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Kira dropped her spoon into the bowl and shoved it away in disgust. “Ugh. I still can’t figure out why he’s got his mind set on this. It’s stupid since it’s all moot, anyway.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The whole system he’s trying to bend to his will—it’s all done for. In my opinion, once this war finally ends, the whole pack system is going to collapse. If you ask me, it’s past time for it. I mean, hell, most other shifters aren’t as regimented in their pack structure as we are. It’s time for something new.”
Her words struck me as completely out of the blue. Kira Durst, the person who was more loyal to her pack than anyone else I’d ever met, was talking about the whole system falling apart?
“Looks like this island has changed you,” I said, raising an eyebrow. “Never thought I’d hear you say that. What flipped your opinion?”
She leaned forward and gave me a lascivious look. “This big sexy lone wolf showed me the truth. Real caring and protection doesn’t come from packs or alphas or hierarchy.” Her facesoftened, and she reached forward to take my hand. “It’s all pointless if you don’t have more. People shouldchoosetheir pack. Like you did. Being here? Living with and watching out for other shifters who aren’t in my pack? It’s like what the fuck are we doing, separating ourselves?”
“When you put it that way, it makes a lot of sense,” I said. “I never expressed it verbally, but that’s kind of how I feel. Everyone else in the unofficial pack, too.”
“Right. I’d be happy with a pack made up of people whoactuallycare about each other. My parents and Kolton.” She squeezed my hand. “A few other people, too.”
“Oh, shit,” I muttered.
Kira grinned. “What? Do you think I’m talking about someone else? I mean you, you big dumb idiot.”
I laughed, but shook my head. “No, it’s not that. When you mentioned Kolton, it reminded me of something. With everything that happened, I’d forgotten all about it. Before the mansion fell, I managed to get a hold of him through a communication device they had in the basement. He told me he was working on a plan to get us off this island.”
“Wait, what?”
“I know. We’ve been trying to survive, and I pushed it to the back of my mind. I can’t be sure he’s even working on the plan anymore. I’m sure everyone back home knows what’s happened at this point. For all I know, he thinks we’re both dead. Plus, he’ll be dealing with protecting the pack lands.”
Kira’s eyes had widened in surprise and shock. “Kolton would never believe we were dead. Not until he saw our bodies in a coffin. If he said he was planning something, then you’d better believe he won’t stop. He can be a go-with-the-flow guy most of the time, but for important stuff? He’s just as stubborn as I am. You know that.”
“True,” I said, chuckling.
“So, this means we may have a secondary plan if things don’t work out with this shipment hijack?”
“Maybe. We had to cut the conversation short, so I didn’t get a full breakdown of his plan. Like you said, he very well may still be working on it.”
The idea of having my best friend come swooping in to save us at the last second was a nice fantasy. Regardless, we still had to worry about Simon. Until I saw Kolton storming the beaches of Bloodstone with an army at his back, I had to keep my thoughts on what I could deal with. We had to stop Simon and, if possible, get off the island alive.
Chapter 7
Kira
Thinking about Kolton or my parents made my heart hurt. I missed them all so much, and there was no guarantee that I’d ever see them again.
To keep from going too far down that path, I changed the subject. “You said we were going to train people?”
Wyatt’s face softened. “Yeah. Crew was a little hesitant when I first offered, but he knows most of his people have no experience. It’ll go alittlesmoother if they have some idea of how to protect themselves in a fight.”
That was putting it mildly. From what I’d seen, most members of Haven didn’t even go out to scavenge or scout. Those duties were left to Crew, Eli, and one or two other capable citizens. By and large, most of the inhabitants here were normal, everyday people who’d found themselves in this place by mistake, happenstance, or because of betrayal. If they were thrown into a fight, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
“I’m down to help any way I can,” I said. “You and I are better suited to it than anyone else. I’ve never trained fresh recruits, though. That might be a learning curve.”
“It will,” Wyatt agreed. “But the people here are fired up and ready to fight. I’m sure they’ll be receptive and willing to learn.”
Were they ready for everything that came along with fighting? I’d spent hundreds of hours planning missions and operations. All possible scenarios had to be taken into account when you went into a dangerous situation, and it was vital that you understood you might be going to your death. Could these people handle the reality of casualties? You couldn’t really train people to be ready to see their friends die beside them. Hell, I still wasn’t okay thinking about it, and I’d spent my whole career preparing for exactly that.
“How many people do we have, anyway?” I asked. “I’ve never seen them all gathered in one room.”
Wyatt rubbed at the stubble on his cheeks and shrugged. “Not sure. I’d say they have maybe a few dozen people here at most. How many of those will fight? Who knows?”
I exhaled and went over what I’d seen in the lab again, piecing everything together in my mind. I’d been shocked at the sheer number of people working for Simon. They were also well-supplied and armed. As badly as I wanted to stroll into the tunnels under the volcano and kick Simon in the balls, I wasn’t sure we had the ability. Even if we spent the next two or three days training the people of Haven, we would still be underpowered against Simon.
