Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters, #1)(95)

When he was settled, shoulders spilling over the edge of the chair, I stepped closer and eyed up the tattoo half-done on his back.

“Amazing.”

Seriously fucking amazing.

It was a tree of death, a huge single piece that depicted a dark shadowy scene, where multiple skulls were either growing or nestled in branches of a smoke-swirled tree. There was space near the top that wasn’t completed, and it was here that Len started working.

He nestled one of the jars in his hand, and when he released the silver clasp, the smoke twirled out. It looked like it was going to escape, but Len’s magic caught it before it could, the two infusing together as he rotated his hand across Shadow’s spine. No needles or machinery were involved, just some fae magic that was clearly the key to marking shadow smoke into unmarkable skin. At least outside of Shadow Realm.

The next two hours passed in a blink for me as I watched the magic unfold. Shadow and Len chatted, the sort of old friends who knew each other so well and had a million stories of shit they’d gotten up to over the years. It was nice to just sit and watch them together, listen to their banter, and by the time Len had to leave, the image on Shadow’s back was almost finished. It was going to be beyond spectacular when completed.

“I’ll see you soon,” Len said, kissing my cheek again before he all but stepped off the side of the building. I must have looked freaked out because Shadow shook his head. “He’ll be fine.”

Somehow, I had no doubt he would be.

After that, I ate more food, took a long nap, and by the time we were due to return to the library, Shadow and I had successfully reestablished our previous relationship. No awkwardness at all.

I mean, mostly.

When we returned to the familiar garden that I’d first woken in, we silently exited, and from there, it was an easy journey back to the library. I envied the way they could call doorways. Did they even realize the power in their hands—the ability to skip between worlds and never be a prisoner?

Shifters, for all of our strengths, were still much closer to humans than the gods. It hadn’t been a fact I’d truly worried about until I’d found myself living in a library filled with beings so far beyond my comprehension. But despite the fact that I was out of my depth in almost every way possible, I was still alive, and I counted that as a victory.

The library was quiet when we entered through the Faerie door; the few goblins around shot me confused stares until they saw Shadow at my side. Then they just nodded and turned back to what they were doing.

No wonder he was a smug bastard. Surrounded by sycophants.

“It’s not healthy, you know.”

He met my gaze, his eyebrows slightly raised. “You do realize that I’m not privy to your thoughts, right? The randomness in which you spout words is astonishing.”

“Whatever, dude.” I flipped him off. “I’m talking about constantly surrounding yourself with yes-people. I mean, how does that help you grow in character or learn from your mistakes?”

Shadow bared his teeth at me. “What makes you think I make mistakes?”

I sighed. “Exactly what I’m talking about. Everyone makes mistakes; it’s just how it works.”

He shrugged while continuing to lead me through the library toward the Earth hallway. “I don’t know what to tell you, Sunshine. I was designed this way by the universe, a perfect predator.”

And where was the lie? Whatever his role to fill in this world, he appeared to be doing a fantastic job at it. He’d created a damn subgroup of humans when he’d merged us with animal souls. Who else could herald a claim to fame like that?

“Just don’t expect me to start kissing your ass,” I muttered. “You’re still the enemy.”

This time it was an actual grin, wicked and tantalizing. “Oh, yeah, Sunshine. You’ve made that very obvious. Except last night when you were screaming my fucking name.”

Jesus. My thighs clenched again, but I didn’t blush—I would not give him the satisfaction. There was something that had to be said about my time in Faerie, though.

“Thanks for helping me,” I told him seriously. “I don’t remember everything, but the pain before was really memorable.”

He paused in the white hallway. “It was my fault that I hadn’t checked the Fae calendar before I decided to use it as a safe zone. It was up to me to fix my mistake.”

My smile was bright enough to blind a person. “All I heard there was that you’re not quite as perfect as you seem to think.”

He shook his head, shoulders heaving as he let a rumble of laughter escape. “Don’t push it, pup. I could still kill you if the mood struck me.”

It was almost a joking threat at this stage. Not that he wouldn’t kill me, but he’d at minimum feel bad about killing me now, so we were making grounds in our relationship. And thankfully, what had happened on Faerie hadn’t sent us ten steps backward.

Denial was working out pretty well.





52

Shadow’s spell had been designed to draw all the creatures to the same place. Again, in the pack mountain area of Torma. “Why here?” I asked.

“Most of them were already here, of course,” he said shortly. “You being the shadow magnet that you are.”

Gah, there was such a double meaning to that now, and I again forced yesterday from my mind. It had been a one-time deal. One fucking time. I needed to wrap my head around that and move the heck on. Maybe if I continued to repeat it, my traitorous body would finally get on board.