“Okay.” I processed what he’d told me. The beasts were hunting us. Great.
“Get over here, Reagan, so we can talk.”
“I don’t think we’ll get any talking done back there.”
Mayhem laughed. “You’ve been thinking about me, haven’t you?”
Heat crawled over my cheeks. “No.”
“You have. Come here.”
Reluctant to leave the front but wanting to know more about my situation, I scooted down the length of the car. He tapped a place near his middle, and I sat down. “Can this car be tracked?”
“I presume it already is.” My confusion registered, and Mayhem continued, “There was a pod circling New City. They have tech, but the tech is as new to me as it is to you. My people are nomads. Jamie’s people run Tineyan cities.”
“Who’s Jamie?”
“Alpha Beast, his father’s son through and through, but a better male.” He thumbed his chest. “On the inside. Recently, he sent a crew to sneak my people out of Tineya and brought us here. Populating Earth isn’t on his father’s agenda, but it is on Jamie’s. The more males he has, the better for him.”
“I thought all beasts were the same.”
“Beasts, like humans, come from different places. My part of Tineya is called Reha. It is one of the most fertile lands on Tineya. Coveted by Jamie’s father. My father, alpha of our tribe, refused the Tineyan Alpha’s rule and challenged him. He was defeated. The tribe fled, fearing the Alpha would come after me. Since then, we’ve crossed our vast home planet looking for a place to settle, but we never did settle. Jamie’s father always found us. Many years ago, I came across a male, Goner, who liked to have a bit too much fun. I saved his life, and he told me about Earth, about his brother, the Alpha’s son, Jamie. He asked me to leave Tineya with him, but I stayed and had to look into the faces of all my people and explain why I’d saved Goner’s life when his father had killed mine. Some of my tribe members accused me of failing them, separated, and went their own way. After they separated, it hit me. I had led my people nowhere. I called in my favor with Jamie. He sent us a ship. We boarded and came to Earth.”
I squeezed his hand. He tugged, and I lay down facing him, my head propped on my hand, mimicking his pose. “Earth is your home now.”
“I have to earn my home. Jamie won’t give me New City if I don’t deliver what he’s looking for. That was the deal. I want it now more than ever so that when you’re pregnant, you’ll have somewhere safe to stay.” My eyes widened. He looked unperturbed and snuck a hand under my shirt. He found my breast and cupped it. “Did Men of Earth bring any girls with them?”
“Yes, five.”
“Hm. They took much more from the shelter alone and we aren’t sure how many en route to Texas. I’m interested in one. She has red hair, brown eyes, and she’s about seventeen. Of the five girls with Maurice, was she one of them?”
“How long have you known about Maurice?”
He chuckled and pecked my lips. “The entire time.”
“You said I was your mate, professed your undying love for me, want to have me barefoot and pregnant, but you bought me like candy. Stripped me naked in front of all those people, threatened me, shaved me with a knife, and…and…well, many other things. I was terrified!” He looked like he’d swallowed a lemon. Yeah buddy, get a load of that. I spun around.
His strong hands came around me, and he threw a leg over both of mine. “You poisoned my drink.”
“I was terrified.”
“We are even, Reagan, and I regret nothing,” he said at my ear. “Nothing. There’s no such thing as a pair. It’s a made-up term for humans. You are my mate, a woman made for me. Do you feel it?”
“Feel what?”
“Anything. Do you feel anything for me?”
I moved his hand away so I could turn around. He put it back. I bit his arm, then released it. Mayhem didn’t look at me but examined the dent my teeth made on his forearm. Once done, pale eyes locked with mine. “Bite me again.” He put his forearm over my mouth. I bit down. Hard. His teeth descended, and when I let go of his arm, he examined the bite. “We’ll need to work on this marking thing. I can barely see it.” He cupped my cheek. “But I can feel it. The girl,” he began, and immediately, I wanted to bite him again. Something must’ve showed on my face, because Mayhem kissed my forehead. “Oh yes, shall I tell you about the girl I’m looking for?”
“Never seen her,” I said. “Why are you looking for her?”