Kalina couldn’t help wondering why. Now that she knew the truth about her history, she wondered why Thane, or his father, would have stopped her from going to school. She’d never asked because she didn’t know she had a choice.
“How did you become a shifter?” Rafe asked her.
Wow. A difficult question.
“It was complicated,” she said. “Usually, it’s done through a sexual act. When one receives the bite, they become the mate of the other. Well, if the lead shark wants it that way. It doesn’t always work out. Sometimes rogue sharks bite multiple…mates for lack of a better word. With me, I was raised with the hope that Thane would be the one to bite me and turn me. When I was sixteen, I…blossomed I guess you could say. I became a woman. But Thane didn’t see me as a mate. Not a real mate anyway, not his one and only. Rather than make me wait for a potential suitor, Horace, my teacher, who is also a bit of a mystic or shaman or whatever you want to call it, he used some sort of magic to turn me. It hurt worse than the other way. They say the bite gives you extraordinary sexual pleasure. I felt only pain.”
“I think I’d prefer the sexual way,” Rafe said.
She laughed.
Finally, they pushed through some low-hanging tree branches and came to a clearing that looked a little like where the cabins were on the other side of the island. Wooden rectangular structures sat on both sides of the clearing and the ocean was the front lawn.
“That side,” Kalina said as she pointed to the left, “is the schoolhouse side. I learned math and science and history and English and all about life in a small classroom. I slept in the room next to it.”
“Over there,” she said as she pointed to the right, “is where Horace lives and where we ate and spent our free time.”
“We?” Rafe asked.
“I wasn’t alone in my schooling,” she said. “Evelyn was there with me. And two others. Owen and Simion.”
“What happened to them?” Rafe asked.
“Owen died, as soon as he turned for the first time. He cut himself on coral and when a shark bleeds, it’s no different than a human. The other sharks come to eat. It’s one of the reasons I worry about you. You have no idea how dangerous it is out there. We heal quickly, but sometimes not quickly enough.”
“I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “I’m a tough dude. Like really tough. The toughest.”
They both laughed.
“What happened to Simion?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe the same. He went out one day and didn’t come back. It happens. Every day that Thane, Faith, and I go out to patrol, that could be the day we don’t come back. The newer the shark…the more dangerous it is.”
“Even more reason for me to want to be by your side,” he said.
“I hope you truly mean that,” she said. “If we do this, there’s no turning back.”
The smile that spread across Rafe’s face made Kalina’s heart melt. He wanted this so badly. Who was she to deny him? Especially when she wanted it probably more than he did. Rafe was the one for her. He was the one meant to be her mate. Forever.
“Kalina my dear,” an old, rusty sounding voice came from out of the darkness.
The two dark rectangular buildings sprang to life as a flip was switched and multi-colored Christmas lights lit them up. Now, Rafe could see the center of the camp, where picnic tables sat and even a small plastic playground had been placed for the kids. The owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows wearing a long cream-colored robe. His hair was balding on top and his beard was white and pointed at his sandal-covered feet. He was the Caucasian version of every ancient samurai master ever seen on TV.
“Horace,” she said as she jogged to him and wrapped her arms around him.
“You, my dear, grow younger every time I see you while I simply grow older,” he said.
“Well how old are you now?” she asked.
“Five hundred and two,” he said, “Or something like that. I don’t know. I stopped counting at three hundred. If it weren’t for everyone showing up on my birthdays and reminding me, I’d have no idea. I swear Thane hashes it out on his cabin wall. The man never forgets my age.”
“I’m sure you have another five hundred in you,” Kalina said.
“Lord let’s hope not,” Horace said. “And who is your human friend?”
The old man turned his attention to Rafe, and Kalina knew she only had a matter of seconds to explain herself before he started making embarrassing assumptions. His guesses would probably be right. Not only because he had a supernatural insight unmatched by any other, but also because there were only a few reasons she might have brought him here.
“He’s someone special to me,” she said as she took Horace’s hand in hers, squeezing it tightly.
“Ah,” he said wagging a finger at her as if to say he was on to something.
“We have a war headed our way,” she said.
She turned to look at Rafe and then kissed him gently on the cheek and said, “Wait here. I need to talk to Horace alone.”
“You can trust me,” Rafe assured her. “Whatever you have to say, I promise your secret is safe with me.”
“If I am seeing this correctly,” Horace said, “you will be finding out this secret soon enough.”
His chuckle pulled at Kalina’s nerves. These were the kinds of jokes he was likely to make if she let silence linger to long. He loved to make people uncomfortable. He’d done it to her all her life. At one point, she’d had a small crush on Simion. She’d never told anyone, but she’d watched him in class and had gotten anxious every time the boy looked her way. Horace caught on quickly and changed the lesson from physics to psychology, suddenly focusing on the need to speak up when something was in your heart. He’d looked directly at her as he’d said, “The heart always knows what it wants, even if the vocal chords refuse to meet it halfway.” He’d continued to make quirky remarks like that one, but thankfully nobody had caught on. Rafe was smarter than any of the others had been and would piece the puzzle together quickly if given half a chance.
“Give me a second,” Kalina said, “and I promise it’ll all make sense.”
She left him sitting at the picnic table looking up at the stars. As she walked into Horace’s home, she looked back once at Rafe and remembered how many times she’d sat in that exact spot, wishing to be whisked away to some faraway land where she had more friends and a mom and dad that loved her. Usually, one of the others would come out to the table and snap her broken thoughts back into place. Her mind had been a fragile twig, but Horace had made it a strong and sturdy bamboo branch, able to bend, but unlikely to break.
Once inside and out of earshot, Kalina took Horace’s hands in hers.
“I’m so sorry to come here for this,” she said, “but this boy is special to me. Really special. He’s the one. He’s my one true mate. I know it.”
Horace chuckled.
“Then what is the big deal?” he asked. “You are a woman. He is a man. Do I need to explain to you how it is done…again?”
“Please,” she said. “Trust me. I know how it’s done. But this is different.”
“What are you asking, Girl? Get on with it.”
“The tent,” she said.
That was all she said for a long while. Horace looked down at his feet and wrinkled the corner of his mouth. She knew at this point there was less than a fifty percent chance he would say yes, which left the scale tipping toward a no. He didn’t like doing it, she knew that, but he’d done it for her. Not exactly this, but close to it.
If Thane had come and asked for Rafe’s friends to go through the process this way, Horace would have refused. He didn’t agree with making more of their kind unless it was for mating purposes. He’d explained to Kalina all through her upbringing that love is the only force strong enough to keep a paranormal shifter on the correct path. If the gift were given to everyone who wanted it, the outcome could be disastrous. He’d actually made them paint
pictures of the gift gone wrong. Hers still hung somewhere in the sleeping cabin. She’d painted a man sitting on a poolside throne, his crown crooked on his head, while people bowed their heads to him from hotel balconies. Evelyn had been born into their world and was becoming a prime example of how the gift could be wrongfully used.
If Faith went through with changing Rafe’s friends, Horace would be pissed about it later when he found out. That would have to be something for Thane and Faith to deal with later. Right now, Kalina needed to focus on getting Rafe into that tent.
“I won’t send him in alone,” she said, hoping it would calm his nerves. “I will go with him. And I will do what needs to be done. All I’m asking is for your…your help.”
“And why is such a thing needed, little one? Why can’t you do it the natural way?”
“Because Evelyn is coming back. War is coming. It will be bad, Horace. It will be brutal, and I can’t stand to think of Rafe going into the water with me and not coming out by my side. I’m afraid without your help, he has too little time to prepare. He will be too weak, too undisciplined, too fragile. I know you can make him strong. You can make him much more durable.”
“You are asking me to take a human and help you make him a supercharged shark,” he said.
“Yes,” she said. “Like you did for me.”
“And you are aware that it is temporary. You remember what happened to you, right?” Horace said. “Any magic I give that boy will wear off. And then he’s your responsibility.”
Of course, she remembered what happened to her. She’d been a teenager with a new ability to transform into a tiger shark. She’d been excited and headstrong. She’d gone into the water alone when newbies weren’t supposed to. She’d had so much energy and so much strength that she thought she could take on the world. She couldn’t. One tough as nails bull shark taught her that. She’d barely made it back to the island alive.
“How long will it last?” she asked, not sure how long hers had since her near-death experience had drained most of it.
“A week…maybe. It depends on how much damage he sustains. Yours lasted two days…and you would have died without it.”
“Then I will keep him as safe as possible.”
“I wouldn’t do this normally, but I’ve known you a long time, Little Kalina. You deserve love more than anyone I’ve raised. You adore this man. That much is clear. Go to him,” Horace said. “I will prepare the tent.”
When she returned to Rafe, he was lying on his back on the bench.
“You’re back,” he said without looking at her.
“Do I make that much noise when I walk?” she replied.
“Your scent,” he said. “You have an amazing scent. I don’t know exactly what it is. Maybe coconut mixed with seawater.”
“A girl has to lotion up her skin from time to time,” Kalina said.
She had in fact put on coconut lotion earlier that evening. The seawater, she supposed, never left her body completely. It was as much a part of her as her blood.
“Can I ask you something?” he said as he sat up and looked at her across the dark table.
Behind him, the multicolored holiday lights created a dull rainbow-like glow. She wanted so badly to refuse his question and kiss him instead.
“Do your kind get married?” he asked.
Her heart beat wildly in her chest. The thought of it made her more nervous than she’d ever expected such a thing would.
“We do,” she said.
Are you going to ask me? Oh my God. Don’t ask me. But do ask me. Don’t you dare ask me. You’d better ask me.
“Have you ever been close to marrying anyone before?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “Not really.”
She was being honest. She’d always expected that maybe Thane would get around to it. That maybe he would decide nobody else was fit if she only treated him kindly and remained loyal to him. She’d been wrong. Now, as she sat across from Rafe, she thought, Thank God I was wrong. Her thoughts were interrupted when Rafe leaned in close to her and kissed her. His mouth moved slowly over hers, massaging her lips as saltwater air flowed in between them, filling her lungs with its sweet scent. Then he closed the distance as his tongue entered her mouth and sipped at hers, seeming to savor the taste of her. It was sweet and delicious. Behind her, a horn sounded off and they both jumped, their kiss ruined by the uncomfortable ache of their teeth clanging together. That was Horace’s signal. It was time to take Rafe to the tent.
“It’s time,” she said.
“Time for what?” he asked.
“Are you serious about wanting to be like me? Now’s your chance to back out.”
“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”
“I hope you mean that because—”
“—Kalina,” Rafe interrupted her. “I love you. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I think I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you that night at the bonfire. Every thought I’ve had involved you. When I surf, you’re there beside me. When I swim, your body is wrapped around me like that night in the pool. When I breathe…every single time I inhale, it’s your breath filling my lungs. I love you.”
Her lips couldn’t have hit his hard enough. Her mouth collided with his and her tongue parted his lips, making sure he understood that she felt the same.
“I love you too,” she said as she pulled away. “God, that sounds stupid. No, I love you. I do. I know I do. Come on.”
She took his hand and pulled him away from the picnic tables and around the side of the rectangular building that had served as her schoolhouse. There, behind it, was a giant tent that one might expect to see on a Native American reservation. It was a teepee, which didn’t make much sense in Australia, as her friends used to joke, but Horace had constructed it and used it as a home for his magic. Tonight, it would be the birthplace of Rafe’s new life.
“That’s so cool,” Rafe said.
Kalina’s heart fluttered and her stomach ached. Nerves kicked in hard. She’d had sex many times in the past, but she’d never been in love before, and she’d never done anything like she was about to do now. She could see that Horace had lit the fire inside, and blue shadows illuminated the entrance. It was too late to turn back now. Horace never wasted his magic and he would be livid if she changed her mind. She took a deep breath and looked over at Rafe with hopeful eyes. She trusted that once he entered, he wouldn’t leave until they were done. If he did, she would be heartbroken. She was trusting him now.
“Don’t let go of my hand,” she warned him. “A part of your body has to be touching mine at all times once we enter. Do you understand? If you let go of me, it could hurt you bad. Once we enter the tent, my energy will be flowing into you. Without that link…”
“I get it,” he said. “I won’t let go of you.”
She nodded and breathed deeply again. Her feet shuffled forward one slow step at a time as she pulled him with her into the tent. The blue haze enveloped them as they entered.
“Ah,” Rafe said, not from pain, but from surprise.
The pain hadn’t started yet.
The heat of the inside was on them immediately, covering their skin in sweaty moisture. She’d been inside the tent a hundred times at least, but only once for anything as serious as this. This was where she’d had her transformation. Nothing on the inside had changed at all. The strange markings were still on the walls, lines and circles and zig zags. Animal skins covered the floors and six pillows marked the spaces where the elders sat when meetings were called. Horace had told her once that some of the other shifters came there to converse with him. Many had died over the years, but still some traveled from far and wide. Incense burned on small tables at four points around the circular space. The only thing newly added, and definitely for their benefit, was a light blue blanket. Kalina recognized it as the one that had covered her bed as a child. Now, it would provide a different kind of comfort.
“Don’t let go, re
member,” she said.
“It’s so hot,” he said. “It’s hard to breathe.”
“You will smother with me,” she joked. “It’s part of the process. We will grow weak together and come out the other side much stronger.”
As she held onto his hand, she used her other to begin removing his shirt. When it was almost all the way off, she switched hands to remove it all the way, always making sure her skin was against his at some point of their bodies. He helped her remove his pants and stopped there. She smirked as she looked down at his boxers.
“Oh,” he said as he pulled them loose and kicked them away too.
His cock was already halfway hard. How could it not be? The heat combined with the erotic scent and the blue magical mist created the most sensual of moods. Kalina placed her bare foot on top of Rafe’s to keep the connection as she lifted her dress over her head and let it fall to the ground. She’d worn no panties or bra. She often went without since she never knew when she would need to shed her clothes and hit the water. Plus, around Rafe, she’d started to shed her clothes on dry land too. She loved the man and wanted to feel him inside her every moment she could. This wasn’t a date night where she needed to pretend to be human in a bar full of locals. This was altogether different. Tonight would be extra special.
“When I look at you,” Rafe said, “I can’t breathe. You are the most immaculate thing I’ve ever seen. Your body and your face and your smile and your hair…”
As he spoke, his cock hardened until it was completely solid, and she hadn’t even touched him yet. It was clear he liked her that much and the thought of it made her wet. This guy was hers and she was going to change him. He would never leave her now. She knew that. Not only did she trust him, but the bite would make him her mate. Sure, the connection could be broken by someone else strong enough, or if one of them were weak enough, but she knew that would never be the case with Rafe. He was different. He was already one of her kind, only trapped in human form.
She took his hand and led him to the blue blanket where she lay him down on the ground on his back. The heat of the tent sent beads of sweat running down her neck and over her breasts. It rolled down her stomach and into her pussy. She was wet in so many ways. Rafe’s body was the same damp and so fucking sexy. She wanted him. She needed him. Gently, while keeping her eyes glued on his, she reached out and took his cock in her hand. She strengthened her gaze and focused on him as she slowly stroked him. His mouth opened to gasp, and she watched as the blue mist seeped into him. She smiled. It would work. She believed in it and she knew she’d made the right decision.
Bite Me Harder (a paranormal shifter novel) (Guardians of the Deep Book 2) Page 24
