Page 6 of Warrior

The sharp kick to my ribs let me know he was paying attention.

As we walked, flames appeared in the distance, flickering against the night.Marinah’s grip on my hand tightened.Axel stood by the car, waiting, and gave a nod when we drew closer.His gaze traveled from Marinah’s head to her toes, assessing her in the same meticulous way that always irritated me when I was his patient.

Beast grumbled again, this time at Axel.He didn’t like the medical perusal, and I took it as a good sign.It wasn’t exactly jealousy, more like protective instincts kicking in.Beast had tolerated Axel’s proximity to Marinah surprisingly well, considering Axel had helped her bathe and touched her during his examinations.Still, it made me more worried about our mating than anything else.Our beasts needed to fall in line.

“I’m good,” Marinah whispered to Axel when we were close enough, keeping her voice low.Her sensitivity to sound was something I remembered well from when I first began changing.Like her eyesight, her hearing was heightened to the point of being overwhelmed, and even her own voice could feel like too much.

With a firm hold on her hand, I turned to greet the others who were waiting nearby.

Che broke away from his mother and ran at Marinah full tilt.I stepped in front of him instinctively, but it didn’t stop her.She released my hand and stepped around me, meeting him halfway.

Che threw himself into her arms, his tiny muscles squeezing with everything he had.His legs wrapped around her waist, and my stomach tightened.If she shifted now, it could be disastrous.I stood as close as I could without crowding them, ready to intervene at the slightest sign of danger.

“I’m so sorry, Che,” Marinah whispered into his ear, holding him close as if letting go wasn’t an option.Her arms tightened around him, and it was clear she was clinging to him as much as he was to her.

Maylin stepped forward, reaching to take Che from Marinah’s arms.

“No, please, I’m good,” Marinah said softly.

Axel glanced at me, his expression unreadable, and I shrugged.

Maylin placed her hand gently over Marinah’s, resting against Che’s back.“I thank you for my son,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

Marinah looked up at Maylin, meeting her tear-streaked gaze.“Boot saved him, not me,” she said quietly.Then, lowering her voice to a whisper but still loud enough for us to hear, she added to Che, “Your father was very brave.”

Che’s small shoulders shook as he buried his face in Marinah’s shirt, his quiet sobs breaking the stillness of the night.I stepped forward, ready to help, but Marinah shook her head sharply, stopping me in my tracks.Instead, she pulled Maylin into her other arm, enveloping the three of them in a tight embrace.

I wanted to look away, to give them this private moment, but I couldn’t.I needed to be sure Marinah was handling the situation.After another minute, she finally set Che on his feet.Maylin leaned in, giving her another hug.

Che glanced over at me, his red-rimmed eyes meeting mine.“My dad was very brave,” he said, in a small trembling voice.

“Yes, he was,” I told him, resting my hand on his back.“The bravest.”

Che wiped his nose on his sleeve and stared at me, his lips quivering until a small, satisfied smile broke through.I ruffled his hair, and he bashfully looked down at the ground.

Maylin said something to him in Spanish, her tone gentle, and after giving Marinah a quick wave, Che ran off toward a group of children nearby.

Maylin slipped her arm around Marinah’s shoulder, her gaze following her son.“He wanted to be with his friends, but I made him wait until after you arrived,” she said.Her English had improved, though her accent was still thick with emotion.

“It’s not just Boot who was brave,” Marinah said, wiping at her eyes.“Che kept me alive.”Her voice cracked as she added, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t help Boot.”

Maylin released Marinah and placed her hand on her stomach.“This child holds a piece of us,” she said softly.“He will live to be everything his father wanted him to be.You are welcome at my home anytime.”She nodded at both of us before turning to join the women who had stayed back while she spoke with us.

“I’m good,” Marinah assured me when she saw the silent question in my eyes.

Taking her hand, I guided her toward the pyre set up at the edge of the water.Labyrinth, Nokita, and Beck had built it for Boot, carefully wrapping his body for burial.Losing a Warrior was always hard, but this loss was exceptionally painful.Boot wasn’t a fighter.He could be a killer if he had to, but we had protected him as we would a woman or child.He had a gentle heart, something we all recognized.

Leaving Marinah in the hot room when she first arrived had been more a mistake of forgetfulness for Boot than anything else, but that didn’t make it any easier to bear.Boot was sweet, gentle, a man of the land, and not always the sharpest.But when the other men distanced themselves from Maylin because of her constant complaints, Boot stepped in to help her.In his own quiet way, he tamed her beast.Seeing her with Marinah now was the calmest I’d ever seen her.

Maybe she loved Boot.

Shortly after we arrived in Cuba, it became clear that the islanders looked to us for protection.We would have done it regardless of their expectations, but marriage quickly became a way to offer added security to the women, who outnumbered their men.It was one of the reasons I had stayed out of female relationships since coming to the island.There had been women, but all were one-night stands.I had no desire to settle for someone I didn’t love.

As leader, it was my duty to mate and produce offspring.But it was not my duty to trap myself in an unhappy relationship.So, I waited, holding out for someone special, never imagining I would win the prize of the century.

I glanced at my guards standing a few feet away, ready to step in if needed.“It’s time to begin,” I said, raising Marinah’s hand to kiss the backs of her fingers.“Stay with Axel.”My eyes searched hers, holding her gaze just long enough to make sure she was steady before I looked away.

“I’m fine, really,” she assured me softly.

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