” her. Hell no.
I strode with purpose, and Felicia kept up with me. She’d trained with males all her life, so she matched my speed and we quickly reached the door. It led us to another hallway, the one for females, I presumed. There were seven doors in this sector of the floor. Lers had said the three on the end were occupied. I slid the card he’d given us into the holder for the first room on the left.
We entered, and I closed the door behind us, then leaned against it, crossing my arms over my chest. I looked around. A desk on the right, a large bed across from the desk. Not enough for two, but big enough to fit a larger one of the beast males. It would do. Beyond the bed was an alcove with two sofas. Felicia walked past the alcove and commanded the blinds. They opened to the view of the sea. It seemed endless.
From what I’d picked up around here, the beasts loved their seas, and Alpha Beast had built this fortress to look exactly like the one he grew up in. This should’ve pleased Felicia, but downstairs, when she’d seen it, she seemed…scared.
Felicia stayed by the window. The silence between us stretched. Neither of us was comfortable. I grunted and waited for her to make a move. She spun around and approached me, took my hand, and led me to the bed. With a swift shove, I fell on it, leaning back on my hands. Felicia took it as a cue. She bent to get my belt, but I gripped her wrist. “Later.”
She pouted, her bottom lip pushing out. I wanted to bite it.
She crawled over me, her long, abundant hair falling all around her. I found her beautiful, all of her, especially her round green eyes. They were expressive, and I could tell how much I meant to her and what it meant that I didn’t fight her mating. How could I have? God had made me for her. I believed it. All my life, I’d felt like a man without a soul. Sienna came and filled that hole in me. I did my best for her but had failed to shelter her anyway. Though, in the end, she’d ended up happier now than before.
A low purr sounded.
I couldn’t help it. I chuckled. “You purr like a kitten.”
Her eyes widened. “I don’t purr, mate. I growl.”
“Is that what that is? ’Cuz it sounds like purring to me.”
