My pace was slowing as Torin’s thudding gait grew closer, and it was only when the high-pitched whistling of the grekins reached my ears that I allowed myself a moment to turn around and assess the situation.
Torin let out a roar when they tangled around his legs, the three going down in a tumble. The new “alpha of alphas” didn’t bother to try to negotiate a truce with them; he just used his partly shifted claws to rip into them before he gracefully leapt back to his feet.
Torin must have been able to see them even at hyper-speed, because his next swipe sent one flying.
Completely enthralled in watching this fight, I’d stupidly stopped trying to escape. The thought that I might see Torin get his ass kicked was too much temptation, but I had many regrets when his furious eyes locked on to mine.
“Don’t move another fucking step,” he warned, about thirty feet away. “Or I’ll turn you over my knee and smack your ass until it’s red and aching.”
I blinked. “Did you seriously threaten to spank me as punishment?” I laughed. “Jokes on you because I’m into that shit, Torin. You’ll have to try harder than that to threaten me.”
That took him by surprise, and he faltered, just long enough for a second round of grekin attack.
“Fuck, ours!” they shouted.
It was my turn to look at the creature because I was starting to understand what it was saying. They thought my name was fuck, or at least that was their new adopted name for me. And they seemed to think I belonged to them.
“Fuck is not yours,” I shot back. “I mean, Mera. My name is Mera.”
“Fuck, ours,” the other shouted, disappearing from sight with a zap.
What in fresh hell was this?
“You and I need to talk,” Torin said, sounding a little less ragey. A grekin zipped at him again, but he just booted it away with one swift kick. Bastard was having no trouble seeing them and I couldn’t figure out why they were always a blur to me.
My wolf rose to the surface, like a sign I should have been using her senses instead of the more restricted human ones that I tended to favor. Whoops, sorry. Dumb moment there, not figuring out how Torin saw the grekins. Wolf senses could keep up with—
Torin moved, sprinting toward me, and I’d lingered too long to do anything except brace myself for the hit while simultaneously preparing to fight him. Because I would. I’d fight with everything I had in me.
As he closed in on me, Torin crouched in a typical tackle position, his intent to scoop me up. I embraced the wolf, allowed her energy to fill me as I took the option away from him, falling to the ground and spinning so I could slam my hand up into his thigh as he went past.
“Fuck, ours!” a grekin shouted, trying to grab at me again, but this time, I could see them coming, thanks to my wolf lingering close to the surface.
My fist crashed into its face. “Fuck not yours,” I growled.
Torin recovered far quicker than I’d expected, his hands wrapping around my arms as he hauled me off the ground and against his body. It was such an alpha signature move. Shadow had used it on me more than once, but it wasn’t the same with Torin. He was big, but not Shadow big. With the beast to compare him to, Torin seemed like a boy, without enough years of experience to harden him. One day he’d have it, but not this day.
“Let me go, you motherfucker,” I seethed, slamming my head forward to smash into his chin.
Torin let out a roaring rumble. “Bitch!”
“God yes, I am. You’re just realizing it now? Slow-ass fuck.”
“Bitch, ours!” a grekin chirped, leaping up onto Torin’s shoulder and wrapping its twiggy arms around his neck.
Was bitch an upgrade from fuck? Didn’t really matter, as long as they gave me a chance to get away. Wrenching myself out of Torin’s arms, I managed to get my feet back on the ground, but I was too slow again.
Sliding across the grass, I was jerked back when Torin wrapped a hand around my ankle. “Shadow!” I screamed, finally resorting to the ace in my back pocket—he had to be somewhere nearby.
“Who the fuck is Shadow?” Torin yelled, dragging me back into him with one hard jerk. He lifted me again, and this time, instead of shouting in my face, he kissed me. A firm slap of his lips against mine, the power rising up between us as the bond that had been rejected but not completely severed surged to life.
“No!” I cried, trying to jerk my head away, but he held me, forcing his energy into me. Forcing his power to mingle with mine. Forcing me in a way that no woman—or man—should ever be forced. My knee jerked up in an attempt to hurt him, but whatever I hit wasn’t enough to stop him.
So I bit him. As hard as I could, teeth tearing into his lips with force as blood spurted in my mouth. With a growl, Torin shoved me back, his face thunderous and brows furrowed. “What the fuck, Mera? We’re true mates! You belong to me… What the hell is wrong with you?”
What was wrong with me? WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME?
“You’re as delusional as your father,” I growled. “And I belong to no one.”
The grekins had disappeared at this point, leaving just Torin and me in the Torma grounds.
“You’ll learn,” he said, not even trying to hide his narcissism. “I’ve come a long way in the year you’ve been gone, Mera, and the one thing I have figured out is that a shifter is stronger with his true mate.”
A derisive laugh escaped, and I licked at my dry lips, still tasting his blood. “I’m not a trophy to be carted around in the hopes I’ll increase your power.”
He moved toward me, his hands out to grasp my face, but this time, I saw him coming, sidestepping and kicking my leg out to knock him down. If he hadn’t been so focused on kissing me again, he would have seen that move and avoided it. Dick-brain was a man’s fatal flaw.
“I belong to no one,” I hissed as he sprawled on the ground. “I rejec—”
My words to try to sever our bond were cut off by Shadow’s roar, and no lie, it was a relief to know he was fine and could get me the fuck away from Torin. My previous plan of trying to escape and see how far I’d get would definitely have to wait another day. Since apparently, my true mate had now decided he wanted to claim his trophy-mate.
“Shadow,” Torin breathed, looking both panicked and furious. “That’s who you were calling out for? The fucking Shadow Beast?”
With a smirk, I leaned in closer. “I’d take him over you any day, Torin.”
He tried to grab me again, but Shadow was there now, a glorious sight as his flames filled the field with heat.
And who would have ever thought I’d be so relieved to see that giant, scary asshole.
Beasting out, Shadow slammed a single palm against the alpha’s chest, sending Torin flying across the field. A dark satisfaction filled me; stupid asshole deserved that and so much more.
Despite the mortal danger of taking on Shadow—he’d seen this beast destroy his father with barely more than a thought—Torin didn’t hesitate to get back to his feet and try to attack. A bravery I’d normally admire, but in this case, I’d just slot him into the too stupid to live category.
“You can’t have her, beast,” he shouted. “I’m her true mate and I will not release her to you.”
Shadow was furious, his flames growing as his height shot up taller than I’d ever seen. He moved so he was firmly planted between me and Torin, and at the current height, I was all but staring at his ass.
“Shadow,” I murmured, placing my hand on his lower back. Heat engulfed my palm, but it didn’t burn me—I was not Shadow’s target today. “Let’s just go. He’s not worth it. We have the creatures to worry about.”
He ignored me, and this time, there was a small zap of electricity down my arm, a warning to get my hand off him. So I did.
“You can’t ignore the laws you laid down at the creation of shifters!” Torin shouted more bullshit.
I tried to see around Shadow, to determine where the alpha asshole was, but every time I moved, Shadow was somehow still blocking me completely from sight.
“As easily as I created your kind, it would be just as easy to destroy you,” Shadow rumbled.
Torin’s laughter sounded light, but I’d known him for enough years to know he was far from relaxed. “See, I don’t think that’s strictly true. I’ve been doing some research over this past year, and it turns out that we’re now an important part of the power structure of both this world and… of you. Without shifters, you would not be rocking the current level of energy you’ve grown accustomed to.”
Heat flowed from Shadow with an intensity that told me he was a bee’s dick from losing it completely. “Whom have you been speaking to?” he asked. “There’s no way that knowledge is written anywhere in Earth tomes or scripts.”
Torin chuckled again. “Yeah, see, we have a mutual friend in common. She’s been to your world. She’s been to a lot of worlds, wandering around, and it didn’t take much persuasion to convince her to spill some of your secrets.”
Wandering. Dannie was a wanderer. That was what she’d always called herself.
This time, I didn’t bother to take it slow, throwing myself to the side so I could get around Shadow. “If you’ve hurt her, Torin,” I shouted, my voice changing as my wolf got involved, “I will kill you.”
Torin’s eyes met mine, and it was the first time we’d really stared at each other since he’d started trying to chase me down. “Come home with me, Mera, and I’ll make sure Dannie comes to no more harm.”
My limbs trembled, and as heat burned through me, I wondered if any of that was from me, or was it all Shadow’s fire? He was all but pressed against my spine.
“You might kiss me against my will,” I spat at Torin. “You might touch and drag and hurt me. You’ve always had more power than me, but the one thing you will never have is me submitting willingly to you. Just ask Shadow here. My independence is the part of me I hold above all else.”
“He kissed you against your will?” Shadow’s words were sharp, each syllable a figurative blade.
I swallowed roughly. “Yeah, he did. Twice. Just before you got to us, so I now owe him a broken nose or two.”
The heat soared around the beast, and I almost gasped as Torin dropped to his knees, screams ringing from him. Jerking my head up to see Shadow’s face, he was staring the alpha down with an impassive stare—flames in his eyes.
Holy. Fuck.
I knew exactly what was happening, having felt this particular power before, and while I would never feel sorry for Torin, I was the one who wanted to break this bastard.
“Shadow,” I said, placing my hand on his burning skin. “It’s fine. I can handle him.”
His chest rumbled, but he didn’t argue as he released Torin. The alpha dragged himself up to his feet, shoulders heaving as he shook off that pain. I waited for his attack, but he decided not to respond in the same manner, choosing a different path.
He held his hands out to me and took a shaky step forward. “Just come home with me, Mera,” he pleaded huskily, “and we can work out our dynamic. I know you’ve always wanted a welcome back into the pack, and now you have it. The alpha’s mate will never fear for her life.”
He had reached into my chest and yanked out my deepest, strongest desire. The wish I’d been making since I’d been a pre-teen. Since I’d lost my father. Since my world in Torma had imploded.
But despite his apparent sincerity, I knew the truth: he would control me for the power boost our bond brought.
“What about Sisily?” I asked with a derisive laugh.
“What about her?” he shot back just as fast. “She obeys her alpha, as all my wolves do, and whatever I decide works best for the three of us is what will happen.”
I lunged forward, prepared to murder this stupid fuck if it was the last thing I did. No one could miss what he’d just implied there, and if he thought he could start his own harem, then he was going to wake up with a blade in his chest. Again.
Torin and I went down in a tangle of limbs, and I shifted in the same instant, the pain almost negligent in my fury. My wolf wasted no time tearing into Torin’s throat, and at first the alpha didn’t fight me—my attack had taken him by surprise, but his survival instincts kicked in moments later as he too partly shifted. It was too late, though, with Shadow wading into the fight, and yanking me up and out of there before Torin could land a single bite.
“You’re a poor match for her,” the beast told the bloodied shifter. “And if you try to touch her again, I will forsake the power you provide to me and wipe your kind from this world.”
Torin spat out some blood as the visible gashes in his throat started to heal—unfortunately, I hadn’t hit anything too important. “You might claim her for now while you track your shadow creatures, but she’s not yours.” Torin showed no fear, and I honestly didn’t know where this bravery was coming from.
Shadow must have had the same thought, as the gold bled back into his eyes. “You have briefly demonstrated the reasons you were chosen as her mate, but it’s too little, too late.”
“Never,” Torin seethed. “If there’s anything else I’ve learned in the past year, it’s that only death is permanent.”
Shadow’s cynical laughter rang out as he turned, with my wolf still in his arms, and stepped toward the library portal. “You’ve put your death out into the universe, mutt. Let’s hope she doesn’t decide to take you up on that challenge.”
“I have your weakness, Shadow Beast,” Torin bellowed after us, finally managing to get to his feet, just as we vanished from sight and Earth was cut off from us.
Flames lit up the white hallway, and if I weren’t safely in his arms, I would have burned to death in the inferno that raged around us. Shadow marched along, not speaking, and judging from his expression, it was best for me to keep my thoughts to myself.
But for Dannie, I would risk his wrath.
Initiating the shift back to human, I cried out as the pain of bones breaking and re-mending couldn’t be ignored again. Shadow held me through it, and somehow it made it better… and worse. When I was finally a huffing, coughing, wincing human, I patted him on the shoulder.
“I have to go back,” I said with urgency. “They’re hurting my friend because of me. Well, you and me, and it’s our responsibility to help her.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I bit out. “We need to take care of it right now. Please. It’s not negotiable.”
His hand landed on my naked ass, a firm slap, and as his power surged through me, I cried out. It hadn’t hurt exactly, but it had been a warning.
A warning to shut the hell up. He had to know there was no way that was going to happen.
Kicking out, I started to struggle harder against his hold, and for my effort, I received another slap on my ass. This time, his hand tightened to the point of discomfort as he held me in place, his long strides continuing.
Damn it to hell! So he was ignoring me now and expecting I would just trust that he’d take care of it. And why in all the fucking fucks was he spanking me like an errant child?
Nothing boiled my blood more than that, and the fact that his hand was still on my ass, holding it almost possessively, made me want to… well, shit, it was making me flustered. Not being naked right now would have been excellent, but once again, I’d shifted before I’d thought about the ramifications. Tearing into Torin had been worth it, though.
“The talk about Dannie is not done,” I warned Shadow. “We will be revisiting it very soon. However, I have some other questions that need answers as well.”
“Of course you do,” he grumbled.
I ignored him and tried ridiculously hard to ignore his hand. “What happened to all of those shadow creatures? Even the little leprechaun trees disappeared…”
Silence.
“Did you capture and imprison them all in the time I was dealing with Torin?” At this point, we’d both stopped pretending that he needed my help to subdue them.
Silence again.
“What are you hiding from me, Shadow? What is so important in the Shadow Realm that you would keep me around just on the off-chance I get the door open?”
The silence was heavier, if that was even possible. We’d entered the library at this point, and as soon as the bright room came into view, I felt a pressing wave of exhaustion. Rapid shifts still drained my energy.
Shadow didn’t stop. He didn’t speak again. I wasn’t even sure he was breathing, but the flames continued to rage at an impressive height, thankfully not catching the library alight. The magic here must have protected it from storming savage shadow beasts. Otherwise, I imagined it would have burned down before now.
When we reached his lair, I was deposited in my room.
“Shadow?” I asked, “We need to talk about Dannie. And the shadow creatures. Maybe even Torin. It’s all important.”
He paused at the doorway, not turning back. “The next time I return,” he said, “you will open the door to the Shadow Realm, or I will kill you myself.” Pause. “That’s the only important detail you need to worry about.”
Then, with a surge of fire that singed the door frame, leaving a trail of burning embers and soot behind, he left the room, locking me inside.
