We have different towns set up throughout the island and Homestead One is the largest. It’s also secure with underground and aboveground bunkers that will be used if we’re attacked by the Federation or hellhounds. Most of the residences are equipped with secure tunnels that lead to the main bunker where we can feed and house everyone within fifty miles.
We’ve torn apart railcars made from the plentiful iron ore found on the island to reinforce the bunkers. Securing the island to keep us and the citizens safe was one of the first things we did when we arrived. It’s another reason the people came together and accepted us. Their safety comes first. They work, they eat, and they remain safe with a roof over their heads. After years of living in fear we were their saviors.
Our bikes wind through the streets as we head to a narrow lane outside of town and turn down a dirt road that runs along the coast. Here and there we pass Shadow Warriors who are on guard keeping their eyes out for threats. Each town is manned with Warrior guards.
In the beginning, we gave the citizens of Cuba one chance to flee to the United States. No one took us up on the offer. The people here accepted us and we’ve accepted them. They didn’t have as much trouble adjusting to their new way of life like those in the United States had when the first hellhound attacks occurred. People in the U. S. lived in luxury before the hellhounds attacked, and without power, water, and internet they struggled. The people of Cuba didn’t enjoy unrestricted access to the internet and even the limited internet access they had was outside their financial means. The news media was completely government-controlled here. This also allowed the people of Cuba to adapt easier to the new world. The citizens here helped us too. They taught us how to fix the old military and civilian engines spread around the island. The older model vehicles lack computer chips and are drivable even when electromagnetic pulses hit. There is so much more we’ve learned from them.
This line of thought jogs my memory and I need to ask Marinah about the pulses happening in the United States. She mentioned them having an impact on Washington, but I need more detail.
Labyrinth turns off the road and heads to his small villa by the ocean. Mine is at the end of the lane and a little larger than the homes of my guard. Beck and Nokita turn off onto their driveways and I rev the gas to get us up the last hill. After stopping the bike, I assist Marinah off while she gazes out over the water and then turns to stare at the house behind us.
“This is your real home?”
“Yes.”
We walk up the path to the steel front door. I reach around her and open it.
“Unlocked?” she questions.
“Unlocked.”
The entry is large, tiled, and cool compared to the temperature outside. I hit a switch by the door and turn on the generator. We use wind and solar power on the island. When I’m away for a long time, I disconnect the batteries to allow them to totally drain so they last longer. I walk over and open the large bay window that leads to a balcony overlooking the water.
“You live here?” Her eyes are huge as she takes in the view. She then stares at me perplexed. “It’s like… normal.”
I smile. “As normal as things can be right now.”
“Then what is the Federation doing to take the U.S. back to ‘normal’,” she says with air quotes, her sudden anger prevalent.
“They’re not. They use fear to keep the people in line. It’s been a tactic used for years.” Several emotions slide over her face—disbelief is the most prevalent. She has a lot to learn about her country and its corrupt government.
Her hands move to her hips and I realize she’s not letting this discussion go. “You’re saying we could live like this even with another attack imminent?”
I walk closer and feel her body heat as her agitation grows. I glance over her head at the ocean. “If you mean live above ground and take precautions by providing safe bunkers if hellhounds attack, then yes, it’s exactly what I mean.”
The temperature shoots up a few more degrees as she tries desperately to control her anger. “I’m not going to like most of the things you tell me, am I?” The dejection in her tone gets to me.
She’s lost. Her world is crumbling and it will crumble more before she learns everything. I take her hand, linking our fingers. The heat of her skin calls to Beast. Run, he says into my head. I release her fingers, loosen the straps around my chest, and place my weapons on the table beside me.
Marinah’s tongue comes out and sweeps across her lips as she watches. “What are you doing?”
Anticipation and a touch of fear enters her eyes as I continue undressing. Beast has me breathing deeply and scenting the air before I think to stop him. It’s there… her desire. And we’re not ready to take that step. I give her a look filled with frustration hoping she doesn’t see the animal lurking within. “You need to run.” It’s only a half lie. My beast needs to run and get Marinah out of his head. Or groin, actually. “I’m shifting so we can run along the ocean and you can learn what it feels like.”
“Running as in jogging?” she asks skeptically.
“Yes. You place one foot in front of the other, move forward, and travel faster. People have been doing it for years.”
“Ha, you’re funny,” she says with a roll of her eyes. She begins to lift her shirt and peeks up before it’s over her head. “I don’t have those cool leather straps or a bra that fits my monster’s deformed chest.”
I like how she called it her monster. She wouldn’t if she had any idea how extraordinary she was in her beast form. Her breasts are another matter. When she shifts, part of her grows, but her breasts blend more into her body than enlarge. She’s a killing machine and large breasts can only get in the way. “Your beast doesn’t need a bra,” I say. This discussion is one I thought I would never have. “Remove your shoes first, then your shirt, then shift. Don’t think too long or hard about it, just do it.”
I grab a chair and sit down to remove my boots. Marinah takes the other chair and unties her athletic shoes. I’m not watching when she lifts the shirt over her head, but I look up when she speaks. “You’ve seen it all and it’s a little late to hide now.”
I stand and move closer to her while admiring her natural human beauty. “Don’t fight the change, just think of your beast and give her the lead.” Marinah closes her eyes and gasps a few seconds later as she lifts shaking hands to her face. “You’re fighting it,” I tell her. “Breathe and allow your beast to do what comes naturally.”
“I can’t,” she grumbles, her vocal cords shifting, making her voice deeper.
I give my beast the lead and feel his satisfied grumble as he takes over. Marinah is a little behind. She grunts loudly and then gives a quick yelp before her change is complete. Red surrounds me as Beast’s newly shifted aggravation swells. I walk through the outside doors and trot down the stone stairs that end about fifty feet from the water’s edge. Marinah follows and when we’re on firm ground, I start running.
Find enemy. Kill.
I run faster to try to level the chemicals flooding my body. For years I’ve worked on overcoming the rage as quickly as possible. I’ve made a lot of headway, though nothing like Marinah managed earlier today with Beck.
Marinah easily keeps pace. Beast grumbles, letting me know she can’t beat us and adds speed. She’s gorgeous with thick brown hair fanning out behind her in the ocean breeze as she runs on steady feet, no signs of awkwardness. She picks up her pace when I increase mine and easily stays beside me. We run for miles as K-5 courses through our veins and the fresh air cleans my brain of thoughts of war and violence.
We round a bend in the inlet and stop at a boat that’s been washed up on shore long before Shadow Warriors arrived. It’s large and stayed together well considering there’s a large hole in the starboard side. Dried barnacles cover most of the side and bottom showing it was submerged for quite some time before it washed up.
Marinah examines it intensely. “Break or run back?” I ask her after a few m
inutes.
Her large, sharp teeth gleam when she turns to me and smiles. “Run.”
We set off again, heading back to the house where I’ll be alone with Marinah the entire night.
Mate.
And Beast will be a handful.
Chapter Five
Marinah
I STARE AT the apparition in the mirror. It’s not a monster really, it’s me in my Warrior form. My eyes are the same, but nothing else is identifiable. My snout is the most unattractive thing I’ve ever seen. I smile into the mirror and almost back away when my teeth gleam with saliva. Lifting my arms, I place my fingers over my breasts. They’re no longer hanging, they’re part of chest bone, hard, almost like they’re metal-plated. The short hairs covering my face and chest could be slightly more revolting, I guess. I take a few steps back to examine the entire picture.
I’m Marinah the Warrior, and for the first time in my life, this body feels… perfect.
“Okay, Ms. Beast,” I say reluctantly. “It’s time for you to go back inside and stay there until you’re needed again.”
Nothing. The ugly beast continues to stare back.
“This is serious business. I like you, but I don’t have proper clothes for you. I’ll get that taken care of and then you can come out and play again,” I promise in a pleading voice.
Nothing.
I bring my hand up and carefully scratch my cheek. A fine line of blood marks the area where my claw drew. Dammit. “No need to be difficult. I want the old Marinah back. She has things to do.”
Nothing.
I growl in frustration and debate asking King for assistance. It would be nice if I could do something on my own. I close my eyes and picture King. Not his beast, his human side. The large muscles of his chest and arms that always hold my attention and make my mouth water. The valleys and plains of his stomach with those naughty swells that head downward past the waist of his pants. My body heats and the first ache of shifting stabs my gut sharply and makes me suck in a lungful of air. I lift my hands in front of my face and open my eyes. Watching my body mutate is incredible and the pain recedes while I’m enthralled. Claws meld into fingers and my jaws reform.
When the shift is complete, I examine myself in the mirror again. I need to do something with my hair, which is a tangled mess from our run. Maybe I’ll put it in braids like King’s. He can’t possibly do it himself. A woman in his village must help. The grumble in my chest is strange. It tightens and the pain I suffered with the shift returns. Am I changing again?
I need to learn what the heck I’m doing.
I’m relieved when nothing happens after a few minutes. Maybe I’ll make a note for things that trigger strong reactions. Like thinking about women touching King. The grumble moves to my lower belly this time and I smile. Ms. Beast doesn’t care for some strange woman touching King. Any woman for that matter.
After a cool shower that helps my overall disposition, I step into the hallway wearing a T-shirt and jean shorts. The shorts will prove difficult if I shift, but I’ll deal with it if needed. I walk barefoot through King’s home following the smell of food. The kitchen opens to a large multi-purpose room and has an island with barstool seating between the two rooms. King opens the oven and pulls out two steaks that are definitely responsible for the delicious smell.
“You cook?” I ask to cover my nervousness at being alone with him. Not that we haven’t been alone before. This is different, though. There aren’t guards outside the door or a few rooms away.
His eyes flash to a lighter shade of blue and a slow grin that encompasses his entire face takes over. “Yes, I don’t like having the island women underfoot and I grew up on a farm where cooking was essential. When I was younger, my mom cooked. After she left, it was just me and Dad, so I learned.”
He places the huge steaks on plates and slides one across the counter in my direction. A fork and knife slide across next. I quickly cut into the undercooked meat and almost salivate before I can get it in my mouth.
“Good,” I say after the first bite. It’s a complete lie because I would swear it’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten.
“Your beast needs protein.”
I continue eating as I focus on my food and ignore the small thrill inside me after watching a freshly washed King putter around his kitchen. He places his plate in the microwave without turning it on, closes the door, and begins cleaning the mess he made while preparing the food. No way will I stop eating and wait for him, but the view is nice. He’s barefoot like me, wearing BDU-style military pants and a red cotton shirt that wraps around him like a second skin.
Delicious.
And I’m no longer thinking about food.
Maybe it’s because I’ve eaten the entire steak before King’s taken one bite of his.
“Did you suspect what I was before I shifted or mutated or became a monster or whatever you want to call it?”
He turns to me with another grin. “Shifting works. I never suspected anything. Our human scent is the same as any other human. There was no way to know, but after it happened a few things clicked into place.”
“Like what?”
He finishes cleaning and then grabs his plate. Nope, I won’t stare at his steak. He points his fork at me. “The food thing. Your desire for meat. After living your life as a vegetarian, it wasn’t normal. What you are also explains a little more about your father and why he accepted us so readily.”
“You think he knew?” I think so too. I just wonder how King came to the same conclusion.
“Your father was a warrior. Not one of us, but he had an incredible understanding of war and strategy that was only surpassed by Uncle Greystone. I think your mother taught your father like her mother taught her. It’s the only explanation.”
“If that was the case, why didn’t they teach me?”
“How old were you when your mother died?” King asks.
“Nineteen.”
“And you showed no signs of shifting before that?”
Nothing in my memory is even close. “Not before or after. Not until the night the hellhound bit me.”
He shrugs. “It could be they didn’t think you would shift to a Shadow Warrior. All Shadow Warrior females carry the gene that produces K-5. Unfortunately it only activates in one out of a hundred. Your grandmother and mother may not have ever made the transition. In males it’s opposite and only one in a hundred don’t shift.”
“I still think my father should have told me where I came from.”
Half of King’s steak remains and he pushes it across the counter. “Eat.”
“This one is yours.” My eyes travel from the steak to King with indecision.
“I’m full and don’t need the calories a new Warrior needs. Eat.”
My hand goes to my chest at the tiny rumble there. I give King a sheepish smile. “I don’t think my monster likes it when you boss me around.”
***
King
I’m sure her beast doesn’t like me bossing her around in the least. Marinah is alpha and she proved it by putting Beck in his place this morning. It means our children will be strong and carry the Warrior gene from both parents. A new Shadow Warrior race is on the horizon and it will be an incredible thing to behold. I don’t answer Marinah’s jab. She blinks a few times and then decides to eat my steak.
I take her first plate and wash it. Then I grab the second when she’s finished. “You don’t need to clean up after me. I will wash dishes when you cook.”
“We can share it. I have about five meals I can handle. If you have something more to throw in the mix, you’re welcome to make it. The freezer in our underground bunker has enough steak for a few months, but it would be nice to have something with it.”
“I could live off steak for the rest of my life.”
“That will change. Your body is burning more calories right now. Carbs are needed too, but I remember the taste of steak after my first shift. My father actually lured me out of my bedroom
with the smell.”
“I have so much to learn,” she says wistfully.
I walk around the counter and take her hand, enjoying Beast’s purr at the contact. “Come with me and I’ll show you where to start.” Marinah hops off the stool and follows me.
I go down the long hallway in the center of the house and turn the deadbolt on the door at the end. After opening it, I turn on the light to the stairs, although neither of us really needs it. At the bottom, the room opens. There’s a tunnel at the back that leads away from the ocean.
“This is reinforced with steel?” Marinah questions.
“Iron ore. It’s one of Cuba’s natural resources. We’ve welded countless train cars and built an underground city if we need it. It’s where our food storage and armory are located. Also where we keep what I need to show you.”
We walk into the tunnel and continue straight for about a hundred yards. “It’s like a tomb down here,” Marinah whispers after we take a right turn and enter another long tunnel.
“We segment the rooms and each house has a way inside the tunnel network. We won’t go all the way today, I just wanted to show you this.” I open a door on my left and turn on the light before we enter.
Marinah gasps. “It’s a library.”
I look at the thousands of books that have been mine since Greystone died. “They’re our history.” I don’t tell her that one day I’ll pass the books on to my son or daughter. Having a child with Marinah means it’s highly possible we’ll have a female heir. The thought of holding a curly haired baby girl with Marinah’s eyes warms my chest.
“The history of Shadow Warriors?” she asks and pulls me from the dream.
“Yes.”
“What language is this?” she asks after carefully removing a book from one of the shelves.
Warrior Page 4
