My nose had already healed by the time I got to my feet, focusing on the two figures hissing at each other. The sight of a familiar eight-feet-tall male with broad shoulders and a mop of curls was a huge relief. Shadow towered over the wolfie beast, which would normally be a great sign, but he wore an odd expression I didn’t like. It wasn’t fear, but he was confused, and one thing was clear: this was not a normal shadow creature.
The two of them started to hiss back and forth, and I wished I could understand what they were saying. Shadow’s face was darkness personified as he glared at me, and I wished I could take my naked, bloodied ass out of this space, because these guys meant business.
“What the fuck is going on?” I asked, wiping blood from my chin. “What is this creature?”
Shadow stared at me like I was the monster in the room. “What did you do?” he asked. “You released Igorna from the realm. He’s an upper-level member of one of the royal families.”
Igorna. That was a name, not just a creature classification. Apparently, this one was very different from the other ones. A royal.
“And he said you tried to control him. He felt the pull of an alpha to obey.”
Whoops. I’d given myself away there, and honestly, neither of them looked in the mood for me to lie about what had happened. “I kind of controlled a couple of shadow creatures on Earth, but I have no idea how I did that, so don’t bother asking. It’s as much a mystery to me as it is to you.”
Shadow reached out and wrapped his hand around my arm, pulling me into his side. “Don’t go near him,” he warned me.
I snorted. “Wasn’t planning on it. I already have the scars from the first time he launched himself at me.”
Shadow stilled, and while he still hadn’t taken his eyes off Igorna, I could feel his focus. “What scars?”
Lifting my long hair, I showed the world my tits, because at this point, that was the least of my worries. Credit to Shadow, his eyes landed on the handprints marking my skin, a few shades darker than the sun-kissed bronze of my chest, and didn’t sink lower.
His lips thinned. A very bad sign with Shadow, from what I’d come to learn.
“Get dressed,” he bit out, releasing me from his probing gaze and firm hold. “Looks like Igorna and I need to have a few words about touching my possessions.”
Fighting back the urge to remind him that I was no one’s possession, I decided now was not the time and did as I was told. Strolling away, I stayed close to the wall so as to not cross paths with Igorna. Reaching my closet, I looked over my shoulder to find its beady eyes locked on me.
Shadow moved closer, his chest rumbling in warning. Igorna lifted its lip and snarled in return, showcasing some impressive fangs, but it didn’t move. That was reassuring. Maybe Shadow still had the upper hand against this wolfie dude.
When no one moved, I turned and grabbed at the first clothing my hand touched, pulling on some cotton sweats, a grey shirt, and socks. Fuck knew why the magic closet had given me socks and not underwear, but I wasn’t about to argue. I noticed as I pulled the shirt down that the mark on my chest was gone now, shifter healing having kicked in.
But the damage was already done with Shadow and his temper. Mine too, if I was being honest.
The hissing was loud when I sidled back along the wall, Shadow’s eyes snapping straight to me. Igorna turned as well, and there was no way I could tell what it was thinking with such foreign features.
“What is it saying?” I asked Shadow, unable to stand the suspense any longer. “Did I pull it here from the Shadow Realm? Or did I just open a doorway and it walked through?”
Shadow didn’t answer, too busy hissing at the creature, and I was about a second from losing my shit when he finally answered me. “Igorna doesn’t know what happened. He was out hunting when he felt your presence. Following the energy resulted in him stepping through to our world. The prince is not happy about finding himself locked out of the Shadow Realm.”
“Is the library shadow door still locked?” I asked, wondering if I’d done more than just dream walk my way into the Shadow Realm. “Maybe I unlocked it while I was there.”
Like I’d summoned it with that question, Inky seeped into my room, twirling its way around Shadow. “The door remains unchanged. You bypassed it as usual.”
“So what can we do about our new guest?” I asked. “And did I release anything else this time?”
Shadow’s jaw could cut glass, it was so tense, his lips pursed as he let out a breath. “I haven’t had time to investigate if there are any others, and Igorna is going to be a bit of an issue because the power this beast wields is close to my own. Especially while I am in this form.”
In this form? “You have another form?”
My mind went wild trying to imagine him shifting into another form. Did he mean that fiery wolf thing he did? Or was there a complete other side to Shadow? Was it like Igorna’s? Or was it something else entirely?
Maybe he’d fashioned shifters in his image?
“You need to leave the room now, Mera,” he said, his tone brooking no argument.
Starting toward the door, I found myself hesitating, swinging back to stare at him. “Will you be okay, Shadow?”
“Fine!” he snarled. “The two of us just need to have a little chat.”
Igorna hissed his loudest hiss so far, and I didn’t like the sound of it. But this was no place for me, in a battle between shadow beasts. I just had to hope Shadow would once again prove the rumors true and be the scariest one of all.
