Amoris

The girls waited for the line of fire to move to the other side of the fortress before crawling to the door. Dewlyn pushed the egg-shaped incubator in front of her and encouraged Emma into the back of the house. I could see stairs, so they’d descend into the deep bottom of the fortress. Emma got ahold of the incubator so Dewlyn could crawl faster. But at the stairs, Dewlyn paused, didn’t close the door. She turned around as if she wanted to stay. Vice gave her a thumbs-up.

Dewlyn bit her lip, hesitating.

“Now,” he snapped.

She closed the door.

I crawled across the floor and reached him, then sat beside him as the battle continued on the lower floors. If Jamie had built the Earth fortress based on our home on Tineya, it could withstand a siege for months. Had he built these houses as our father had built his, they too would withstand laser fire. So I asked, “Why, oh, why would he make a little utopian village on top of the military compound?”

“Rey wanted small houses with red roofs.”

“Ah.”

Vice picked out a piece of glass stuck in his palm. He tossed it on the floor. “I don’t want you to think about anything other than Nie.”

“Where is Emma?”

“Downstairs at the very bottom, in a nuclear bunker.”

I shook my head, considering she’d come from a nuclear bunker, to be forced back when she experienced freedom had to be terrible.

Vice nudged my side. “Whatcha thinking about?”

“Nothing.”

“Bitch, please.”

“I’m thinking about Emma and wishing she was here.”

Vice put a hand on my shoulder. “I’m gonna tell you a secret.”

“Right now?” I glanced at his profile, noticing a cut in the corner of his lip.

“Mm-hm. Jamie and I got busted by a bunch of Men of Earth. They put us in a well. Jamie was wounded by one of those poisonous arrows they like using, and so he couldn’t move. I had to climb the well with his big ass attached to my back.”

“Nice workout.”

“Yeah.”

“During our time in the well, they attacked Rey. She was still pregnant, and he’s never been the same. Afterward, he offered me Earth.”

I raised both eyebrows. “Damn.”

“Yeah. The moral of my story is, Jamie will not part from her during the attack.”

Vice was telling me Jamie wouldn’t show his face even if father challenged him. Father would have to fight his way to the bunker if he wanted Jamie. And he would never do that. Too risky. We knew how Father warred. We knew the siege would end tonight and negotiations would start tomorrow. He’d tell us what the fuck he wanted, and we’d go from there.

“You think Emma’s telling the truth?” Vice asked.

I didn’t like Vice questioning my mate. “About what?”

“About wanting her so he could get heirs.” Vice spat on the floor. Blood mixed with the saliva. “He has three fucking heirs.”

“Me and you aren’t fit for rule, in his opinion. Jamie won’t do it anymore, even if Nie stepped down. He hadn’t gotten to Rey in time, and then it was too late once Jamie had her.”

“You think he sent Men of Earth after Rey,” Vice said, though not as a question. “Fuck, that makes sense. They were prepared. They waited for us. They knew we were coming. He’d been watching us all along, probably has spies in our ranks.”

“He got Dewlyn too.” I said. “I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. If I didn’t think she wanted kids, I wouldn’t have gotten the incubator. But I had to try.” Vice sighed, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Is Emma pregnant?”

“Don’t know. Possibly.”

“So if he doesn’t know she’s pregnant, he won’t take her. This leaves you, Amoris. Did I get that right?”

“He doesn’t think much of me,” I said, “Although…” I’d never told my brothers Nie had offered me Tineya’s throne. But Vice was all ears now. “That last time I left Tineya, he asked me to stay. Told me straight I couldn’t challenge him, so he planned to give me Tineya while he held all the power. He thought I would accept for riches and glory, and I admit, it was tempting. In the end, I left. Sometimes I regretted it, but not anymore. Had I stayed, I wouldn’t have ever mated. He’d have gotten rid of me ’cause I couldn’t produce him an heir, and he’d end up here anyway.”

“I think you know what you need to do, my brother.”

I groaned and stood, dusted off my leathers. “You coming?”

“Wouldn’t miss it. The sight of me pisses him off.” He slapped my back. “Piece of cake, little brother, piece of cake.”

I leapt on the window and looked down some two thousand feet. Vice climbed after me but didn’t look down. He hooked his hands onto the roof, then swung his feet. I followed, and we climbed onto the red roof.

Father had come with Tineya’s Star, our most advanced and strongest battleship carrying enough war power and beasts to seize the Earth from us. Humans were many, but powerless and segregated. We were few compared to Nie’s army. “How did he get past the satellite surveillance?” I asked. A few days ago, Vice allowed my Ferry past the surveillance. Tineya’s Star? Nobody in their right mind would allow her near the surface.

Vice snorted. “Someone let him pass. Don’t worry about that. Jamie’ll enjoy handling that problem later.”

No doubt, and it wouldn’t be pleasant. Tineya’s Star hovered above the fortress, our defense pods swarming around her. They were firing at her, trying to damage her shields. Red and green laser fire crisscrossed the sky. Many beasts would die tonight. But they didn’t have to.

Vice tapped his earpiece. “Troy, come in.” He paused for Troy, one of our best pilots, who presumably was approaching with one of our battleships. We’d stored them because they were huge and also because we didn’t feel like we needed them. Humans were earthbound, the battles with Men of Earth fought silently on the ground.

Vice handed me his piece, and I put it in my ear, then checked in with Troy.

“Goner is no more,” he said by way of greeting.

Goner? Jamie couldn’t have come up with something more…more, eh, I’d get him for it after. If I lived. I gritted my teeth, cracked my neck.

“Good to hear your voice, Troy. Hail my father. I want to speak with him.”

“Where is Alpha Beast?” Troy asked.

“Not available.”

A pause, then, “Yes, my lord, right away.”

I waited, nudging Vice when Tineya’s Star ceased fire. Vice pressed his ear against mine, and it reminded me of the one time when we were kids trying to listen in on our housekeeping staff having sex behind closed doors. “This is Hikhor, Tineya’s Second speaking. Where is Jamie?”

“This is Vice, Tineya’s Second. You can shove your fake title up your ass.”

Hikhor’s laughter drifted through my ear. “You are welcome to challenge me for the title I earned after you abandoned our true alpha.”

“I can’t wait,” Vice said. “Send an envoy for us.” A pod disengaged and descended. “That went well,” he added.

“It’s a trap,” I said.

“You bet.”

“They’ll try to kill us.”

“You know it, bro. Choices? Options? Alternatives?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

The pod hovered at the edge of the roof, and the door opened. We leapt inside and flew into the Star’s belly, where bright lights shone on an army of beasts. The pod door slid open, and Vice and I exited, then rounded the pod. Thirty rows of beasts, I estimated about a hundred per row, stood at the ready for the floor to open and drop them onto Jamie’s utopian village. They would swarm the place. They would kill and maim until they reached the belly of the fortress, where they’d encounter our army. It would be a bloodbath.

I presumed this wasn’t the only legion daddy dearest brought. The Star carried several battle legions. It would go on for days, maybe weeks, maybe months. Father had started a war tonight. Jamie wouldn’t settle until all his enemies died. He couldn’t even settle into peace, even after Emma confirmed Tom had died. He’d requested John to go back into Com X and bring Tom’s body to Beast City.

In the same fashion—because the apple didn’t fall far from the tree—Father couldn’t settle on Tineya. He couldn’t live with the knowledge that after his death, our family would no longer hold the throne. Tineya must have an Alpha, the strongest beast to hold us together, and he’d be damned if it wasn’t one of his sons. Jamie thought the same way. Family was everything, and ours would lead the beasts.

“This way.” The pod pilot motioned for us to follow him, as if we didn’t know the Star’s command location. Fucking clown.

Vice and I said nothing, followed the clown into an elevator. We exited on the command floor, knowing full well this could be the last time we left Earth or saw our mates. Two things comforted me. One, Jamie had stayed behind, so no matter what, this would not end here, because in order to become Alpha Beast, the alpha of all the beasts, Father had to defeat him. Everyone in their right mind knew Jamie couldn’t be defeated. A stronger beast hadn’t been born yet. The second thing? Emma. She could be pregnant and carrying my children. Jamie would protect them.

So, I swaggered into the enemies’ lair with a big fucking grin on my face. Next to me, Vice, the killjoy, looked murderous. Father sat on his throne, the bitch who thought himself Tineya’s second on his right, High Priest of Tineya on his left. Torrent’s daddy had come. How fucking touching. I crossed the bright room, winked at the beast who growled at me, and spun around for a show, then dropped to one knee. I bowed my head. “Father dearest, how good of you to come.” I lifted my head.

Father had never been and, I presumed, never would be amused by my flair for theatrics. A serious male with long white hair, silver eyes, and a battle scar across his right cheek, left there by Mayhem’s father just before he died, Father fought well, had trained with some of our finest beasts while I trained with Jamie ’cause nobody else thought the third son of Alpha Nie would be much use in battle. Or really much use for anything.

Mother had asked for a third child.

Father had given her me.

I was her baby boy, and since I was inconsequential to his bloodline, he let her spoil me. Father couldn’t be bothered with my upbringing. I was of no use to him until now. Too bad Jamie had turned out stronger than him sooner than he’d expected. Father didn’t like surprises. So I aimed to surprise him.

“Stand,” he said and motioned me up with his hand. He eyed my brother. “Vice.”

“Father.”

Father pinched his lips. Vice wasn’t gonna bow, and that bothered him, though not enough to make a big deal of it. Unfortunately. I loved theatrics. “Where is my Alpha son?”

“Not available,” Vice said.

Father flinched. “You are surrounded. This mockery of my home on Tineya will be seized in less than one hour of your Earth time. Had I known you were so…weak I wouldn’t have bothered bringing the Star. I could’ve taken the Ferry.”

Beasts snickered.

I chuckled.

Father put his hand up, asking for quiet. “Jamie is in hiding. You two have come to negotiate. There is no more negotiation. And you!” He pointed at Vice. “I will make an example of you. Bow to your Alpha.”

Okay, so he couldn’t get over himself. “Temper, temper, Daddy-o,” I said.

He snarled, stood, and shrugged the red fur cape from his shoulders.

Vice stepped back. I stepped forward. Father looked confused, then he shook his head. “Get out of my way, boy.”

“You conspired with humans who wanted us dead,” I said.

“Of course I did. You idiots couldn’t see past those human pussies you call mates.”

“Careful,” Vice said. “You offend my mate, and I might change my mind and kill you.”

Father smiled. “I sent a woman after yours. You will never breed.”

I spun around just in time to catch Vice before he rushed him. I grabbed the back of his neck, pressed my forehead on his. “Don’t let him get to you. You and your mate found a way.” Under my palm, Vice’s shoulder shook. If he assumed a battle form, it would be understood as a challenge. Vice didn’t want the Alpha position. He’d regret it and pass it on to me, and I’d become the Alpha. But it wouldn’t be earned. I had to earn this place, earn these beasts’ respect, and I’d earn it through bloodshed. As beasts, we understood violence.

Vice composed himself and retreated a few more steps. With my back to Father, I bent and punched the floor. “You want my kids?” I bellowed.

“The only good thing that would come of your existence would be heirs. So yes, I think I deserve something from you.”

Deserve? Sociopath. I sure hoped those genes died with him tonight. I breathed deep, allowing anger to settle into me. My teeth exploded in my mouth, my jaw trying to catch up with my battle form. My neck expanded, fur sprouted on it and then on my back, my body grew, and I towered over Vice. He surveyed my form. I lifted my upper lip and caught a small smile stretching his lips. I guessed I’d grown a bit.

Behind me, Father snarled and changed for battle.

We faced each other. In battle form, Father stood eight feet tall and twice as wide as me, the abundance of white hair around his shoulders making him appear even bigger. While I measured him, I tried to suppress the fear that Emma would spend the rest of her life alone and possibly raising our children by herself. The thought of her grim future erased my fear and replaced it with anger. I fucking hated the man who’d made me.

The beasts closed around us in a circle. They stomped their feet. My father stomped his too. I wanted to shatter his knee. I wanted to break him. If he lived, Emma would suffer down there in the bunker. The longer she remained there, the more I wanted her out. I knew what made her tick. It wasn’t closed-in dark spaces, it was the vast space she’d never even seen. I wanted to show her everything. And damn it, I would show her the universe.

I leapt. Father stepped back and slipped, fell into the crowd, who bounced him back. Our bodies collided, chest to chest, claws swiped, teeth snapped, and we landed back on our feet. I touched my neck, and my hand came away bloody. Nie hadn’t fared any better, with a gash over his middle. He rushed me. I leapt and met him halfway. Again, we collided chest to chest. My breath whooshed out, but so did his as we clawed at each other. He clamped his mouth on my bicep, his teeth digging into the flesh. I clawed his side, then jabbed my claws under his rib cage. I lifted my hand, felt ribs, and lifted some more.

He wouldn’t let go of my arm.

He’d crush it.

And so he did.

A crunch sounded, and a cry tore out of me. I moved back, my right arm hanging at my side. In the crowd, I found Vice. I couldn’t miss his pale pink eyes. They filled with fear. He thought I’d lose.

Nie lifted his hands and stomped his feet. A victory dance. He leapt at me and struck my face. My cheek crunched under his fist, and I fell to one knee.

“That’s right, boy. Bow to your true Alpha.”

Well, I couldn’t do that, now could I?

Oh, but the pain made me want to pass out. My arm felt as heavy as an iron chest. I grunted, forced myself up, one eye completely shut, the other blurry. Probably had a concussion. I blinked the good eye to clear my haze and stumbled back. The crowd pushed me. Father advanced. We’d collide again, and he’d kill me.

He leapt.

I didn’t.

I waited and sank my good hand into his gut. My claws pierced the skin as he fell on top of me, then I felt soft organs on my fingertips. I snarled and bit his shoulder to keep him on top of me, then jerked my hand. I tore into his insides.

Nie howled.

The crowd quieted. Not a single foot stomped in the control room.

I coughed out his and my blood, then pushed him off. I knelt beside him. Blood gushed out of his middle. I tore off my shirt and covered the wound. Father breathed, his chest rising and falling. “I could’ve killed you, boy. But I didn’t.”

“Oh, you can’t be fucking serious,” Vice said behind me. “You’re something else, Nie, something fucking else. I can only thank our Great Mother none of those crazy genes carried on to your offspring.”

“Blasphemy,” Nie said. “Kill him,” he ordered.

The beasts didn’t move though, unsure what to do. Even the other Tineya’s Second stayed back. Clown.

Soft footsteps.

I tilted my head up and wrinkled my nose. I smelled her before I saw her. My mother pushed past the beasts and ran in a flutter of black skirts and ribbons. Her red eyes were pale, her face was wrinkled with age, and her soft features appeared even softer as she sobbed. She covered Nie’s body, her eyes on me. “Mercy, Amoris, show him mercy.”

She buried her face into the crook of his neck. Beside her, Nie smiled. I stared down at him, unsure why he’d surprised me. But he had. I didn’t think he’d use his mate to save his life. When Com X went down, he must’ve known sooner or later Jamie would find out it was he who had been supplying Men of Earth with tech and weapons, he who might’ve even started the movement. He who led the Star to collect Emma.

He could’ve waited for someone to deliver her to Tineya instead of making the long journey, which led me to believe he thought he could use his beasts and the Men of Earth forces to defeat Jamie. But he also thought Jamie would challenge him, and he knew he would lose. So he’d brought my mother, a sure way to save his life. He didn’t expect me to defeat him, a blow to his pride. I decided to let him live and rot from the inside. He hadn’t expected his youngest to remove him from the throne; he wanted me to share the throne with him. To him, I was worthless, a waste of sperm, a favor to my mom.

I smiled back and walked to said throne. Made of iron and covered in wild red animal fur, it looked magnificent. My ass hit it, and I propped one leg over my knee. Pain shot up my broken arm, and I groaned, grinding my teeth. “Let me hear it!”

The beasts stomped once. “All see Alpha Amoris, a true descendant of our Great Mother.”

I glanced at Vice. He shrugged. “Works for me.”

Jamie’s voice drifted through the com unit in my ear, and I winced, then popped the piece out. I stretched out my hand. “It’s for you, Vice.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“Someone better answer me,” Jamie said as I put the thing back in my ear, wishing I could adjust the volume to mute and give myself a minute.

I also knew Jamie wouldn’t give me a minute, so I said, “It’s done.”

“Of course it is. I never doubted you could do it. Took you forever, but you did it. Congratulations, my brother. You are now an Alpha.”

“Yeah.” Tineya was my home, and it needed an Alpha of our bloodline. As the third son of Alpha Nie, I never thought I would lead the beasts. But after Jamie and Vice refused, and after Father attacked, I knew I had to challenge him for the throne. Now that I sat on his throne, I leaned back and got comfortable while trying not to pass out.

“Bring down the body. We’ll ship him to Mother.”

My eyes found hers as she put her head over Father’s chest. “Mother’s here.”

Silence.

I cleared my throat. “He’s still alive.”

“That motherfucker,” Jamie shouted. “Brought her as a fucking shield. I will end him myself.”

“No.”

A pause. “Say that again?”

“You heard me. I’m taking them back.”

“Back where?”

“Home.”

“Whatcha sayin’ to me? This is your home.”

“There can’t be three of us in this city. You know it, and I know it. How’s Emma?”

“Gone City is on the rise. Take it.”

Tempting, but I knew I couldn’t, and deep down, if I were to be honest, Tineya had always called. Maybe that was the reason I kept traveling back more often than any other beast. “I have Tineya and my mate. Actually, I don’t have my mate. Send her up.”

Nothing.

“Make it quick. I’m about to pass out.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Jamie said.

“Hear, hear,” I told him.

Ten minutes later, Emma walked into the room, nervously clutching her dress. Her eyes found me sitting on the throne. I expected happiness. I thought she’d be glad to see me triumph, but horror slid across her face, and she ran as fast as she could to my side. As I drifted off to la-la land from the pain, I recognized her expression. My mother wore the same expression as she ran to my father’s side. Emma didn’t care if I were a beggar or a king. She feared I’d bleed out on the throne. And that was how I knew Emma loved me.