Reclaimed (Shadow Beast Shifters, #2)(45)

“He learns impossibly fast from a single touch,” Shadow said, cutting in, appearing inside the living area. “Every thought, memory, and all your knowledge will be his the moment he grazes your skin.”

Clearly, at some point he’d touched Shadow and now knew everything the beast did. Which was a fucking lot.

“Why didn’t you just do that straight up before asking each other questions to determine you were not imposters?”

Kristoff chuckled, crossing his arms over his broad chest, and how the hell was this dude thousands of years old? Shadow too. They looked like men in their early thirties, in the prime of life, healthy and powerful. Unnatural.

“Touching him was the last part of my investigation,” Kristoff told me, so easy with his knowledge when Shadow was often cagey. “It’s always with caution you allow others to touch you. Because if they have more power than you do…”

He trailed off, but I filled the rest in. If they had more power, they could do a lot of damage to you. Looking toward Shadow, an extended moment of understanding passed between us. That was why he didn’t allow others to touch him unless he was sure of the risk. My lip trembled at the thought that he trusted me enough to let me in now. From what Kristoff had said, it was a big freaking deal.

“Mera hugs a lot,” Angel said. “She doesn’t understand the power thing, and it’s one of her best qualities.”

She sounded annoyed, like she thought they were going to change me with this new knowledge. They weren’t.

These ancient creatures needed me in their lives. They needed the spark and joy that only youth could bring. Whether they agreed or not, it was good that I’d stepped—okay, had been dragged, but semantics—into their world.

Kristoff was still staring at me, ancient eyes stripping me to my core, as he worked out all of my idiosyncrasies. Good luck, buddy.

His smile broadened, as if he’d heard the silent challenge.

“Come, take a seat,” he said. “I’ll find some sustenance for the one who requires food as fuel.”

I didn’t even want to know what he was going to get, but I did sink into one of the thick, golden, puffy chairs. It would be nice to have a decent night’s sleep at some point, and real food, and a shower, and…

“What do you eat here?” I asked, needing a distraction. I’d never seen Shadow eat food, and while I knew how Angel got her energy, I wasn’t sure about the royals, freilds, creatures, or any other in this realm.

“We don’t really have to eat,” Shadow said. “Like Angel, we have evolved to take our energy from a transference with the land and mists. But we can eat if we enjoy it.”

“Do you ever eat?”

He didn’t answer, moving to sit in a chair on the opposite side of me, both of us close to the fire. I’d noticed that the pair of us were naturally drawn to the warmth, sparking embers, and power of the flames.

We were both clearly pyromaniacs—and okay with that.

“I’ve been known to indulge on occasion,” he admitted. “Humans are obsessed with their love of food, and I’ve craved the same feeling.”

And that was all I got out of him. One day, I might figure out what food tempted him to try it, but it was not this day.

“I’ll just stick with my way of loving food,” Angel said, taking one of the chairs farther back in the room.

I snorted out some laughter. “Your creepy apple-sniffing habit.”

She wrinkled her nose at me. “You smell your food too. I’ve seen it.”

I shrugged; she definitely had me there. “Often the smell is better than the taste, which is a fatal flaw in someone’s plan.”

We relaxed while our host did his thing, and I found myself sinking further into the soft surface—it was hugging me like the best weighted blanket. Midnight drifted closer to me, adding its energy to my own.

Sleep. I will keep watch over you.

“Thank you,” I murmured, reaching out to brush through it. This was the sort of sleep I desperately needed: one that was rejuvenating, healing, renewing.

My wolf nosed out from where she’d been since we’d shifted, but I collared her immediately. She’d had her only taste of freedom here, at least until I could figure out what it was that made her go crazy in the realm. I love you, wolfie, I told her. You’re part of my soul, and I hate to do this, but we can’t let loose like that again. We almost got everyone caught, and you and I almost died.

She couldn’t answer me, but it felt like she understood, and thankfully didn’t continue to whine and paw at me. She sank down again, and then I was sleeping.

It was nice that even with a mysterious redhead stranger in our midst, I felt safe enough to go to sleep. Thanks to Midnight, Inky, Shadow, and Angel.

My pack.





22





When consciousness returned an unknown time later, I shifted in my cushion, loving how relaxed my limbs felt. It took me a few minutes to really wake, and when I did, I opened my eyes to find the fire was the same size it had been when I’d gone to sleep, and the… the room was silent. Unnaturally silent.

Rubbing a hand across my face, I looked around; even Midnight wasn’t drifting in its usual spot up high.

“They’re hunting for you.” His low, deep voice near sent me sprawling from the cushion. How, in the fuck, had I missed the Shadow in the room?