Reclaimed (Shadow Beast Shifters, #2)(42)

Inky wrapped around Shadow, and they were in their terrifying pose, so I forced myself to stop laughing. But for real, that guy carried more trauma than ten humans put together.

“There’s no point denying your trauma,” I said with a shrug. “And no one is going to argue that you built yourself up to be strong and scary. A god. A literal creator of races. But when you were twenty-two, expelled from your world and family, alone in a new universe, there had to be struggles.”

His jaw clicked. “I survived.”

He had, but at what cost?

Forcing myself to stand and get dressed, Midnight drifted under my arms to help, and it seemed that was the moment Shadow realized how weak I truly was. He lost some of his righteous anger and stepped forward to help as well.

Once I was clothed, we started to walk, and he ended up half-carrying me, my feet scraping across the ground.

Tilting my head back to see his face, I smiled sadly. “Surviving takes its toll, Shadow. I know. You did a really excellent job, but it helps no one if we gloss over the struggles. It always leaves a mark, some deeper than others.” I rested my head against his arm. “You’re not alone. I’m not alone. Angel is not alone. I’m going to keep reminding myself of that. We can lean on each other.”

Look at me go. Angel’s words had helped me evolve and I was already vibrating at a higher level of consciousness.

Or the exhaustion had me losing my mind.

Shadow didn’t look convinced, but now that I’d had a revelation, via my bestie, I was going to keep forcing myself to acknowledge the truth of it.

We could do better.





20





At some point of Shadow dragging me along on our journey, I took a little nap. Angel’s words had hit me harder than almost any advice I’d received in my adult life, and I was legitimately going to try this new thing where I didn’t fight every person who tried to help me. Napping on a beast-god while he half-dragged me along was step one in this plan.

Shadow, Angel, Midnight, and Inky—I’d legit found myself a pack without even knowing I’d been looking for one.

When I finally woke from my short power nap, I did feel better, and as I opened my eyes, I found that I’d made it half onto Shadow’s shoulder. He was carrying me in his usual fireman-style hold, but since he was so huge, he didn’t actually have to throw me all the way over to hold me comfortably.

“Where are we?” I asked, yawning and stretching, relieved that a decent portion of my energy had returned. I actually felt pretty good.

Shadow paused, and then slowly… so fucking slowly, he lowered me to the ground. He was strong enough that there was no need for our bodies to be this close as I all but slid down his hard frame. He’d done that deliberately.

And I liked it.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked.

“Much,” I told him.

Shadow seemed satisfied by that, finally lifting his hands from me. “We’re not far from Kristoff’s place. If he still lives there, of course. He was an old royal when I knew him, and so very set in his ways. I imagine that hasn’t changed.”

“Sounds good,” I rasped out before taking another few steps back so I wasn’t existing in the energy of his orbit. It was a lot to handle, being this close to him and not jumping his bones. There was only so much to be expected from my self-control.

Backing up farther, I hit Angel, and she shot an arm out to steady me. “Sorry, friend,” I said in a rush.

Her smile was knowing as she looked at me before her gaze flicked across to Shadow. “No worries.”

“Hurry up,” Shadow called to us, and I had no idea what had him so cranky. Knowing him, it was some complex situation that he was running through his head and no one else would have a hope of understanding.

God problems, amiright?

Angel and I caught up, and I reached out to brush my hand against Midnight as it wrapped around me.

Your energy is stronger.

“I feel much better,” I confirmed. “No leicher scourge will get this shifter down. I’m made of tougher stuff than that.”

I sensed Angel wanted to smack me in the back of the head since I was tempting fate like a true dumbass, but she dug deep into her thousands of years of maturity and refrained. I was still getting the lecture, though.

“Please, no more risks with your life,” she cautioned. “Despite recent events that suggest you’re tougher to kill than anticipated, we’re still fairly certain you’re not immortal. You bleed and you can die.”

It’s hard to love a mortal when you are not, Midnight said unexpectedly.

Its words saddened me.

I was the mortal in this situation.

The one who would die.

I’d never have to mourn them, and that was the best news of my life, but it sucked to know that one day they’d have these adventures without me.

“Shadow can visit me in the dead lands,” I said with a little huff. “Maybe you can as well?”

Angel shook her head, her face falling. “The living can’t talk to the dead. Not in that way.”

“So I’ve heard,” I muttered, noticing the smug look Shadow shot my way. Bastard was listening in, clearly, and he was still completely full of himself. No doubt dying to say I told you so.