Sent Beast Mate(Beast Mates, #3)(49)

The truck swerved, jerked, trying to shake them off.

Three beasts fell off, but three of them hung on.

I couldn’t tell which one of the beasts was Mayhem, but he was there somewhere. A body flew out the window. I didn’t give it much thought. But then a large gray hat tumbled on the road. Maurice. I pulled the reins, and the horse protested, lifting his front hooves. I slid down and onto the road with a thud. Ouch! I stroked my bottom and tried to see where Maurice had gone.

But the moon was in crescent, the night was black, and the desert was dark.

I slid my knife out of the sheath around my waist and left the road. Since my ankle injury, I wasn’t as fast a runner as I used to be, and I hoped Maurice had injured himself when he fell. I walked on, following a grunt or two ahead of me. Then I heard nothing.

I paused in my step and spun around.

No pale eyes.

No grunts.

Quiet.

Just the pitch-black and me right in the middle of the desert.

It occurred to me, I’d gotten lost. The dark of the night didn’t make me feel better. It scared the crap out of me. But I couldn’t lose my nerve because I was scared of the dark. Maurice had escaped. If I didn’t catch him now, he’d be long gone. I crouched and did what I’d seen the beasts do. I picked up some dirt and brought it to my nose. I sniffed, then scrunched up my nose as tiny sand particles flew up my nostrils. Okay, well, that was useless. It made me want to blow my nose. I hadn’t smelled anything, let alone Maurice.

Still, I couldn’t give up.

Mayhem would find me.

He’d find me out here.

He would never leave me behind. I knew this like I knew how to walk the rope blindfolded. A hand came over my mouth, another gripped my wrist as I swung behind me. A whisper at my ear: “Lost something?” my beast said.

Relieved it wasn’t Maurice, I nodded. Mayhem let me go, then removed my boots. He pushed me forward, and we walked slowly. “That’s it, quiet like a mouse.” A whisper at my ear. “I see him. He’s limping, and he’s not too far.” A minute later, Mayhem held me back. “He’s resting. He thinks he’s escaped. Can you see him?”

I didn’t believe I could speak in such a low voice, so shook my head.

Mayhem moved my hips a bit. “There. Close your eyes, hear your prey’s breaths.”

I doubted I could hear Maurice breathe, but I tried anyway. I closed my eyes and let the darkness, the silence of nature, and Mayhem’s confidence in me replace my doubts. That was when I heard the crickets, an occasional hoot of an owl, and I realized nature was never silent. It was the fear that made my heart race and thud in my ears, which blocked the sounds. I concentrated on my own breathing, remembering how I used to concentrate on my rope performance right before the show.

The people would cheer when I showed up on top of the stage, and I would smile and bow, but I wasn’t really there with them. Not in mind, anyway. I rehearsed my spins, drops, and steps.

In my head, the spectators went silent.

The crickets went silent.

And I heard nothing.

“Do you hear them running? Those are my hunters,” Mayhem whispered. “You gonna let them take Maurice? He killed your father, remember?”

“I can’t see him, Mayhem. What do I do?”

The beasts were closing in fast.

He moved me slightly to the left. “There. Throw the knife, Reagan.”

I flung my foot back, threw back my arm, and let my knife fly.

A grunt sounded.

A whoosh as beasts sprinted past us.

Mayhem kissed my shoulder. “Good girl.” He joined his beasts.



Growls snarls, and snapping teeth sounded, but luckily, I couldn’t see anything other than their eyes. I spun on my heel and walked back. “You are a killer,” Maurice had said. Well, he got that right.





Chapter Twenty





Mayhem



On a perfectly cold January night, instead of hunting, I sat on my ass, my feet on my table, my new carpet smelling like someone had baked me an apple pie. The best part about all this? My mate’s head was nestled in my lap. I wasn’t bored busy petting my mate.

Bliss.

Reagan and I had returned to New City. We fucked day and night, and she had another half an hour of rest before I jumped her again. The thing about never having had pussy before? Once I had it, I wanted it all the time. Reagan didn’t mind one bit, figuring if her pussy couldn’t take it, her ass would.

Obedience.

I dropped the hair braid I’d finished and stretched over my mate to pick up a glass of my apple juice. I sipped it. I would never avenge my father, but I had avenged hers and gained Reagan’s trust and love, and so I could sip the apple juice fearing nothing. Life on Earth was good even if I didn’t get New City.