Compelled (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 5)

I had no real idea what Lucien’s declaration meant, other than the fact that he was stepping in again to try and help me. “What the actual fuck?” I snarled. “I don’t want to compete in a selection.”

“You have no damn choice,” he shot back. “They can still kill you for touching the stone. We have to follow through.”

I felt there was more he wanted to say, but since this room had many ears, he refrained.

“You must love Mera a lot,” I finally choked out, accepting his words, “to offer yourself in the selection to save her friend.”

To my surprise he said, “I’m not doing this for her.”

I spun, trying to move so I could see his face, but he stayed with me so I continued to be blocked from Carter. It was such a protective stance that my stomach filled with fluttering butterflies. It was dangerous to fall down this hole with Lucien again, but I had to ask. “Who are you doing it for?”

He finally turned so I could see his face, and the dark pitch of his eyes had me swallowing hard. “We need to leave,” he said, ignoring my question. “They will call an official selection, so if you want a chance to update Mera, it has to happen now.”

Carter let out a low growl, drawing our attention; I’d forgotten he was there. “She’s not allowed to leave Valdor. She has been called.”

Lucien moved so fast that all I felt was the wind against my skin before he was many feet away. His hand encircled Carter’s throat as he lifted him and slammed the vampire against a nearby set of windows, cracking them right down the center.

Carter didn’t fight back, just stared down the line of Lucien’s arm as he held him against the cracking glass. As I raced closer, I heard Lucien snarl. “You get no say here. You cannot even claim master status until you bring a member into your enclave. For now, my word is the only fucking one that matters.”

I gasped as he lifted his arm and slammed Carter all the way through the glass this time, releasing him two stories in the air. When I reached the Carter-sized hole, I stared down to find a grinning vampire on the ground. “See you soon, Simone,” he said, confirming he knew my name.

Then he was gone.

These bastards moved way too fast for my liking. Not even in my wolf form could I keep up with them, and I hated that advantage.

Hybrid.

That word played around the back of my mind, but just because Carter had said it, didn’t mean it would come true. Right now, I had a bit of foreign blood in my system, which was apparently enough to allow me into their selection. But that was probably as far as it would go. Right?

“Wait here,” Lucien said shortly, his tone cold and without inflection. “I’m going to sort this out, and then we can head back to the library and wait for the official summons.”

“Grea—”

I didn’t even get to finish one word before he was gone, leaving me staring through a broken window to the shattered glass below. Glass-like anyway. Most of the materials used here were similar to Earth’s but not the same. It was just easier on my brain if I used familiar terms … all of which I was overthinking so I didn’t have to think about the mess I’d just found myself in.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. A vampire selection. How did this shit keep happening to me? I was starting to think I might have been a little tough on my dates back in Torma. Horticulture and social media were starting to sound more interesting by the minute. Both certainly beat a date with a bloodsucker.

“Come on,” Lucien said startling me from my messy headspace. “Time to leave before they decide that you’re a flight risk.”

I was a flight risk, but since there was nowhere I could hide from these bastards, running would only delay the inevitable. At least it seemed we got to go back to the library now and not only fill Mera in but come up with a game plan for the selection.

I still didn’t have enough information to even know what was going to happen to me, but hopefully, Lucien would tell me everything I needed to survive.

When he took off, I followed as close on his heels as I could. “Wait up,” I called, picking up the pace. My wolf stirred, feeling even more sluggish; she’d been worse since my arrival in Valdor, which was no doubt thanks to the swirls of vampire blood. Now that I knew it was Lucien’s blood inside me, it made sense why it had been dormant for so long. Away from the vampires and Valdor, my wolf was stronger, but now the vampire was surging to life.

“Lucien,” I called again, since he’d ignored my last request to wait for me. “Crimson!”

That stopped him in his tracks, and I swallowed roughly. The last time I’d called him that had been the night he’d saved me. I’d kissed him when I’d come back to life—hard—desperately needing something in that moment that I thought Lucien could give me.

Turned out only one of us had been into it.

He didn’t turn, but he slowed so I could catch up, and we were soon moving side by side down the stairs and out of the building. In the chamber courtyard, the red was brighter than when we’d entered, so the sun was heading toward their sleep cycle.

Lucien led us to one of the twenty gated exits, no doubt choosing the quickest path out of Valdor. The guards didn’t stop us, opening the gates before we even reached them. Some of them had familiar faces, now that I wasn’t hanging upside down and unable to move. These guards had been on duty last time, letting me in with one of Lucien’s friends: Grant, tier two master of Crimson House.

Grant had convinced me to follow him and touch the stone.

Grant, who I’d flirted with to make Lucien jealous.

All I’d ended up doing was almost dying and getting Grant killed. Lucien hadn’t taken kindly to his orders being ignored, especially by one of the few masters he trusted with Crimson House. Grant, with his easy smile, shaggy dark hair, and pretty blue eyes, had been very convincing when he asked me to break some rules with him. It’d never even crossed my mind that he’d been trying to get Lucien killed so he could step into a tier one spot.

Turned out I’d been stupid and naïve, and I was still paying for it today.

At the time I’d hoped that if I threw caution to the wind and took a risk, I might find a future like Mera had. Maybe even a mate like Shadow. The sort of love that destroys worlds.

Instead, all I’d found was pain, grief, and the realization that I was better off sticking to the fantasy stories in my books. There was no huge destiny out there for me, no matter how much my soul craved it.

“Are you sure there’s no way for me to get out of this?” I asked as we moved through the maze of streets. Judging by the stones, we were in Crimson House, the red gems littering the pavements and embedded in the walls.

“There’s no way without starting a war,” he said shortly. “As you were informed the last time, touching our stone comes with a death penalty. It’s within the masters’ rights to demand it, and the only reason they didn’t was my power. They can still enact the punishment retroactively, so it’s the selection or death.”

Choices, choices.

My chest and throat felt tight as I spoke again. “How many females take part?”

“I don’t know,” Lucien said, his jaw clenching as he spat those words out. “I won’t know until the invitations go out. Unlike you, others have the option of refusing. We don’t force our females or males into mating bonds here. For the most part, though, everyone wants a master.”

Yeah, I doubted many would turn it down once they knew Lucien was involved.

“Why did you sign up for the selection?” I asked, and he let out a frustrated sound. His hands wrapped around my waist as he hauled me over his shoulder. At least he didn’t compel me this time, as he raced through the streets and out into the vast plains that surrounded the city.

It didn’t escape my notice that Lucien had gone very quiet and broody on me. I’d never known him to be like that in our previous time together—he had a playboy, joke-around nature in general. Now, darkness seeped out of his being, which was no doubt thanks to me causing continuous problems for him.

I’d done a lot of growing up in the past year, and it was time I gave Lucien the apology I owed him.

When he dropped me down to call on the doorway to the library, I grabbed his hand. He stilled as he stared down at where our hands were clasped. “I’m sorry,” I said in a rush. “I’m sorry that last time I didn’t listen to you and trusted the wrong vampire. I’m sorry that you had to break rules and give me your blood to keep me safe and that I took advantage of the moment and kissed you. I’m also sorry that I acted like a spoiled brat after that when you told me that there was no future for a vampire and shifter.”

My grip on his hand was suddenly replaced with Lucien’s strength as he pulled me close enough that our bodies clashed. My breath escaped in a huff as I tilted my head back to see his expression in the soft red light. “I was trying to protect you,” he told me, voice biting. “Every step of the way you fought me, and now look where we are. You’re in the position I fought so hard to keep you from: in the running to become a plaything for a vampire. Because I have no doubt… Carter will never love another. His mate that was killed was his everything. You fascinate him, but you deserve more.”

If I hadn’t already been breathlessly pressed against him, his words would have stolen every iota of air from my lungs. No one had ever told me I deserved more, except for Mera. “I’d rather be alone than a substitute for someone’s true love,” I choked out. “So how do we ensure I don’t win?”

Lucien shook his head, and before I could ask him what the fuck that meant, he growled and tightened his hold on me, jerking my feet off the ground as his mouth slammed against mine. It wasn’t a soft, gentle kiss but something hard and primal. A clashing of tongues and teeth as I lost myself. Lucien had intrigued me from almost the first moment I met him, and no matter how much I’d wished the feeling away, it had gone nowhere.

When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing heavily and I was trying to figure out what the heck was happening. “You can ensure you don’t end up as a mate to Carter,” he said, fangs descending until they were all I could stare at, “by making sure you end up as my mate. That’s why I signed up. I am literally your last chance at not losing your freedom and, possibly, your life.” He released his hold, and my legs barely managed to keep me upright as I landed on them. “So don’t fuck it up,” he growled.

Back and forth. Hot and cold. This was the same bullshit as the last time I was in his company. As he waved his hand, no doubt calling energy to open a door, I reached out and grabbed onto the black shirt he wore, twisting the material in my fingers for leverage to pull him closer. His eyes widened minutely as he stared down at me—my sudden burst of bravery had taken him by surprise.

“What happens if we do end up as mates at the end of this?” I asked in a quiet voice.

Lucien stared but didn’t knock my hand away. “In the end, I can choose you as a mate. Then after some time, we can dissolve the mate bond. I’m a master and there are no rules for me.”

Of course. Why would I think any differently.

“If you want to make it seem legit,” I bit out, “you’re going to have to work for it too. We must at least appear to be in this together.”

“This isn’t real—”

“I know that!” I cut him off. “But I can’t handle your hot-and-cold, passive-aggressive bullshit for the entire duration.” I waved my hands toward my face. “Like that kiss just now, which was, as always, followed by rejection. Just stop. Stop doing that. Either leave me alone and I’ll take my chances with Carter or go all in for this selection.”

“You want me to date you properly during the selection?” His voice grew lower, his eyes swirling with heat. “Do you want me to take care of your needs, B? Is that what you’re telling me?”

Fuck me.

When his voice went all rumbly like that…

Shaking my head, I cleared my throat and attempted to pull myself together. “I don’t know what’s right,” I finally said. “My emotions around you have always been complicated, but I do know that I can’t deal with the mind games. Not when so much is on the line. I have to know I can completely trust in you.”

Lucien was torn, that much was clear in his expression. “You can trust in me, B. I’ve only ever had your best interests at heart. As for the rest, I promise to stop with the mind games. You’re right, we must stand together if we want a chance of walking out of this unscathed. Carter will not take lightly to his plans being shattered by another master, and the last thing you need is to be stuck in the middle of a vampire war. He has to believe it’s real, at minimum, so he allows you to choose me at the end.”

Has to believe it’s real. Just so I never doubted that it was all pretend.

Exhaustion pressed in on me, and I was too tired to argue further. I’d have to just do what Lucien suggested and trust in him.

Hopefully, this time on Valdor worked out better than the last.

For all of our sakes.