Malakai (Stone Society #13) - Faith Gibson Page 0,90
are so many things – good things – his genius has come up with. But I can feel his sadness. His anger. He’s falling apart, and there’s nothing I can do to help. I’m worried about him.”
Isabelle handed a bottle of water to the redhead. “I’ve noticed his mood as well. Julian feels responsible for all the bad that we’ve endured.”
Sophia joined them. “Since Nik and I need somewhere to stay for the next little while, Nik thinks we should move in with you two. He feels like he’s let Julian down by not being there. All our males are going to take this latest hit hard, especially since Kaya was almost taken from us. Heck, we all came close to being taken. As mates, we need to stay strong for them. We need to stay safe too. When we get to Hawaii, we should move as a unit. There are nine of us plus Molly. I’m not sure what we can do with her while we go to the hospital, but Josie mentioned she’s a service dog, so maybe we continue with that idea. Bryce and Karson have our backs until Sinclair and the others get to us.”
“Kai’s father and one of his brothers are in route as well. I agree we need to all stay together. That will be eight males guarding us until Kai and the others get to the island.”
“You think we should continue on to Manono?” Katherine asked.
“I do. Kai said Dante requested for Isabelle and Connor to be taken there. Since Julian stayed behind, you still need protection. Our original plan was to have us all together where we will be surrounded by a big family of Goyles. I don’t see the need to alter that, especially now.”
“She’s right,” Tessa said when she and Willow returned from outside the pod. “We need to stick together so our mates can focus on finding Drago. Other than Isabelle, there’s nothing any of us can do to help, but right now, the antiserum isn’t priority. Finding Drago and his hacker sidekick is.”
Sophia gasped and grabbed her belly. “Calm down, baby girl. I will not give birth in the middle of the ocean.”
Isabelle grabbed her niece’s hand. “Was that a contraction?”
“No. That was Nik’s daughter getting comfortable.”
“Nik’s daughter?” Tessa asked, grinning.
“Just you wait. When you’re pregnant, you’ll be claiming your baby is Gregor’s when he or she is using your ribs as a punching bag.”
“No. They’ll definitely be Tessa’s kid when that happens,” Trevor said.
“Shut it, Boy Wonder. You have no dog in this fight since you’ll never be pregnant.”
“Thank god,” he muttered, smiling.
Josie sat back and enjoyed the banter between the other mates. She might be newly bonded, but she already felt she was one of them. It warmed her heart they so quickly included her into their group. After thirty years, Josie had her own group of friends. Each one was different. It wasn’t like Presley’s friends who were formed in the same mold. These women – and Trevor – were from different walks of life. From a doctor to a dancer to a Mafia princess to a couple of badass watchers. Willow and Josie were probably more alike in their office jobs, but none of that mattered. They held a common bond and that was their males. Josie used to envy Presley because of her friends. Now, she pitied her sister. Presley would never have the love of a mate. She’d never have the loyalty of a large group of friends banding together. Never have children who would be raised with other children as a family. And Josie had all that for many years to come. And to think Josie came so close to throwing it all away.
“What are you smiling about?” Tessa asked. “Is Kai talking dirty to you?”
Josie laughed. “No. I was just thinking about how blessed I am to have all of you in my life.”
“Damn straight, you do.”
Bryce entered the cabin. “We’ll be docking in a few minutes. Sixx has reserved rooms at a resort for everyone, but the captain insists on taking you to the local hospital first.”
“That’s not a problem. Sophia and Abbi need to see an obstetrician, and we’ve decided we’re all sticking together no matter where we go.”
“What about Molly?” Bryce was petting the dog whose head was propped against Connor’s lap.
“She’s a service dog. We’ll just have to say her vest was lost. What’s the captain’s plan to transport us and our luggage to the hospital?