Page 28

King

Two hours later, we found Nokita. He’d been tracking the Federation soldiers who led the red stripes, following their trail for miles. They’d split from the red stripes to return to the tunnels and battle the Warriors before everything blew up.

“We killed about fifty elite soldiers,” Nokita told me.

It showed. Dirt and blood covered his face.

“They lured us here to kill as many Warriors as they could,” he continued. “We received that info from one of them who wanted to live.”

I knew this, but additional K-5 rammed through my system. Catching sight of Marinah in my peripheral vision only worsened it. She was surrounded by Warriors, and Beast’s instinctive jealousy flared, wanting them dead for the mere crime of being too close to her. My human side knew better. Marinah was an anomaly, and the Warriors were curious, but that didn’t calm Beast’s rage.

She caught my glance and understood immediately. She quickly walked over and placed her hand on my arm, her nails digging in just enough to help me fight against Beast’s overwhelming surge.

It took several minutes to control myself enough to speak. “We’ll backtrack to the rendezvous point,” I told Beck, Nokita, and Labyrinth. “From there, we’ll split up and head to the hidden planes.”

After we parachuted down, the pilots flew to prearranged airstrips to stay hidden until we arrived. If they ran into danger, they would join one of the other planes and their crew.

Beck turned fully toward me, his eyes darting briefly to Marinah before looking away. “I won’t be going with you,” he said.

I narrowed my eyes. “Explain.”

A slow grin spread across his face, revealing his razor-sharp fangs. “I left my mate behind,” he said, the smile bordering on feral. “I need to go back for her and her hellspawn.”

I stared at him, the words catching me completely off guard. “That’s not an explanation.”

Beck shrugged. “My mate shot me. And her daughter,” he said, holding his hand a foot below his waist to indicate her height, “was about to finish what her mother started. I’m going after them and bringing them to the island.”

“How long?” I asked, knowing I needed Beck but unwilling to stand between him and his mate.

“She doesn’t know she’s mine yet,” he admitted, his smile twisting into something almost mischievous. “So, it could take a week or two.”

“She doesn’t know?” I asked incredulously.

“It’s not her I’m worried about; it’s the hellspawn. That child is scary,” Beck said.

It hadn’t been a day for laughter, but I couldn’t help it. I slammed him on the back, hard enough to return the favor from earlier, and kept laughing.

Beck’s eyes flashed with annoyance.

“You’re saddling yourself with a mate and a child,” I said between chuckles.

“Hellspawn,” he corrected flatly.

“Hellspawn,” I mimicked, still laughing as the other men joined me, giving Beck similar back slaps. “You don’t find that funny?” I asked when they finished.

“Wait until you meet the brat. Too bad she’s not a Warrior. That child could easily rule the world.”

“You’ve got two weeks,” I said, sobering a little. “And you had better be on that plane.”

Beck gave me one last look before heading west with fifty of his men.

Nokita and Labyrinth took their Warriors and headed in different directions to find their planes. Along with my assigned men, Marinah and I, along with her human friends, traveled to the closest aircraft. We sent five Warriors to alert the other plane that it needed to stand by for Beck’s return.

With the humans in tow, it took us until the next day to reach our destination. As soon as we were on board, Marinah followed me to the back of the plane. With one look, my men scrambled to safer seats, clearing the area. I handed Marinah a set of clothes and turned my back, crossing my arms to ensure there were no prying eyes. My men wouldn’t risk setting off the mating rage, not with Beast watching, but I wasn’t taking chances.

“I’m decent,” she said after shifting and pulling on the clothes.

I turned to her, glared once more at my men even though they couldn’t see it and shifted. Then I pulled her into my arms.

“I hope I never hear the word ‘decent’ come out of your mouth again,” I murmured against her lips before kissing her deeply. I gently pushed her into a seat, wishing we had a private room so I didn’t need to stop.

“I don’t want to go home yet,” she said softly when we finally broke apart.

“Don’t worry,” I replied, fury bubbling just beneath the surface. “We’re coming back, and when we do, we’re taking down the Federation.”

Her smile could light up the darkest room, and if that didn’t sound sappy, I wasn’t sure what the fuck did.

We settled in for the flight, with Marinah mostly sleeping, her head resting on my shoulder. While she dozed, my mind raced, trying to piece together the Federation’s motives. Every angle I considered led back to one thing: hatred for Shadow Warriors. No other explanation made sense.

By the time we landed in Cuba, the sun was dipping below the horizon. Marinah left with her friends to help them get settled at the citadel. We would stay here until after the funerals. Tonight, I’d finally sleep with Marinah in my arms.

She walked into our room just minutes before dinner arrived. After a deep, lingering kiss, I nudged her toward the bathroom. “Go take a shower,” I told her, earning a dramatic sigh.

“You could join me, you know,” she teased, her lips forming the perfect pout.

I shook my head. “Not tonight. You’re taking a shower, eating, and sleeping. We’ll take a long, hot one together in the morning.”

Her brow arched, and she smirked. “Who made you king?”

Grabbing a towel from the rack, I snapped it playfully at her, catching her arm. “Shower, food, sleep,” I repeated with mock authority.

She laughed, giving me a wicked grin. “Anything for your majesty,” she said before disappearing into the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, she emerged, her skin flushed from the hot water. We sat down to eat. Even though her eyelids drooped, and she could barely stay upright, she still managed to rub her toe along my leg under the table, refusing to take no for an answer.

“You’re no fun,” she muttered, stifling a yawn when I didn’t react.

Only half her food was eaten when her head lolled forward, and she drifted off between bites. Smiling, I scooped her up and carried her to bed. I quickly finished my meal, took a shower, and climbed in beside her, pulling her close. Her scent finally unraveled the tension in my chest. With her hair tickling my nose, I filled my lungs and fell into a deep sleep.