Page 30 of Mated to Team Shadow

"Sharks," squeaked Jeanine.

Ryker spoke to her in his calm Alpha voice, and she stopped speaking although her gorgeous eyes sported worry lines. He rubbed her back, and my gut clenched with the green-eyed monster. Why does he get to touch her while I'm stranded in the drink? Well, I'm not stranded, but no one offered me a hand since Ryker's attention centered on Jeanine and Kane bailed seawater.

"Be quiet," I said. "Can't you see how upset she is?"

"And who did that, bro?"

"Shut up."

"You too. And blow."

Gunner put another inflation tube to his mouth, and between us, we huffed to re-inflate that raft section. Something bumped my legs, and I swore.

"It's time to get me out of the water," I said.

"Naw, you haven't stewed enough."

"Dude, there are visitors here."

"Good," said Gunner stubbornly. He went back to huffing on the tube.

"What the hell?" I said.

"Kane," said Ryker, "help Damon."

"No, no, no," babbled Jeanine.

"Shh, darling, shh," said Ryker.

My gut twisted because I caused this. Jeanine was in a bad state because I hadn't held back my cat. And I didn't blame her. Few human women see a man turn into a jungle animal. She must think she's crazy.

Much like I thought when I'd experienced blackouts in my teens, and the police found some poor animal gutted. But the worst was waking in the morning half-naked with no pants, and the dried blood under my fingernails. The blood on my ripped and torn t-shirt freaked me out. I didn't know what would have happened if Lieutenant Rogers hadn't shown up and told my parents about a special entry program into the Navy for gifted teens. They didn't want me to go, but they worried about my frequent disappearances at night which they could not control. My adoptive parents relinquished my care to the tender mercies of the Navy. At least that was what they thought.

But I hadn't met my cat until Ryker came along, and the Navy doctors showed me the tape of what had happened.

Took a while to process that.

I mean, a very long while. I almost scrubbed out though now I'm not sure what that would've meant. You can't have a teenager who shifted into a jungle cat running around on his own. But when Gunner and Kane arrived too, I came around.

You could say they saved my life.

I wanted to help Jeanine process this. It was important because if she was to accept me, accept us, she'd have to wrap her head around what we were.

Kane gave me his arm and hauled me over the edge of the slippery raft. Jeanine stared at me wide-eyed, and her teeth chattered.

"What, what are you?" she said.

Ryker stopped rubbing her back and sat on his heels.

"You mean, what are we?"

"We?" she said. Jeanine whispered her voice strained as if stretched tight.

Gunner turned and put his hand on her knee.

"We are all like Damon."

"All?" She stared at us with wide eyes. "No, no, no," she babbled and then turned and went to launch herself over the side.

---