Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifter, #3)(62)

Clearly, our few times together since our memories had returned were not enough to make up for our time apart. Of course, we had that small matter of saving the worlds to deal with, but if we couldn’t manage to fit in at least six to ten more quickies during this mission, the world might just be on its own.

Never taking my eyes from Shadow’s, I lifted the section of power Angel had torn off, and pushed it toward my mouth. It slid down my throat, like a thick, hot cocoa, as sweet and delicious as anything I’d ever tasted.

The heat that followed spread and bloomed throughout my body until I felt like I’d swallowed a drop of sunlight. “Your power will take a minute to accept the offering,” Angel said from the side, and no lie, I’d almost forgotten she was there. Between the heat and Shadow, my mind was consumed and occupied to its fullest degree.

Her advice was solid, though. Within seconds, the warmth faded everywhere except right in my center, where my own flaming power existed alongside my wolf. My wolf wasn’t too sure about this new power, to be honest, but she didn’t fight it, either, nudging against it with curiosity before resuming her position of calm watchfulness inside.

When the power settled, I shook myself in an attempt to put everything back in its place. “That was… interesting,” I said, energy threading my words. “I’ve never felt anything quite like that.”

Shadow and Angel both watched me closely, in that unblinking way I was coming to see all immortals had. “You don’t feel odd?” Angel pressed.

Ominous words, but deciding to humor her, I pushed deeper into my power, examining the new drop of sunlight in there. “Not really,” I said. “Just lots of heat, but it’s always hot in my energy, so no huge difference.”

Shadow and Angel exchanged a look, and I didn’t like it when they did that. It was very hard to take these ancient beings by surprise. When a surprise happened, it usually wasn’t a good one.

“What were you expecting the power would do to me?” I asked, looking between them. “Since that was clearly an experiment.”

Angel wrapped an arm around me, her wings shooting out behind us. “No, seriously, it was definitely not an experiment. Neither of us would ever allow you to try anything that could harm you. It’s just… the lock on your power. I keep waiting for the moment you burst free and become everything you are capable of. You’re born of the Nexus. Your power is about as raw as it comes, as are the layers of my land here. The two together…”

Ah, I understood what they’d been waiting for. “I think because I was reborn as a hybrid shifter, there’s a part of me that can never be awoken again. I’m not pure, but I’m okay with that. My shifter side is what allowed me to leave the Shadow Realm and be part of the other worlds.”

Angel nodded a few times. “Yes, yes. You’re right, and with that in mind, I best fill my well of energy so we can be on our way.”

She went back to the layers of her land, continuing to eat through them like she was a starving shifter who’d just finished her first change. I’d never actually seen her eat before, but this she definitely enjoyed.

“Where are you storing it all?” I knew she filled her regular strength through meditating with the land itself, but this had to be so much more than normal. So where was the extra going?

“I’m layering it upon my skin,” she rumbled, tilting her head back as a burst of light expelled from her mouth. “I’ll take as much as I can.”

“Until now, Angel refused to power herself using the extra energy,” Shadow said dryly, “for fear that others would consider it an act of war.”

She scoffed. “They’d have stood no chance against me, but you are correct. I can no longer tolerate war. It was easy to allow the power to rest here, providing me with a safe haven that none could infiltrate.”

No wonder she’d been so shocked at our arrival. The thought that her sanctuary was so easily infiltrated must have filled her with a level of fear that would have felled a lesser being.

When Angel took her final layer of power, she was literally glowing, sparkles of gold falling off her skin like glitter. “We must return now,” Shadow said, and he wrapped me up before Angel could touch me. “Mine,” he added for good measure, nailing the angel-faced beauty with a glare. “Even as powered up as you are, I will destroy you if you claim Mera again. The first bond is bad enough. Don’t make it any worse.”

I was missing something here, but there was no time to ask. Angel’s eyes flashed to a deep molten gold. “Don’t push me, Shadow Beast,” she snapped. “You cannot lay full claim to Mera, since there’s more than one bond connected to her energy. Mine, Midnight’s, Torin’s, and now yours.”

I cleared my throat. “Look, I fully intend to murder Torin, so you can scratch his ass off that list. If I’d had my memories in Torma, he’d already be dead.”

Shadow was pissed, flames sliding up and across his body as he pulled me tighter into his chest. “Mine, Melalekin. Last damn warning.”

Because I was messed up, his words had me purring like a damn kitten. Shadow had always been possessive, but it used to be in the way of an object he didn’t want others to play with. Now it was the possessiveness of a shifter with his true mate. The sort that spoke of a deep-seated need to protect his heart and soul to the bitter end, destroying any who got in the way.