Chapter Twenty-Five
Hailey sighed and snuggled closer to Tim. It was hours later, and her body hummed with satisfaction that dulled the layer of soreness and exhaustion deeper down. She let her fingers play over his bare chest, marveling at the fact that a bear lay hidden under all that smooth skin.
A bear, not a beast. She understood the difference now. It didn’t matter what shape Tim took; he was still him. And those claws and fangs were more comforting than scary now that she knew they would only ever be bared in her defense.
She lifted her hand, flexing her fingers slowly. Tim had explained more about shifters in the lazy hours that had drifted by — and about mates. Apparently, mating would give her the ability to shift into bear form. That was pretty hard to imagine — not so much scary or repelling as plain old impossible to conceive. The mating part, on the other hand — the part about destiny and forever — she loved.
In some ways, the actual biting part sounded a little barbaric. And yet the idea made her tingle with anticipation and need.
“You okay?” Tim murmured from over her shoulder.
Oh, yes. She was more than okay.
She turned in his arms, coming face-to-face, and sucked a quick gulp of air. Just the thought of Tim being hers forever took her breath away.
“I’m great. Just having a hard time imagining something better than this.”
Tim scrubbed his chin over her shoulder in that marking move she’d already come to love. “Well, everyone who’s mated says the bite is amazing. Like the best sex of your life times ten.”
She fanned herself a little. The sex she’d just had superseded all her previous experiences by a factor of ten. And a mating bite was supposed to make it even better?
“You sure that’s not just a bunch of locker room talk from the other guys?”
Tim had laughed. “Are you kidding? The women are worse than the men. Just ask Jenna sometime.”
“Maybe I will,” she teased. Then she rolled to her back and sighed. “I think I’d feel guilty asking for more.”
“No guilt,” he whispered, kissing her forehead. “And no rush.”
Hailey hugged him. Her whole life in recent years had been one big rush. She’d rushed from place to place, through every strictly regimented meal, and over contracts she’d never really had a chance to read. All of that was a rush toward “success” defined by someone else. But being with Tim was exactly the opposite. Peaceful. Serene. Sure.
She looked into his eyes, celebrating the fact that he was hers all over again.
Love. Look what it makes us do, a voice chuckled in the recesses of her mind.
Tim kissed her softly, and she closed her eyes, more than happy to spend another blissful hour making love with him. But Tim murmured and pulled away, checking the watch he’d left at the bedside.
“How much time do we have?” she asked.
He sighed. “Not enough.”
Hailey bit her lip. She and Tim had to attend a meeting at the plantation house — a meeting with everyone who lived at Koakea and several of the neighbors from Koa Point. She’d met them already, but that was before she knew they were shifters — and before she’d spent a heated night in Tim’s arms.
She fretted about that all the way over once she and Tim had showered and changed. “Won’t everyone know we spent the whole morning having sex?”
He laughed and kissed her hand. “Believe me, they’ll understand. Mostly, they’ll be glad to see us alive — and to see us together. Finding your destined mate is a big deal for us. You’ll see.”
Still, it took everything Hailey had not to hang half a step behind as they approached the group gathered on the plantation house porch. She wasn’t the least bit ashamed of being with Tim — but intimidated by the others? Hell yes.
But there was no teasing, no knowing looks. Only smiles and genuine joy from all around. The guys smacked Tim’s back hard enough to make him wince, and the women hugged her like so many excited bridesmaids. Little Joey hopped up and down, though that had more to do with excitement over the shifter fight.
“How many were there? Were they big? Any dragons?”
Cynthia stuck her hands on her hips. “Joey, I’ve told you. Fighting is bad.”
But the little guy’s eyes remained wide, his face flush with excitement. “Did you really fight them all by yourself?”
Tim put an arm around Hailey’s shoulders. “Nope. Not by myself.” Then he shot an exaggerated look of annoyance around. “Of course, we might have had some help if my brothers had gotten their asses into gear faster.”
Cynthia covered Joey’s ears at asses, but the others just laughed.
“And let you miss your chance to play hero?” Dell grinned. “No way.”
Connor nudged Dell, going serious again. He put a hand on Joey’s shoulder, instantly calming the boy down. “We don’t play, not when it comes to our territory and our lives. No heroes either, just brothers.” He grinned and looked at the women. “And sisters. And we’ll do anything to protect our own. Of course, we’d rather prevent trouble.” Connor gave Cynthia a firm nod. “But if trouble comes to us — you know we’ll drop everything on the spot and come running.”
Hailey took a deep breath as Tim and Connor locked eyes, making all kinds of silent vows to each other. The others all went serious too, and an undercurrent of raw power filled the air. A grim, we’ll fight to the death determination that befit a corps of elite soldiers. Which was exactly what Tim and his brothers had been — but Hailey sensed that extending to Cynthia, Jenna, and Joey, too. It was as if they were all members of the same unit — or the fiercest fighting family alive.
In a way, it was scary, because she’d experienced the dangers of the shifter world firsthand. At the same time, it was comforting to know she didn’t have to face those threats alone.
“Anyway, all’s well that ends well,” Dell announced. “I’m starving. And you two must be absolutely famished after all that…fighting and all.” He winked.
Hailey cleared her throat and gave Dell a Watch it, buster look before Tim did something like bare his teeth. She might be the new kid on the block — and yes, she really was starving after a morning of nearly nonstop sex — but a guy like Dell would keep right on joking if she didn’t show him the limits early on.
“I could use a bite,” she quipped with a wink at Tim.
His eyes went wide, and she might have blushed a little. She’d surprised herself with the innuendo, but the longer she spent with Tim and his family, the more comfortable she grew with the idea of shifters, destined mates, and even mating bites.
Dell’s tiny nod of approval told her she’d passed the test. Jenna grinned and gave her a thumbs-up — plus a naughty wink that promised she’d share all kinds of raunchy details when they got the chance. Connor shot Tim a sly look, and Chase — well, the poor guy backed away, shy as ever.
Chase grew up in the wild, Tim had told her earlier. All wolf, so he’s still a bit…well, awkward around people.
Hailey could have snorted at the time, because awkward didn’t fit the tall, muscled soldier in the least. But he did spend more time looking at the floor than into people’s eyes, and his restless pacing never ceased.
Maybe someday he’ll find his mate, Tim had murmured absently.
Hailey looked around. Connor and Jenna both radiated the kind of bone-deep satisfaction she felt. Hunter and Dawn, too. Cynthia looked a little pinched, but every time she turned to Joey, she beamed. Dell, on the other hand, was all easygoing bachelor, and Chase definitely had loner in his blood. But even Tim had admitted to never understanding about mates until he’d met her, so maybe someday…
Cynthia motioned to the table, and in no time, everyone was sitting, talking, and devouring the food laid out like a feast. It was like attending the Thanksgiving dinner of a big, welcoming family, and Hailey sat back, observing their gestures and words. She’d grown up an only child, and watching the others revealed so much about each person. Some were funny, others more serious, and everyone interacted with one another in a slightly different way.
“Told you shifters aren’t much different from people,” Tim whispered between bites.
She considered for a moment before answering. Not so different, yet different in little ways. They were certainly more intense than most people she knew, but she supposed that might apply to any group of tight-knit soldier types. Everyone held their emotions in check, yet the mutual love and devotion were perfectly clear. In short, a community of the very best kind.
Cynthia must have noticed Hailey fingering her pearl, because her intense, dark eyes dropped to Hailey’s neck several times over the course of the meal. Cynthia had a whole string of pearls — big, perfect, round ones, all with a hint of blue. She toyed with them absently, staring off into the distance. When everyone had eaten their fill, Cynthia glanced at Connor. He nodded, and Cynthia tapped the table. The small talk died away, and the mood grew serious.
“So,” Cynthia started with gravity. “An enemy defeated. But one mystery remains.” Her eyes fell to Hailey’s pearl, and she waited.
Hailey wasn’t entirely sure what to do, but when Tim nudged her, she took off her necklace and held it out for everyone to see.
“You mean this?”
Cynthia nodded. “A pearl. But not just any pearl, from what I understand. What do you know about it?”
Hailey shook her head. “Not much. My grandfather gave it to me. It belonged to my great-grandmother…”
“And you felt it during the fight?” Cynthia asked.
Hailey nodded, but it was Dell who spoke first. “Hell, I could feel its power from twenty feet away. Just like we all felt Jenna’s that day of the sea dragon fight.”
Sea dragon? Hailey’s eyes went wide. That story, she hadn’t heard yet.
Everyone looked at her expectantly, so she did her best to explain. “My grandfather told me it was special, but I never thought he meant…” She struggled for a word. Magical sounded too unbelievable, but unique didn’t begin to describe it.
“Powerful?” Tim filled in.
She tilted her head. “Sort of. But more like…like heat. Energy.” She bit her lip. How to describe that feeling of being powered by a thousand-volt battery?
“Have you ever felt it do that before?” Cynthia asked.
She nodded slowly. “It’s warmed up lots of times but never like at the fight. I’ve only ever felt it when I was alone.” She gulped, trying to overcome the feeling that this was too personal to share. These people were her friends, and she could trust them. “When I was lonely…I could feel it then.”
It had to sound crazy, but everyone hung on to her every word, dead serious.
“My grandfather used to make up all these stories about it — at least, that’s what I thought at the time. He said the pearl held a reservoir of love. A whole river of it that it might someday unleash, and if I was really lucky…”
She looked at Tim then swallowed as emotions welled up inside her again. The first time she’d met Tim, the necklace had felt warm. Had that been the pearl, telling her she could trust him? And all those times around Jonathan — the pearl had seemed to cut into her, keeping her on edge. Warning her?
She stared as it warmed in her hand.
A river of love, she remembered her grandfather saying. And someday, that river will find you too.
Sunlight glinted off the pearl, and she swore she heard a faint chuckle in the depths of her mind.
Found you.
She looked at it more closely. Her mother had always said it was too lumpy to be valuable, but obviously, she was wrong.
“What?” Tim tilted his head at her bitter laugh.
“My mother said it was worthless.”
Jenna snorted. “Worthless, my ass.”
Cynthia winced and covered her string of pearls the way she’d covered Joey’s ears.
Hailey sighed. “That might explain why my mother never had the love story my grandparents did.” She looked at Tim, awestruck all over again. The love story you and I have, she nearly said.
His eyes glowed, and the corners of his mouth curled into a tiny smile.
“There they go again,” Dell sighed. “Don’t look, Joey.”
Joey frowned. “You’re not going to kiss, are you? Yuck.”
Tim grinned. “Sorry, buddy. I’ll try to control myself, but every once in a while…”
Dell rolled his eyes, looking to Joey. “You said it, man. Yuck.”
Cynthia ignored all of them. “Where did your grandfather get that pearl?”
Hailey furrowed her brow. “My great-grandmother came from Hawaii. She met my great-grandfather when he was stationed at Pearl Harbor in World War II. It was a present from her family…”
She trailed off and stared at the sparkling sea.
“During the fight, I saw things. Places. People.” She shook her head and started again. “It was like the pearl was remembering things, and I could see them too. Things from a long time ago — centuries ago, I think.”
Cynthia leaned closer. “What exactly did you see?”
She waved at the craggy peaks of West Maui, rising behind them. “Mountains. Waterfalls. Pounding surf.” Hailey blinked and looked around. “Just like here, or maybe Oahu. Wherever it was, it was a different era. I saw a woman and a man, both of them dressed like in olden times. Before Captain Cook came along. Grass skirts, that kind of thing.”
“That’s it,” Jenna said, nearly bouncing in her chair. “Nanalani!”
Na-na-who? Hailey wanted to say.
Cynthia nodded slowly and whispered, “A pearl of desire…”
Then she shook her head and hurried into the house. A minute later, she came back with a thick, leather-bound book. The moment Cynthia opened the volume, the dry, dusty scent of time floated through the air. It looked as old as an ancient bible, and judging by the way Cynthia handled the volume, it wasn’t far off in terms of significance.
“Here,” Cynthia said, turning the book around.
Jenna leaned in. “Wow. It looks just like that one.”
Hailey stood to look, following Jenna’s outstretched finger. The bottom of the page was filled with an illustration of a tropical island with a waterfall, craggy mountains, and a golden strip of sand. A woman stood waist-deep in the ocean, not looking the least bit worried about the shark fin circling her. Instead, she focused on the pale spheres cupped in the seashells she held.
Hailey gasped. “Are those pearls?”
Cynthia nodded, and Joey crawled into her lap to look. “I can count them. Look. One, two, three, four, five. Five, Mommy.”
Cynthia hugged him. “Good job, sweetie.”
Dell gave the boy a high five, but Hailey’s eyes stayed glued to the page. The pearls were all shapes and sizes, and the one nearest the woman’s pinkie looked like hers — an uneven, oblong shape with a hint of pink.
“Pearls of desire?” she whispered, reading the swirly script.
Jenna took the book from Cynthia and put her finger on a spot in the text. Obviously, she’d read the book before. “This is the story of Nanalani, the daughter of the shark king.”
Hailey’s eyes grew wide. Shark shifters?
“It’s a Hawaiian legend,” Connor explained.
“Not just a legend,” Jenna corrected him and started reading.
“Nanalani could only love from afar for fear of her shark side coming out. Terrified of wreaking death and destruction upon her friends the way her brother had done when he took human form, Nanalani kept herself sequestered in a cave for years. Finally, in her loneliness and sorrow, she called forth the spirit of the sea…” Jenna read faster, and everyone leaned in. “Nanalani put a spell on her pearls — the pearls of desire. Her treasures allowed her to go safely forth as a woman and love a man she had admired from afar. Over the years, Nanalani had many lovers, though she never found her mate.” Jenna looked up at Hailey. “Here it comes. Wait till you hear this.” She grinned and read on. “As time went on and her lovers passed away, Nanalani threw her pearls back into the sea, one by one. ‘Now I am alone again,’ she sighed to the god of the sea. ‘I give you my pearls, not to keep, but to safeguard for another worthy lover who needs their power someday.’” Jenna looked up. “That’s you.”
Hailey blinked. “Me?”
“Yep.” Jenna’s eyes danced. “You. A worthy lover who needed the pearl’s power.”
Hailey looked at Tim. Her cheeks burned, but Jenna pulled out a necklace, making Hailey gape.
“This is mine.”
Hailey stared.
Tim turned the book around. “That one does look like Hailey’s…”
She lay a hand over the spot on her chest the pearl usually rested over. All those years, she’d been carrying a pearl with mysterious powers?
“But Jenna’s and Hailey’s pearls look different,” Joey pointed out.
They did — totally different. But Cynthia just shrugged. “Pearls are formed inside oysters. Remember that book we read? They all come out different.”
“Like babies?” Joey asked.
Cynthia broke into a huge smile and ran her fingers through her son’s fine red hair. “All different, like babies.”
“I thought pearls were round,” Dell said.
Cynthia shook her head. “Not all. Some come out like that. It’s called a baroque pearl.”
Hailey smiled. “My grandfather always said it was perfect in its imperfections.”
He’d said that about her, too, making her feel better about her freckles and everything else she’d obsessed about as a kid.
“And pink means…?” Jenna asked.
“Pink in a pearl symbolizes fame, success, and good fortune,” Cynthia said.
Dell cackled. “That fits.”
Hailey frowned. “Fame? I could do without, believe me. And as for success and good fortune — I only feel like I’ve found that now.” She leaned against Tim.
“It doesn’t have to be taken literally,” Jenna pointed out. “Like mine — wealth and prosperity can mean a lot of things.” She wrapped her arm around Connor’s, and her eyes shone with love.
Hailey thought it over. Fame and success didn’t apply to everyone in her family, but good fortune… She thought of all the times her grandfather had talked about her grandmother as if she were still there. The way he’d recalled the special connection his own parents had once shared.
Her eyes strayed to Tim’s, and he smiled. “Good fortune. I like that part.”
She did too.
“Are yours special too?” she asked Cynthia. Surely a string of pearls that perfect had to outdo hers.
Cynthia flashed a thin smile and touched her necklace. “Alas, no. Just a pretty piece of jewelry. My mother gave it to me.” Her smile grew bittersweet until she looked around in alarm, like she’d revealed one detail too much.
Connor, Tim, and the other men exchanged looks, and Hailey made a mental note to ask Tim what that was all about. There certainly was an air of mystery around Cynthia.
But Cynthia didn’t look happy about sharing anything else, so Hailey motioned back at the illustration. “What about the pearls having power?”
Jenna tilted her head toward the book. “It doesn’t say so specifically in there, but it seems like the pearls — the genuine pearls of desire — lend the bearer their power. Sometimes, at least. Like mine did when I needed it most.”
“You need to have it in you, though,” Connor pointed out.
“Have what?” Hailey asked.
Tim tapped her hand firmly. “Courage. Determination. The ability to tell right from wrong.”
She sucked in a slow breath. Did he really mean her?
Jenna nodded, all matter-of-fact. “The pearl amplifies what you already possess.”
Hailey turned back to the book, hoping to learn more. “‘And so it was that the pearls of desire — one for every kind of desire known to mankind — were lost, though legend claims they remain slumbering under the surface, waiting to be reawakened to inspire great acts of love again.’” She leaned back. “Every kind of desire?”
Dell shrugged. “You know. Love, lust, passion. All that.”
“Greed,” Connor scowled.
“Commitment,” Jenna said, taking his hand.
“Yearning,” Tim whispered. He tilted his head toward Chase, who stared off into the distance silently.
“Undying passion,” Cynthia whispered in a voice laced with sorrow and regret.
Hailey looked from one to another, trying to puzzle each person out.
“So, we’re all good,” Dell said, smacking his hands in a single clap. “Can I bring out dessert?”
Hailey laughed, as did Tim, but Cynthia’s expression was pinched, and the way her eyes darted around suggested encroaching danger of some kind.
“Not yet,” Cynthia said in a carefully neutral voice. “That’s not all.”