“She’s been following me,” Vice said. “What does she want with the hound?”
“If she followed us, she saw the owner. She’ll talk to my mate is what she’s gonna do.”
“I’ll handle it,” Vice said.
I didn’t believe him but nodded anyway.
We started up the bikes. They lifted off the ground, and the tires folded. I revved the engine and propelled us to our houses, where we set up a lookout on top of a far building.
Mine and Vice’s homes sat on one side of the road, and the neighborhood was on the other. We were born predators, and my eyes glowed bright silver as I surveyed every person in my field of vision. “She knows where Rey is. When she knocks on my door, Rey’s gonna let her in,” I said.
“She might not.”
“She will.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know. Let Dewlyn drop off the hound. We’ll get her when she goes inside the house. I’ll put the house on lockdown, and you take her. Nice and quiet. This is a family neighborhood, remember? There are kids and fucking curly haired poodle hounds. Let’s not make drama.”
“Your new hound will fit right in with the poodles,” Vice said.
I slapped my brother’s back. “That hound’s gonna bang his way through the poodle pack.”
“How’s Rey?”
“Didn’t want the rings.”
“Keep at it,” Vice said. “Be nice.”
“I’m a peach, and I’m courting her. Every day I leave her a toy on the nightstand. We’re gonna try my new toy tonight. She’ll like it.”
“What is it?”
“Anal hook.”
“Peachy. Does she even know what it is?”
“Doubt it, but she will tonight.”
“Let me give you a tip,” Vice started, and I rolled my eyes, bored already. “There are still, oooo, maybe eighty percent of people on this planet who don’t know how we roll. Maybe Rey’s one of them.”
“She’ll get used to it.”
“You going about it all wrong, bro.”
“Too soon?” I nodded in agreement. “How would you court her?”
“I’d go for the anal plug.”
Rey
“Hey, you,” I said to Jamie’s cat, Light, who ate my hair. Lots of hair to chew on. My great-grandmother was Greek, and I inherited volumes of long, dark brown curls. From my dad, Don, from Ireland, I inherited green eyes. Small waist, long legs with a big ass and big breasts. I knew why Jamie had paired with me at first glance.
I threaded my fingers through the cat’s soft fur. He purred. And continued to purr for a while since I had nothing else to do but pet the animal and allow it to chew my hair. We were friends already. So much for escaping this house. I couldn’t even make it outside, too scared of the city I’d never seen before. When had I become such a coward?
The phone rang.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Rey of the Alpha Beast?” a woman asked.
“Yes?”
“Did you lose a hound?”
Abruptly, I sat up. The cat protested with a hiss. “I lost my hound the day before yesterday. Do you have him?” Hope blossomed in my chest. Someone had found him.
At the sound of my voice, Dark barked in the background. My heart swelled.
“What kind of a hound is it?” the woman asked.
She wanted an ID. “A gray hound.” At least my mother had described him as such. “He’s got a patch of black on his belly and answers to Dark. Got a thick black leather collar with a purple tag.”
“Got your hound, girlfriend. Yay!”
“Yay!” I repeated.
“So, you wanna get him? He looked hungry and tired, and I gave him a Fast-Kid’s meal on my way back from work. Is ham okay? He’s riding in my car. I’m heading home.”
I didn’t recognize the young woman’s voice, so she wasn’t from my community, which was the nearest community to the Beast City. Dark must’ve snuck into another community.
All right. I sighed, thinking. Two problems. I couldn’t get him all the way from her community, and Jamie didn’t want a hound in the house. If I told him I needed Dark, I’d need to explain why I needed him. One night of great sex followed by a disastrous night where he’d slept on the couch did not a pairing make. Returning me back to Uncle Sam wasn’t an option.
Screw Uncle Sam.
Screw Jamie too.
The Alpha Beast had signed the pairing without even meeting me. He shouldn’t have, but he had. A done deal, and there was nothing I could do to change that. Jamie had signed up for a life with me. He should’ve asked to meet with me first!
Terrified he’d find me a burden the way Uncle Sam and even my mom had after my “accident,” I needed to find a way to preserve our pairing for a bit longer until I found a way out. Or until he saw me for me and not for the long, dark hair and tight pussy. Looks were superficial. Pounding a pussy for sex’s sake wasn’t gonna keep him coming home to me either. I was fairly certain Jamie was handsome, and even if he wasn’t, the power he carried probably got him laid more often than I’d like to know. I felt terrible for leading him on, but I had to take care of myself. Nobody else would take care if I didn’t.