Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifter, #3)(34)

He was at least ten feet tall. Or somewhere around that. I was shit at judging heights, as had been well documented, but I knew for a fact that his Anubis form stood well above his normal seven feet.

He was still in a humanoid body, with some structural changes so he was stronger and hairier than normal, both of which were totally fine by me.

Wolf shifter, right? Hair was kind of our thing.

The Anubis wolf head was the most foreign part of him, turning him into a being so god-like that it was hard not to just stare at him in awe. My eyes traced down his bare chest, his ink still visible even under the extra hair, not to mention the abs, and… holy dick gods in heaven. Someone needed to say a fucking prayer for that bounty.

“You shouldn’t be strolling around here with your weapon just flapping in the book breezes,” I managed to say, trying desperately not to let breathlessness creep into my voice.

This was a serious situation, with a beast ready to rip my head from my body. It was certainly not the time to be cockmerised, no matter how impressive the specimen in question, or how long I’d been without him.

Shadow tilted his head again, and the way he moved was so animalistic. Just as Gaster had told me… Shadow was more beast than anything else right now.

Inky drifted closer to me again, and I wondered if it was communicating with Shadow or not. Was the beast able to form coherent thoughts, or was it all rage and instinct?

“Any help would be greatly appreciated, buddy,” I said to Inky, my skin prickling as Shadow moved closer to me. His energy was electric, and I wasn’t so stupid that I didn’t recognize the grave danger I was in here. It wasn’t the first time I’d been near death around the Shadow Beast, but it was the first time he could not be communicated or reasoned with.

Right?

Was I making a mistake in assuming that just because his eyes were flaming pools of bloodlust and his claws were mini samurai swords that his brain was not still fully functional? Even when the wolf took over, a part of me remained Mera. Remained my human self.

Unless Dannie had done something else to affect him, the real Shadow was still there, just buried under a shit ton of anger and power.

“You probably don’t remember me right now,” I started in a soft whisper, “but we’re friends. Great friends. I’m most definitely in the top six beings you trust, and considering how long you’ve lived and how many beings you know, that is really quite the fucking achievement.”

Nerves had me babbling, but that had always been a way to get through to him in the past, so I went with it.

“You kidnapped me,” I continued, “which, by the way, you’re not allowed to do with any other shifter. I’m far too jealous and possessive for you to drag another in here by their hair. Nope. I might even beast out myself and put bleach in their shampoo at a high enough strength that their hair would fall out. Not all of it, just… like half of it. I’m not a total monster.”

He’d stopped moving, his head stilling as his depthless eyes devoured me. It was hard for me to believe I’d forgotten that intense stare.

“You don’t remember me, Shadow, but our souls matc—”

Before I could finish my sentence, he roared, a deafening sound that had true power behind it, sending me flying back into a nearby shelf. I hadn’t been ready for it, failing to brace myself and stop bones from breaking. Normally, it wouldn’t be a huge deal, but the few minutes it took me to heal was all the time the beast needed to attack again. Thankfully, my wolf saw the issue as well, forcing the change on us so we healed in an instant.

Without a glance back, we took off through the library, Shadow right on our tail.

Calling up the fire as soon as the portal came into sight, we dove through. Shadow didn’t follow me, but I felt him there, standing on the lair side of the portal.

Dammit, that had not gone as well as expected, but at least I knew what I was dealing with now. And I didn’t have to track Shadow down halfway across the worlds. He was here, and now I needed a plan of attack.





19





Gaster and Sam appeared mere seconds later, waiting patiently as I shifted back. Then, my favorite goblin dug out another sheet with which to fashion a toga for me, and I filled them in on what I’d found.

“He’s completely lost himself to the beast.” My lips were pressed into thin lines as I tried to figure out what the hell I could do now. “I’m going to have to keep pushing, bit by bit, until I figure out the key to breaking through to my Shadow.”

Gaster’s face was uncharacteristically solemn. “Are you sure that the man is not lost without hope? It has been known to happen, and I’m not sure that those lost are ever truly recovered.”

“He’s still there,” I said firmly. “After everything he’s gone through, I seriously doubt this is the moment he gives into the dark side.”

Gaster didn’t look convinced. “If what you’ve said is true, you might be the one thing that Shadow could not handle losing. He doesn’t remember why, but he knows deep inside that he’s broken beyond repair. From what I heard, Shadow destroyed worlds for you. He dismantled the Solaris System with a swipe of his power. Literal worlds fallin—”

“Holy fuck.” I gasped, interrupting him. “He said he would let the Shadow Realm fall, if it was a choice between that world and me.” My eyes met Gaster’s. “He said that to me when we were in the realm, but it’s just an expression, right? A super sexy, hot-as-hell expression that made me feel all the things. But no one literally destroys worlds when the person they care about is hurt…”