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hold was the safest place for her, but for all he knew their latest disaster could have washed her to sea. She saved their lives, and he prayed that none of the death he sensed came from her.
     

Chapter Three
     
    “Unbelievable.” Porter stared up at the sky. The rain lightened a bit and the glow of the nearly full moon radiated through the cloud cover. His body sizzled, the shift, the exertion of the last few hours not enough to satiate him.
    “Get up!” Julian yelled. “Go get her.”
    “Don’t tell me what to do. You’re not my leader.” He closed his eyes, shutting out the optimist, the one who thought they could steal medicine, thought the humans would understand, thought he could rebuild Lykos and rule. Apparently, he also thought the weak, little human who couldn’t swim had survived a storm and running aground on some ridiculous island. However, he couldn’t gather the courage to go find out for certain.
    In an instant Julian pounced on him, grabbing his shoulder and getting in his face. “I am as long as I’m the one with the sailing expertise. Go get her while I secure the ship, assess the damage and make sure we’re still alone.”
    “If you’re in charge, why don’t you go get her?” He lifted his chin. Maybe for once he didn’t have to be the one to walk in on the horrors.
    “You made the deal with her, you know healing, go fix her.” Julian dragged him into a standing position. “Noah says a true Lykan never goes back on his word, especially to someone who helped for no reason.”
    “One day maybe Noah will tell you to stop quoting him.” He ground his teeth together at the mention of the elder who spouted his own brand of propaganda even faster than Julian. Something happened to their world. One moment their kind were working at building something new, the next illness devastated them. One second they were on a ship sailing and free in the sunlight, the next standing naked in the rain wondering who else they’d hurt. In one instant he was getting ready to take on a mate, and in a flash he was burying a body.
    The image of how Alyssa held onto both of them, shaking but trying to stay calm remained clear in his mind. For someone terrified of water and small spaces…and human, she did well. Exceptional. She probably died for them. If she were alive one of them would sense it, but the energy around him was flat, devoid of anything. “Julian.” The power that rolled through his body before was replaced with nausea.
    “Please, no matter what, just get her.” He turned away.
    “Fine.” The rain continued to fall, soft tears like the ones Alyssa tried to hide. Even after he scared her with his unexpected shift, she continued to hold his hand. Her hand fit right in his palm. She paid an equal amount of attention to Julian and to him with her big blue eyes searching out his as if he had the power to stop the storm.
    He pounded his fist on his leg. They had work to do, their own were dying and they had to repair this rattletrap. If she were alive, they would have to deal with her every step of the way. He would be the one who ended up taking care of her.
    “I should have never promised to protect her.” He sprinted toward the hold, some errant shards of wood cutting into his bare feet, but with his goal in mind he ignored any pain. Water from the storm streamed down the stairs to the hold. If she were knocked unconscious she could drown in a couple of inches of water without ever having to learn to swim.
    Call it adrenaline, or panic, but a surge ran through him and he jumped down the stairs into the pitch black hold. He allowed her to be hurt after he promised to keep her safe, and he delayed in getting to her. “Alyssa!” He lost his footing and stumbled into the darkness, splashing in some water and colliding with the cot.
    “Porter!” Julian called to him. “Did you find her?”
    “Shut up.” He pushed himself up and allowed the other side of him to take over. The room was