Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifter, #3)(47)

The moment he said that, he pulled away, and despite my best attempts to hold on, there was no fighting his strength. “Let me help you,” I protested.

The rumble in his chest told me everything he thought of that statement. “I won’t drain your power to restore mine. There’s no immediate danger, and I’ll recover shortly.”

Gods save me from stubborn beasts.

“How did I even do that?” I pushed. “Share my power with you?”

His expression gave nothing away at first, but when I continued to stare him down, he released a long breath. “We’ve formed a bond,” he said, giving no indication how he felt about that. “At some point, the sort of true mate connection that’s common in the Shadow Realm and among shifters has settled between our two energies.”

I eyed him closely, keeping my expression neutral, even though my heart was slamming against my chest. I’d been feeling a connection, but I hadn’t realized it was a true mate one. “You don’t sound very happy about that,” I attempted to joke. “But I’ll have you know I was picked first for every sports team up until the sixth grade. I’m an excellent choice.”

His lips twitched. “That’s your sales pitch? For an eternal true mate bond? You got picked for sports?”

I crinkled my brow as I tried to think of something else. “Uh, is that enough? I can probably make some cooler shit up?”

He shook his head as his expression finally thawed. “Sunshine, there’s no being in any of the many worlds I’ve traveled who is worthier than you. But I do worry that with our fates so entwined, if I fall, then so will you. I cannot live with that.”

Unsurprisingly, the possibility of me dying with Shadow caused not even a blip of concern. “Dude, if we go down together saving the world, I’m okay with that.”

He didn’t look happy with that statement, but I gave zero fucks. My true feelings about death had been established long ago, and now I was all in for this crazy ride. Every part of it, good and bad.

“Let’s just not waste any more time worrying about what might be,” I continued. “We know there’s a battle to come, and… maybe we won’t lose. Sticking with my sports analogy, I’ve been a dodgeball champion on at least three separate occasions. The balls I have to dodge this time are just bigger and scarier.”

“That’s what she said,” a familiar voice joked from behind us.

Spinning, I almost tripped over myself before scrambling to my feet so I could run, ugly-snot crying toward my best friend. Simone caught me as I sobbed against her shoulder, my relief at seeing her healthy and alive too much to be contained.

When we finally pulled apart, I noticed Lucien nearby, his blond hair a little longer, while his bronze skin and piercing green eyes were as familiar as ever. “Ah, ma petite,” he murmured, stepping closer. “We’ve been worried about you.”

Simone shot him a dark look, and that was all I needed to know that all was not well between my best friend and the enigmatic Vampire Master. “Lucien would not allow me to return,” she bit out. “He said that until Shadow was able to restore the library, it was not safe to travel through any of the normal means. I’ve been imprisoned in his stupid castle, locked away for fear of the vamps eating me.” She raised an eyebrow. “And not in the good way, apparently.”

Lucien’s face was wreathed in frustration, turning his surfer good looks into a more formidable and scarier fa?ade. Shadow Beast three? “You’re the most hotheaded, frustrating, insufferable…” He trailed off, clearly having run out of adjectives to describe Simone.

“Annoying?” I chimed in helpfully and she elbowed me.

“Don’t encourage this asshole of a vampire who couldn’t sparkle if his damn life depended on it.”

Lucien muttered something about her life and its value before he pushed past us and strode over to Shadow, who looked relieved to have one of his trusted friends back in the library. They started to talk, and I knew Shadow would be filling Lucien in on everything that had happened.

Which gave me a moment to catch up with Simone.

“Are you really okay?” she asked, pulling me closer, like she couldn’t believe we were finally together. “What the fuck happened? One minute you were heading off to the Shadow Realm, and the next, Shadow was back here raging like a beast, destroying everything. Not even his friends were safe.”

Her words broke at the end, and she had to swallow a few times before she could speak again. “No lie, I thought you were dead. I figured that was the only event that would set off your beast-man, and it’s not cool that I had to think that, Mera.”

She wasn’t exactly mad at me, but I could tell that more than once, she’d cursed my name. “Lucien didn’t know anything?” He hadn’t been in the realm with Dannie, but even Gaster had heard rumors.

She sniffed. “That bastard tells me what I need to know. Not what I want to know. All he said was to have some faith, and you’re stronger than I think and would not have fallen so easily.”

“This is going to be a long conversation,” I told her. “We best find a seat.”

I dragged her back to the beanbag chairs, pulling her down beside me. “Can we order food from here?” I asked Shadow. “Because I really need some food.”