Page 1 of A Baby for the Beast (Beastverse #3)

Lucas

Seven Months Earlier

P eople in the crowd are losing their minds tonight, and it's stressing me out.

Usually, I don't mind the screaming, the vibrations of so many people making sounds and moving at once, but tonight, I'm on edge.

Thankfully, as soon as we're in the ring, Remus will take over, and I won't have to worry about anything.

Remus is the beast I share my consciousness with.

He's a remnant of a biological mutation from a long time ago.

Some alphas have them, and most, like me, decide to sterilize themselves so they don't pass down the genetics for more.

It's not that I dislike having my beast. Remus is great for me, but that doesn't mean all alphas get along with their beasts or that all beasts behave as well as Remus.

I'd rather not take the chance of passing him on to anyone.

"Remember to keep your hands up," Phil, my coach since I first got into fighting, tells me as we enter the ring. Remus is listening to him, but he doesn't like to speak once we're in the ring. "Kyle is going to come at you hard and fast, but he tires himself out."

He likes to go for the KOs, Rem.

Can't knock me out if he can't hit me.

Flawless logic. I don't even pretend not to be laughing at my beast in our mind. But he's not wrong.

We've fought guys like Kyle before, even if this is the first time we've fought Kyle.

I mean, the guy and his beast kept the same name, it's weird.

With these types of fights, Remus will dance around them until they get exhausted and then take them down.

He likes to avoid knockouts as often as possible, preferring to grapple and pin someone so there's no lasting damage. He's a kind fighter, sometimes.

"And he's going to try to fuck with you," Phil says, earning a considerate glance from Remus.

There are plenty of psychological tricks that other alphas and beasts try to use to get a one-up in a fight, and we're both curious about what Kyle's is. Probably using omega pheromones as if that will have any impact on Remus. He cares about the fight, not the fuck.

"Don't know how true it is, but I've been told he'll rut omegas in heat before fighting."

" And the omega? " Remus asks, earning a shocked expression from Phil at his concern for an omega.

It's not that Remus doesn't care about them, it's just that finding one hasn't ever been a priority.

It hasn't been anywhere close to a priority.

" If he's meant to be helping her through it, why is he here? "

Phil grimaces as a little bit of Remus's na?vety is shown. Mine, too, because it's not like I have an answer to his question. I'm just as surprised at an alpha offering to help an omega through her heat just for her scent.

"Kyle isn't a good guy." Phil finally lands on that being his answer, but even it's stilted, like he isn't sure how much to tell Remus and me.

Phil's known us for a long time. He knows our little quirks and our strange behaviors.

If he thinks all we need to know is that Kyle isn't a good guy, then he isn't a good guy.

As if being told Kyle is now public enemy number one, which is essentially what Phil did, Remus rolls his shoulders and gets ready for the fight.

Think his omega is at home in pain?

The question catches me off guard, but sends a roil of aggression through our body.

I don't think it's his omega, and I don't even think he was kind enough to make her comfortable at home.

Remus paces in our little corner of the ring while we wait for Kyle's stats to be announced as he makes his way up here.

We've made a good name for ourselves since we started professionally fighting.

We're not as flashy or have as much showmanship as others, but we come into the ring, get the job done, and leave.

Tonight is a charity event. None of these fights matter other than the broken pride and wounded egos. So, for a lot of alphas, this is still a very serious night. Whatever.

Kyle is the current title holder for our weight division, although my win-to-loss record is better than his.

When we win tonight, he'll probably be one of those alphas who gets upset about it.

Good, sometimes arrogant beasts need to be taught a lesson, especially ones who leave their omegas in the middle of their heats.

I'm vaguely aware of the referee calling for Kyle and Remus to step up to the middle of the ring.

I should be more alert and pay more attention, but something is taking precedence over everything else happening.

Not only did Kyle infuriate Remus by abandoning an omega, but he also found an omega we're undoubtedly scent-matching right this second.

Don't react.

Won't.

Remus offers his fists to bump against Kyle's beast, but Kyle laughs at us before backing up.

Remus shrugs, still looking as calm and unaffected as we need to appear.

No one can know that whichever omega Kyle managed to talk into spending her heat with is ours.

Not until we find her, claim her, and have her under our protection.

The bell rings, and Kyle's beast flies at us, fists swinging, knees coming up to try to get us in the ribs.

It's a wonder he's made it as far as he has, considering he's only exhausting himself.

He's sloppy, too. Maybe it's the power in his beast that's let him get as far as he has, or his social media following.

But he shouldn't be the title holder, and that's being made abundantly clear to Remus and me.

Kyle takes another sloppy swing at us, causing Remus to stare at him for a second like he's an idiot.

We haven't swung once. Haven't tried to grapple him, either.

Part of it is because the scent of our omega is wafting over us with all of his movements.

We're trying to sear her citrusy scent into our nose and mind.

We don't know her name, where she's from, or anything about her, but we'll find her eventually.

The bell rings, ending the first round of our fight. Remus shakes his head, watching Kyle's chest rise in harsh breaths, sweat pouring from his temples. He's starting to mask the citrus of our omega with his woody scent, and it's upsetting.

We finish this next round.

That's fine by me.

Phil squirts water into our mouth and tells us things we already know about how sloppy Kyle is and how we can use it to our advantage.

Remus nods at the right time, but his mind is somewhere else.

The same place mine is, trying to figure out where our lemon drop scented mate is.

And more than that, trying to figure out if she's still in pain from her heat being unfulfilled because the person meant to be helping her through it is here instead of caring for her.

I want to kill him.

No killing.

Remus huffs as the bell for our minute tells us time is up, and the next round is starting. This time, when Kyle's beast lunges for us, sloppy and uncoordinated, Remus kicks his leg out from underneath him and starts to grapple. It takes us less than ten seconds to get Kyle in a rear-naked choke.

" Don't tap out, " Remus growls in a low, menacing tone against Kyle's ear. The mouthguard muffles the words, but the other alpha understands well enough. " I want to see if I can kill you before they stop me. "

Maybe Kyle's beast thinks Remus is serious. It's hard for me to tell if he's being dramatic or telling the truth. Either way, the statement has Kyle's hand tapping repeatedly on Remus's forearm, tapping out of the fight.

It isn't until the ref comes over and tells us to get off that Remus lets the other beast go, and it's with a look of disgust. Usually, Remus is good about keeping his feelings in check, but we have someone we hate now.

Someone who knows who our mate is and where we can find her, but who probably wouldn't ever tell us and would just use the information against us somehow.

Remus doesn't wait for us to be announced the winner before jumping from the ring and heading back down the walkway toward the locker rooms. It's not uncommon for Remus to be out before announcements end.

He doesn't like celebrating his wins or being the center of attention.

We're here to do a job, and it's done. Phil chases after us, yelling for us to wait up, but Remus is too worked up.

We need to get somewhere for him to blow off some steam.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Phil asks, slamming his fist into one of the lockers to get Remus to look at him.

Phil winces when our gazes meet, but he's used to the power that rolls off Remus. It's a lot, but he's usually more in control of it than he is right now.

Remus opens his mouth to say, I don't know what.

I don't know what I would say in this instance.

We've never been with a woman, and yeah, that seems strange since we're an alpha and an alpha with a beast at that, but it's never called to us like fighting has.

We're not ashamed of it. We've had no reason to be embarrassed because the only thing Remus wants is the fight.

Phil's been around long enough that we've asked him questions we were too afraid to ask anyone else.

"Tell me what's going on so I can figure out how to help you, Rem." Phil sits on one of the benches near us, his tone softer now that we're not growling, pacing, and ignoring him.

Remus clears his throat as he starts to growl again, and when he sounds mostly normal, he gets two words out. " My omega. "

Phil looks at us like we've grown a second head, but Remus's words finally click. The understanding that sweeps over his features is almost comical in how much he goes from confused to excited to worried.

Before he has a chance to ask anything or to tell us to be careful or whatever it is he wants to say, the doors to the locker room open.

Jace, the alpha I've been training to fight and my twin brother's now grown foster kid, comes running in, his phone held up in front of him, some sort of social media live video playing on it.

"Have you seen this?" Jace asks, thrusting the phone into Remus's hands just as he gives me control of our body.

It takes me a second to figure out what I'm looking at. It's a live stream of Kyle in his locker room, shirtless, ranting and raving about the fight. I'm not on social media, but this may be normal for him. I don't care when I have bigger problems, like finding the omega I want to claim.

"That fight was fucking bullshit!" Kyle shouts at the camera, his face close to it as though he's holding the phone and yelling at it.

Maybe he is. Stupid waste of time, in my opinion.

"I'm still hungover from last night, half energy from fucking this pretty little thing all day, and this is supposed to be a charity event. "

Remus and I growl at our omega's private business being streamed to all of his followers. I go to hand the phone back to Jace, but he pushes it back towards me.

"Just wait. He challenged you a second ago. He might do it again," Jace says, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Don't want to fight him," I say, tossing the phone to Jace this time so he can either catch it and take it or let it fall to the ground. He chooses the former.

"A shot at the title might be good for you," Phil says, looking at me like he knows just how little I want to associate with Kyle, even if it just to kick his ass.

"You know what, fuck it. Fuck this stupid fight, and fuck Remus.

If he's a real man, he'll fight me for the title, a real fight when I'm actually ready.

But tonight, I'm going out to find a couple of someones to fill my bed.

The sweet thing from this morning was too needy, so I think I need a couple of ladies eager to… "

Phil swipes the phone out of Jace's hands and turns it off. "Everyone is just blasting their business on the internet these days."

I chew on the inside of my cheek, furious over how Kyle talked about our omega.

The omega he's meant to be soothing and watching over while she goes through her heat, something that can be painful without an alpha there to help her through it.

My stomach twists in vile knots, and my thoughts are too scattered to figure out what I want. Unlike me, Remus has made up his mind.

" Tell him we'll fight him. "