Caught Beast Mate(59)

“Maybe,” she said. Something warm filled my lungs. My heart had just swelled. “You think you could meet me up here?” she asked.

“I can. I can do that.” The bars slid open, and I walked out a new male. Beasts passed by me, some I knew, some I’d seen around, and some I saw for the first time. They all fisted a hand and hit their chests in a traditional greeting reserved for the High Priest. I felt their excitement, felt we hadn’t lost our faith when we came to Earth. But more importantly, I felt my purpose. It was solid and awake in the very core of my being. We would have our tradition take root here on Earth, provide Earth-born beasts a place where they could learn and understand their culture.

Unlike my father, I would teach my people the truth. The Alpha Beast was the strongest, not the truest, and the only true beast was a female, our Great Mother who birthed the first of our kind after her encounter with the wild beasts who roamed our planet.

In the elevator, I commanded it to rise, and the door whooshed open when it reached the control room. I stepped out and froze. A pale pink balloon bounced off my shoulder. I looked up. Pale pink and light gray balloons covered the ceiling. Instruments buzzed in the background.

“Surprise!” people shouted.

Jamie and Rey—bless her and her filled belly—stood in front of a group of people and next to Hasel who sat in a wheelchair, a thin film of healing tape over her jugular. The elder had made it. I ticked it off as a miracle, though the other healers on staff would have said it was their magic hands.

Vice, Dewlyn, Troy, Reem, and Mayhem with Reagan stood with them.

“I’m surprised I don’t see my mate here,” I said.

The group parted.

In front of a large observation screen where Beast City’s lights shone in the distance stood Sienna and John. She held a small bouquet of flowers and wore a white dress. No, not any white dress, One of those big ones and yet just her size not a few sizes bigger. There was an unfamiliar light in her eyes and her cheeks were rosy. I couldn’t utter a word. She looked stunning.

Her father wore a suit, didn’t look pleased but managed to show me his teeth. I smiled back at him.

Cue the music.

I stayed where I was because I didn’t know what else to do when Sienna and her dad walked a few steps, then paused, then walked again. Rey of the Alpha Beast started crying. Apart from Hasel, every female in the room was crying. What the fuck had I done now? I must have done something.

My mate approached, until she stood only a foot away. I inhaled. She wore perfume. Something vanilla. My mouth watered, and I wanted to lick her body. I bet her pussy tasted like vanilla. Yummy.

All smiles and sweet whispers, John kissed the top of her head. He lingered there and slid me an evil eye, then brushed past me and whispered, “Don’t fuck up.”

The peanut gallery chuckled. Everyone heard him.

And then there was my girl and me, and the world disappeared. She looked me up and down. Twice. I almost fixed my clothes and hair, made sure I didn’t have crap on my face, because Sienna stared.



Sienna



Torrent stood there, his long black robe parted to reveal his massive tanned chest where every muscle was clearly defined, especially those near his hips. He was bigger, stronger, and sexier than ever. I looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. With beads I’d woven into his beard while braiding it, he looked positively sinful.

With one sweep over my figure in my wedding dress and tall heels, his eyes paled to hazel. Heat gathered in my belly as I imagined stroking all his hard body.

“Sienna,” he said. “You stayed.”

“I stayed.”

“You could’ve gone home.”

“I could’ve.”

His lips tipped up. “I believe you’re gawking at me.”

I said the first thing that came to mind because he’d said that to me. “There’s a lot to gawk at. If all priests looked like you, we’d have masses of believers heading to sanctuaries every Sunday.”

Laughter filled the room. I’d forgotten about the people. I blushed.

“I’ll be sure to erect a sanctuary in the Beast City.”

“Boy,” Hasel said and cleared her throat loudly to ease her speech after the throat wound. “Don’t just stand there like a stick. Get your bride.”

The Orthodox bishop we’d hired walked to us. He wore a black robe and a golden cross with jewels hung over his neck. His glasses tipped up as he smiled and opened the bible.

“We’re getting married,” Torrent concluded.

I crossed to him first, angling my face to look up at him. “You’re all I thought about for the past year. Most of it was really bad, wishing I could kill you with my bare hands. It wasn’t until after I thought…you were gone that I felt truly alone. You’d been a part of my life, and then you weren’t there anymore, and I didn’t want to be without you. They say true love is patient and kind. It forgives. I forgive you. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be a clueless little girl aimlessly walking about the mountain. I’d still be a ghost, barely aware of my own existence. I love you and everything about you.” I rose on my toes and waited for him to close the distance.