Blind Beast Mate(4)
Chapter Two
Rey
The beasts operated out of Beast City, about two hours away from our community. Beast City was built on top of the place once known as the City of Angels. The drive went smoothly. When we slowed down and my stomach almost caught in my throat from the steep descent, I knew we’d left the main space way and the bikes were preparing to land inside the city. The beasts traveled by air and not by ground like us.
Even at sundown, the heat beat down with fury and the winds picked up speed. I cried as quietly as a mouse, lest he felt my sobs on his broad back. I gripped his jacket and bit my lip when I thought about Dark. I hoped he remembered the stray ways he’d had before I’d found him and took him inside the community. I hoped he remembered how to hunt for food.
Why me? I asked myself for the millionth time. I wasn’t even sure how the Alpha Beast accepted a pair from my family’s stock, seeing as he could’ve gone into any community in search of a pretty pair without having to deal with Uncle Sam. Pretty girls could be found anywhere.
The Alpha Beast placed his hand over both of mine and held firm. “Hey, you wanna spin?”
“What?” I shouted over the wind in my ears as we descended.
“Don’t worry, gravity’s got your back. Hang on!”
Headfirst, we dived. He spun the bike in the air. We rolled, descending, and I screamed at the top of my lungs.
The Alpha Beast stopped briefly. My stomach rose, and when I thought I’d vomit for certain this time, my stomach settled with a thump. The bike’s exhaust whooshed. We landed with a real soft thud, as if nothing had happened.
I clutched his middle. “Is it over?”
He shut off the engines and laughed. “Get used to it. Got you a small bike at home. Gonna take you spinnin’.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” I said.
“Welcome. Let’s move.”
Quickly, behind his back, I checked the time. I opened my braille watch’s cover and ran my fingertips over the small dots and the minute and hour hands. It was eight forty. I closed the cover and dismounted with a wince. I hadn’t ridden a space bike before, and I rubbed the numbness out of my ass.
“Need help?” he asked.
I shook my head.
Funny beast.
The smell of roast beef and fumes reached my nose at the same time the beasts around us shut off their engines and called for a party. A party? My insides rolled again. They’d spill tonight, I was sure of it.
The Alpha Beast dismounted and took my hand in his. Faced with completely unfamiliar surroundings, I gripped it for dear life.
“Home sweet home,” he said and walked with long strides. I jogged with a big grin on my face in case his people watched us. A happy bride. “We’ll stay only a few hours,” he continued. “Eat some, drink some, get to know your new family. The works.” He wanted to celebrate his pairing when I wanted him to leave me at my new home. Alone. The bright side? Maybe he’d get drunk and pass out. Or maybe he’d get drunk, forget about me, and use a beast girl instead.
The beasts had ravenous sexual appetites, and their women would know how to please their males best. Either one of the two options would work for me, if only for tonight. I wasn’t in good-wife mode just yet. I wanted to explore my new house. Alone. So that I could find my way around the house, mainly a way to escape. I didn’t know if I could manage an escape, but I sure couldn’t sit on my ass, awaiting my fate.
We crossed a short expanse of concrete, went through a large building, and then my sensible heels dug into the soft grass all the way to the source of the loud music, barbecued ribs, alcohol, and laughter. Grass was a commodity on Earth. The beasts did what they could to revive our planet. We’d ravaged our resources before the beasts came, and they gave nature a second chance. I was born into this world, but I’d read our history and seen the pictures of California grass before the Great Nuclear War.
I squeezed his hand tighter, balanced and counted my steps as we crossed the yard. If I had to use a bathroom, I’d need to find my way back inside, wander the hallways until I found small doors somewhere in the back. In the community’s main hall, the bathrooms lined the walls before the back exits.
I was on step ten, the Alpha Beast’s sixth when he said, “Don’t worry.” Twelve, thirteen, fourteen. “I won’t let you out of my sight. Even with my collar on, I don’t trust any of these motherfuckers. I have the most beautiful pair on Earth, and here I have over seventy single, dirty, horny bastards.” He chuckled.
Despite his words, I was pretty sure he trusted every last one of them, and I loved the collar, even if I found it suitable for hounds. The leather on the collar smelled new. I touched a small heart pendant that dangled from the middle. Sixteen, seventeen, and a left turn. Most girls in the pairing program had issues with collars, but I knew the importance of ownership with the beasts. If you weren’t owned in the city, you were anyone’s and anyone’s girls got passed around. At least he wouldn’t pass me around.