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“I was,” Kalina said. “I’ve never been more right in my life.”
Chapter 25 – Sylvia
The crazy bitch did it. I thought she was only kidding.
Sylvia and Coby were on Shamrock Island the day Faith walked naked out of the water with three stark naked men. They were clearly Rafe’s friends, all beach bum buddies who talked like they’d spent their summers in California and the rest of their lives in Australia. The blend of laid-back beach vibe with Aussie slang was ridicul
ous. At least Rafe sounded halfway intelligent when he spoke. Since Kalina had turned him, Rafe had spent all his time at the island and seemed so much happier. It was clear the guy loved and cherished her.
Things were looking up. Kalina had her man, Penny had a baby on the way, and Sylvia couldn’t keep her hands off Coby. He made her happy, but as she looked at the other couples, it was clear they’d never be like them. Her man was a different breed altogether. He wouldn’t be content with making s’mores by campfire or playing truth or dare with their women like Kino and Jagger did. He wouldn’t hold her in front of others the way Rawhide cuddled with Paisley. He wouldn’t dote on her pregnant belly the way Thane did with Penny. If she ever got pregnant. The thought worried her. She’d never used protection with Coby. He wasn’t the kind of guy you asked to wear a condom. She couldn’t even get him to put on pants most of the time.
“What’s wrong?” Coby asked as he took her hand in his.
The gesture surprised her. She looked to the side and saw that Thane was holding Penny’s. She knew he’d copied the romantic couple, but that didn’t matter to her. He was trying and that meant something. He might have been a fearless warrior, but he’d found a soft spot for his woman, and Sylvia couldn’t ask for much more…yet. At some point, she’d bring up the topic of settling on the island with the others but that would have to come later. After the battle maybe.
“Nothing,” Sylvia finally answered. “I guess…they all look like they’re having fun.”
“And I don’t,” he said, finishing her thoughts for her.
He was right. That’s exactly what she was thinking.
“I never fit in,” he added. “With anyone. Poet and I…we uh…we didn’t grow up like Neanderthals. We went to school in London.”
“You did?” she asked.
“You seem surprised,” he said.
“London…that’s a big city,” she said. “I don’t imagine you being happy there and…you weren’t happy there.”
She’d changed mid-thought, finally getting Coby’s point.
“I tried,” he said. “Poet loved it. He liked our school. He was younger and more eager to learn. I was already stubborn in my ways. I knew what my family was. My dad had told us before he died. I didn’t see the point in trying to relate to other kids when they would go on to run big businesses and I would spend my life in the water. I always knew it. Poet became…well, he became Poet. I became an ill-mannered asshole.”
“I happen to have this thing for ill-mannered assholes,” Sylvia joked as she slapped his thick chest with her open hand.
Keeping her hand there, she massaged his muscle.
“Want to get out of here?” she asked.
“Not yet,” he said. “I suppose I should meet our newest troops.”
Troops was a good word for it. If it wasn’t for the impending doom sure to be brought on by Evelyn and her clan, Rafe’s friends would have never been accepted into their community. In fact, Sylvia was still stunned that Thane would agree to it in the first place. She was too new to understand all the moving parts that came with the life of these people or to fully understand what the tiger shark leader had in mind, but she imagined this to be more of an elitist thing. Not just anyone should be able to become a shifter.
“Can somebody get these boys some pants?” Penny joked as she walked out with the others to meet their new members.
Kalina approached Sylvia as Rafe sped off to shake hands with his friends.
“This is a bad idea,” Kalina said. “At least you’ve had some time to prepare. These guys…Sylvia, they could get hurt.”
“I will help train them,” Coby said.
“Please do,” Kalina said. “Rafe too. They’re all so young and excited and unaware. They’ve never been face to face with the likes of Evelyn. She’s a monster and will sink to whatever level she needs to in order to win.”
“We’ll get them ready,” Sylvia promised.
She didn’t have the most experience, but Coby was a great teacher and she’d already learned so much. His most important lesson was to never show fear. If Kalina hoped to help Rafe and the others, she needed to stop showing how terrified she was of them getting hurt. They needed to believe they were invincible if they were going to go into this fight and survive. If they thought they weren’t strong enough, they wouldn’t be.
“You really did it?” Thane asked as he approached Faith, chewing on the inside of his mouth.
