Page 14 of Their Defiant Mate

“Danger,” Jon offered as he sat down next to Kyle. With his glossy dark hair and flashing eyes, he personified the word. “We’re assigned missions too risky for the other teams.”

Isaac moved to the wood-burning stove and quickly built up the fire. Once the room began to warm, he joined her on the couch.

“So, what does an average mission entail?” she prompted. “There has to be more to it than sneaking into the lupine village to observe Dr. Babcock.”

“None of our objectives are pleasant,” Jon warned. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Will you please answer one last question before we move on?” She sweetened the request with her prettiest smile. Flirting didn’t come naturally to Tara, but she really wanted to understand what a Shadow team did.

“I cannot agree to answer without hearing the question.” Jon crossed his legs, his gaze gleaming in the subdued light of the cabin.

“How many of the rumors are true?” She shivered as all the possibilities ran through her mind. “Are all the Shadows psychic? Can you control people with your minds? Can you really turn invisible?”

Jon chuckled, but the sound was dry and humorless. He narrowed his eyes and a wave of rippling distortion passed over his body as he gradually faded from view.

“Oh, my God,” Tara breathed, covering her mouth with her hand. Disbelief gave way to awe as she stared at the empty space where Jon sat moments before. She’d heard that the hybrids could shapeshift, but it wasn’t until she saw it for herself that she believed it was true. Apparently, turning invisible affected her the same way. “How are you doing that?”

Jon’s voice was disembodied for a moment then he became visible again. “We produce an energy field that refracts light. It creates the same optical illusion used in armor and military shielding all over Earth-controlled space.”

“Well, it’s damn effective,” Tara assured him as she shifted her hand to her throat. She’d been afraid he wouldn’t answer her. She certainly hadn’t expected a demonstration. “The trials revealed that you guys can do a lot more than most of us realized, but I keep learning about even more. I didn’t believe you guys could shapeshift until I saw it happen during the raid on our encampment. Can all the Shadows manifest this refracting shield?”

“Some of us are better at it than others,” Kyle said. “Two of our members can’t refract light at all.”

“Then what makes them Shadows?”

“Other skills,” Isaac stressed, making it obvious he had no intention of elaborating.

“Okay, let’s talk aboutyourskills,” she countered, feeling a bit feisty. “Are you telepathic?”

All three of us can slip our thoughts into the minds of others, but interactive mind-speak usually requires a link.

Isaac’s deep, commanding voice sounded inside her head and a shiver dropped down her spine. “You said you can retrieve images. What else are you able to do?” She was almost afraid to ask. Imagining someone with paranormal abilities and meeting one—or three—was a very different experience.

Desire flared within Isaac’s green eyes, and he motioned her toward him. “Slide over here and I’ll show you.”

Heat spread across her cheeks as she boldly met his gaze. “We’ll get to that shortly, but I’d like to know more about you first.”

“Fair enough,” Isaac grumbled, but he didn’t sound pleased by the delay.

“Where’d you grow up? Were you and your family close? Have you ever been in a serious relationship?”

“We’re being interviewed,” Kyle observed with a smirk. “Make your answers good or she’ll reject our claim.”

The playful mockery in his tone fueled Tara’s feistiness. “You’re next, so think seriously about what you intend to tell me.”

He laughed and saluted her. “Yes, General.”

Shifting her attention back to Isaac, Tara asked, “Do you mind talking about your background? If it’s painful I can focus on something else.”

“It’s not painful as much as immaterial. We’ve all changed so much since our years on Earth that it doesn’t seem real anymore.”

Off-world communication was forbidden, so there was no way for anyone on Rydaria to maintain a relationship with anyone they’d left behind. Four years was a long time and every person on Rydaria had been ripped from their old life against their will. The hybrids had been changed, literally transformed into another species. It was probably less painful to disassociate from the past and focus on the future.

“My last apartment was in Colorado Springs,” Kyle volunteered, “but I’ve lived all over Earth-controlled space.”

Kyle was the most personable of her potential mates, so it wasn’t surprising that he was willing to share. Still, she appreciated the openness. “Did you move around by choice or did your occupation require it?” Military service was the most common reason for frequent moves, so she asked, “Were you an army brat?”

“Guilty as charged. I had three brothers and a much younger sister. All my male relatives and half of my female relatives served in the military in one capacity or another,” Kyle explained. “It never occurred to me to consider any other occupation. We never had a lot of money, but family was everything to us.”

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