He proved it three times-once before the shower and twice afterward. We slept until almost noon and only Beck's pounding on the door got us out of bed.The thing about Beck is I'm not even sure if he likes me. Oh, he gives me a cursory hello each day. He isn't rude, he just doesn't speak to me and I ignore him the same way. The situation just feels awkward whenever he's here. King leads Beck to the table in the next room and I prepare a meal.Famished isn't quite the word I'm looking for when my stomach growls and lets me know I've been too long without food. Hungry, ravenous, and starving don't do the trick either. My large intestine is eating my small intestine and there should be a word for that. Food on the island is one of my favorite things about my new home. Needing meat like a second leg and never gaining weight helps too."Marinah," King says from behind me as I lift a large pan to the stovetop. I glance his way. "Would you sit with me and Beck so he can explain a few thing
We return to the citadel the next morning, much earlier than I wanted to. The only bright moment is the sound of small feet running through the cavernous hallways before Che barrels into me. I give him a huge hug after twirling around.He giggles and smiles proudly. "My brother should be born soon. Axel says within three days." He holds up three small fingers and my grin widens.I wipe tears from my eyes and squat down to his level. His cheeks are rosy red, his eyes sparkling as he looks at me. My heart tightens. "You will make the best brother." I slide my fingers over a slight hair-lick at the top of his head."Che?" his mother calls from the hallway he just ran from."Mom, it's Marinah. She came to play."Maylin, with her stomach looking large and uncomfortable, enters the foyer. I smile, but her eyes are on King. She runs like a waddling duck and launches herself at him, tears immediately falling.I might have felt sorry for her. I might have taken a few moments to understand
Three days left with my mate and most of that will be spent preparing. We'll stay here at the citadel until she leaves. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. We're lying in my big bed and I pull her closer, kissing her temple.She sighs and wiggles until she's closer still. "I'm scared," she whispers.I'm terrified. So many things could go wrong and the biggest is her Shadow Warrior status. If the Federation finds out about her, we're all screwed. The plan is to send one hundred Warriors with Marinah. Within twenty-four hours, three hundred more will drop onto U.S. soil. We'll dig in and wait for Marinah's signal, which could be days, weeks, or months. I'll leave the rest of our Warriors behind to protect the island. They'll also be on standby if we need them. The humans on the island are moving into the populated towns near reinforced living quarters and our main food supplies. We've been preparing for this day since we arrived. We didn't know who we'd be fighting and we hoped it w
We've had too many meetings over the past three days and it's driving me crazy. Marinah has entirely too much information added to the stress of returning to the Federation, and she's on edge. This is never good for a new Warrior."That's it," I say to the men sitting at the table. I take Marinah's hand and kiss the backs of her fingers. "We're done.""But we need more preparation for when they interrogate her," Beck says to me as Marinah and I retreat.I glance over my shoulder. "If worse comes to worse, her beast will eat them. Enough!" With that, we leave the room. Marinah's soft laughter makes me smile."It must be nice to be king."I cock an eyebrow when I glance at her smiling face. "Says my queen."She swings my hand like a child. "That has a nice ring to it.""You're a liar. If one of them called you queen, you would take their head off."She laughs again, the sound sending a buzz over my skin. She's been sad when she isn't with Maylin and the new baby and I know it's b
This plane ride is nothing like the last one. I'm an entirely different person or rather, I'm now a Warrior and the fear I have is of a different nature, most of which stems from leaving King. He's given me a location to meet him if nothing has happened after a month. Just the thought of a month away from him depresses me. On the flip side, Ms. Beast is throwing fits.You will be good, I tell her when she begins grumbling inside me again.She quiets and my sigh of relief is loud while I fasten my seat belt. I look down at my feet and the heels I hoped to never wear again. Funny that I have no trouble walking in the ridiculous shoes now. Once we land, I'll need to remember to wobble and act like the terrified woman I once was.I can do it.Having one hundred Shadow Warriors packed into the plane is a little disconcerting for Ms. Beast. We've seen maybe fifty total since landing on the island. They are aware I'm King's mate and it carries a lot of weight with the Shadow Warriors. The
I follow the soldier to a single tank that will transport me from the airfield to the underground. The Shadow Warriors line up in rows behind us to run the distance. My palms itch to run beside them. I look at the soldier instead. "I'm sorry I don't remember your name. I was so nervous when I left.""Officer Daniels," he says gruffly without so much as a smile on his face.It's not lost on me that he hasn't used my official title even though it was only part of the window dressing to get me to Cuba. Chances are good that my official position will be terminated. The thought sends my temperature rising. With a few slow, quiet breaths, I curb Ms. Beast in. We wait, we see, we calculate, we take action, I tell her forcefully.The ride to the president takes thirty minutes. I feel the presence of the Warriors running with the tank. It's a mental connection of sorts. I can't communicate telepathically or anything like that. I can however feel their energy and right now it's telling me the
Three planes and three hundred additional warriors take off on schedule. Beck is on one plane, Nokita on the second, and I am leading the third. We have different destinations with my plane delivering me and my men closest to Washington, though still about three hundred miles away. Beck is landing near the northwestern Canadian border, and Nokita will be in the Florida panhandle. We plan to gather information on the human population as we head closer to Washington. Mate, my beast whines when I try to fall asleep the first night without Marinah. I'm in an old barn with the men sleeping on mounds of hay trying to keep warm. The days are mild and nights cold. After living in Cuba with the wonderful year-round temperatures, cold is not in my vocabulary or at least it wasn't. From the look at the shivering Warriors, they agree with me.I miss Marinah and can't help being worried for her too. If our plan goes accordingly, she can handle herself. She also has Labyrinth for backup. It's the
I'm unsurprised at the early knock on my door. I quickly dress in military pants and a sky-blue T-shirt making me better prepared for what's coming today. I would throw the darned short skirt and see-through blouse away if questions wouldn't be asked. Officer Daniels's displeasure at waiting at my door has his lips pressed into a thin, unpleasant line. I'm also realizing he's older than he appeared at first. His snotty disposition brings his true age of around thirty to the forefront, pimply face aside. He isn't my friend."The Shadow Warrior's leader refuses to deal with anyone but you," Daniels says. "The president wishes you to solve the matter immediately."It's so hard not to snap my heels together and salute his idiocy. Instead, I scrunch my nose trying to act scared and concerned at the same time. "Oh dear, this isn't good," I say, wringing my hands for added effect. Okay that may be laying it on a bit thick. "I know I've been living with them, but they still make me nervous.