7. CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 7
It had seemed like forever, even though by the time they’d finished their discussion about how to invade the human encampment and free the shifters, it hadn’t been but a few minutes. If anything, it had been far less than that. There was a chance—one most likely—that had been a few seconds at most.
As much as it pained Nessim, he couldn’t only think about his mate. Right?
Not once had he convinced himself it was true. Yet, as much as it pained him, he wanted nothing more than to destroy every single human or shifter who had thought it their right to control anyone else. It might not have been what he’d generally believed in, but he was tired of treating all those who had been terrified, worked to near death, and abused.
It was time for those assholes to get some payback. He glanced around the room in relief. Thanks to the shifters on that boat, Nessim wouldn’t have to fight. He may talk a good game, but the fact was, Nessim was more about nurturing others, not fighting. Though all bets were off if he found someone hurting his mate. Well, probably. Okay, more like maybe, and if he’s really lucky, Saber or Chadwick would be nearby to jump in and handle the situation.
As plans went, it was a good one, assuming someone who could easily fight the enemy was there. Otherwise, Nessim was likely going to get knocked on his ass. For his mate, it would be worth it. Since fate wouldn’t be cruel enough to create a mate for him who wasn’t wonderful, Nessim had zero doubt his mate would be amazing.
His biggest worry—well, other than his mate’s safety—was that his mate would find him lacking. Was Nessim’s pacifist personality going to end up working against him?
“Let’s load up,” Saber called out as the sun dipped beneath the water.
They planned for it to take thirty to sixty minutes for everyone to be geared up and slip over the side of the ship to the smaller boats. There were enough sea shifters to pull them onto the island in order not to make any unnecessary noise. But they would keep the motors attached for any necessary quick getaways.
When he slipped over the side of the ship into one of the smaller boats, fear slammed into Nessim. For himself. For his mate. Even for those who were by his side and those they were trying to save.
There were no guarantees on these missions. Who was he kidding? There was no such thing as a sure thing in life, but going against humans with guns tilted the odds against all shifters. Shifters might be stronger and more resilient, but they still could die from a bullet. A little too easily for Nessim’s peace of mind.
With each minute, the closer they got, the stronger his mate’s scent was. His animal was itching to shift in order to storm over to the encampment and force the enemy to hand over his mate.
Chadwick must have sensed his agitation and put a strong, reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I get it, but now isn’t the time to lose it. We have a plan, and it’s a good one. Give us a chance to get in there and free as many prisoners as possible before your beast takes over, okay?”
It was the first time he hadn’t seen Chadwick juggling knives. Or being serious instead of joking. He’d heard several people bitch about Chadwick’s antics since he’d been counseling survivors both on Salvation Island and in Miracle. Yet, despite their annoyance at the guy, every single one of them admitted he’d been a huge reason they’d been freed.
The Chief Council’s mate was a fierce warrior who had done whatever it took to defeat the enemy and save every single shifter who’d been taken. It hadn’t always worked and sometimes Nessim had tried to offer to sit with Chadwick when he’d come home looking defeated.
According to many who lived in Miracle, Chadwick took each loss of life, even if there had been nothing he could have done to prevent it, personally. They claimed that if it wasn’t for Saber to temper his anger, they were positive that Chadwick would have been even more reckless than he already was.
Nessim breathed through his mouth when their boat landed on shore with the help of a pair of dolphin shifters. His mate’s fragrance was driving him insane with the need to get to him, but Chadwick practically yanked him off the boat and onto a sandy beach in order to be one of the first onshore without letting Nessim go.
Clearly, Chadwick fully understood Nessim was struggling to remain calm. “I promise we’ll find him,” Chadwick told him with more confidence than was probably possible. They’d watched the island all day, including some of their smaller sea shifters practically going on shore, as well as birds flying as close to the mouth of the cavern where they were holding most of the prisoners.
There were also three ships that rotated prisoners out to the sea where they were mining the tin. Based on their guess from all they’d seen, there were approximately eight hundred to a thousand prisoners. It seemed overkill, but their operation seemed to run on a schedule, with each ship bringing prisoners out to a large area where they were bringing up the tin.
The minute one ship was filled, it went back to shore to be unloaded. They weren’t certain what happened to all that tin, since they had yet to see it being taken away. Yet, based on the current size of the pile and what they’d brought in the past few hours, it was obvious they somehow moved it away.
It was the one flaw in their plan. If more ships came to collect the tin at night, they might be overrun with the enemy. They were still confident the plan would work, but he saw the worry in Saber’s eyes as he discussed the details. The thing was, if it had only been Saber who had been concerned, Nessim might have felt more comfortable, but he saw the same look in just about everyone who had been in that room coming up with how to free their people.
“Stay with me,” Chadwick muttered so quietly only another shifter would have heard him. Then his hard gaze met Nessim’s. “Promise me you won’t go off on your own. The last thing we need is for me to be distracted by having to go after you.”
Nessim gave him a brief nod.
Chadwick didn’t appear to really believe him, which was probably why he said, “I mean it, Nessim. You going off script will get others dead. When you pinpoint your mate, tap my left shoulder and I promise you, the only goal the two of us have will be to find your mate and get him to safety.”
He wasn’t certain why, but Nessim trusted Chadwick to keep his word. Some of the tension slowly left his body as he gave another nod. “I’m going to hold you to that.” He might have believed no one would do what Chadwick was suggesting, but he saw the resolve and determination in his eyes. Gone was the goofy, carefree man who loved making everyone as uncomfortable as possible, either by his jokes or juggling those stupid knives.
Even though he wasn’t doing either now, Nessim had noticed he had a knife in each hand and was waiting to pounce like the mountain lion he was. “Try to keep up.” Chadwick grinned at him as Saber signaled to attack, as all their fighters had gotten into position.
Silently, they made their way to the large mouth of the cavern where the prisoners were kept. Two of the ships were still out there working, and they had larger sea shifters, like Orcas, giant squid, a Megalodon, and more than two dozen dolphins, to help with transportation.
They would be forced to destroy those ships, and the dolphins were there to help get the non-sea shifters to a waiting boat they had put into position a short distance away. Those on the ships were the ones that would be the greatest risk. Sinking a ship wasn’t exactly easily planned while still getting everyone out they were trying to save. But it was the best they could do.
The only good news for Nessim, based on the overwhelming scent, was his mate was definitely on the island. Now, if only the rest of the mission went well.
He wasn’t stupid or na?ve. People were going to die. It should make him feel like an ass that he just prayed it wouldn’t be his mate. But, for once, Nessim was comfortable being selfish.