There was genuine warmth in the older man’s eyes when he talked to Rick. It was clear there was a bond of friendship and respect between the two of them. Saving someone’s life the way Rick had done for Colonel Owens probably forged a deep connection.

  She found herself wanting to know more about the colonel, and why all the men of the unit seemed to speak in hushed tones of deepest respect whenever his name was mentioned. The older man had to be something special. After all, the shifters seemed to be treating him the same way. It was unusual, to say the least, for a fully human man to have garnered so much admiration from magical folk.

  Rick and Lynn returned the table and joined in the conversation. The women were talking about the friends they’d made on the other side of the island and how some of the women were planning to get together for a movie night every couple of weeks. Lynn was surprised by how easily the shifter women had come to accept the mostly non-magical mates of the unit members, though, of course, Rosie’s gift of foresight was something shifters understood and respected.

  Still, most of the other women around the table had no prior experience or knowledge of magic or shifters, yet they’d been accepted, and new friendships were taking shape. The phenomenon intrigued Lynn, though it had little to do with the reason she’d been recruited. Still, it was in her nature to observe the dynamics of everything around her, and as long as she didn’t share her insights with anybody who didn’t already know about the magical world, it did no harm to observe and make connections in her own mind.

  The food was superb, and the company was jovial. It was one of the nicest meals Lynn could ever remember sharing with a group. When the conversation turned to the action that afternoon on the beach, she realized that the other women hadn’t been let in on the details of the operation. Even Hannah, who was a sergeant in the Army, didn’t know what had transpired on the beach. Her assignment had apparently been to watch over the rest of the women while they were in Navy territory, on the other side of the island.

  As the meal wound down and people began to sip coffee and nibble on dessert, the mood of the room changed. Especially when Liam Kincaid walked in and casually picked up a cup of coffee for himself from the buffet.

  “Do we have to leave?” Casey asked her husband quietly, though the slight lull in conversation at the table meant that just about everybody heard. Hal shook his head.

  “No, I think you all need to know what happened today,” Hal replied. “Everybody’s welcome to stay for the meeting.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Lynn was surprised but pleased that he’d taken that view. If these civilians were going to be living here, so close to danger, they deserve to be aware of what might be out there, gunning for them.

  Liam brought his coffee and a small plate heaped with tidbits to the table, taking a seat that had been left empty, next to Hal. He said hello and seemed to be waiting patiently while enjoying both the company and the food. He didn’t look tired, exactly. To Lynn’s eyes, he looked more weary than anything else, though shifters were notorious for having near-boundless energy.

  Hal and Liam spoke quietly, and then, a few minutes later, Hal stood and addressed the group.

  “I’d like to thank our chef, Master Chief Santini, for a spectacular meal, and all the staff that assisted him in making our little celebration possible,” Hal began. “As you know, since coming back to the States, we’ve had a mixed bag of danger and joy. We’ve welcomed new people into our little family. The ladies who’ve been willing to put up with the ongoing challenges of living here and being involved in our lives have made definite, positive changes, and I hope that will continue. But the danger also continues.” He looked down then up again, meeting the gazes of everyone in the room. “We were so far out of our depth at the beginning of this journey we didn’t even realize how much we didn’t know. We’re still learning every day. The addition of Dr. Tucker to our team has brought a new source of knowledge, for which we are very grateful.” He nodded at Lynn, and she smiled back.

  “The thing is,” Hal went on, “there are all sorts of dangers out there that we still don’t know much about. Today, we learned about the existence of water-based shifters. In particular, Dr. Tucker was targeted by a small group of shark shifters. Five men emerged from the water to attack her, but due to careful planning, we were ready for them.” Hal met Lynn’s gaze. “I’d like to publicly thank Lynn for agreeing to act as bait in our trap. Not only that, but she was also an active shooter—albeit with a bow and arrow—and took down two of the five invaders.”

  The women at the table all looked at her with varying degrees of surprise and fascination. Many looked impressed, making Lynn feel both a bit uncomfortable and pleased to have earned a bit of their respect.

  “All five have been captured and detained,” Hal continued. “Because they are shifters, I agreed with Commander Kincaid that they be remanded to his custody. We don’t yet have the expertise to deal with that kind of prisoner, but our Navy colleagues do. I was able to sit in and witness interrogations this afternoon, and while the prisoners are being understandably uncooperative, we have learned a few things. First of all, these five men are mercenaries, working for a foreign power. We already know we have enemies from the time we spent in the desert. These guys are, in all probability, working for them.” Hal let that sink in then continued, “I’ve asked Lieutenant Kincaid to drop in and give us whatever information he can about the water-based shifters, and what steps we’ll all need to take to stay as safe as possible.” Hal turned to his side and gestured for Liam to stand and address the group.

  Liam polished off his coffee and took over from Hal. “Given your change in circumstances,” Liam began, “and the addition to your team of an expert in the wider field of magical interactions,” Liam nodded at Lynn, “I’ve been authorized by my father, the Alpha for every shifter assigned to this island and, in fact, every shifter in Special Forces throughout the military, to share information freely. This, you have to understand, is not something we do lightly. For centuries, all the magical races have kept to themselves, for the most part. But there is a much bigger threat that has been emerging over the past few years, and we’ve been instructed by the Lords of our region and actually, the Lords in all the regions, to begin to forge alliances with Others who fight on the side of Light. You all may not have been born magical—with the notable exception of our friend, Rose, who has a gift of foresight that shifters sometimes share and understand—but because of what happened to you in the desert, you’ve joined a much bigger world.” He paused a moment to let that sink in. “Because of what happened to you in the desert,” he echoed his own words, “and every battle you have ever fought, we know where you stand. Firmly on the side of Light. Because of that, we are allies. And, because we are allies, we can no longer have secrecy between us.”

  Liam shifted his weight from one foot to the other, somewhat uncomfortable with his own words, but forging ahead, nonetheless. Lynn realized a few things in that moment. Her grandmother had always told her how secretive the shifter community was. For good reason, Gram had said. By Liam’s words, the veil of secrecy was about to come down in a big way. This was more momentous than the men of the unit probably realized.

  “Dr. Tucker may have told you something about the ongoing war between good and evil,” Liam continued. “Dark and Light. Yin and Yang. Eternal opposites struggling for control, with those of us living here in this realm caught in the crossfire. We’ve had to choose sides. My Pride and my Clan have always fought on the side of Light, but not all shifters are good guys. Shark shifters, in particular, have traditionally been found fighting for the other side. The guys we caught today are definitely mercenaries. Whether their true allegiance lies with whoever pays them or they have some deeper allegiance to the forces of darkness, we still do not know. We aim to find out. And, if we can’t get the answers we want here on the island, we have places and people we can send them to who may have a better chance at eliciting the information we need.”

  Lynn suspected the Lords and their priestess friends were the resources Liam mentioned. All in all, Lynn felt relieved to know that the sharks would be handled by their own kind. Shifters knew best how to deal with their people, and the ones on this side of the eternal battle weren’t cruel. Gram had told her that many times. The sharks wouldn’t suffer unnecessarily as prisoners. Even though they had wanted to kill or capture her, Lynn didn’t want to see them—or anyone, for that matter—suffer.

  “What we know so far is that the team we captured are mercs. We also have contacts among more reputable mercenary groups, and we’re checking with them to see if they have any more intel on these sharks. Anything we learn, we’ll be sharing with you. I’m your official liaison, but we know some of our people have already begun to form friendships, and we encourage that. Colonel Owens and Master Chief Santini have worked together before and have agreed to act as senior advisors to both of our groups. If questions arise, you can always bring them to me, or, if you want to be less formal about it, you can check with the newly-minted senior advisors.” Liam chuckled a bit as he nodded toward the two older men, who waved back in acknowledgment.

  “What it boils down to,” Liam continued, his tone growing serious once more, “is that it’s become clear that the forces of darkness want to somehow turn you all to their side. Whether that means using the people you love against you in some sort of blackmail maneuver or some kind of magical means of controlling you so that you use your new gifts on their behalf, we’re not exactly sure. Whatever the case, it cannot be allowed to happen.” Liam’s voice was adamant. “To that end, the Alpha is extending his protection to your unit and your families. We’re going to do our best to integrate your unit into the larger group here on the island, in small ways, at first. Friendships, shared duties, working together. These things will begin to help us understand each other. Ultimately, Captain Haliwell and Commander Kincaid have been working out a strategy whereby we can all work together to go out and do things, in the real world. Using all our abilities for the cause of Light.”

  Hal stood in the silence that followed Liam’s bold pronouncement. “It’s a possible path forward,” Hal told them all. “A way we can still contribute and not be prisoners on this island all the time. And it’s still in the planning stages. As events unfold, and missions pop up that could benefit from some of our new abilities, we might find ourselves working with the extra-Special Forces folks who’ve been training on this island under commander Kincaid’s oversight.”

  “Sir,” Carter asked when Hal opened the floor up to questions, “would we be working together as a unit, or sending men out singly, or in small groups?”

  “The most likely scenario is that our people will go out in small numbers, within a larger force consisting of shifter soldiers. We would be support staff, and the men chosen for each mission will depend upon mission parameters in which of you would be most effective in the expected environment,” Hal replied. Lynn saw the men of the unit nodding, most wearing pleased expressions on their faces, some looking downright eager to get out into the real world again.

  “We’ll discuss this more, as time goes on,” Hal told them. “For now, I just wanted you to know that were working on ways to end our confinement—at least, every once in a while. We still have to be vigilant. The shark attack proved that were not entirely safe, even here. We all have to be on our guard, but we’re not going to let that stop us from using the gifts we been given.”

  The men cheered at that idea, and the mood in the room was even lighter than before. Liam spoke again.

  “There’s an opportunity here,” he said, regaining the attention of the room. “We shifters serve the Mother of All, and we believe She would not have allowed your unit to be given such incredible gifts, if She had not intended for you to use them. My father is fond of the saying that everything happens for a reason. Your foreseers might be able to tell you more about that, but suffice to say, we’ve all been gearing up for a big explosion that could happen anytime. The signs have been coming for years that the ongoing battle is heating up again. Followers of an immortal sorceress called the Destroyer are trying to bring her back from her banishment. The last time she was here, in this realm, was the period known to history as the Dark Ages. We don’t want that to happen again, so we’re doing all we can to thwart their attempts to gather power. If we fail and she, returns—and I have to warn you that some say she is already here, just regaining her strength after the strenuous passage—then we’re going to need all of your abilities, all of your power, to fight her and her followers. This is more than just our country. This is a battle for the fate of our world and all who live in it.” Liam paused while that sank in. “I’ll be around if any of you have questions. Just know that we’re all glad you’re here, and we’re especially glad—after learning what you guys can do—that you’re on our side.”

  That made a few of the men smile as Liam finished. Hal nodded and opened the floor to questions. The men had many questions, mostly having to do with the kind of action they might be seeing and what kinds of groups they’d be working with. Liam described the way shifters were often deployed and how they might adjust if several members of this group were included. Hal outlined joint training they were developing and asked Colonel Owens and Master Chief Santini to speak on that, since they were the ones devising the training scenarios.

  Lynn was asked a few questions on the magical aspects, but mostly, this was a chance for the formerly non-magical humans to ask about their shifter neighbors. Lynn had never seen such a thing and was sure that this kind of openness didn’t happen every day. In fact, it was becoming clear to her that this sort of cooperation was something entirely new to the shifters. Lynn was impressed.

  After a period of questions, Hal closed out the formal part of the meeting. “That’s all, for now. We’re going to be posting a new training schedule tomorrow that will have a lot more interaction between our unit and Liam’s people. We’re going to learn how to work with each other and how best to utilize our unique abilities in conjunction with their talents. You’re also going to notice that we interact more on a social level than before. This alliance is real, people. We’re all fighting on the same side, and we’re going to work that way from here on out. The shark encounter brought home the need for us all to work together and learn how to rely on our unique abilities. That starts now, with getting to know each other. I have high hopes for the future of our unit and our role in the coming conflict. We have a plan now. Let’s do our best to execute it.”

  With a masculine cheer of “ooh-rah”, the men indicated how much they liked what their captain was saying. The group broke up after that. Some continued to linger over coffee, breaking into small groups to sit and chat. A number of people headed toward the living room and a ball game that was starting on television. Lynn notice that Liam and a number of the kitchen shifters went along with that group, opting to stay in the building and begin to forge those friendships and alliances Hal and Liam had talked about.

  Things were definitely looking up. The group was energized. They had a mission and a clear path ahead. Lynn was glad for them. She’d sensed a lack of direction in her short time among them and a dissatisfaction with being kept essentially prisoner here on the island. Tonight, that had all changed. She was happy for them and sensed the change in the group dynamic right away.

  “Do you want to watch the game?” Rick asked her as they got up from the table and cleared away their dishes.

  “Do you?” she countered.

  She didn’t really feel like watching a long ball game, but she would if that’s what Rick wanted. She knew he was part of this unit and had been for a very long time. She wouldn’t begrudge him his friendships with his comrades, even if she really wanted to be alone with him to explore more of what they had found together that afternoon.

  Thankfully, Rick shook his head. “Not particularly.” He put one hand around her waist as they walked side by side out the door and into the hallway. “What I’d really prefer is to spend some time alone…with you.”

  That was music to her ears. Her breath caught in her throat as she replied. “I’d like that, too.”

  They turned as one and headed for the stairs.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  They came together more slowly this time. More deliberately. Rick spent time enticing Lynn into pleasure, which, she had to admit, wasn’t all that difficult. Her body knew the pleasure he could give her and was greedy for more.

  They were in his room, and she was pleased to find that it had a much larger bed than hers. He was a tall man, and the standard double bed really wasn’t large enough for him. The king size worked a lot better and meant more room for romping.

  Lynn was also happy to discover that he was an avid reader. He had bookcases all along one wall, absolutely stuffed with books on a myriad of subjects. He was neat but not obsessively so, which boded well for them as a couple, since she was known to lose herself in her work and let everyday chores slide for a while until she’d solved whatever work puzzle had occupied her.

  He also had mementos of his travels. A little jar of sand was labelled with the various places each layer had come from. She’d had a chance to glimpse it just before they’d become occupied with much more pleasurable pursuits.

  He made love to her slowly, at first. Then, she’d taken control, rolling them on the big bed and straddling his hard-muscled body. She felt like a femme fatale all of a sudden, which was a totally new and exciting experience for her. Rick had shown her so many tantalizing things in just the short time they’d known each other. She was learning all sorts of things about herself and her appetites—and exactly what she was capable of. It was a heady lesson.

  She took him inside and rode for glory, finding a nearly blindingly bright climax and taking him along with her.