Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifter, #3)(112)

A snort of laughter escaped me. “We should run with that theory and never look back. But seriously, outside of the sex, what else will we do?”

Shadow took my hand, and we were back to being couple goals as we strolled through the shelves. “We’ll always be busy with the Solaris System and our friends,” he warned me. “It’ll take me many years to restore the balance in Shadow Realm, and you have the Nexus and your creatures to watch over.”

Yeah, that was true. “Our friends often have dramas?” I hadn’t missed that not-so-subtle warning.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” he said with a short laugh. “On a smaller scale than my mother, but there’s always something. Each of them is powerful and important in their world, and with that comes a ton of drama.”

I thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “Is it weird that I’m excited to see what will arise? It’s weird, isn’t it?”

I was no longer afraid of the future or the next big bad. I was certain that together, nothing would be a real threat to us.

“You’re brave and loyal, Mera,” Shadow told me. “You don’t fear for your safety and you will always help out a friend. Your excitement makes sense, but it terrifies me.”

I scoffed. “You’re not terrified of anything, Shadow Beast.”

He stopped me suddenly, wrapping his arms around me as he held on with a desperation he rarely showed in public. “I almost lost you. The way that felt, the choices I made… The world would not survive it again. I would not survive it.”

I held on with everything I had, holding his broken pieces together. “This helps,” he whispered into my hair. “It really helps.”

“Then I will hold you forever,” I declared.

I felt the brush of his lips against my neck and then he lifted himself up. “Are you okay?” I asked him seriously. “I mean, really okay? With Dannie and everything that happened. I’m sorry about your mom, Shadow.”

He took a moment to answer, like he wasn’t quite sure. “I will be okay, if that makes sense. It’s just going to take time and having you at my side is all I ever wanted. A true mate.”

“I didn’t even know I could ask for something as amazing as this,” I said, serious for once. “You are a gift that came from nowhere, with your grumbling, growling, snarling, asshole of a personality. Not to mention one huge dick. Like, that is such a bonus—”

It was at this point, laughter spluttered from between my lips as Shadow shook his head, his expression amused and exasperated. “Ah, Sunshine, life is certainly never boring with you.”

“I pride myself on that,” I said as we finally continued walking toward the dining hall.

When we entered the hall I got why the library had been all but empty before.

Everyone was in here for the celebration feast.

Cheers went up as we stepped through the long rows, and even though Shadow didn’t do much more than nod and walk along looking broody, I found myself thanking them all and smiling a lot, even after my cheeks started to hurt.

Thankfully, we reached our section before I whipped out the queen wave, our pack having commandeered three tables. Angel was in her usual spot, and I fell in beside her, able to land easily since my wings and hers were both tucked away. “Is that really weird for you?” I asked before wondering if it was rude to be so blasé in mentioning her lost appendages.

Thankfully, she was used to me and didn’t miss a beat. “I fall over more than I stay straight at the moment,” she told me. “My wings were always there, and I feel both cold and naked without them, but I’m testing not having them out all the time. I blend better in this form.”

“You’re never going to blend, my friend,” I said, resisting the urge to hug her again because she was probably over that by now. “But I do understand. How was Honor Meadows anyway?”

She smiled. “Peaceful. We have a few layers remaining in our land, and so far, no one has tried to declare war on us and steal it. I’d call it a win.”

“We’ll destroy any who try,” Shadow said, and he meant every word.

“They will learn to respect us as a pack,” Lucien added, leaning forward, “wine” in his hand as he took a sip. “The entire Solaris System will learn.”

I didn’t argue because there had to be a hierarchy in these worlds, a pecking order, so to speak, to keep everyone in line. I preferred us at the top because I trusted every being in our pack.

Len leaned forward as well, and I was so happy to see him, that one would think it had been weeks rather than hours since he’d left us to go to Faerie.

“Did you get you know what hidden away?” I asked him. “Safely. With, like, seventy layers of protection?”

His smile was sad, and I hated to see him sad. “It was destroyed. We have the means to do that, and once the power was drained and released back into the universe, we made the difficult decision to let that stone go. It was just too powerful.”

Did you keep the grains of stone? Galleli shifted in his chair, his huge wings tucked neatly behind him.

Some of Len’s melancholy lifted. “Of course I did. If we ever need a really awesome boost in our spells, that shit is Grade A. But it can never be used in the same weapon-like manner again. And that’s the most important part.”