Amoris

We flew high and fast, then descended slowly toward the city, my intention not to alarm the patrol and burn through the hydro fuel reserves before landing. The communication on the Ferry didn’t work. Of course it didn’t. If Nie’s beasts left it enabled, Ferry would respond to my voice. They couldn’t risk it. I had to wonder, why Ferry? Why would Nie leave me with a way out? A guess would be that he didn’t trust Tom and wanted a way to infiltrate and escape Community X in case they turned on him when he visited. He’d do anything to save his own ass. Ferry could’ve acted as my prison but also his entry and exit point in case he needed to come down there and shit didn’t work out. He sure as fuck hadn’t left the Ferry for me. He couldn’t care less about me.

Emma slept on the ride over.

John assured me her pulse beat steadily, that the heat booster they’d injected her with had worn off. But he couldn’t be trusted when it came to assessing her well-being. Only Lers, our beast medic, would do.

We cleared the clouds, and there it was. Beast City, with high-rises silhouetted against the sea. Not just any high-rises, but a replica of our home in Tineya. The fortress rose above all else, like an evil black queen surrounded by her minions, topped with red mushroom heads that were Earth-designed homes.

“Jamie built this?”

“It’s a long story,” Felicia said. “He’ll brief you, I’m sure.” Her hands flew over the holograms. She moved the ship toward the docked boats. “Gonna park her like a boat.”

I stared at the city. Never thought I’d see it again.

She nudged me. “My lord, I’m gonna dock her.”

“It’s shallow,” I said.

“Duh. Kidding,” she said.

“This is the coolest thing ever,” Cole said, then added, “Or not.”

Hundreds of round black pods surrounded us. Like ants on a breadcrumb, they moved busily around the ship. We stopped, hovering. I had no com, so I folded my hands over my chest.

“I’m sure they’re hailing,” Felicia said.

I pictured my brothers in their observatory, Jamie’s fists on the table while he glared at the Ferry, Vice rubbing his jaw, wondering what the fuck he was seeing. “I take it Jamie and Vice haven’t killed each other yet.”

“Not yet,” Felicia said.

“Jamie’s gonna open fire.”

Felicia nodded.

“Vice’s gonna keep us alive.”

Felicia nodded.

“Okay, then. Nothing has changed with my brothers, I see. That’s good to know, at least. We just gotta sit it out.”

I walked to Emma, unbuckled her, and sat in my chair with her on my lap. I strapped us in and buried my nose in her hair. Against my warm body, hers felt cold, as it should for a human female. I shivered, not from the cold, but from the unreasonable fear she wouldn’t mate me now that she would be presented with choices.

Gently, I rocked her, whispered sweet nothings in her ear. I hadn’t even claimed my mate. I promised her I’d claim her as soon as she recovered. An onslaught of laser fire shook my ship. I kept whispering. I put my faith in Vice. He was levelheaded and would want to take the ship down with the crew intact. I put my faith in Jamie, who would mercilessly defend his city from Father’s beasts when they came. And they would come on my heels. Father wouldn’t rest. He wouldn’t rest until I burned on a pyre.

And so I asked Emma again, “What did Nie want from me?” She didn’t respond. I promised to mate her sweet and slow. I promised to torture her pussy with my tongue and cock until she caved in and told me. Emma knew. Emma knew everything. She reminded me of my mother. Not in a creepy way, but in a way that she knew everything and still chose to ignore it. Mother could’ve prevented Jamie’s exile. Mother could’ve changed the way my father governed the state, because he loved her unconditionally, and if she asked for something, it would be done. She chose not to get involved, chose to ignore her sons. Right or wrong, she would always support our father, something the three of us had accepted long ago.

The circuits caught fire, alarms blared, red lights flashed, and Cole, the poor kid, shrank in his chair, screaming his throat raw. John took the pilot’s seat. He and Felicia held hands.

“We’re going down,” I said.

The pressure in the cabin built.

Ferry tilted, then plunged. My hair rose, and if I hadn’t been strapped in, I would have splattered on the ceiling. “Brace for impact!”

Ferry hit the sea.

Her walls groaned. The pressure in the cabin blew. My ears popped again, and I thought I’d go deaf. I held on to Emma as the ship sank. Blue sea all around us, happy schools of fish swimming across the screen. Imported Tineyan corals, and then a dolphin zipped past.

Thunk.

A groan.

Ferry hit the sand. She bounced, and my stomach bounced with her. I waited until the ship settled, then stood and headed for the emergency exit, the one we used in case we sank our ships into Tineya’s seas. Everyone followed, and we crammed into a small metal…cube. The door closed behind us. I punched in the panel, telling Ferry to eject us, hoping like hell she would. We waited.

The space reminded me of my cube, the one they’d shoved me into when Emma came around or any time I needed a lesson. I half expected a needle to pierce my back. At the thought, I gritted my teeth. Something must’ve showed on my face, because next to me, John asked, “You all right?”

I nodded and wiped cold sweat from my forehead. Flashbacks came one after the other. I leaned back against the cell. “This fucking thing needs to go up.”

“It’ll go,” Felicia said. “Give it a minute.”

Cole sniffed but had stopped crying. He held on to John, who seemed like he knew how to handle kids. He kept his palm on top of the boy’s head and told him to be brave.

My breaths came out in pants. The small space made my skin crawl, making me think that bastard Adam would activate the needle shot. They fucking did that to me twice a week while my mate came inside my quarters. I lifted Emma and put her head on my shoulder, wishing like hell she could put her arms around my neck and hang on to me. Though I was pretty sure I needed her more than she needed me.

Finally, the cube disengaged, and Ferry ejected us. My stomach rose back up and settled as we emerged on the top. We floated on the sea.

A pause, then Felicia said, “Well, we ended up in the sea.”

“Are we done yet?” Cole asked. “Is it over?”

I smiled down at him. “Let’s hope Jamie is busy and someone else comes to fetch the people who breached the skies.”

Felicia chuckled. “Hear, hear.”

The cubicle bumped against something and stopped moving. I looked up through the small window on the very top. The sky above us and nothing else.

“I think we hit the shore,” John said and cracked open the door. A barrage of laser fire hit us, denting the sides of the cubicle.

Cole started crying again. “They’re gonna kill us.”

Jamie wouldn’t relent.

“When I was twelve years old,” I shouted, “you made me drink your piss. You said it would make me an Alpha like you.”

“What?” That was Vice.

“And you, my brother. Did Anna Karenina wear a lilac dress to the ball?”

“No.”

“No, she wore a black dress. You know how I know that?” I smiled.

“Tell me.”

“You fucking made me prance around in a black dress and called me Anna.”

“Like a princess,” John said.

“Vice!” I hollered.

My mate stirred. “Sorry, baby. Hold on. Vice!”

“Yes, I’m here,” came from the other side of the thin metal wall, followed by a knock. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Away.”

“On vacation?”

“Christ.” John banged the back of his head against the metal. “Vice, I got Felicia, a boy, Amoris, and his mate in here. We’re coming out. Fuck off already.”

A pause, then, “Okay, John, come on out. Hold fire!”

We emerged on the shore. My bare feet dug into the sand, and I paused to wiggle them. Wind blew in my hair, sun bathed my skin, and it smelled of fresh seas and beasts. Male beasts everywhere.

I threw my head back and howled. Once done, I found Vice standing before me with his hands on his hips. His red eyes hadn’t paled, and he hadn’t assumed his battle form either, but the frown that marred his face looked familiar. I grinned wider. “I’m back, baby.”

Behind Vice, the beasts started stomping. I matched their pace, hitting my foot on the sand. Vice did the same, a grin finally splitting his face. I hadn’t felt this happy since the first day I’d scented my mate. My heart filled with joy. I was outside. I was free. “Lers!” Vice shouted. The crowds parted and good ol’ Lers ran to me. He still sported the evil-villain mustache. Nothing had changed. Lers extended his hands. “Welcome back, boy.” He choked up as I handed him Emma.

“Don’t get all teary-eyed on me,” I told him. “And take care with my mate.”

I watched him disappear inside. I’d visit her in med bay. Lers hated being disturbed while working, and I wasn’t gonna bug him when he worked on my mate. She’d get better faster, and I’d mate her soon. “Well,” I said to Vice, “aren’t you gonna give me a hug?”

The beasts parted, and Jamie marched down the path. My breath caught. He looked just like our father, only bigger. Long white hair, silver eyes, and arms the size of tree trunks. Silence took over the crowds. I felt like the whole city stopped. Perhaps it did. And I certainly ceased breathing as Jamie ran and threw his big body at me. Air whooshed out of my lungs as I stumbled back but caught myself from falling. I wrapped my arms around him. We stayed like that for a while, me inhaling the scent of the abundant strength coiled inside him.

“I love you,” he said. “I hadn’t had a chance to tell you that.”

Surprised, I smiled. So maybe some things had changed.