Making waves, p.12
Making Waves, page 12
Rus shivered and moaned. “Keep that up, and I’m going to need you again, my mate.”
Surprised to hear that, Hari lifted his head. “Really?”
Rus lifted his head up and did the same to Hari. It was like a jolt to his cock, which valiantly tried to rise once more.
The deep chuckle from his mate didn’t help curb the need that began to rise within him. “I love you too, my mate,” he whispered before kissing Rus with all the love he had.
“I get it, Chadwick, but I’m also not about to cut short my morning with my mate,” Rus’s annoyed voice woke Hari the following morning.
Smiling at the thought of the night before, Hari couldn’t imagine why he’d fought mating for so long. He might not be ready for anal himself; but judging by the pleasure he’d seen on Rus’s face, there was no doubt that one day, Hari would get there. After all, they were mates. And he wanted to experience all there was to be had between the two of them.
“Seriously, you and Saber can interrogate them first, so stop being an ass and let me get back to my mate.” Rus didn’t wait for a response before hitting the ‘end’ button. Then he turned off his cell phone.
“Something up?” Hari asked, hoping like hell Rus meant it when he said he wasn’t leaving yet.
Rus lay back down and pulled Hari into his arms for a heated kiss before answering. “There are twenty human survivors who are asking for asylum. Saber and Chadwick want me to interrogate them too, in order to see if they’re telling the truth or planning something.”
Not wanting to think about having humans on the island, Hari didn’t say anything. Instead, he bent down and licked the mating mark he’d given Rus. “I say all that can wait.”
Rus moaned then chuckled as he reached between their bodies. Wrapping his large hand around both of their already hard cocks, Rus murmured, “I completely agree. I think it’s time to give you another lesson in the many ways to pleasure each other.”
“Oh?” Hari teased even as his forehead fell against that broad chest when ecstasy washed over him at all the delicious sensations Rus was creating. “Fuck,” he breathed out, unable to remember what he’d planned on saying when he started teasing his mate. Not that it mattered.
All he cared about in that moment was being with Rus, his mate, his heart, his love.
CHAPTER 22
“What if they’re here to lower our defenses for another attack?” Hari’s question was one they’d been debating for two days as Rus, Saber, and Chadwick had interrogated the humans who had requested asylum.
“They’ve all agreed to have a tracking unit for the time being,” Yosi told him.
It hadn’t been ideal, but of the nearly two hundred humans that had survived, twenty had sworn they hadn’t known anything about what their government had planned. They claimed if they returned home, their government would kill them.
The others who had survived, also felt that way, but they had asked to be allowed to find another country to beg for asylum. They’d been given supplies and sent on their way. Even though the other twenty had been encouraged to go with them, none of them had believed any country would take them in.
“We can’t possibly trust them,” Hari insisted.
Saber sat up in his chair. “We also can’t blame them for something others had done. They deserve a chance, otherwise we’re no better than the humans that have been trying to destroy us.”
“What happens if the humans attack again?” Hari demanded with far more fear than assertiveness. “Are they going to fight with us or against us?”
Rus hated hearing the quiver of fear at the end of his question, but after all Hari had been through, it wasn’t unexpected. Holding his hand, Rus did his best to comfort his mate.
“There’s no way to know,” Saber told Hari plainly. “Nor do we know who, where, or even if the humans will attack us again.”
Chadwick snorted derisively. “Please. We all know humans are fucking morons with a God complex. Of course, they will attack again. But now that you know what you’re up against, Rus and Yosi will work on a game plan for securing Salvation Island.” Flipping his knife and catching it by the handle with ease, Chadwick added, “As for those seeking asylum, I admit, there is no way to be certain, but Rus, Saber, and I are pretty good at interrogation.”
He grinned wickedly. “After what we put them through, I’d bet they are sincere.”
“Really?” The sarcasm in Hari’s voice shocked Rus. “Because I notice they are staying here, yet you and your mate are leaving the island.”
Saber growled low in his throat as a warning, which had Rus picking his mate up and setting him in his lap. “My mate and I,” Saber bit out, “Are returning to Miracle, who will need more defenses in place if they are to survive an attack the size of this one.”
Hari stiffened. Rus stopped him from antagonizing their Council Leader further. “It’s okay,” Rus tried to reassure him. “Yosi and I are working on a better defense system for Salvation.”
Some of the tension eased from his mate’s body. “What if they send even more ships?” Hari asked. “We’re kind of trapped if they surround us, aren’t we?”
Saber pushed up from his seat and started to pace, which wasn’t typically in his nature, but considering everything the humans had been doing to shifters lately, Rus could understand the need to move. “We’re in touch with some of the governments to try and work out a peace deal. But even if we manage that, there are still too many governments, as well as humans, who don’t care about making peace.”
“I know this is scary,” Yosi told all of those in the room, which included most of his staff, as well as all the security for the island. “But Salvation has a better chance than most of surviving. Even Miracle has proven when fighting the old Council, it can, and will, defend itself. But there are still a lot of shifter groups in the world that don’t have any way of staving off an attack.”
“Yosi’s right,” Saber admitted. “I would love to invite all shifters to either Miracle or Salvation, but the fact is, it would only make our kind even more vulnerable by putting everyone in only two locations. We need to come up with a way to keep our people safe.”
No one had any ideas on how to do that. It might have been easier if shifters had lived in a country of their own, but that had never been their way. Normally, the type of shifter would determine where one lived. Sea shifters tried to live near the ocean. Polar bears, in the arctic, penguins along the southernmost regions of South America, giraffes and lions in Africa, and so on.
That didn’t mean they couldn’t move around as they were also still human, but it made it easier to shift if they lived in a region where their animal would typically be seen. It led to less questions. Which, based on the current fact they were being hunted, was smart.
Saber sighed, straightened his broad shoulders, and turned to scan the room filled with all Salvation’s finest fighters, guards, and tech gurus. “The fact is, unless the humans get their heads out of their asses and stop coming after us, we are at war. A war we will win. But it will come with many casualties. We already lost twenty-eight men, women, and children in this last battle.”
Rus couldn’t say he’d ever seen the Council Leader shed a tear, yet one rolled down his cheek in that moment. Chadwick, who hadn’t been far from his mate, curled against Saber in comfort. Seeing their leader borrow strength from his mate lowered the anxiety in the room.
There was something about the mate bond that tended to create an atmosphere of hope, even when there didn’t seem to be any.
“I won’t lie to you,” Saber told them as he wrapped an arm around Chadwick. “More of us are going to die. If I could stop it, I would, but this isn’t a war we asked for. The humans brought it to us. All we can do, for now, is prepare. Train everyone how to fight, even the kids.”
He held up a hand when there were several grumbles of dissent. “I’m not asking them to fight, but in the last two days, three children were killed because a group of humans caught up to them trying to flee to one of the bunkers on the island with their mother. All of them were killed. I don’t know if that would have been the case if they’d known how to fight back.”
There were several nods of understanding as well as concerned expressions but no one objected to the idea of kids knowing how to defend themselves.
“I want input from everyone, not just in this room but anyone living in Salvation,” Saber informed them. “Chadwick has already informed Miracle’s Alpha, Edrick, to gather a team who will talk to people for any ideas or strategies. Many of the people living within our communities have experience in the military or defending their shifter group from other shifters that might help.”
Saber let out a huff of air. “The fact is, we have no easy way to defend ourselves. The weapons the human governments have are powerful. If they wanted to, they could annihilate our two communities without sending any troops.”
Talk about chilling. Rus had already known that, but hearing it tended to make it more real, especially with his mate there with him. When Hari pressed tighter against him, Rus squeezed him even closer.
“For the time being, I want daily video conferences between Salvation and Miracle,” Saber announced. “I will also send out several teams to contact various shifter communities that we know of in order to see if they have any suggestions. They will be given the opportunity to relocate, but we will warn them of the dangers that also could impose.”
“I think what my mate is trying to say is, there are no good options at this point,” Chadwick told them. “Since the invention of long-range weapons, shifters have watched and waited for the time when humans would turn them against us.”
“Not that we haven’t been preparing for this eventuality,” Yosi said to keep things on a more even keel instead of freaking everyone out. “But the fact remains, we’ve always known we’d be woefully unprepared.”
So much for an even keel.
Knowing that tensions were already high from the attack, Rus intervened. “Look, I’m not saying we’re going to be okay. But many governments have known about shifters. They even beg us to join their military. Technically, Chadwick is right about humans being morons, but not all of them are. And one thing the governments who work with us know is that we are beyond deadly.”
It was true and that could work against them, but Rus wasn’t about to tell anyone that. “But more importantly, we are everywhere. A country is easy to attack. There are borders to cross. Shifters don’t have borders because we are in every community in the world. That makes us dangerous. Not many governments are stupid enough to try and take out an enemy when they aren’t sure who and where all of them are. That is what will keep us safer in the end.”
When there were several rumbles of dissent, Rus added, “I didn’t say safe. I said safer. There are still governments who are going to test us. Like the Russians just did. But in the end, shifters are stronger, faster, and more cunning. We use our animal instincts as much as our human ones.”
“Rus is right,” Saber called out, calming the chatter that was going around the room. “In the end, we will be the ones standing. But until the humans surrender and stop attacking, we need to prepare ourselves. All of us.”
“Tomorrow, assignments will be handed out for each and every person who lives on Salvation Island. Everyone will contribute, even if it is only learning how to defend themselves,” Yosi announced. “But for today, we are going to honor those who have fallen fighting for Salvation. We will bury our dead. Mourn their loss while still celebrating their lives.”
The room had turned somber as those who had died filled their hearts with sorrow. “We will hug their loved ones and remind each other why each of them were special to us.”
When Yosi finished, he stood up and with Kylo by his side, walked out of the conference room, followed by the others until it was just Saber, Chadwick, Grey, Iniko, Rus, and Hari left.
“We will be leaving right after the dead are buried,” Saber told Rus and Hari. “We’re going to need your expertise at Miracle, as well as here.”
Rus had known that. Not that they didn’t have plenty of experts of their own, but Rus had the most time with the American Military’s Special Forces. He knew the playbooks of not just their country, but most countries around the world.
Nodding, Rus said, “I know. Once we get a plan in place for Salvation, Hari and I will head to Miracle.”
“There is one more thing,” Chadwick announced as his gaze bore into Hari. “We found your siblings. Well, most of them. They would like to meet you.”
Hari stiffened so much it was like he’d turned to stone in Rus’s arms. “Me?” he squeaked out.
That caused Chadwick to grin as he loved making people uncomfortable. “Your parents died about ten years ago. Your siblings didn’t know you were sold at the time. When they did find out, they tried to find you, but they had no clue where to look.”
Green eyes were suddenly looking at Rus with both fear and excitement, which were nearly blocked out by the uncertainty of the moment. His poor mate wasn’t certain if he wanted to meet his siblings.
“No matter what you decide, I’m here for you,” Rus promised him.
Hari nodded slowly before looking back at Chadwick. “Can I think about it?”
Even though Chadwick tended to act like an asshole most of the time, Rus had gotten to know him well enough to realize it was mostly a façade. Softening his features in understanding, Chadwick said, “Of course. Take your time. I’ll explain you’re still acclimating to being free of that hellhole.”
Then Hari turned and wrapped his arms around Rus’s neck as if he were his mate’s only lifeline. “I love you, my heart,” Rus whispered.
Hari squeezed him even tighter. “I love you too, my mate.”
His soul soared at hearing those words. After meeting Hari, Rus had worried they would never get to this point. There was still a long way to go, but with each day Hari had gotten stronger whether he believed it or not.
Even if they had never gotten this far, Rus wouldn’t have cared. Just having the opportunity to meet and get to know his amazing mate was heaven.
EPILOGUE
“What if they don’t like me?”
Hari knew he’d been obsessing about meeting his family since he’d agreed they could fly to Salvation Island for a family reunion, but he couldn’t help it. He’d been six when he’d last seen them. For all he knew, they were nothing like him and would consider him some weak, pathetic shifter not worthy of being related to them.
Strong hands circled around from behind him to splay across his abdomen in order to hold him against Rus’s hard body. Firm lips brushed against the edge of his ear as Rus murmured, “They are going to love you, my heart. You are kind, sweet, loving, and always there to help others.” Rus had punctuated each attribute with a kiss to Hari’s ear.
“But…”
“No buts,” Rus cut Hari off as he turned him in his arms so they were face to face. Those hands that had been on his abdomen moved to cup his face. Their mouths touched for a sweet, although brief, kiss. “They will be proud of who you’ve become, just as I am. You survived hell for forty years, my heart. Not many people can say the same.”
Hari didn’t think that was exactly a selling point. After all, he never managed to escape. After the first year, he’d never once attempted to in fear of what the retribution would be. That wasn’t something to be proud of.
“I know you think that, but…”
Rus placed a finger over Hari’s lips stopping him from continuing. “I know you’re anxious.”
Hari hoped he was expressing the ‘duh,’ he would have said if he’d been able to speak in his eyes.
By Rus’s smile, he assumed his expression was being read loud and clear. “I will be there, holding your hand the entire time. I swear it.”
He knew that. He did. If it hadn’t been for Rus, there was no way Hari would have agreed to meet with his siblings.
“You need to trust that you and I will get through this together.” Rus had a way of putting Hari at ease even when it seemed as if his world was falling apart around him. This wasn’t any different.
Lifting a hand, he pulled Rus’s finger away to lean in and give his mate a kiss. The press of their lips and the mingling of their breaths pushed all his worries away for the moment, until all Hari knew was his mate. It was like that every time.
Rus had assured him he felt the same way when kissing Hari. When Hari had spoken to other mates, they’d claimed they felt it too when they were with their mates. He still didn’t know what he’d done to deserve someone like Rus, but he also wasn’t about to tempt destiny by asking the question out loud. For no one, not even fate, would take Rus from him now.
“Come, my heart.” Rus stepped away but linked their hands together. “I can hear the helicopter approaching. We need to get downstairs.”
According to whomever Chadwick had sent to find Hari’s family, he had fifteen siblings who were being flown to Salvation Island. Because there were so many, the only place that had enough room to house them all was the manor.
In an effort to be close by, Rus had suggested they stay in his suite of rooms. That way Hari could see his brothers and sisters whenever he wanted. When Rus had seen the look of panic on Hari’s face, his mate had assured him they could hide out at the bungalow if he became too overwhelmed.
As they descended the stairs, Hari whispered, “Is it too soon to go to the bungalow?”
The deep chuckle had his breath catching in his throat as it usually did. “Yes, my heart. It is a bit soon.” Then Rus opened the front door. “At least meet them first. You might just be pleasantly surprised.”
That typically wasn’t how Hari’s life worked. Getting surprised was usually more of a dreadful shock and it had only gone his way when it came to his mate. Still, it wasn’t as if he could get out of this now. He was the one who’d stupidly agreed to the meeting, after all.
