by Rosanna Leo
Marriages crumble every day, but shifters mate for life.
Amazing, but how did they know this about each other? Was it animal instinct or something written in the stars? She’d have to ask Killian.
Actually, maybe he wasn’t the best one to ask. As a few beads of perspiration gathered on her upper lip, she decided talking to Killian about the mating process was a very bad idea.
A man and a woman approached. He was tall, as most male shifters seemed to be, and had longish, blond hair. On his arm was a cute brunette with a huge smile.
The man rolled his eyes at Ryland. “Don’t mind my brother. He can’t keep his hands off Lia. It’s completely inappropriate and frankly disgusting.” He extended his hand, grinning. “I’m Soren Snow and this is my mate, Gioia.
Soren Snow, the famous percussionist. Oh. My. God. He’s a shifter, too? She hadn’t made the connection. Okay, her nerves just returned. Were other celebrities shifters as well? Did this mean there was a chance her favorite soap opera actor was actually a great horned owl? She stamped down the quiver of unease in her belly and tried to resemble a sane person. “I’m pleased to meet you both.”
Gioia ran forward and gave Nina a massive hug. “It’s great to meet you, too. You know, I was born human.” She threw a saucy look back at her husband Soren. “In some ways, I’m still getting used to being a shifter. It’s not always easy, especially in this place. Gemini Island is a little heavy on the testosterone, especially the bear variety.”
Soren stepped toward Gioia and enfolded her in his arms, not letting her go. “She complains, but she loves it.”
“Soren, let me go.”
“No.”
“The one thing you need to know about shifter males, Nina,” Gioia blurted as Soren kissed her face and tickled her, “is they’re total savages. But other than that, they’re okay.”
“Okay?” Soren complained. When Gioia stuck her tongue out at him, he yanked her into a corner and began kissing her. Thoroughly.
Nina sucked in a breath. Lord, the atmosphere around mated shifters was more sexually-charged than an orgy in a bathhouse. Not that she’d ever attended one. With a discreet hand, Nina plucked at her shirt collar, letting some air down her shirt.
Lia elbowed her gently. “You’ll have to forgive us all for the excessive public displays of affection. For mated shifters, it’s sort of hard to resist. We’re wired for close contact. We need to…touch each other a lot or we go a little crazy.”
“I understand.” Well, not really. God only knew she’d never partaken in such a grand animal passion herself. How could she understand? She’d had a few boyfriends here and there, the most memorable being the dentist who’d asked to marry her on the third date, professing his eternal love and desire to lick her toes.
It had been their last date.
Another couple approached. Although his eyes were dark and hers were silvery blue, they shared the same, piercing quality. Something about those eyes made her think of Janine. She wondered if they were wolf shifters. Janine always had a sharp look to her eyes, as if constantly assessing the world around her. The man had his arm around his mate’s waist…her somewhat full waist. Nina allowed her gaze to drop for a second, and realized the woman might be pregnant. The way the shifter kept touching her belly was a dead giveaway, too.
“Hi, Nina,” he said. “My name’s Bart Cairo. I work in security here. This is my mate Charlotte.”
“We’re wolves,” Charlotte admitted, confirming her suspicions. She grinned. “Totally fucked up, right? Trust me, it’s just as fucked up for us sometimes, too.”
She laughed at Charlotte’s coarse language, but it set her immediately at ease. In yet another show of surprising warmth, Charlotte gave her a hug. They seemed genuinely happy to meet her, welcoming, and a lovely warmth settled all around her. She had a feeling these people could become fast friends, if she let them. “I’m happy to meet you.”
As she hugged Charlotte, the little creature in her tummy jumped, as if saying hello as well.
“Oh!” She jumped back.
“Don’t mind him,” Charlotte said, giving her stomach another rub. “Only a couple of months along and this kid likes to make his presence known. He doesn’t give me a moment’s rest. I don’t know what I’ll do when he’s at the nine-month mark.”
Nina reached a hand toward Charlotte’s belly. “May I?”
“Of course.” Charlotte guided her hand to the spot where baby Cairo was currently occupied in practicing some sort of wolfish pole vaulting exercise.
“Oh my gosh,” Nina said on a gasp. “He’s a strong little guy.”
“Just like his dad.” Charlotte turned to Bart and blushed. The baby kicked again and she winced.
Bart paled and frowned. He put an arm around her shoulder. “Babe, come sit down. You need to rest.” He nodded at Nina. “We’ll talk to you in a few, Nina.”
“Okay,” she replied in a hushed voice. “Congratulations.”
The two of them beamed, clearly ecstatic about their impending arrival. Something went twang inside her chest. Just the thought of Bart and Charlotte’s shifter baby plucked at her heart strings. What sort of life would the child lead? She already had sympathy for the unborn Cairo baby as she imagined his prospects. He’d be special, but would he suffer hardship? Did all shifters suffer hardship? As a strange sense of protectiveness enveloped her, she felt a compulsion to support her new friends and find out all she could about their lifestyles.
Their departure to the corner of the room left one person standing. Nina sensed him before she saw him. Even before she faced him, his energy poured over her in waves, a heady mixture of curiosity, wariness and something else…something that made her womb stir. She could almost feel his hot aura as it reached out for her, filling her with need and conflict. Taking a fractured breath, she ignored the strange tickle down her spine, and turned to face him.
And almost fell down.
How was it he was more beautiful the second time around?
Dressed once again in sporty clothes that shouldn’t have looked sexy, Killian couldn’t have appeared more devastating if he’d been clothed in a three-piece suit. The man had a way of elevating T-shirts and Nike track pants. Cotton moved over his muscles with the seductive glide of silk. It must be the muscles. It had to be the muscles. She’d known other men with them, but no one’s biceps called to her like Killian Moon’s. She couldn’t figure out why. All the other Gemini Island men seemed to possess them, too, but Killian’s fascinated her to no end. She wanted to trace her finger over each enticing bulge…
Okay, stop. He’s part jaguar. He has sharp teeth. Perhaps this is not the sort of man you need to be fantasizing about. You need to go back to your human dentist and let him sniff your shoes.
He walked right up to her, his face serious, worry flashing in his extraordinary eyes. “You haven’t slept.”
“Good morning to you, too, Killian.”
He raised his hand, as if wanting to touch her cheek again, but then dropped it, conscious of the eyes on them. His friends all stood by, their interest clear in each raised brow and wondering grin. Under their frank scrutiny, Killian got red in the cheeks and muttered, “Good morning.” He turned to the rest of them. “So, are we going to eat?”
Lia danced forward and indicated the tables, all set up for their breakfast. “Yes. Let’s show Nina what breakfast is like at the Ursa.”
That was when the food arrived. Great, heaping platters of it. Nina watched, amazed, as waiters brought in plates of eggs, bacon, and every other breakfast meat known to man, and set it all down on the tables. The couples all sat next to each other, of course, and Nina put her hands on a vacant chair at the end of the table, next to Lia.
Lia, with a crafty smile, shuffled over immediately and claimed the seat. “Why don’t you sit on the other side, next to Killian? It’s more cozy if we’re boy-girl, boy-girl.”
Killian stared at her wit
h an intensity that made her squirm, but then he faked a smile and held the seat out for her. “Be my guest.”
On wobbly legs, she took her seat next to him, conscious of his appealing scent as he edged her chair in for her. She had never been one for fussy colognes on a man so his smell seemed just right.
Soap and a hard, scrubbed body. Perfect.
He didn’t say anything as he took his seat next to her, so she watched as the plates were passed around. Nina spent another few minutes trying not to gawk as she witnessed the incredible amounts of food the shifters piled on their plates. The men, especially, mounded their food as if eating for three people. Even the women seemed to have healthy appetites, going back for seconds and picking from their men’s plates with glee. Nina looked down at her modest helping of scrambled eggs and three slices of bacon, and knew her hips would double in size if she dared to take any more.
“It’s a shifter thing,” Killian explained in a quiet voice. “Our metabolisms are insane. We need to eat a lot.” He nodded at her plate and frowned. “Even for a human, what you have there is not enough. You’ll be hungry again in an hour. Take some more.”
“I shouldn’t. I was born without a metabolism. It’ll go right to my hips.”
He turned to face her and used the penetrating stare that was fast becoming one of his trademarks. He reached for some toast and some home fries and filled in the gaps on her plate. “Eat. Your hips are just as a woman’s should be.”
Speechless, she grabbed a slice of toast and loaded it with jelly. Only when she took a bite, did he finally grin. No more than a slight curl to his lips, but it set her heart racing.
She tried to ignore Killian’s comment about her lower half and listened to the banter around the table. It wasn’t long before her attention strayed back to the blond ball of energy at her side. When not filling his mouth with food, he bounced a fork on the palm of his hand. He did drum rolls with his fingers and tapped his foot on the floor. Each movement, so laced with nervous aggression, set her on edge. She wanted to slap a hand down on his intimidating thigh and suggest a hot stone massage.
He finally spoke halfway through the service. “Lia, I appreciate you organizing this meal but we need to address an issue. We have to discuss the Alpha Brethren.”
Everyone stopped eating and gave him their full attention.
Ryland spoke. “Killian, you know them best. I know you’ve told Soren and I about them over the years. It’s time we fill everyone else in on the details.”
Killian looked at Nina, let out a barely-audible sigh, and turned back to the group. “Plain and simple, they’re a cult and they’re dangerous.”
“Ry said they’re a cult of shape shifters,” said Lia.
“That’s right,” he continued. “They’re run by a man named August Crane, a powerful wolf. They subscribe to a number of lunatic beliefs but their main goal is to empower shifters.”
“Doesn’t sound too awful,” said Charlotte.
“They do it at the expense of humans. They want to exterminate them.”
All heads turned toward Nina. She returned Killian’s gaze and saw a distinctly protective gleam in his eyes. “He’s deluding himself if he thinks he can accomplish it.”
“I agree. And that’s what makes him dangerous. The man is delusional.”
She sniffed. “This August Crane sounds like a treat.”
“He thinks he’s the Second Coming, wolf style. Crazy or not, we can’t underestimate him.”
“Okay,” Soren said. “So the dude thinks shifters are the bomb. How do you know he wants to kill humans?”
“As you know, my parents are in his cult. They’ve been trying to recruit me and my brothers for years. I remember well the kind of garbage they spewed.” He played with the sausage patty on his plate, stabbing it several times with his fork. “The Alpha Brethren have been a quiet force for about a couple of decades, actively recruiting shifters who feel on the fringe. People with a grudge. They also make a point of keeping lists of shifters, deciding who might be traitorous to our kind. First and foremost on their list of sins is shifters mating with humans. They deem such unions abominations, worthy of a death sentence.”
A hush fell over the room. Nina couldn’t miss how Soren tightened his embrace on Gioia, and how Ryland dropped a kiss onto Lia’s temple. As shifters who’d taken human mates, they had to be revolted. She was revolted on their behalf.
Killian put a hand on her arm and she jumped at the contact. “You said Janine had a boyfriend?”
“Yes. His name is Dirk. She was crazy about him.”
“My guess,” he replied, “is Dirk is human. She said in her note bad people were after her. I wouldn’t put it past the Brethren to hound her for it. They have spies everywhere. My parents have shared many stories of Crane’s intimidation. Oh, sorry, ministry.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I believe your friend took her life to keep the Brethren away from Dirk. Any shifter would die before letting harm come to his or her mate.”
She hung her head in her hands as foul acids swirled in her stomach. Feeling the need to vomit, she leaned over and put her head between her knees, breathing in and out.
Warm fingers touched her, slowly massaging the back of her neck. She closed her eyes, reveling in Killian’s charged touch. Just that simple gesture made her skin feel on fire.
Lord, what would happen if they upped the ante? What on earth would it feel like to have him do something completely bizarre, like kiss her?
He bent over and whispered in her ear. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”
His words, meant as comfort, only agitated her. Partly because the situation terrified her, but partly because his hushed voice made her want to take her shirt off and introduce him to the ladies. She pulled away and sat up. “How can you promise that? Crane sounds like a nut job. To think he might have gone after my friend…”
He put his fingers on her chin and made her look at him. “Listen to me. I won’t let anything happen to you. You have my word.”
She looked at the others. “It’s not really me I’m worried about. I’m not a shifter.”
Ryland narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you worry about us, Nina.” He gazed at his mate. “We take care of our own.”
Lia’s eyes watered. “If that dickhead comes near our island, I’ll make him regret it.”
Ryland smiled. “My fierce lady bear.”
“So what do we do now?” asked Gioia, tearing at a piece of toast with absent-minded motions. She tossed the broken pieces toward her plate, not noticing as they fell on the table. Soren pried it the remaining chunk out of her hands and pulled her onto his lap, burying his face in her shoulder. She calmed upon feeling his touch. Nina saw how her body seemed to sigh.
“It’s going to be okay, baby,” Soren said to her.
“Thank God Gunnar’s visiting his dad in Calgary,” Gioia said. She turned to Nina. “Gunnar’s my son. I wouldn’t want him to know about this. It would only upset him.” She aimed her gaze at Killian. “What happens now?”
“Well,” he replied. “I think I need to go to the source.”
“Not August Crane?” Nina cried, strangely horrified at the idea of him confronting this wolf messiah.
He grinned at her. “No. I don’t want to antagonize him, as much as I’d love to take him on. But I will reach out to my parents and see if they’ll talk. They’ve always been so excited about the Brethren, I know I can get them to spill some details.”
“That doesn’t sound safe,” she whispered.
“Are you worried about me?” His grin took on new, smug dimensions.
She wasn’t sure whether to slap him or put her tongue down his throat. For some reason, the second option appealed.
Before she could stammer a response, Bart stood up. “Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I need some stronger coffee. Espresso should do it.” He kissed Charlotte and headed back into the restaurant
toward the bar area. Ryland and Soren followed.
Killian whispered, “Looks like you’re off the hook. For now.” With that, he stood and followed the other men out.
As Nina’s gaze dropped promptly to his rounded ass, she fidgeted in her seat, feeling very much like a fish dangling on a hook. Wobbling and drooling, waiting to be devoured.
Chapter 4
KILLIAN escaped to the bar where Ryland, Soren, and Bart were already huddled. As he approached, they pinned him with equally-determined gazes.
“Are we agreed?” Bart demanded of them. “If this Crane shit or any of his minions come near Gemini Island, we do whatever it takes to protect the women.”
The men spoke as one. “Agreed.”
“Is there any indication he’s interested in us?” asked Ryland.
“No,” replied Killian. “But I want to talk to my brothers and my parents. I’ve had a bad feeling ever since Nina arrived.”
“You sure that’s a bad feeling, dude?” joked Soren, his brow arched in amusement.
“What are you talking about?”
Soren and the others traded looks.
“What?” he said, raising his voice. As he did, his jaguar prowled inside him, foaming at the mouth, its hungry gaze trained on Nina.
Give me more, it demanded. She smells so good.
Oh, go back to sleep, he threatened the beast with a gentle swat. We have bigger issues at stake than your libido.
He glanced at her, wondering at his cat’s sudden appetite. It had never had such an intense reaction to woman, not even the ones who’d ended up in his bed.
“Killian? You’re staring into space,” teased Ryland.
“No, he’s not,” said Soren. “He’s staring at Nina.”
“No, I’m not.” Suddenly parched, he reached for a nearby pitcher of water, poured a large glassful and downed most of it in one gulp. Two more swallows, and his thirst only seemed to increase. Tentatively, he looked back in Nina’s direction.
“I know that look,” Soren said, eyeing him.
He tore his gaze from her, earning a less-than-playful nip from his jaguar. “What look is that, superstar?”