Tamed by the Beast. Grace Goodwin
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to give her control of my beast.
“Why me, Tia?”
“You were my best friend. It’s always been you, ever since we were young ones in the nursery. You know I followed you around like a shadow. Always. I don’t want to see you die, Deek. Please. I want to spend the rest of my life by your side, as your mate.”
My beast roared to life. “No,” it shouted, pushing to the fore. My skin tightened and the heat of the beast roared through my veins. The muscles bulged on my neck and arms and my back elongated, stretching to accommodate the monster straining to break free. I pushed him back, barely holding on to control as Tia gasped, backing away from the grav-wall.
“Then you die,” Engel said, his gaze narrowed and filled with a level of hatred I’d never seen from him before. It was not my intention to hurt Tia, but the beast was in control, and the beast was tired of having the same female be thrown at him over and over, despite his rejections.
I breathed hard, tried to calm my pounding heart so I could respond. “I would take her here, fuck her against the wall. I would not be gentle. I would hurt her, Engel; her presence does not calm my rage. You want that for Tia?” I asked him, my hands clenched into fists.
Tia put a hand on her father’s shoulder. “Let me speak with him, Father.”
Engel nodded, gave me a hard look, then left.
Tia remained. She walked to the side of the grav-wall and removed a small black pouch from her pocket, placing it in the slot used to pass items to me without the risk of lowering the grav-walls protective shield. She pressed a button and the small drawer slid through the wall to emerge on my side of the containment cell.
I opened the hatch and looked down to see my great-grandmother’s most beloved possession, a family heirloom that had been passed to Tia’s family line three generations ago. I knew what was inside the engraved pouch, but still, I could not resist opening the top and pouring the wealth of gold links into my hand.
I looked at it, then at her. “Why would you give this to me?”
“You are afraid you are too rough for me, that the beast within you will hurt me. It is a present, for the beast. Perhaps touching something that has touched my skin will ease your fever in some small way.”
I lifted the necklace from my palm. The small elaborate gold and graphite coils were cool to the touch, smooth. If the gift was meant to pacify me, it was not working. Nothing would work from Tia, for she was not my mate. My life would be so much easier if my beast would accept her. But he refused.
I placed the necklace back into its pouch and sent it back to Tia using the small drawer. “Keep it, Tia. When you find the mate you are destined for, neither the necklace nor your eagerness will be denied.”
“Please, Deek. At least try…” She lifted a hand to her shoulder and shrugged her gown off the side, exposing her entire shoulder, her neck and most of her breast.
“No.” My voice rose as I spoke, the beast was eager to tell her off. She was not my mate, and the beast was eager to ensure she would not return. I had no desire to waste the short time I had left giving her false hope. “We were friends as children, Tia. But I’ve been gone a long time. I am not the same man that left. And as much as I wish you were, you are not my mate. The beast can smell your desire, the wet heat of your pussy. He does not desire you. He will not allow me to touch you. I am sorry.”
Anger flared in her eyes as she tilted her chin up and I saw a flash of the childhood hellion I remembered so well. “You are so stubborn, Deek! Tell your beast to shut up and accept what is offered.”
“I can’t. It doesn’t work that way.”
“Why not? You’d rather die?”
“It’s not my choice. The beast is in control now. If my true mate is not found, if she can’t soothe the mating fever, if my beast will not surrender to her, then yes, I die willingly. I cannot live with this fever raging in my blood.”
I was prepared for death, expected it even. Tia’s shocked expression surprised me. Why should my honesty distress her? Was she expecting me to change my mind and take her out of desperation? The beast would not allow that to occur. The beast would rather die, and probably would. Warlord Engel was right about one thing… I was running out of time.
She pursed her lips as if she would say more, but she didn’t. She retrieved the necklace and watched me for a minute that felt like an eternity.
“Goodbye, Deek. I hope you find what you’re looking for. And if you change your mind, I’ve left my information with the guards.”
“Thank you, Tia. But I won’t change my mind.”
She nodded. Turning on her heel, she readjusted her dress to cover herself and walked out of sight. I knew she would not return.
What logic I had left wondered if she was truly my last chance at survival?
The beast within said no. He didn’t want her. Didn’t like anything about her. It never had.
And yet, the beast still raged, still demanded his mate.
I dropped down onto the bed, my head in my hands. The beast pressed at my mind like a tidal wave rushing toward the shore to wipe out what remained of my sanity.
My mate would not come, and I would die.
Tiffani
“Execution?” I pulled on the restraints that held me to the table in the processing room in a futile act of panic. “No. They can’t kill him.”
Warden Egara’s smile was sad. “I’m afraid that is the Atlan way. Once a male is lost to the mating fever, there is no redemption.”
“But he has a mate! Me! I can redeem him, save him. Whatever,” I pleaded with her. There had to be some kind of mistake. This couldn’t be happening. I had a guy who wanted me and he was set to be executed? I think not. “Send me there. The protocol matched us. Officially, by alien law, he’s mine. Isn’t that correct? I am already his mate. Doesn’t that grant me some kind of rights? I have the right to see him. I demand to see him.”
Her eyebrows lifted into severe arcs as she considered me long and hard. She looked over her shoulder and spoke. “Can you hear her, Sarah?” The warden nodded her head, listening. She was having a conversation with someone on the far side of the universe. If I wasn’t in a processing center, I’d think she was crazy. Especially since I couldn’t understand a thing the woman was saying. Her voice was too faint, and all I could hear was the pounding of my rage in my ears. “And what if something goes wrong?”
A deep, rumbling voice came through the speaker then, much louder and more commanding. It reminded me of the voice from my vision and a shiver of rekindled need raced across my skin. “There’s no room for mistakes. If she comes to us, she must have the courage to see it through. Should she fail, he dies,” the voice boomed, startling me.
Warden Egara turned to me and I hardened my resolve. No one, and I mean no one, was stealing this from me. “I won’t fail. He’s mine.”
The warden nodded, turning back to the screen, to the large Atlan male I could hear but not see. “I believe her, Warlord. I think we should give her a chance to save him.”
“Very well. I’m not prepared to give up on the commander. Send her to us. We will get her in to see him.”
Warden Egara actually bowed her head before responding, as if she were speaking to royalty or something. “As you wish, Warlord Dax. If you have transport codes, I will initiate her transport now.”
“They should be arriving at any moment.”
Even as he spoke, the bright blue lights behind me began to flash and brighten and my chair jerked into motion. “What’s happening?”
“Received.