Shadow and Ixana took what felt like sixty hours to stare at each other, both of them seemingly stunned and broken at finally finding the other. Meanwhile, I was standing there like the awkward third wheel.
An awkward third wheel who was possibly having a minor heart attack because why was my chest hurting so badly?
Ixana stepped closer, breaking the silent stare-off. “I have waited ten lifetimes to see you again,” she said, her voice light and musical to match the cadence of their language. “Darkor. You… haven’t changed a bit.”
Shadow’s face darkened as he crossed his arms and made no move to close the gap between them. “Ixana. You… have changed a lot.” He appeared to have recovered from his initial shock. “Why am I here? Why did you drag me from my set path?”
Ixana didn’t take offense, and I was surprised because I had the urge to punch Shadow on her behalf. No doubt this was a trigger for me, true mate rejection. Shadow was stepping into dangerous territory with his current tone and demeanor.
He clearly wasn’t excited to see her. Why, though?
“I think we need to have a discussion,” she finally said, her movements slowing. I took another long second to really look at her, noting that not only was she tall and willowy, her white hair was almost to her ankles, tied back in a thick and intricate braid that she wore down one shoulder. Her eyes were an icy blue, her skin so pale, she was almost blue as well, and in her hand she carried a long, slender staff that looked to be made of crystal, with a navy pigment through the carved, translucent handle. Atop this was a deep, almost ruby red stone. A color that was super out of place in this setting.
“Come,” Ixana said, turning and waving us over. Her white robe trailed out behind her, showcasing what looked like a million glittering crystals sewn into its length.
Looking all regal and queenly and shit. But she wasn’t wearing clothes specifically chosen by the Shadow Beast, and it showed.
We followed her out of the white hall and into what looked like a receiving chamber, with a platform and ornate throne chair perched upon it. On either side of the room were her guards, all animal-people hybrids. They bowed as she crossed through the middle of them, and she was most definitely the queen here.
Two burly guards in black pants, furred chests on display, waited near her throne. They approached her as she walked, falling in on either side of their queen. They were huge and looked a little like bulls, with dark, thick, and coarse fur. The humanoid mix in their facial features was odd, especially with the tusks on either side of their mouths, but somehow it worked for them. The spear-like weapons they carried, were the same ivory color as the two huge horns out the top of their furred heads.
It seemed that these two were her personal guard and I totally understood why; they were scary motherfuckers.
Shadow moved, jolting me from my observation of everything in the room. Forcing me to once again focus on the fact that he had a mate.
Sure, I’d known in theory, but seeing it in person was a new kind of hell. And even with their first meeting more awkward than either might have expected, I knew it was only a matter of time before the magic of that bond eased the tension and got them back where they’d once been.
“Mera,” Shadow snapped. My heart clenched because there was no ‘Sunshine’ from him today. His face was blank, his eyes gold and without flames, and I had absolutely no idea what he was thinking.
“What?”
“We have to follow,” he said shortly.
A spark of defiance made itself known, pushing through my pride and hurt feelings. “We do? Or what?”
Shadow closed the distance between us, and his eyes were pleading with me to understand, but his words were as short as mine had been. “She carries my stone. Without it, I can’t best my family. I need to hear her out.”
His stone? The red stone was… the bloodstone? No wonder it had looked out of place… But how in the fuck had she gotten her hands on it? And why hadn’t he just snatched it away from the ice bitch the first second he saw it?
I crossed my arms. “You might have to hear her out, but I don’t. Dragging us in here, being all freaking cryptic, and then wandering her ass off with a ‘come.’ What? Am I just supposed to obey?”
Shadow’s rigid jaw twitched. “You usually obey that command.”
I narrowed my eyes on him, my lips pressing together as I fought the combination of fury and arousal. How dare he remind me of that in the house of his mate?!
Reaching out, I grasped on to his shirt, pulling him closer. Or at least attempting to because he was an immovable object when he wanted to be. There were gasps and animal calls around us, and I wondered if it was because I’d touched their queen’s mate, or were they aware of what usually happened when people touched him without his permission?
Only we were past that. I was one of the six beings who—
Shadow’s power zapped me, sending me away from him.
“Learn your place, wolf,” he rumbled, his cold expression telling me I’d pushed my defiance too far. Especially in the presence of another royal and leader.
Shadow could not lose face, but in that second, my heart broke a little.
He turned and walked off, leaving me all but sprawled against a nearby pillar, and I wondered what the hell I should do now.
I wanted to leave. Storm from this place and find my way back to the library. If I could meet up with Midnight or Angel, I knew they’d show me the way.
But there was this tiny part of me that wasn’t ready to just walk away. Not yet, not without answers. I still didn’t know who or what I was. So many unanswered questions, and maybe… I’d learn something here.
As a bonus, me staying might just make Shadow’s life a little uncomfortable. Worth it after that shit he’d just pulled. The animal guards crowded in around me, and while none of them touched me, they were definitely urging me to start moving, to follow Shadow and the queen.
Shadow and his mate.
My wolf rose to the surface, ready to fight our way out if needed. She’d been quiet recently, but there was a rage in her soul as she scraped along the surface of her cage. She wanted to battle. Take them all on, one by one, and prove that we were no longer a prisoner.
I felt the bones and muscles in my face start to morph, pushing against the restraints of my human skin, and I was so tempted to do my worst. The pissed off rattling around deep in my soul, had caution falling to the side.
Whatever loyalty I owed to Shadow was gone, and I was ready to fuck shit up. Our pack life was dead before it even truly begun.
Fuck. It hurt.
It hurt so much, but anger was easier to deal with, so I grasped on to it. Straightening with all the dignity I had left, I marched along the white floor, my boots clicking with each step, and I took pleasure in the sound because I wanted them to know I was coming.
The plethora of guards followed, and I spent the short walk into the next room examining each and every one so I could commit to memory the range of creatures that were part of this world.
Lots of feline beasts, like Cat-man. Cat-man, who was nowhere in sight, having disappeared after Shadow singed its fur. I’d feel sorry for it, only… nah.
There were other cats with its blue fur in the guard, also a few with greyish gold, and a very dark magenta one, with piercing emerald eyes. Next to the cats were half a dozen birds, similar to the ones I’d seen on the way here, with sharp, pointed faces and beak-like mouths. The beak itself looked quite lethal, with an intense point on the end.
The rest weren’t really like any Earth animals, but if I had to liken them, it would be to something prehistoric. Dark green and browns in color, with boney shield plates around their heads and along their arms.
They were kind of scarily hardcore, and I wondered how long it would be before I found myself tangling with one of these creatures. And who would come out on top when it inevitably happened.
