Reclaimed: Shadow Beast Shifters Book 2 Read online

  Shadow shot me a sardonic stare. “You did, Sunshine, but you didn’t return what it was hiding.”

  And the pathway was closed now.

  I frantically tried to open it again, but either I was too exhausted, or it literally couldn’t be done unless I was angry enough, because no connection sprung to life.

  “They’re going to kill everyone,” I breathed.

  Shadow nodded. “Yep.”

  Narrowing my eyes, I punched him. In the chest. And it fucking hurt… me. Damn his muscles and their rock-like structure. “Ouch and fuck,” I cursed, shaking out my fist before flexing my fingers to help the healing process. “But at least you’re still not setting my nerve endings on fire when I touch you. Silver lining.”

  Shadow wasn’t smiling, but he also didn’t smack me back, so that was a second bonus. “You’ve managed to do what I thought was impossible,” he admitted. “My inbuilt security system no longer considers you… Well, let’s just say that there might be six now who are free to touch me without consequences.”

  If it weren’t for the fact that I might have just ended the world—and I still wasn’t sure if I needed to be pissed at him over Dannie’s death—I’d have shed a tear at that confession.

  “Shadowshine,” I murmured.

  He grimaced, which almost got a smile out of me. His exasperation with our couple nickname was just like the good old days.

  Before I could congratulate myself on annoying him once more, the creatures broke free from whatever confused state they’d been in and started rampaging around the room.

  “Can you pull the fire from the lair?” I asked, lifting my voice to be heard over the ruckus. “Use it to round them up like you did last time.”

  He shook his head. “Since I have no idea what else you released, I can’t risk the Solaris System. The fire will guard the knowledge.”

  I didn’t even argue about that. The Library of Knowledge and Shadow’s lair were two priceless libraries, filled with vast quantities of books about the universe. They had to be protected at all costs. Not to mention all the beings who either resided there or visited daily could be in danger because of me, and I’d never forgive myself if any of them got hurt.

  “So what now?” I asked, my heart pounding in my chest at the reality of what we were facing. Hundreds of creatures. More than we’d ever seen or taken down before, and I had not a single clue how to fix this.

  Shadow didn’t answer, but he did shift me behind him so he could immobilize two creatures who were ready to attack. He moved so quickly that I only just caught sight of the beasts with their Addams Family look—long, dark brown hair completely over their faces—before they went down under Shadow’s power. He trussed them up with some dark smoke energy, just as a large sprecker pounced from the side.

  “Stop!” I commanded, without thought. It had been an instinctive move, and despite the somewhat defective nature of my instincts these days, this time it was right on the money.

  Not only did the sprecker stop, but the other creatures did as well. The silence that followed was near deafening, after the noise from before.

  Shadow straightened, his face impassive as he stared around the theater basement. He wasn’t the only one, as I took a good look at what I’d done.

  I was controlling the entire room of creatures, and as I had that realization, the energy strain on my body almost knocked me to my knees. “Shadow, I can’t hold them,” I bit out through gritted teeth.

  “You have to hold them, Mera,” he snapped. “If they’re restrained in this way, I might be able to move them into the prison rooms.”

  He looked around, and as if they’d been waiting for his call, Reece and Lucien appeared in front of us. “Is her friend safe?” Shadow asked them.

  Reece nodded, his cobalt blue eyes filled with dark emotions, near turning them black. “Yep. We got her out of here and back into their main pack house.”

  Lucien chuckled, flashing some fang, his blond hair more tousled than usual. “Simone cursed us out the entire way and made us promise that Mera would be safe when this was all done. She has fire, and I have to say… why have we not spent more time with humans?”

  Simone was safe. The relief I felt at hearing this almost sent me to my knees, which were already weak and shaky. Reece smiled at me, and as he dropped a heavy hand on my shoulder, I crumpled forward. Shadow caught me before I faceplanted. “Careful,” he warned, a growl in his chest. I wasn’t sure which one of us he was warning, but Reece’s hand lightened, and I was able to stand on my own again.

  “I left extra safeguards around the pack house for tonight,” Reece told me as he shuffled back a step, running a hand over his shaved head. “No creature will get in there.”

  Lucien flashed more fang as he looked around, semi-amused by the chaos. “Your overcautious approach was a waste of god-juice. Shadow’s little Sunshine has managed to lock the realm creatures down with her particular brand of magic.”

  Shadow didn’t correct him on me being “his sunshine.” Instead, he focused on the way I was clearly slumping forward, all but resting against him.

  “She’s weakening,” he said. “We need to get the creatures into a prison room, and hope it’s strong enough to contain this many of them.”

  “Why did you save Simone?” I asked randomly, my head fuzzy. It had been the first question he asked his friends, and that was odd… right?

  Shadow let out a low, suffering sigh. “Because she’s important to you.”

  Such a simple answer, but he meant it. The truth was in his voice and eyes. “You didn’t kill Dannie, did you?” In my rage, I hadn’t given him a chance to admit or deny his guilt. I’d heard his name uttered by Dogshit Dean, and I’d stupidly jumped to conclusions. But logically, if he cared about Simone because of me, it stood to reason he wouldn’t have taken part in Dannie’s death, either.

  Please say no. Please say no.

  “No. I did not kill Dannie.”

  Thank fuck. It legitimately felt like a ten-ton weight had been lifted from my soul in that moment.

  “I had nothing to do with her disappearance, Mera, and I will explain everything as soon as we deal with the creatures.”

  Right, that little issue.

  “I have an idea,” I said wearily, “and like most of my ideas, it’ll probably be a lesson in disaster, but fuck, what other options do we have with this many of them here?”

  Three sets of ancient, powerful, perfectly unique eyes locked on me. Red and gold, deep blue, and a forest green so striking it was almost mesmerizing. Fancy fuckers.

  “What’s your idea?” Shadow asked, reminding me that we were running out of time here.

  “For some reason, I’m able to command these creatures,” I said. “If I open a path again, I can send them back through to the realm.”

  I stumbled forward, a cough bursting from me as I struggled to catch my breath.

  “You’re tapped out with energy,” Reece said softly, and he nudged Lucien out of the way so he could scoop me up into his arms. I wanted to protest, but he caught me just as my legs were about to give way. “Let Shadow do his thing. He can work with the hold you already have.”

  “This hold is going to kill her if she keeps it up,” Shadow muttered. “How the fuck is she even doing this? I’ve not heard of any able to control creatures like this, except maybe a Danamain, the true Mist Born. Which is a damn myth.”

  Reece and Lucien shook their heads. “I have no idea,” the vampire breathed, his eyes on me.

  Exhausted, I had to close my own eyes, and as I rested my head against Reece’s firm chest, I struggled to keep control of the creatures.

  “Give her to me,” Shadow demanded, and I was fairly certain I’d missed parts of the conversation, fatigue sending my hearing all wonky. Exhaustion could shut down regular bodily functions, apparently. Who knew?

  “You’re the only one with a shot at getting these creatures out of here before Earth becomes their hunting ground,” Reece b
it back. “You can handle me holding her for ten fucking minutes.”

  Shadow’s familiar rumbling growl was actually comforting. It was nice that I didn’t have to murder him when this was all over. Not fighting every battle alone made a big difference, and I wasn’t sure I could ever go back to doing it all by myself.

  That would be another death. One of the soul.

  3

  Holding on to the control of the creatures as we left Torma was almost the end of me. I’d just about reached my limit by the time we arrived at the long, white hallway that connected Earth to the Library of Knowledge.

  Between the three musketeers and me, we dragged the hundreds along the hall, while Shadow spent what felt like forever, searching the rooms until he found one he was satisfied would hold them.

  “It’ll have to do for now, until Mera gets her strength back,” he said. “Then we can try her plan of returning them through whatever path connects her to the realm.”

  At this point, I had all but passed out, my brain only coming back online when Shadow growled at Reece.

  “Give her to me.” Those words were low and dark. “I need to warm her up and get some energy flowing into her again.”

  Reece let out a low chuckle, and since my eyes were all but glued shut, I couldn’t see their expressions. I hated that, but for now, their words would have to tell me everything.

  “I can warm her up,” Lucien said from the side. “It’s my specialty.”

  There was movement and a heavy thud, followed by Lucien’s groan. “Just kidding, brother. You know how I roll.”

  I didn’t know how he rolled, but it really didn’t matter because I was now in Shadow’s arms, and it was here that I felt far too fucking comfortable. “Walk,” I managed to choke out. I couldn’t lose myself to the beast. At least not until I knew more about him. I might believe he didn’t have anything to do with Dannie’s death, but he still knew way more than he was letting on. Until I knew it as well, it was best to be cautious.

  He just held me closer, his arms strong bands under my ass and across my back. “Release them, Mera,” he said, the mild Scottish burr in his voice deepening for a moment. “You need to let go, or they’ll take you into the mists with them.”

  That was too terrifying an idea after everything I’d seen tonight.

  “They’re definitely contained in the prison?” I managed to choke out, my exhaustion complete.

  “They are,” he confirmed.

  I hesitated and Shadow sighed. “You have no choice but to trust me. Release them or die; those are your options.”

  Dammit. The big fucker had me there.

  You are free.

  Instinct took over in my near-dead state, and I didn’t fight it like I might have normally. The moment my hold on them faded out, a literal boost of energy cleared my head, and I jerked upright, my eyes open.

  “Let me down,” I demanded, the blinding white of the hallway making me blink watery eyes as I glared up at the beast.

  “Shut up,” Shadow snapped, not even glancing at my A-Game resting bitch face. An epic look wasted once again.

  “Just like old times,” I grumbled, trying to dredge up enough energy to fight him.

  Pretty sure he said something about annoying shifters, which was drowned out by Reece’s laughter.

  “Give up, Mera,” the desert deity said, and I wasn’t sure when we’d become such good friends, but at some point, he’d thawed toward me, acting nothing like the original asshole I’d met in the lair. “Shadow cannot be bested when he sets his mind to a task. Let him take care of you.”

  I snorted and then groaned, pressing a hand to my forehead. “I don’t need a Shadow nurse. I can sort my own shit out, thanks very much.”

  Digging my elbows into his chest, I tried to leverage myself away, but his hold didn’t give an inch. Not. One. Fucking. Inch.

  Did he have to be powerful in all ways? It was overkill.

  “Sunshine, just… I need to do this, okay?”

  He almost sounded sad, and it halted my struggle as I tilted my head back to see him. “Did you kill Dannie? Or in any way contribute to her death?”

  Now that I wasn’t distracted with hundreds of creatures, my head much clearer, I needed to ask again.

  His steps slowed. “She’s not dead.”

  I just blinked at him, trying to figure out if my ears had malfunctioned.

  “Don’t—” I broke off as my throat got tight. “Please don’t lie to make me feel better… Her blood was everywhere. And the pack used her knowledge or energy or something to get into the library and shut it all down.”

  “Those bastards took her blood,” he confirmed, “and since she was born in the Shadow Realm, they used it to concoct the potion that knocked me and the library out for a few minutes. It was also powerful enough to block the doorway because it reacted to anything that was connected to me. It wasn’t until your power called me that I could break through the blocking spell.”

  I was blinking at him. Over and over. “Dannie is from the Shadow Realm?” I whispered.

  What in the fuck? How in the fuck?

  Shadow nodded. “Yes. I don’t know the finer details of it, but I recognized her power.”

  I shook my head like that would clear the jumble of thoughts in there. It didn’t help.

  Maybe it was best to focus on the part that was even more important. “You promise she’s not dead?” I was crying. I tried hard not to cry these days, and especially not in front of Shadow, but the sobs just burst up from my chest and didn’t stop coming.

  “Fuck,” Shadow said softly, and then he was shifting my position so he could hug me. My legs wrapped around his waist as he held me tightly.

  “She’s not dead? You promise?” I repeated, sobbing into the spot between his neck and shoulder. The heat of his power wrapped around me, but I didn’t even care in my distraught state.

  His chest shook as an annoyed rumble escaped him. “She’s not dead, Sunshine. I don’t know who she is or how she made it into your world, but once I smelled her blood, I knew she was from the Shadow Realm. I’ve been trying to track her ever since, but there’s no sign of where she ended up.”

  “How much blood?” I asked, sniffling. “And how can you be sure she’s—”

  He cut me off. “I’ve told you before, no Shadow Realm being can be killed by shifters, even if they believe they had the power to do it. She’s out there somewhere, reforming, to one day be your Dannie again.”

  My tears had started to dry now, but I kept my head buried against Shadow’s shoulder. He strode forward again, and it should have been weird and uncomfortable for him to keep holding me this way, but I was an emotional wreck, weak and mentally shaken, so I let it happen. For a few minutes, I soaked up his comfort, but that all came to an end.

  “I can walk.”

  He didn’t argue, setting me on my feet. I wobbled for a beat, but he allowed me to find my own strength, and as I wiped away the tears on my face, I noticed Reece and Lucien hovering just behind their friend.

  “Thank fuck,” Lucien said, his hands held in tight fists at his side. “I never know what to do when women cry. I’m glad Shadow was here.”

  I narrowed my eyes just as Reece barked out a laugh. “I had no idea Shadow knew what to do with a crying woman, either. Usually, he just silences them with his power so he can’t hear their sobs any longer.”

  The beast himself crossed his arms, staring both of his friends down, and their laughter died off, even if the smiles remained. They didn’t fear him, but they respected him. Shadow was lucky to have friends like his. Speaking of…

  “I will need to see Simone very soon,” I warned him. “Whenever you explain to me exactly what just happened on Earth, I want her to be part of it.”

  Reece and Lucien were already shaking their heads. “Shadow will never allow another human—”

  The desert deity was cut off when Shadow said, “I will make it happen.”

  All three of us we
re shocked into silence, and I tried to clear my dry throat. “Thank you,” I told Shadow, feeling as if we’d reached a place of mutual respect that we hadn’t visited before.

  Maybe it was my power matching his for a brief moment on Earth, or how I’d apparently called him when I’d lost my shit. Or maybe it was another secret that I wasn’t aware of yet. Only time would tell, and it appeared that I was finally going to learn more about the Shadow Realm, the mists, and these creatures I continued to call into my world.

  Had Dannie known what I was all along? She’d definitely taken an interest in me from her first arrival in Torma, and it hurt to think that maybe it had all been a ruse. She’d been a mother figure, but maybe like my real mom, she really hadn’t given a fuck about me.

  What had her endgame been, though? In the ten or so years we’d known each other, she’d never asked me for anything. She’d given me a job, paid me well, protected me, and cared for me when life had been knocking me down. I found it hard to believe that was all just an act.

  Hopefully one day, I’d get a chance to ask her.

  “You need to rest,” Shadow told me, and he wasn’t wrong since I’d once again just drifted off in my fuzzy brain.

  “Yes. Right.”

  We started to walk along the hall, and I was getting more than one concerned look from the three dudes around me, but before anyone could bring it up, a figure burst from the veil connected to the library and flew toward us.

  “Angel!” I exclaimed, and if I’d had the energy to run, I would have met her halfway. As it was, I barely managed to hobble a few steps before I wanted to curl up and take a nap.

  She must have seen me stumble, and using her wings and preternatural speed, she was at my side in less than a second. Wrapping her arms around me, she steadied me before I fell. “What happened?” she demanded, looking fierce in her battle armor. It reminded me of how she’d fought Shadow for me, right before the library had been attacked by a few dickhead shifters.

  Angel was the sort of friend every woman deserved.