Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters, #1)(55)

“We are bonded now,” she murmured. “A bond that will grow stronger over time. In a few years, you will be able to reach out to me with your thoughts. And I will do the same.”

I was left breathless and confused as she stepped away, giving me a final nod before she once again left, this time for real.

Whoa.

I stood there in shock, both content and confused by what she’d done. I liked it, though.

“It’s a great honor,” a deep voice said from behind me.

I turned to find Shadow casually leaned against a wall, his shoulder propped in a way that made his already impressive biceps larger. Today, he was dressed casually in torn-up jeans, a tight Henley-style ribbed long-sleeved shirt, and army green boots, laced up his calves. He’d look human, if it weren’t for the impossible height and the face blessed by the gods. If anything, the more I was around him, the more his beauty captivated me. From the top of his tousled curls to the tips of his boot-clad feet, there was not a flaw on him.

At least not physically.

“Honor?” I echoed, still a little off-kilter from Angel’s actions.

“That she would bond with you in such a manner.”

He straightened, stepping toward me. “And once again, here you are, gathering powerful allies to your side. Allies whom no one else could tame, no matter how they tried.”

“Angel is a powerful ally?”

His smile was brief. “Angel, is it? Yeah, that fits. Let’s just say, she’s one of the few beings who might actually hold her own against me.”

He seemed amused by this, and not at all threatened—outside of a small flame burning in his irises. Feeling like I should divert his attention from Angel, whom I was coming to understand had been allowed to exist here because she mostly kept to herself, I cleared my throat. “Did you need me for something?”

He nodded. “We’re locked on to another creature from the Shadow Realm. Time to head out.”

I smiled. “Dude, anything is better than sweeping. Even demon hunting beats that by a mile.”

His eyes got a tiny bit wider. “You’re still sweeping?”

I nodded. “Yep. Got me some genuine arm muscles, but your already spotless library is not getting any cleaner.”

The slightest lip twitch. “I’ll find something else to keep you busy.”

I had the scary thought that maybe his “something else” was going to be way worse than what I’d been doing so far. “You know, sweeping is great,” I added in a rush. “I’m most definitely making a dent in all the, uh, dust.”

He shook his head. “Come on, Sunshine. Let’s grab the next creature before it kills more of your precious humans.”

For once, even hearing that dreaded nickname didn’t upset me. Hurrying after him, I caught up in seconds, almost tripping over a smoky entity. “Inky!” I exclaimed. “I haven’t seen you in days. How are you, buddy?”

Inky swelled up, sparks flying as it wrapped around me. “That good, hey?” I said with a laugh.

“Yeah, I missed you too.”

Shadow shot me an odd stare, calculating, but without the malice he usually showed in my presence.

“No closer to working me out, are you?” I said with a smirk.

Not that I was surprised, since I hadn’t worked myself out, either, but it was still fun to taunt him.

“I’m starting to get a clearer picture,” he said, nodding his head like he was putting it together.

“Much clearer.”

Something told me the moment he worked out my secrets, whatever appeal he’d found in keeping me around would disappear very quickly. Time to return to the woman of mystery who was worth more alive than dead. For the sake of my entire planet.





31

R eturning to Earth should have felt like coming home, but I found the longer I was away, the harder it was to reacclimatize myself to being here. I was no longer a regular shifter who knew nothing about the Solaris System, and it felt impossible to ever be that na?ve chick again.

“Follow me,” Shadow said, stepping out into a wide, grassy field. Wherever we were this time, it was hot, and I squinted at the bright sunlight.

“Is it summer?” I asked, trying to get my bearings as I stared at the deep blue sky, flawless outside of a few dark clouds brewing a storm out on the horizon.

At a guess, it felt like we were somewhere south, at least in the U.S.

“The cold season has finished, yes,” Shadow said, pulling darkness around himself, like the sun was offending him. It was the oddest thing to see, with literal shadows lingering above his skin, forcing the light away.

Inky drifted closer too and in the bright, summer day, I could see more pigment and color in the smoke than ever before. “Summer,” I mused. “So I’ve been in your lair for months?”

I couldn’t correlate that. It felt like maybe a month at the most, but judging from the heat, it had to be six months since I’d been stolen from pack lands.

Shadow shrugged. “Time is a human constraint. I don’t track it obsessively the way you all seem to. But…” He lifted his head like he was scenting the air. “It’s July.”

He just… sniffed out the month? Okay, awesome. What else could he do with those senses?

Wait, what? July.