Reclaimed (Shadow Beast Shifters, #2)(44)

My mouth and throat were dry, unlike other… parts of me. When he went all possessive alpha on me, it fucked me up mentally and physically. Shadow was my trauma and I didn’t even care.

“Noted,” Kristoff said, eyeing Shadow closer. “What about Ixana?”

Ixana. The mate.

I knew that was whom he’d just referred to, and the white-hot rage I felt didn’t surprise me—shifters were possessive, just like the beast who’d created us. Not that I wanted to think too closely about that, since Shadow was about as far from a parent figure to me as one could be.

I also had no right to feel possessive of the beast, and Shadow’s mate would probably murder me when she found out my plan of losing my virginity to the Shadow Beast.

“I haven’t seen her in thousands of years,” Shadow said quietly. “For all I know, she’s moved on.”

I paused. Why hadn’t he just explained that we weren’t a couple? It would have been easy to tell his friend that I was mostly a possession he’d kept captive for the last year.

“As far as I know, she’s never moved on,” Kristoff said softly, and I could tell this surprised Shadow.

The silence was awkward then, and without thinking, I moved closer to the beast, wanting to comfort him. As I dropped my forehead against his back, my hand lifted to rest on his firm muscles.

His breath paused for a beat.

I’d taken him by surprise.

He didn’t zap or push me away, both of us remaining like that for a moment. A moment of comfort and support. It honestly felt like a hundred years since he used to zap me when I’d accidentally touched him. We’d come so far, and that was all going to be dashed the moment his true mate walked into his life again. I’d felt the bond of a true mate before, and it was strong and all-encompassing.

If Shadow’s wasn’t a complete cuntosaurus, then I could see no reason why they wouldn’t fall back into each other’s arms.

From what he’d indicated, they’d liked each other well enough before he’d been exiled. And why the hell would anyone not want to be with Shadow? He was the ultimate prize as a true mate, despite his occasional asshole moments.

Fuck. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t lean on him any longer; that time was done, and even if we managed to get that one round of fucking in before we were torn apart, it would change nothing.

I straightened and stepped back, needing to breathe in air that wasn’t tainted by his scent and power. I had to get my head on straight.

Or I would not survive what was to come.





21





Kristoff led us to his house, which required a journey down a long, spiraling, invisible road. He warned us to stay behind him because there were gaps where one could fall. Near jumping out of my skin at that knowledge, I basically held on to Angel’s wings, forcing her to go first, and even though she laughed at me, she still offered this comfort. And I loved her for it.

As we walked into the base of the mountain, the water was wider spread than it had looked from above, and there was an invisible house resting on a piece of land just above the vast expanse of river. Or so we were told because, of course, with it being invisible, I could see nothing.

At least not until Kristoff pressed his hand to the wall, and then it was there, in all of its glory. Well, not a lot of glory, to be honest. His home was a simple structure made of grey and green stones, which I would hazard a guess had been collected from within this mountain range.

It didn’t matter to me; I was just grateful to get off this invisible, anxiety-inducing path. Kristoff entered his house first and then both disappeared from sight.

“Anything around this guy real?” I asked.

Shadow shot me an amused look, his eyes filled with fire. “He’s the master of illusion, second to none, and it was no doubt the one thing to keep him alive under my sister’s reign.”

His sister was a fuck of a being, and I hoped there was a slow, drawn-out torture scene in her future. “What’s your sister’s name?”

Up until now, she’d just been referred to as his sister, but honestly, I wanted him to stop claiming that bitch as family.

“Cristell,” he said shortly.

I wrinkled my nose. “Sounds like a mean girl name.”

He smiled. A genuine smile, and fuck, if it didn’t do bad things to me.

“Let’s go inside,” Angel urged, interrupting as she glanced above, like an attack might be imminent. “I’ve always thought you could summon her by speaking her name, and now you have.”

That explained the use of “sister” all the time.

Focusing on where the stone house had been before it disappeared, I closed my eyes and stepped through the “door.” Everything appeared as soon as I crossed that threshold, and I found myself in a surprisingly comfortable room. There was a huge, roaring fire, just like the one in Shadow’s library, and I loved how familiar it felt. The main room had stone floors, with half a dozen beanbag-looking chairs scattered near the fire. Literally the most perfect place to sprawl for a nap.

“Make yourselves at home,” Kristoff said, waving across the room. “One of my favorite human sayings.”

I was curious about that. “How do you know English?”

For the first time since Shadow had gotten between us, the ancient royal was able to look fully at me again. I found myself caught up in his silvery eyes, so striking and unusual. “I’m what you would call a telepath, in your human lore. I can learn from touch.”