He's thought about our children. Knowing this makes it more real. But not now, especially not on U.S. soil. I want a child born on our island after the danger from hellhounds and the Federation is past and we're living in peace. It might only be a dream, but it's something that will keep me going when things are rough.What I'm not comfortable with is the burning need for my mate. It's more than sexual. It's about closeness, cuddling, sharing food, thoughts, and generally being one. I never understood the connection between two people in love. Maybe our Warrior side takes it to another level. The why really doesn't matter. I need King like he's air.I'm no good at killing time, and I'm very impatient. King understands me. It's why we had the short sparring match. When we return to the island, I'm kidnapping him for a month. The other Warriors can save mankind and take care of the problems that come from doing so. We need to be on our own for a while.We spend the remainder of the ti
Another flash to my left and I spot Garret going after the second guard. He's good and quietly assists the dead man to the ground. I almost think we're in the clear when a shot fires at King and the men when they reach the metal shipping containers. I don't spot the shooter until another muzzle flash. After a small inhale, I take him out. King drops the beam in place then runs for the edge of the makeshift barracks. I don't hesitate to take out two men running from the building. King reaches the door, staying against the thin aluminum siding. A bullet can go straight through the steel, and I'm not happy with King's choice of locations. Another set of doors is thrown open from a building to the right of the Warriors, and gunfire erupts. It's what the men in the building nearest King were waiting for, and they pile out together shooting at air. I take out two more before King and the Warriors attack.With my heart in my stomach, I turn and check the remainder of the camp again. Two men
I tear into the building where we left Marinah and race up the stairs. I smell blood the last two flights. She's leaning over Garret when I get to the roof."He's been stabbed twice in the chest, and he's barely breathing," she says before I get to her.I literally lift her and move her away from the injured man even though Beast isn't causing trouble right now. Even if for only a second, I needed to feel her in my arms."King," she snaps and struggles away. "He's injured, and we need Axel.""He's a minute behind me; they're coming up the stairs now." I bend down and loosen the strap holding the bloody material covering Garret's wounds. They're deep. Marinah hands me a shirt from her bag, and I stuff it beneath the strap when I tighten it again. Garret's face is going blue.Axel runs onto the roof followed by Labyrinth and Beck. He drops to his knees beside Garret and removes his medical bag from his pack. Tearing our handy bandaging away, he removes a long metal tube from his med
Axel says all we can do is wait. We'll know about Garret in the next day or so. I'm resting with my back against the short roof wall and staring at our prisoner. He has crazy green eyes that look too large on his thin, filthy face. With his broken arm, he's little threat now that Beck hobbled him. He's not dressed in Federation military fatigues, and his clothes have seen better days. His skin is mostly black with grime. He has slight swelling on his forehead from a boot to the head when he pulled the gun on Beck and Labyrinth.He's staring at me too. "Pretty butterfly," he finally says.King gives him a kick to the thigh to shut him up. My mate isn't happy with the loss of Smythe and especially my shifting. He's gone into full-on royal highness mope mode. And the men accuse me of throwing tantrums. My fits have nothing on my mate when he decides on a king-sized funk. Giving the prisoner a wide berth, I circle to King. "I'm heading to check out the lower floors, wanna come?" It's t
It's late, or more precisely early morning, when we return, and Marinah's sleeping. We scoured the city for signs of Smythe without success. The current storm raging inside me isn't good. I want my hands around the man's throat, and until it happens, I won't rest easy. I slide in beside my mate and pull her close. She rolls in against me out of habit. She mumbles something in her sleep, and she's out again. I'm unsure if she woke at all.My brain is too restless to shut down right now."They come at night." It's said with the prisoner's gruff voice.I turn and look at him. Our attempts at retrieving information from his messed-up head has been a bust so far. His answers are crazy blabbering gibberish. I have no idea how he stayed alive this long. He's a danger to himself and others. Killing him will be merciful. He can't possibly survive here alone much longer, and I don't see a way to take him back to the outposts. He's too unstable."They come at night," he says again. He curls u
I refuse to think about King right now. His panties are in a twist, and the poor man is suffering. It can't be comfortable. I also know that nothing I say or do will make a difference. He needs time to ponder his idiot behavior. If he insists on Cosway's life and holds to his edict, we'll have another problem, and it won't be pretty.I do know King won't be killing the prisoner. Cosway is about as dangerous as a newborn infant. He needs care and good food before any decisions are made about his well-being.The biggest problem we're going to have over the next few days is boredom. I'm no good at sitting still. I sat and waited for death for far too many years, and I no longer think of myself as fodder.To kill time, I go through my pack and reassemble my treasures so they're at the bottom of the pack and the essentials are easier to get to. That kills all of ten minutes. I wipe my wide brow with the back of my hand. It's going to be warm today. It's sad when you can smell yourself, a
If I could be right just once, it might help in dealing with my mate. No, I'm not killing a woman.Beck and I don't bathe. We give the women time to enjoy the water. If Marinah doesn't like my smell, too bad. War is not the time for roses."We need to grab the kittens on the way out," Marinah tells me when they're finally ready to leave."We are not taking the kittens with us."Twenty minutes later, we collect them. Maybe we need a marriage counselor because this mating stuff is harder than it looks. Marinah helps Cosway carry the darn cats back to the roof. Their food is stuffed in her pack. I now have a human woman, an injured human, and five kittens. I don't think the situation could get worse. I bite that thought off. Of course it could with Marinah in the picture. I all but groan out loud.Beck and Labyrinth are doing everything they can not to laugh in my face, and I don't blame them. Point me in any direction and I'll find something to kill. Collecting people isn't my thing
King is still angry. I don't know how to open the door to let this go. I don't like things this way, and it makes me insecure. It bothers him that I don't obey his orders, and I promise myself I will do my best. I don't want someone to die because of me. I also don't know what I'll do if someone needs saving and it's "dangerous" for the little Shadow Warrior.I groan silently. I don't like this at all.We run at a much quicker pace than we took when we came here. It will still take three days to get to the outpost because we don't have an airplane picking us up. We sleep two hours the first night, and we start off again. The last thing I would do is complain. We speak little. I can't stop thinking about Ruth and Missy, and I know Beck is as worried as I am.Three days is a lifetime when those you love are in danger.***We enter the northern outpost at midnight. It's eerily quiet, and apprehension grips me. It's too quiet."Marinah," Ruth calls and before I know it, her spindly l