Mated to the Beast of the Wasteland novel Chapter 67

Chapter 67 Put It on the Tab

Chapter 67 Put It on the Tab

Merrick’s gaze landed on Number Three.

“Three. I’ve got a question for you.”

“Hm?”

Number Three turned with a blank look on his face. “Yeah, Commander, what is it?”

“You think this wrist terminal of mine is busted? How come I’m not getting any messages”

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Merrick fiddled with the terminal interface on his arm. The screen, usually packed with messages, sat completely empty today.

Number Three was at a loss. He had heard Merrick grumbling earlier as he deleted message after message. calling them all spam. Busted, his ass.

A soft ping ran through his arm, and Merrick’s face brightened, only to see the notification-Lucian had sent him a message.

Merrick’s eyelid gave a twitch. Wasn’t Lucian sitting right next to him? Had Lucian lost his mind?

Still, his finger betrayed him and tapped the message open.

One swipe revealed a long invoice that nearly burned out his retinas. The thing scrolled on for pages.

On the itemized bill, healing alloy alone came to fifty units. That didn’t include the oxygen, the surgical equipment, or the appearance fee for the cleric who performed the operation.

Lucian had even billed him for the kid’s meals. Why didn’t he just carve a slab of meat off Merrick’s body while he was at it?

“Commander, you got the message, didn’t you? That proves your terminal’s working fine. Go ahead and reimburse these charges.”

Lucian’s voice put a guilty knot in Merrick’s chest.

He was older than Tristan, after all. Beating the kid into that state had been beyond his control at the time, but as a matter of pride, it was still hard to swallow.

Tristan did look up to him as an older brother, after all.

“Approved. I can run it on your tab. I don’t have the cash.”

Merrick smiled like the picture of innocence.

Lucian’s brow furrowed. “You’re out of cash? What about that big haul of blackstone you pulled out of the deep pit three days ago? Hand over half and we’ll call it even.”

“Already gave it to the wife.”

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Chapter 67 Put It on the Tab

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Number Two stared in silence.

Number Three stared right along with him

Lucian’s grip tightened, and the metal armrest of his chair crumpled in his fist.

“I don’t care. My money’s with your wife too. If you don’t cover this bill. I’ve got nothing either.”

“So put it on credit. It’s not the first time

Merrick stood up and clapped a hand on Lucian’s shoulder. “One, you know the drill. Stick it on the tal

When he had first arrived on Outer Planet, he hadn’t had a coin to his name. The way he had conned…. recruited so many brothers to his side had all come down to running tabs.

Six years ago, Wasteland had been nothing like the peaceful, lively place it was today.

Lucian’s eyes turned hard, and he looked ready to throw hands.

Numbers Two and Three caught him just in time.

Number Two gave Lucian’s chest a smiling pat. “One, take it easy. Whoever tied the knot has to be the one to untic it. If he won’t cough up a single coin, we’ll just go find the one who actually has the money.”

Number Three nodded along. “Seconded.”

The medical van rolled smoothly along, with Gillian riding shotgun. The metal box sat in her lap, and she and Tristan were locked in a wide-eyed staring contest.

“Sylas, mind if I take the wheel?”

“Far as I know, you don’t have a license for a grip-buggy. The moment you hit the road, you’ll get pulled over. By tomorrow, the front-page story in Wasteland will be-commander’s wife caught driving without a license, dragging along one of her husband’s officers.”

Gillian had no comeback for that.

She knew how to drive just fine. She just didn’t have the license to prove it.

She had only been back four days and still hadn’t fully adjusted. This wasn’t the lawless Wasteland of eight years from now.

Gillian forced a smile. “Honestly, this metal box isn’t all that heavy.”

Tristan looked at Gillian in front of him, then over at Sylas in the driver’s seat, then down at his own pudgy paws.

Three strands of fur, white at the base and pink at the tips, fluttered in the breeze.

Was I born a fox? How come you two have human bodies and I’m stuck in this animal form?”

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Chapter 67 Put It on the Tab

On this one question, Gillian considered herself the resident expert.

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“Probably because you didn’t eat enough as a baby. Look at your brother Lucian. The guy’s built. The height, the chest, the shoulders. He’s miles ahead of you.”

Sylas froze in his seat. He really should have known better than to count on Gillian to speak.

“Tristan, that’s not actually…”

Sylas’ voice was drowned out by Tristan’s mournful reply.

“That explains it. My brother kept insisting I stay at your house. He really isn’t my blood brother.”

Gillian blinked. Wasn’t Tristan staying with her because Lucian had already wired her the room and board? Lucian was the most devoted older brother she had ever seen, and the little fox was being this ungrateful

about it?

“Your brother dropped you at my place because he paid me to feed and house you. You hear me?”

“Oh. What’s room and board?”

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