Caught Beast Mate(14)

“That’s not true. They have fated mates, human girls.”

I rolled my eyes. “Those are their fairy tales. There’s no such thing as mates.”

“Zarik talks about his mate.”

“They are monsters!” I shouted, fists clenched at my sides.

Cole’s eyes watered, and I felt a pang of guilt in my chest. At eight years old, he stood tall for his age and bulky. And because of his size and the things he’d lived through, it was easy to forget he was just a small boy. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have screamed at you.”

“Don’t forget about Momma,” he said and slammed the door behind him.



Momma Jo lived in her own part of the wing at the very end of the hall. She had privacy and a small kitchen, a single bedroom, and her own bathroom, unlike the rest of us who shared rooms of either five or seven beds. The people here had grown up together, most of them closely related to each other, whereas I showed up on their doorstep one day asking for food and shelter after I’d run from Maurice and his gangsters who’d occupied the circus.

I ran from Men of Earth but had enough sense not to mention it. It wasn’t until the prayer time one night that I discovered everyone at this community believed in their prophet Tom, who happened to lead Men of Earth. Even then I stayed. I had nowhere else to go. Besides, the people here weren’t violent, and, unlike Maurice, they didn’t intend to use me for breeding.

I rapped on Momma Jo’s door and waited. She didn’t answer. After a while, I snuck inside and quickly closed the door so that the odor didn’t spread. Momma Jo was cooking something smelling like rotten eggs topped with pigeon crap. It burned the inside of my nose and the back of my mouth, and stung my eyes. My stomach rose, and I put the soap wrapped in a towel over my mouth and nose. I inhaled lavender.

“A mask is on the right, by the door,” Momma Jo said.

I got a white mask. It looked light but felt quite heavy and padded with something. I pulled it over my face. When I breathed, the air came back stale but not stinging. I rubbed my eyes, then noticed goggles on her bed. I put a pair on, then peeked inside her bathroom. Fumes rose from the tub. Momma Jo bent over something inside there, her body completely covered in clear plastic, her face under a green mask.

“I’ll be right out,” she said.

I sat back on the bed and waited for her. It wasn’t too long, but long enough for me to notice seven small vials with clear liquid inside them. She’d already extracted some solution and would mix it into tea. Momma Jo came out, fumes fanning around her black-robe-clad body like mist, her thick black hair pulled back and secured under a hijab. She moved quickly and lit several candles and sticks, then proceeded to chant and wave her sticks through the room. The entire room filled with smoke.

It stank of the incense they used during prayer, and I was glad to have the mask on. The smell, although pleasant, was laced with some sort of a drug that made me happy. Being happy for no reason was great, but floating about the community as if on a cloud wasn’t my idea of a great time. I’d much rather set my markers for my father around the community, for which I needed a clear head.

Momma Jo sat beside me, her brown eyes a bit glossy. I wondered how she hadn’t keeled over and died from all the fumes she’d inhaled. She folded her hands over mine, and I stared down at our joined hands. I welcomed the soft touch. Daddy could be comforting, but his hands were big and calloused, so this woman’s touch felt more motherly. Momma Jo was kind to me. “Sienna dearest, I hear we have a new beast man in our Community.” She slid off my mask.

Yuck. I tried not to gag on the stench. “Yes.”

“Has she fed him yet?”

“She” was Hasel. Momma Jo didn’t like to say her name. “She fed him,” I said, then added, “Pork.” No humans were harmed in today’s beast feeding.

“Good. This is good.”

“You’re worried,” I said.

Momma Jo nodded. “I fear more beasts will come.”

“I doubt it. They have Beast City and New City. Gone City, I hear, is on the rise. We just get the stray crazies out here.”

She snickered. “I hope you’re right. Have you made friends with any of them?”

“No, Momma Jo. I don’t like the beasts. Like you, I have to keep my head down.”

“For now.”

Poor thing. She believed Men of Earth would come for her and her daughters. The communities hoped for a better life, more resources, and Tom promised them more if they agreed to follow him. Regardless of their primary religion, somehow he got through to them, kept uniting communities for his cause. I believed him to be an insane man, and I knew Men of Earth avoided the beasts. They wouldn’t attempt to rescue her. “Yes, for now,” I sighed, my body relaxing as the minutes wore on. I had to get out of the room, or I’d end up spending the day giggling at the blank wall.