Sent Beast Mate(Beast Mates, #3)(32)
While the surveillance backtracked the time, I asked Lore to find whoever was on watch this fine morning so I could put him on kitchen duty, make him guard a bag of carrots.
“There she is,” Lore said and pointed.
I narrowed my eyes at the screen. The mouse tried my big Harley first, thought better of it—damn straight!—hopped off, and fumbled with the small one. My heart flipped when she lost her balance as the bike lifted off. “She doesn’t know how to ride that thing.”
“Where is she going?” Lore asked and gave me a side look that said I should be more concerned with where than how. But I didn’t give a shit. I worried about how she’d get wherever she intended to go without falling off the damn thing. “North. She’s headed north.”
“I’ll send a search party,” Lore said.
I grabbed a com unit and stuck it in my ear. “Oh no, I’ll search.”
“Jamie is visiting today. He wants to see the girl.”
“I’ll return by then. With the girl. Keep him occupied. Is Rey coming?”
“No.”
Alpha Beast didn’t feel I could keep his mate safe in my court. An insult. “Line up some males who need a beating. Show him the new training grounds. Offer to spar with him.” I jogged to my rooms and got a cloak.
On the street, I moved north. When walking wouldn’t do, I jogged, kicking up loose dirt behind me. New City was under reconstruction. My tribe and I had moved here recently and worked day and night to build a semblance of a city, starting from the old hotel that served as my court and spreading outward in a circle.
I knew every nook and cranny in this city. My city. The City for my people. The girl was a crucial piece in the puzzle, and she’d gone missing. I hopped over an old roadblock. I paused, kicked a rock with my boot, worried she wouldn’t return. Nah, she’d return. She hadn’t killed me yet. So where did she go? If I were her, where would I have gone? “Lore.” I tapped my com unit. “See if Maurice showed up for work today.”
“On it.”
Pieces of concrete littered what would become a new sidewalk. Water-starved bushes lined the narrow unpaved road leading to the human community. I took the road, hoping she’d follow it to the only functional place in these parts of the city. North of my court and only about three miles out was Community Fourteen. The humans who’d lived here had scattered as soon as Jamie stepped in and declared this place New City. I used the grounds to set up a Fresh Market where we could buy food instead of hunting people on the streets. I said so to the humans I’d met, and shortly after, the Fresh Market filled with farmers. Fucking farmers whose ancestors killed off farm life.
Jamie had staked his claim over Earth by invading the States, what he believed to be the most powerful country, then set out to restore the natural resources. They brought plants from other parts of Earth and they also sent a small fleet back to Tineya with a mission to bring plants that experts thought could thrive on Earth. He intended to make his home healthy again. Meanwhile, the humans stayed quiet in their communities and now reaped the benefits of farming and clean water.
The Fresh Market was one such benefit. Win for the humans ’cuz they had income, and win for me ’cuz happy food ran around my city. I closed my eyes and pictured the mouse’s pretty face. It didn’t take long to feel her. She was the only thing on my mind. I sprinted, then slowed to a jog as I neared the gated area. Before I entered, I circled the place twice looking for my pink bike. Nothing.
At the gates, I wrinkled my nose. Hundreds of humans mingled here, most of them trading or selling livestock. Inside and to my right was a building, a former sanctuary, where they now sold milk and cheese. The smell of sweat, dirt, and pig crap covered up my mouse’s scent. How would I find her here?
First things first, however. I needed a cover before people freaked out. I put on my cloak then scanned the immediate surroundings before strolling among the humans. They smelled yummy, and my mouth watered. I made two rounds between the stands. No mouse, so I went into the indoor dairy part and caught sight of a small coffee stand. Following my hunting instinct, I walked there.
The coffee place had only four tables, the people preferring to take their coffee to their stands or chat in small groups outside. The mouse didn’t sit at any of the tables. I walked a few circles around the place, then sat in a chair and crossed my arms over my chest. I breathed deep, suppressing my rage and hunger. Nothing would make me feel better right now more than a running human I’d have to catch in order to eat.
I swiped my tongue over my teeth.