I dug my elbows into the sand and crawled forward. My leg scraped the dirt, and I knew the wounds couldn’t heal by now. Even if I made it out of this desert, I was pretty sure they’d cut this leg off. Yeah, a crippled beast would charm Sienna’s tits off.
I shook my head. The fuck I cared? My mate was out there somewhere, dead or being raped. What would my Alpha do in this situation? Jamie would push harder, try to survive if only for her. He would try to rescue her. But first he would move the planet out of its orbit to find her. Me? Torrent, son of the High Priest of Tineya? I couldn’t even find my mate in the shelter in the middle of Beast City—where I lived, no less—let alone on this entire continent. They could’ve taken her to Anywhere, USA, while I crawled across the deserts of Nowhere, USA. Damn me.
Fuck this shit. I was done.
Yeah, I needed my rest. Hadn’t slept in a while, kept moving, kept crawling, hoping I’d get somewhere.
I never got anywhere. Luck didn’t have my back, and that one time luck did have my back, I got shot, had the scars to prove it. My mate’s father shot me. If he’d killed me, it would’ve been great all around, for me and for her. But no, I lived. I lived and lived and lived again. I rested my cheek on the dirt, the sun behind me, burning my back.
At least now I sported an awesome tan.
In the distance, she appeared before me. Golden hair, clear-sea eyes, and she smelled like lavender. I licked my sore lips. A tinge of copper in my mouth. I sucked the blood, thought about honey, and she came to me. What if I were to die while immersed in a delusion where my mate came to me?
Hell yes.
Any day.
It was summer on Big Bear Lake. High altitude. Clean water. Better chance for forest survival. So our science team had said, and we dropped them off up there for ground sampling or whatever else they did. A leader from the small community below Big Bear invited me over, probably hoping I would pair with one of the women from his stock. Even though we accepted dollars as our currency, revived the economy to hold the human’s green money, I always had a pot of gold coins stashed under the seat of my bike.
Most of us beasts looked out for pairs. We called them pairs, not mates, because we liked to keep the secrets of our species between us. Humans were a cunning species who would use that knowledge against us.
After a visit with the leader where I ate like a king, I toured the community of about a hundred humans but didn’t find my mate. I rode back up to the lake. With the weight of a hearty breakfast in my belly, I relaxed on my bike by the shore and admired the rare beauty that had survived the negligent inhabitants of Earth.
There should be a settlement up here, I thought. Right by the water. Cabins surrounded by trees. I’d get a small boat, buy fish for the lake…yeah, very nice life.
Something small and far away caught my eye. Alert, I sat up. A human walked toward the lake. Closer and closer yet. Ah, a female. I shook my head. The human males had zero sense of protection. They let their young females run around without any supervision. This one was miles away from her community.
The wind in my favor, I lifted my face. It blew her scent straight into my nose. I inhaled a lungful. This female smelled good. Lavender. My dick grew to its full size. Dayum, I needed to dip that fucker into pussy. It wouldn’t be this one, though. She looked like a virgin. I didn’t do virgins. Nope. Virgins latched onto a male, and unless she was his mate, a beast male couldn’t promise her a future.
The girl stood at the end of the lake, didn’t even look around her. I snorted. Even with her inferior vision, if she actually bothered to take in her surroundings, she would have seen me. I shook my head in disapproval, then stuck two fingers into my mouth so I could whistle.
She slid off her backpack, pulled her dress over her head, spun around, and released her golden-blonde hair. It swayed right above her ass.
Time stopped when she bent over to get soap.
My breath arrested when she turned back and smiled.
Fingers in my mouth, I froze; then my hand slowly fell to my side, leaving my mouth gaping. Maybe I drooled. Any beast would drool.
No, not any beast, because no other beast would ever see her naked.
She was mine!
I leapt off the bike, then remembered Vice’s instructions the day he’d lined a bunch of us up in the compound. Loud and clear, my dear, sane friend had said, “If you happen to come across your mate outside of the community, whatever you do, do not scare her. If you are lucky, she will run. If you are not lucky, she will try to kill you. Yes, there are armed females walking on this planet. Beware an armed female. They shoot to kill. What to do? Follow the female to her home, call it in, and we will approach her in her house, where she feels less threatened. Do not kidnap the female. Never kidnap a female.”