“How many men?”Cabel asked.
“Four of us, Labyrinth, Alden, King, and me.That’s it,” I replied.
Beck’s fist slammed against the table, the loud impact drawing our attention.Ms.Beast rumbled in response, but I ignored her.King’s Beast energy spiked beside me, reacting to Beck’s outburst.I turned my alpha stare on Beck.He didn’t need to agree with my decision, but he would follow orders.
“You, Cabel, and Nokita are mated,” I said.“You’re staying on the island.”I tried not to grit my teeth.“If we don’t return, you’ll take over as Alpha, with Nokita and Cabel as your seconds.Too many people depend on us.We need a contingency plan, and this is it.”
I hadn’t discussed this part with King, but the warmth in his eyes told me he agreed.
Beck rose from his chair, his fury unmistakable even though he wouldn’t meet my eyes.“I’ll be back shortly,” he ground out with restrained anger.
“Sit down,” I barked, my voice dipping into a deeper Nova tone that surprised even me.I hadn’t known I could summon it at will.“Save your sulking for later.We need you here.”It was an order.
Beck’s chest rose and fell as he exhaled sharply, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.After a moment, he looked at King and seemed to deflate.“I wouldn’t have let you go without me.Bring her back alive.The last thing I want is to rule.If you get yourself killed,” he turned to me then, “don’t expect me to start meetings with meditation.”
The tension in the room shifted as the sharp spike of K-5 eased.I turned to Nokita, waiting for his response.He dipped his head in acceptance.Cabel nodded.I looked at Labyrinth, and he grinned.Alden saluted.
Our plan was straightforward: get in, get out.Additional men would increase the risk of failure.I had to make hard choices, and this was our best option.
When they eventually discovered I was pregnant, my decisions would come under closer scrutiny.Too bad.Being queen came with at least one perk, and keeping the mated men alive was the one I chose to claim.
Over the next two hours, we looked at images of the Federation stronghold where I had worked and where they housed the government.Before I turned Shadow Warrior, King had a human man on the inside.He strategically took the photos with an old camera.Thankfully, darkroom equipment was alive and well on the island.King had also commanded several night flyovers for aerial photography.It had been extremely dangerous, but the combined photos painted a picture.
Those images showed no movement in any direction, beginning a week before they blew the tunnels.My division in analytics was unaware of any movement at all, though there were rumors.The way I saw it, key departments were moved out one by one.In analytics, they gave us lies to work with, and we would have been on the tail end of movement.We estimated roughly five thousand people were relocated.They could not have gone far.The number did not include the military.
As analysts, we worked on the basis that there were roughly ten thousand military personnel, two-thirds being red stripes.As red stripes died, more were brought in.I’d never dwelled too much on where they came from, and the word volunteer was always used.What would I have done back then if I knew they were forced to join or were killed?
No, I had to stop doubting the old Marinah.I was past it.The numbers we had before could not be relied on today.We had to think double the military personnel.And also add double well-trained soldiers to the tally.We had no choice but to deal with it.
The answer for why they blew the tunnels had been in front of us all along, but we had not taken the time to truly study the photos.Adding to that, the Federation troops had three small encampments within a mile of each other.After what I thought of as the stronghold blew, they seemed to hold little significance.Now I realized what I thought were small camps were actually camouflage.The real might of their military was below ground.The camps had never been big enough to concern us, though outposts had people keeping an eye on them.
The latest intelligence had many troops going in and out without the size of the camps changing.From the metro system, government bunkers, utility and pedestrian tunnels to the old D.C.trolley system that had been abandoned in 1962, the Federation had what amounted to a large major city below ground.What we were dealing with was daunting, but this was our best chance to examine their infrastructure.
We discussed each possible contingency for hours.I glanced at each of my guards, no longer willing to argue with King about who belonged to whom.These men would die for me, and I would die for them.
“We leave in six hours,” I said.“That will give us just enough time to shave our heads.”We were tired and hungry, but the countdown had begun
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Island (Cuba)
King
“You’d think your power was in your hair, the way you whiny babies are handling this,” Marinah said as she looked at us.“When this is done, I’ll start calling you Samson One, Two and Three?”
Personally, I had resigned myself to my fate; it had just taken a bit longer for the others.She leveled them with her alpha stare, pulled out her sword, and hacked off a section of her braids without a second thought.The men caved after that, shooting me pitiful looks while we sheared our heads.Beck had wisely kept his mouth shut the entire time.Maylin finally stepped in to clean up the disaster we created.
Six hours later, I settled in my seat on the plane.The looks on Alden and Labyrinth’s faces mirrored my own.We were unrecognizable as Warriors without our hair.Honestly, I’d rather have dressed in pink, but no way would I say that out loud.
Without thought, I ran my hand over what I considered prickly stubble on my head.Marinah’s hand landed on my opposite arm, and I pulled her close so she could rest her head on my shoulder.“Sleep,” I whispered, threading my fingers through her short hair, which was maybe an inch longer than mine.
Her wicked eyes followed the movement of my other hand rubbing my nearly bald head.“Poor furbaby,” she teased.“It’ll grow back, I promise.”
“What did you just call me?”I asked, feigning indignation.
Her laughter filled the plane.Labyrinth and Alden glanced over, both rubbing their shaved heads.“We really need sleep,” she said when her laughter faded.
“As you wish,” I replied, closing my eyes.
