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Celine had gone somewhere with her grandfather, and the cafeteria was still being run by his second-in-command.

Zeke understood. It was important to take time to decompress after action, and both of the Santinis had grief to deal with as well.

Today had been the culmination of a year of anguish for them both after the loss of Celine’s parents.

They probably needed some time to process all of that.

Zeke just wanted to be there for Celine. He knew her grandfather needed her too, especially in their shared grief, but he hoped she’d seek him out as well. He just had to be patient.

They had a full-scale debrief scheduled for later that afternoon, and he hoped he would see her there. Zeke had already heard that some of the shifters would be present at the meeting, so he had hopes she would be one of them.

And then, after the meeting was over… Well, he had hopes that they could spend some quality time together.

He wanted to feel her out and see if maybe there was the slightest possibility of her returning his feelings.

He’d realized today—though it had been building for a while—that he was head over heels in love with her.

He just wasn’t sure if she felt the same.

He had been told that, for shifters, it was an all-or-nothing proposition.

Either a person was their mate, or they weren’t.

And mates were a rare thing, apparently.

Just one fated mate for every shifter, and most of them spent a long time searching for that perfect One.

Many never found their mate, which was tragic.

Zeke didn’t know exactly how it all worked, but he felt it deep in his bones that Celine was the woman for him. If only she felt the same…

*

Celine followed her grandfather’s lead when they returned to the island base.

She almost would’ve rather gone with Zeke, but she needed to be there for Gramps.

He might be a big tough soldier, but he had lost his son and daughter-in-law.

They had shared their grief this past year and grown even closer than they had been before.

He’d given her a place to live and work that was safe, and he had looked after her.

It was hard to believe that their search for justice was finally over.

After all this time, the mage who had killed her parents was finally dead.

Both Celine and her grandfather had gotten a chance to battle with the woman, which helped satisfy their wild sides.

In fact, after returning to the island, they’d gone straight to the shore and let their seals out to swim with their friends and family members.

It was cleansing, and a way to let the worries of the human side go for a little while, and just swim in the ocean surrounded by friends and family.

After that, Celine went back to her barracks and cleaned up a bit.

She had hugged her grandfather for a long time before they parted, and he had praised her again for her part in the morning’s action.

She might not be a trained soldier, but she was a shifter, and she knew how to fight.

In addition, she had that little bit of extra magic that she didn’t have to use very often, but it came in really handy when it was needed.

Among her Clan, she was a protector. Her shielding magic was something that could keep others safe, as well as herself, and she’d used it a few times in dangerous situations in the past. Nothing like what she’d done today.

Mostly, she had used it in the ocean to protect herself and anyone who happened to be swimming with her against predators.

Which was why, when the Clan gathered, she was always a favorite to go swimming with the youngsters.

She could protect them like no other from all kinds of threats.

Once she was clean and had changed her clothes, she realized it was almost time for the big meeting her grandfather had told her about.

She made her way back to the barracks that the Army guys were using and grabbed a quick sandwich in the kitchen.

She had missed lunch but didn’t want to go to the meeting hungry because her grandfather had warned her it might take a while to go over the events of the morning.

He’d also intimated that they might have a surprise guest at the meeting.

Someone who might shake things up for all of them in the very near future.

“Things are going to have to change now, pumpkin,” her grandfather had said before leaving her earlier in the day.

“Because the enemy knows about this base?”

He tapped her on the nose, smiling gently.

“You always were a smart one. Yes, this place has served its purpose, but we always knew it could never be permanent. At some point, our enemies would figure out where we were operating from, and we’d have to move again.

There are contingency plans in place, but the presence of the Army guys changes things a little bit.

When we made our plans, we didn’t even know they existed.

And I think you probably have some decisions to make.

When we go, you are more than welcome to come with me, but if I’m not much mistaken, there might be another option open to you that could be even more attractive than spending more time with your old grandpa.

” He teased her, ruffling her hair before turning away and leaving her at the barracks door.

He hadn’t given her a chance to respond.

She didn’t even know how she would have responded.

Things were still a bit up in the air between herself and Zeke, if that’s what her cagey old grandfather had been alluding to.

She just needed to find out what Zeke was feeling.

She couldn’t make any decisions until she knew if they were meant to be together forever, like her inner seal was insisting more with each passing day.

The meeting had almost started by the time Celine finished her hasty lunch.

Luckily, it was being held in the cafeteria, since it was the biggest room they had with seating for the shifter soldiers who were also joining the meeting.

Celine sat by her grandfather. He’d waved her over, having saved her a seat next to him.

She saw Zeke and smiled at him, but he was all business, even though she saw his eyes soften a bit when he looked at her. It was enough for now. Later, she promised herself, she’d get to spend some time with him. Her soul needed that. So badly.

She turned her attention to the main door when everybody stood to attention.

A man she’d never seen before walked in with Lester Kinkaid at his side.

The man’s uniform was fancier than any other she’d ever seen, and he was wearing what she thought might be an admiral’s insignia, though she wasn’t an expert.

The way everybody in the room deferred to him, though, was clue enough. One of the Top Brass had arrived.