The Shark Who Rode a Seahorse (16 page)

Besides, you needn’t worry. The only thing we want is a small conversation.

“You see, Mr. President, my associates and I are quite displeased with the way you’ve been treating us. Us shape-shifters are citizens, too, and we’re being hunted as if were mindless beasts.”

The human tried to struggle out of his hold, but two other hummingbirds were there to immobilize him. Nicolas released a sigh of irritation. “Please, Mr. President. Don’t fight us. You’ll find it would be much easier if you cooperate. You must understand that we didn’t come here so I can have a monologue, but to explain a few things. We are people, just like you and your family, and your decisions are affecting our lives. We’re taking a big chance in coming here, as you must realize, but the only thing we want is to be left alone.” He narrowed his eyes at the human. “But if we’re not allowed to do so, we will fight back.”

As if on cue, shots started sounding outside. Nicolas waited in silence, focusing on keeping tabs on Garth’s motions. Through his connection with the lynx, he could tell the rest of the hummingbirds had succeeded in taking out the electrical system of the White House, as well as a good part of the guards. Nicolas had no intention of allowing the battle to continue. He didn’t want bloodshed, and of course, he didn’t want Garth to be harmed.

He stopped silencing the human with his hand, grabbed the president’s arm, and gestured him to the large window. “Why don’t you agree to make this fight stop, hmm?”

“I think not.” The president glared at Nicolas. “I will not yield in front of your threats.”

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Faced with such absolute determination, Nicolas was stumped.

Killing the man wouldn’t help. The point of coming here had been to talk things through and convince the human of stopping the severe measurements that had been taken against shape-shifters. He didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t a diplomat. Hell, he didn’t even socialize well with people.

A female voice sounded behind him. “Move aside,
niño
.”

Nicolas turned and gaped as he saw Sara approach. Even in her old age, she was as beautiful as ever. However, she wasn’t supposed to come with them. She was a healer, not a fighter, and the strain might hurt her. Hell, he didn’t even know when she’d joined them.

“Sara, you shouldn’t be here,” he told her. “It’s too risky.”

She glared at him, and Nicolas found himself cowering. He moved away from the president, allowing her to approach the human.

The man cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed upon seeing a naked female in the middle of his office. To Nicolas’s surprise, the president took off his jacket and offered it to Sara. She smiled and draped it over her shoulders.

“Thank you,
Señor Presidente
. Now, I would be honored if I could please have a word with you.”

“Very well,” the human replied. He gestured for her to sit down.

Even he could see she was too old to be there.

“As you can imagine,
Señor Presidente
, we are all very…distraught with what is going on. My dear Nicolas might have explained it poorly, but his friend was injured in a brutal attack while trying to defend his son.”

The president looked like he didn’t know what to say. Not that Nicolas blamed him. A man might be able to stand against violence, but not about the kindness of a woman who looked like his grandmother.

“Could you please tell your men to back down while we talk? The sound of those gun shots is terrible.”

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The president nodded. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to hear you out.”

He pressed an intercom button, activating a loudspeaker. In a clear voice, so that everyone could hear, he shouted to his people to stop fighting.

At first, even through the loudspeaker, his voice wasn’t audible over the sound of the battle, but at last, the president got everyone to listen. The fight stopped, and all the combatants waited to see what would happen. “I will listen to what these people have to say,” the president said.

The human sat back down next to Sara. There, in the Oval Office, Sara spoke of Carson and Brody, of Angel, Clark, and all their friends and family. She spoke of Nicolas, Garth, Skylar, and Byron, of all the families of the hummingbirds who’d come here and everyone who’d been affected in one way or another. She mentioned Soren and Elder Wade, their dream to create unity among the shape-shifters. She pointed out that until now, shape-shifters had stayed hidden, merely a legend, and their existence had only been revealed because of the anger of a scorned traitor.

And as the minutes passed, Nicolas saw the president finally understanding that they were, indeed, just people, different from him, yet the same. The human seemed to be hesitating between accepting it and sticking with his original decision. Nicolas chose this moment to pipe up, “Talk to Byron. I’m sure he’ll have an idea.”

The reminder of Byron’s existence worked like a charm. The president turned toward Nicolas, giving him an unsettled look. “Your friend, Byron. Is it true he’s a sea monster?”

“He is a man with some interesting abilities, and not one to cross,”

Nicolas replied. He truly didn’t know what Byron’s beast looked like, but he could be as vague as he liked in this.

“I imagine so, since he took some of my best men captive,” the president mumbled under his breath. Taking a deep breath, he said,

“Very well. I will do my best to help you. But it won’t be easy.”

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Sara pecked his cheek lightly. “You’re a good man,
Señor
Presidente
. It can be done.”

A ghost of a smile slipped on the president’s lips, and then, he went all business again. He retrieved his cell phone and dialed a phone number. “General Wilson, I’ve changed my mind. I would like to speak to Mr. Cunningham.”

Through his bond with Garth, Nicolas felt the lynx’s relief.
“We
did it, love. We really did it.”

Nicolas hid the tears that clouded his vision. Hope rekindled once more in his heart.
“Yes, we did.”

* * * *

Later that day

Byron arrived at the Cunningham residence feeling more exhausted than ever. The emotional rollercoaster he’d been on the entire day drained him. The only thing he wanted was to crawl into bed next to his mate. Alas, Skylar was on the island, safe, but out of Byron’s reach. And Byron still had one more loose end to deal with.

He found Brody Wade sitting by his mate’s bed, watching Carson sleep. “I almost can’t believe it,” Brody said. “I could have lost him.”

Byron squeezed the werewolf’s shoulder. “The important thing is that you didn’t. How’s Angel?”

“A bit better,” the werewolf replied. “Clark’s with him now, but he’s not ready do see anyone else except me and Carson.”

“I see.” Byron paused, then before he could allow himself to change his mind added, “We found Carver earlier today.”

Brody turned so fast it almost made Byron’s head spin. “What?

Where is he?”

“Safely under lock and key. He might have gotten out of your father’s compound, but he isn’t going anywhere now.”

Brody looked furious. “He has to pay, Byron. If not for him…”

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“I know. Believe me, I know.” He understood exactly what Brody felt. “Your father gave his permission to do whatever we decide once we catch him. Would you like to come with me?”

Not only did Brody have his own beef with Carver, but it would also be best if a werewolf was there when Carver received his punishment.

Brody stole another look at Carson and nodded. “Yes. I’d very much like to come.”

Byron didn’t say anything else. He guided Brody out of the room and headed toward the cell that held Carver. Malcolm had already told Brody of its location, so in minutes, they were there.

This was one of those moments when Byron would have liked his bond with Skylar to not be quite this strong. He knew that what Skylar’s gentle heart would not take the following events well, but it couldn’t be helped.

“You do what you have to do, and don’t worry about me
,
”
Skylar whispered in his mind.
“I’ll be fine. Just hurry and come back to me.”

With that incentive, Byron opened the door to the cell. Carver sat on the floor, motionless and nude, a fact that told Byron he must have been in wolf form when he’d been caught. Carver looked up as Byron and Brody entered the cell, his eyes alight with insanity. “Well, well.

If it isn’t Brody and Byron.” He laughed maniacally. “The two Bs.

Did you like my performance? The humans appreciated it a lot.”

“Yes, they did,” Byron replied. “In fact, they appreciated it so much we have a standing treaty with the president of the United States.”

It wasn’t exactly true, since the discussion today didn’t amount to an actual official treaty. However, the president had, to a certain extent, been impressed by their actions, and Byron hoped the situation would soon be rectified.

Carver gaped at him and burst into laughter. “As if I believe that.”

“You don’t have to believe it.” Byron shrugged, suddenly feeling disgusted. He realized he was truly too tired to bother with Carver.

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His children had just been born, and the thought of dirtying his hands with the man’s blood on their birth date simply made him sick to his stomach. “Brody?” he asked.

Brody shook his head. Obviously, the werewolf felt the same way Byron did. As much as Byron would have liked to tear Carver’s throat out, he couldn’t see himself returning to Skylar’s side after having killed a man.

“You are a traitor,” he told Carver. “As such, you will be punished in the worst way any shape-shifter can be. You will never leave this cell and never see the light of day again.”

For the first time, Byron saw fear on Carver’s face. The werewolf shot forward in a pathetic attempt to attack Byron. With almost bothersome ease, Byron caught and immobilized him.

“You can’t do this,” Carver shouted. “You can’t.”

“I just have.” Byron pushed Carver away in complete disgust.

“Come on, Brody. Let’s go.”

Carver howled, his form blurring as he attempted to shift into his wolf form. With a thought, Byron paralyzed Carver. After doing the same with the entire staff of a carrier ship, it was stupidly easy.

Without another word, he and Brody left the cell and shut the door behind them. He found Malcolm waiting outside. “Arrange for this place to be guarded twenty-four hours a day. I want his every motion to be recorded. He is not to leave his cell, ever, unless I give specific instructions.”

Malcolm nodded. “It will be as you wish it.” He gave Byron a serious look. “Maybe you should head home. You look terrible.”

Byron gathered it must be true. Otherwise Malcolm would have never spoken to him with such familiarity in front of Brody. “I’m going back now. Thanks, Malcolm.”

“Don’t mention it.” Malcolm smiled. “Now go on, and say hi to your kids for me.”

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Warmth flooded Byron at the mentioning of his boys. God, he couldn’t wait to see them. After what happened today, he needed his family more than ever.

He said his good-byes to Malcolm and Brody and headed out to the helipad. A chopper was already waiting for him, ready to carry him to the island. Brody got on and ordered the pilot to fly him to his mate. He probably could have swum there, but changing into his megalodon form again in human waters was pushing it.

All throughout the flight, Byron could only think about one thing—the terror he’d seen on the humans’ faces and even in Rick, to a certain extent. He wondered why Skylar wanted to be with him in the first place. With him shifting so rarely, he’d forgotten about how other people reacted to it.

By the time the helicopter landed on the island, it was already dark and Byron’s mood had turned even gloomier. Skylar waited on the landing pad, shivering slightly at the cool air. Byron jumped out of the helicopter and rushed to his mate. As soon as he reached Skylar, he wrapped his arms around the seahorse and squeezed him tight, taking in his mate’s delicious scent.

“God, Skylar,” he whispered. “You shouldn’t be out here. You’re still recovering.”

“I couldn’t wait any longer,” Skylar murmured back.

As they broke the embrace, Skylar gave him a serious look.

“Come on.” He took Byron’s hand and gestured him to the beach. “I want to see you.”

Byron blinked at his mate. “See me?”

Skylar nodded. “You never did show your shifted form, and I haven’t showed you mine. It’s high time we did it, don’t you think?”

Byron gulped. It was true. During his mate’s pregnancy, he’d been too afraid to do this, in case the shock caused Skylar to lose their sons. He wasn’t even sure this was the right time. Skylar must be exhausted after his day, and Byron himself felt a bit out of it.

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Skylar beamed at him and began to pull him in the direction of the ocean. “Of course it’s the right moment.” Through their bond, he added,
“You’re in that negative mindset again, the one that makes you
believe you’re a monster. I won’t have it, not today.”

He sounded completely decided, and Byron knew he could not deny his mate. Hell, he could never deny Skylar anything. While Byron might be the boss in bed, he was actually putty in Skylar’s hands.

Because he didn’t want his mate to tire himself, Byron took Skylar in his arms and headed out toward the beach. There were several boats anchored in the small dock built on the island. Byron jumped in one of them and placed his mate on the bench. The boats were always kept fueled, and the keys were in the same place since no one would ever dare to steal from him.

After finding the keys in the storage facility, Byron returned to the boat and started it. He took the small vessel further away from the island, just to make sure the water was deep enough for him to shift.