The man gives him a knowing look. “You always have sucked at the sales pitch. I’ll handle it, man, no stress. You show ‘em around, and things will be ready by sunset, okay?”
With a grateful dip of his head, Caleb smiles at the guy before he disappears, turning to us and walking backwards. “That’d be Charlie.” He starts rattling off a series of names as he gestures around to introduce the others in the area that I promptly forget, venturing dangerously into ‘sensory overload’ territory.
After leaving the village behind, we walk for a short jaunt before reaching another, this island apparently home to five of them. The one closest to the bridge is primarily unmated shifters, and the fringes of the subsequent villages, bordering the beaches, are where the rest reside; mated or not. That way there’s always a barrier between the incorruptibles and the rest of the world, be it by land or by sea.
The tide has started to overtake the path to the next island in the arc, so we start making our way back to the first village, legs on fire from a full day of hiking and walking with few breaks. By the time we see the smoke from the fires, the scents of roasting meat and vegetables teasing us, I’m ready to collapse for the night.
Addie and Hunter flop down into the sand with a groan, looking about ten seconds from keeling over. I take a seat beside them, finally kicking off my shoes to pour an obscene amount of sand from them and strip off my socks, sighing in relief. Bane takes a seat on my left while Mason and Stryker drift off with the others, attempting to get a read on the people and the situation as discreetly as possible... which is with all of the grace of a runaway train.
“So; already mated? That’s a first for me, I’ll admit,” some woman says, approaching me with an overflowing plate.
She sets it down on the sand in front of us, sitting on the opposite side and gesturing for us to dig in. Naturally, Bane tries it first to see if it’s poisoned. After deeming that it’s safe, the kids and I dive in with gusto, and very well might have even if itwaspoisoned, with as hungry as we are.
“That a problem?”My eyes nearly roll into the back of my head as I swallow down my current bite, moving on to the next with even more enthusiasm than before. “People here only interested in keeping you safe if you’re mate-able?”
She purses her lips, tucking a loose, ebony curl behind her ear. “They really fucked this up, didn’t they?” Clucking her tongue, she plucks a piece of potato off of the platter. “Sara, not that you asked. And no, they don’t only protect you if they can-“ glancing at Hunter and Addie, she awkwardly rewords, “-possibly marry you.”
Addie interjects, asking, “So you’re allowed to leave if you want to? They don’t keep you trapped here even though someone might try to take you? You can swim, or go to the movies? Visit zoos and go shopping?”
Sara looks at Addie like she has three heads, and I naturally scoot closer, just so she doesn’t feel the odd man out for the innocent questions. “Yeah, I go to the mainland like, once a month? How else would we buy shit?”
Hunter narrows his eyes, skeptical. “Isn't that dangerous, though?”
“I mean, so long as we keep up with our meds, the worst we have to deal with is people hovering because they’re more drawn to us, but it's no different than a naturally charismatic person pulling your attention when you're out in public.” Sara takes another bite as I force myself to not interrupt with my multitude of questions. “And a shifter always goes with us so we’re not alone; usually we treat it like a group field trip and make a day of it. Shopping, visit the aquarium, hang out. How else would we meet people?”
Bane breaks before I do. “Wait, you date?”
If I thought Sara looked confused before, it’s nothing compared to now, when she’s likely questioning what the hell is wrong with us. “Well, yeah? Not like I exactly want to marry my second cousin. It's just treated as more... chaperoned dates. The first couple, at least, until our guard feels comfortable that the person isn't a total douchebag. We double date and shit to keep things from going too far, but I mean, the threat is if they feed off of us, not fuck us.” She covers her mouth with apology written all over her face despite the fact that neither Hunter nor Addie reacts.
My mind turns back to Devin, selective with my phrasing. “And do the guards ever exploit their position?”
Scanning my face, she catches my slip as my eyes unconsciously flit to Devin and back before she smirks, understanding dawning on her face. "Xander's pack? Trust me, those guys are as good as they come. Their mate's due in the next few months, and if you could see the way they look at Kara?” She shakes her head.
“Plenty of people end up mating with the shifters around here, Risa. Most of them try to, in all honesty, and if they get shot down here, seek out some new blood when we’re on the mainland. White knights are popular for a reason, especially for vulnerable people like us. We all just want to feel safe, and what's safer than a pack looking out for you? And once they start feeding from you?”
She smiles, eye’s sparkling with amusement. “Well, I gather you already know. No better feeling in the world than someone obsessed with you, with the strength to back up their claims to keep you all to themselves. Therearea couple of humans that live here, but they know what’s going on, what we are. It’s easier bringing in new shifters though, and we tend to favor them anyway. But there’s always that rare case where someone hits it off with a human, and with as unconventional as our lives already are, we’re not inclined to judge.”
“Wait a second,” Bane cuts in, leaning forward. “You haven’t tried to turn them?”
Sara’s chestnut eyes flash with determination and anger. “No. It’s a stupid fucking rule that to tell someone who we really are, we either need to turn them into one of us, not even giving them the choice to decide if it’s something they want, to weigh the pros and cons, or to risk them dying if the change doesn’t take. How cruel is it to look your mate in the face and hold them while they die, simply because of their genetics? They can’t help what they were born as any more than we could. It’s an archaic law written by men that wanted to expand our numbers and kill off humans while spinning it to look like it was to protect us from their wrath.”
Respectful appreciation has Bane nodding. “And you’re already keeping yourselves a secret, so not like anyone would find out about it unless someone tried to leave, to turn on you.”
Hunter stretches out on his back, folding his arms beneath his head and closing his eyes. “But if they did, the guards would kill them or the mob the traitor brought back with him.”
Adelaide continues to pick at the food while watching the sun finish sinking beyond the horizon, the last traces of color absorbed into the water as night takes hold. “Can we sleep here tonight?”
“I don’t see why not. Bane?”
He’s already getting to his feet. “I doubt anyone would have room for six strangers to suddenly crash with them anyway, or that there just so happens to be any empty houses with for sale signs nearby.”
Sara snorts. “We make our own, or people pitch in when someone new shows up to help them get settled. But Caleb already filled us in that you’re not sure if you’re staying, so nobody’s about to put in the effort helping you build unless you’re sure. We’ll all end up fighting over it if you leave.” She rises to her feet, taking the empty platter with her. “I’ll go hunt down some hammocks for you, though. Beach might be great for some things, but nobody wants to wake up with sand in their ears or a crab latched on to their toes.”
“Sara.”
She turns back to face me, tilting her head to the side. “Yeah?”
Not sure why I suddenly feel so sad, I smile through it. “Thank you. For everything.”
