by Shea Balik
“Wait a damn minute,” Yosi said, as he began to understand that his mate was talking as if they would be going with Baz. “I said we’re not leaving this island.”
Baz practically took off running at that point. When Kylo opened his mouth to respond, Yosi was glad his pilot wasn’t there to hear him.
Grey eyes met his and Yosi’s heart nearly stopped beating as he swore little sparks came shooting out of them. It was most likely only his imagination, but he could practically feel the anger rolling off his mate like a tidal wave.
“Don’t you dare try to tell me what I can do,” Kylo yelled. “If you want to hide from the world on this island that’s your issue, not mine. I told you once before I’m no longer willing to sit on the sidelines of life.”
“This isn’t your life we’re talking about,” Yosi yelled back at his mate. It was the first time he’d spoken harshly to Kylo and he wasn’t sure which of them was more surprised. Except…now that Yosi had started, he couldn’t seem to stop. It had always been his one fault that had gotten him into the most amount of trouble.
The main reason he stayed isolated on this island. And it seemed to him that it was past time his mate got to know all of him. “I’m sorry these sea lions are being attacked, but it’s not our problem. I’m sure if we call Saber, he’d send a team down there to help them. I’d even be willing to take them in, but not if it means putting us in danger.”
“Then we will have a problem, because I’m going to go help those people, with or without you. And if you want to me to stay on this island with you, you’ll need to accept this is who I am. I refuse to hide away from the world just because I’m too scared to the live the life I’ve been given.” Kylo spun on his heel and walked away. Sort of.
His left hip was still far from healed, so it was more of a limp than anything else. But whether he could storm away as he wanted or not, Kylo had made his feelings about this perfectly clear.
Yosi just wasn’t sure what to do about it.
CHAPTER 14
All Kylo could see as they flew over the ocean to the small airfield where Yosi kept his two planes, was the look of desolation on his mate’s face. It killed him that he’d put it there, especially when he got into the helicopter while Yosi watched him.
He never should have said what he did. It had been cruel and unkind. Something Kylo struggled with whenever he stood up for what he wanted. It wasn’t necessary to put others down to stand on his own two feet. Yet that had been exactly what he’d done.
Rus, who Yosi had insisted go along with them, handed him a phone. “Call him. It will make you feel better.”
Kylo reached for the phone but instead of turning it on, he stared at it. “I wouldn’t know what to say,” he finally admitted as he handed it back to Rus.
He could hear Teddy’s snort in his headphone. “Really? Because it sounds like you were an ass. Maybe you should start by apologizing for that.”
It shocked him that Teddy, who had never gotten along with Yosi, even though it was Yosi who gave the orca shifter the ability to shift every day and swim in the Pacific, would defend him now. Kylo turned to look over his shoulder and glare at his friend.
“Since when did you start defending my mate?” Kylo grumbled. “You hate him.”
Teddy shook his head as he glanced out over the ocean with longing. “It’s not that I hate him. But it feels like he’s taken away one of my best friends.” He shrugged. “I guess, I was just jealous that he gets all your time.”
Great. Now Kylo had managed to do wrong by two people he loved. At the rate he was going, he would lose all his friends by the end of the year.
“I’m sorry, Teddy. When we get back, I promise, we’ll do something together.” He had no idea what. Before his injury he would have suggested swimming in the ocean, but Kylo wasn’t up for that. The cove was much more his speed at the moment. And a hike around the island would be even more impossible. “Maybe we could do game night.”
“Oh,” Rus perked up at that. “I love games, especially trivia ones.”
“I prefer the drinking kind,” Baz called out from the pilot’s seat. “Hold on, we’re about to land.”
Minutes later they were on the ground. While Baz was shutting the engine down, Rus and Teddy were grabbing their gear. Kylo tried to help, but even carrying on the med bags in his right arm hurt like a bitch since it threw off his balance and he had to overcompensate with his left side.
Dropping it, he began to wonder if Yosi had been right. Maybe he should have stayed behind. He was only going to hinder their efforts, especially if they had to run from the shark pod.
“Yes, you need to apologize to your mate,” Teddy said as he came up to take the med bag Kylo had dropped. “And no, you aren’t going to get in the way.”
“How did you know?” Kylo asked.
Teddy rolled his eyes. “Please. It was all over your face. Just don’t try to overdo so that you end up not being able to walk and everything will be fine.” Teddy smiled at him as he headed to the hanger that held the two planes.
“Come on, tough guy,” Baz said as he left the helicopter to head to the hanger, where another man stood waiting on him. “We have people to save. Your apology to Yosi can wait. Plus, it will be good for him to think about what you said. Unlike the others, I heard every word.”
Kylo’s heart sank. He really didn’t need anyone else hating him now.
“I won’t say you weren’t harsh, but Yosi’s been stuck on that island for too long if you ask me.” Baz spread his arms out. “There’s a big world out there. It’s time he learned to be in it, and with you by his side, that might finally happen.”
A part of him hoped that was true. But there was this other part that feared he fucked things up with his mate. Unsure a phone call would be enough to fix it, Kylo decided it was best to just get on the plane and hope for the best when he got home.
***
Who knew that a trip to Australia could be so damn long? It gave Kylo way too much time to think about his conversation with Yosi. Or, should he say, his fuck up with his mate?
They were at least three hours from landing when Kylo just couldn’t take it any longer. Holding out his hand to Rus, who seemed to know exactly what it was he wanted, since he put a phone into his hand, Kylo made the call he’d been dreading the entire fifteen hours.
It seemed like every muscle, but especially those still damaged by the fire, were tense. He ached everywhere. Well, except the burns. Those were excruciating.
Dialing Yosi’s number, Kylo felt the knots he already had grow even more knots. No way was this conversation going to go well. He’d basically told his mate he was a chicken for not leaving the island.
There were no other words for it – Kylo had been an ass. Yosi didn’t deserve the recrimination. The whole time they’d been together Yosi had gone out of his way to take care of Kylo, yet what had Kylo done in return?
Not a damn thing. He’d never even asked about why Yosi had been living on that island. Nor had he bothered to question him about the fact that no one had a picture of him since he was a teenager.
That made Kylo worse than an ass. He was a self-centered prick with no regard for others. What had happened to him? Before the fire, Kylo had always put others first. Now? Fuck, now he hadn’t even found out basic information about his own mate.
“Rus, is that you? Please tell me that Kylo is all right.” Yosi’s voice sounded frantic, making Kylo feel like shit.
“Actually, it’s me, Kylo,” he said stupidly. Who said that to their own mate? Of course, Yosi would know his voice. Right?
Suddenly, Kylo wasn’t so sure. Maybe it had been a good thing he’d announced who it was.
“Are you okay?” Yosi asked, his voice nearly begging Kylo to answer that he was fine.
“Yeah,” he told his mate. “I’m okay. We’re still flying.” Fuck. What was he supposed to say? “It will be a couple of more hours until we reach Australia.”
Kylo pu
t his head in his hand and bemoaned his inability to speak with any kind of finesse. How was he screwing up something that should be so simple?
“Look,” he said.
“Kylo,” Yosi said at the same time.
They both chuckled, but Kylo knew whatever his mate was going to say, it wasn’t as important as admitting he’d fucked things up. Letting out a huff of air, Kylo started again. This time, he was far more direct. “I’m sorry. I never should have said what I did to you. Nor did I mean it.”
It was there that Kylo’s mind went haywire as his thoughts all jumbled together. Pretty much, since the day he’d truly woken up after the fire, which according to his friends had been over a week, Kylo had struggled with his ability to keep his thoughts straight.
Or, more like cohesive. It wasn’t always a matter of knowing what he wanted to say but knowing how to say it. But he was determined to get it right. He owed that much to his mate.
“I felt you were trying to force me to do something and instead of talking about it rationally, I lashed out.” Kylo wanted to cheer that he’d finally gotten out the words. “You deserved better than that and I’m sorry for insinuating that you were afraid.”
It took nearly a full minute of silence, and a lot of worry that his mate had hung up on him, before Yosi finally responded. “I am afraid.”
That hadn’t been what Kylo had wanted to hear. All this time Yosi had done his best to build Kylo up and make him hope. Yet, all Kylo had done was tear his mate down. He had to be the biggest ass on the planet.
“There are reasons,” Yosi said.
Another reason Kylo was the worst mate ever. He had no clue what any of those ‘reasons’ might be.
“But it doesn’t excuse the fact that I hide away. You were right,” Yosi told him, making Kylo feel even worse. “I don’t live my life anymore. I just stay on this island and watch others as they live theirs.”
It was official. Kylo was the worst mate on the planet. If he could, he’d kick his own ass for doing this to Yosi.
“That’s not true.” If only he were there so his mate would know he meant every word. “You’ve done so much for those who were hunted by the old Council. I never should have said what I did.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Yosi told him. “You were right. Its time I start living again.”
Kylo banged his head against the side of the plane, wishing he could turn back the clock. But that just wasn’t possible. “Please know I didn’t mean what I said,” Kylo pleaded with his mate. “You are the kindest, sweetest man I’ve ever known.”
A deep chuckle came through the phone. “That just goes to show that I haven’t been my true self for a very long time.”
“Stop it,” Kylo told him. “You are the reason I’ve healed as much as I have. Hell, you’re the reason I wake up with hope. I love you, Yosi Pendev. There is no one on this earth I’d rather have as my mate.”
“I love you too, Kylo. But when you get back, things are going to change. And it will start with me finally burying my cock into that sweet body of yours.” Yosi’s voice had dropped a couple of octaves as he said the last part.
Heat crawled up Kylo’s body and landed in his face. He was sure he could cook eggs on his skin it was so damn hot. “Okay,” he said awkwardly. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”
He punched the end button before Yosi could say anything else embarrassing. He really needed to find a way to get used to Yosi’s dirty talk, since he did it whenever the opportunity arose, but Kylo wasn’t sure that was even possible.
Just hearing the things his mate said to him shut down Kylo’s brain and his body took over. His face might be red, but for him, the more telling part was that his dick was rock hard and throbbing against his zipper.
When they were alone, that was a good thing. But when others were around? Kylo wanted nothing more than to scram, something his injuries didn’t allow him to do yet.
He just hoped, when they got to Australia, his body wouldn’t fail him while saving those who needed help, or they would all wind up dead.
CHAPTER 15
“We land in five minutes,” Baz called back to them from the cockpit. “Jack called. There’s a group already waiting for us at the airfield who, once Quint refuels, can fly back home.”
Since Jack had said there would be at least twenty seeking asylum, they’d had to ask Yosi’s second pilot to join them. It meant there would be no one to get Yosi off the island if a problem occurred, but there hadn’t been any other choice. Making this trip twice without risking those they left behind just wasn’t possible.
Rus had assured Kylo that the rest of security was on alert. Between the tunnel that had been built deep in the interior of the cliffs on the west side of the island as well as a high-speed boat that could get them out of there if necessary, Yosi would be safe. Kylo trusted Rus to know what he was talking about.
Plus, there hadn’t been any threats toward Yosi in a while. He also had the highest security devices ever developed to detect if anyone were to try and come close. On top of all that, there were several residents of the island who were sea creatures that would take turns being in the water to detect intruders.
As the wheels touched down, Kylo’s worries for his mate shifted to the group of men, women, and children who were standing just inside the hanger. Huddled together, they looked positively terrified. Then again, Kylo knew a little something about that. He’d been hunted for being gay most of his life.
He didn’t hesitate to approach them as he left the plane. “Is everyone okay? Should we get the med kits?”
At first, no one spoke, then a woman, who was about five-seven with beautiful honey blonde hair, stepped forward. “I’m Kew Booker. Jack was able to get us out before the sharks could find us, but I fear he may be too late for the others.”
Baz came running up at that moment. “Jack needs our help. He said he left a truck.”
Kew pointed inside the hanger to a large work truck with an extended cab. Baz raced away and started up the truck, pulling up to where Kylo stood. “You coming?” Baz asked.
Kylo glanced at the group, who was already safe, and knew he had to go help those that weren’t. He pointed to where Quint was already gassing up the plane. “That’s Quint. He’s going to take you home.”
“Come on, Jack said the sharks are there,” Baz called out over the rattling engine.
Kylo looked at it a little dubiously. He wasn’t sure if it was going to help or hinder them. Kew giggled. “That truck can, and has, hauled just about everything you can imagine. It won’t let you down.”
He sure as hell hoped not as he wished the group well on their journey and got into the backseat behind Teddy, who had taken shotgun. Rus was next to him in the back.
Wasting no time, Baz peeled out of the hanger. He sped far faster than he probably should, but it didn’t bother Kylo. He was used to having to make a quick getaway and Greyson had never had trouble making that happen. Usually.
“What’s happening?” Kylo called out over the noise of the wind and engine. The windows were down because the air conditioner didn’t work.
“The sea lions haven’t gone into the water since five of their members had been killed. The alpha of their colony wasn’t gay, but he’s never had an issue with anyone who was. Because of that, the sharks are threatening the entire colony.”
Kylo gasped in outrage. He’d personally called Saber when they’d gotten on the airplane, but he’d already been informed. Yosi had called. Damn, but he loved that man. Saber had promised to send in reinforcements.
“Are the Council’s troops here?” Kylo yelled.
Baz nodded. “Jack said he met them at the airport when he was dropping off the first group. They went to the shark pod and confronted the alpha. But the bastard had already sent his enforcer to kill the entire colony. Thankfully, Jack and a few of the council’s men had gone straight to the colony.”
Suddenly, Baz hit the brakes, causing the truck to skid
across a gravel driveway turning it until it was sideways right before a large house that overlooked the ocean. It was a stunning home, as well as a beautiful view, but Kylo couldn’t appreciate it for more than a few moments as the sounds of gunfire erupted from somewhere in the house.
A ball of dread formed in Kylo’s stomach, causing him to feel sick. When he’d told his mate he was coming and doing whatever it took to save these people, he hadn’t really known what that would entail. Hand to hand combat, when he was well, was something he could handle.
Greyson had insisted they all learn as they were constantly being hunted down by various alphas for daring to be gay. Elton had learned to use knives better than anyone he knew. Again, when he had full range of motion, Kylo was decent using them himself.
But guns? Those things scared the crap out of him. As shifters they weren’t used too often in their world. That they were now didn’t bode well for the situation inside.
Three doors had opened the moment the truck had come to a jarring stop. Baz, Rus, and Teddy spilled out, all heading right into the fray. Kylo was slower. It didn’t help that his injuries were hindering him moving quickly, especially after the sudden stop had slammed him into the door, setting his burns on fire again.
But the fact was, for the first time since he’d insisted on going, Kylo was terrified. He’d spent most of his life being chased and nearly killed by others. Right now, in this moment, he wasn’t sure he wanted to do that again.
“Momma,” a little boy screamed from somewhere in the house.
Kylo’s feet were moving faster before he even knew what he was doing. Pushing through front door that had been left ajar, Kylo’s survival instincts kicked in full force. Forgetting the pain that had been, and probably still was, coursing through him, he dropped to the ground.
