Compelled (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 5)

A rhythmic thudding woke me, and when I surged upright in the bed, I was surprised to see red light filtering in through the windows, highlighting the otherwise empty room.

A quick glance at the bed made it clear that I was the only one in it, but before I could worry about that, another thud distracted me.

Slipping out of bed, I followed the sound to the bedroom door and, uncaring that I was naked, jerked it open to find a ball of energy spiraling into the room.

“Bowley!” I exclaimed, falling to my knees and holding my hands out so it could zoom right into them. “You found me.” Bringing the froden close to my chest, I ignored the few little pricks from its spikes. “I’m so sorry I left you in the forest. I was not in the right frame of mind, and I sent Lucien back to search, but you were gone…” I kept rambling on, just so relieved to see the creature again. This incredible creature who must have tracked me all the miles from the forest.

It made quiet squeaking noises, and it appeared happy, those huge eyes staring up at me unblinking. Sitting on the bed, I cradled Bowley to my chest and, at some point, must have drifted off again.

Yelling woke me sometime later, and as my body attempted to jerk into a sitting position, I found my right arm and side held down by a heavy weight. It took a few more attempts to open my eyes, and when I did, all I could see was a huge nest of spikes, each of them large enough to impale and kill me if I leaned into them.

What in the shifter’s hell was happening here?

“Lucien,” I called.

“Bee!” the irate vampire snapped back. “Are you okay? There’s a froden stopping me from getting to you?”

His possessive tone was familiar, but it was a touch of fear that bothered me the most. “It’s Bowley?” I said softly. Lucien’s words had helped me figure out what the large, spiked mass was. “And just to be clear, I’m not a princess in a fairytale!” My voice rose significantly. “This is my animal sidekick, but I repeat, not a princess.”

There was a microsecond of silence, probably while both of them tried to figure out if I’d lost my mind.

“Can you ask your animal sidekick to please reduce its size?” Lucien asked, and it definitely sounded like those words were forced out through a very clenched jaw.

“Bowley,” I said again, patting its spikes. “Can you go smaller again, please.”

It let out a loud chirp, and there was a blast of air that filled the room and ruffled my hair. In the next breath, the froden was once again palm sized, resting on my chest.

“You are so awesome!” I cried as I scooped it up and moved into a sitting position—taking the sheet with me so I wasn’t flashing the world my goods. “How did I not know you could change your size?”

Another lie from Hattie the bitch. She’d all but told me they were harmless because of their size. It was really great news that she was dead.

“They’re one of the top predators here,” Lucien told me drily, eyes locked on Bowley like he wanted to reach out and yank it off my chest. “Back in the forest I’d thought it was the powder causing you to imagine a friend. I indulged you by searching because you were very upset about it, but it turns out you’ve got an affinity for dangerous creatures.”

Len snorted at that, crossing his arms. “Who’d have guessed those were the ones she’d attract.”

Bowley rolled over onto its legs, staring up at the vampire master. Len, ignoring them, strolled closer to me, but the moment he got near the bed, Bowley shifted his form into the size of a large dog, once again getting between me and everyone else in the room.

Len held his hands up and backed away. Reaching out, I brushed my hand along Bowley’s spikes. “Bowley, these are my friends, okay? We don’t attack friends.”

It bristled under my touch but, thankfully, started to shrink again before it rolled up my arm and disappeared under my hair to rest near my shoulder. “Bowley?” Len asked me then.

I shrugged. “They remind me of a bowling ball, the way they smash us down like pins.”

Len’s smile was broad. “Guess it can be grateful that you didn’t go with ballsy, right?”

With a snort, I shrugged. “I don’t have a nickname for you yet, so it’s best not to give me any ideas.”

He just laughed, and we were both interrupted by Lucien. “Still waiting on how you tamed a froden.” He looked like he was counting to ten again. Not that it appeared to be helping, if his black eyes were any indication.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. It knocked me down, and the next time it came my way, I just reached out and scooped it up. We had a moment, and I couldn’t resist its cute little face. It stayed by my side the whole way out.” A strangled laugh escaped. “I had a feeling it was keeping other creatures away from me, but I really couldn’t understand how when it’s so adorable.”

“They’re literal wrecking balls,” Lucien said, letting out a deep breath and seeming to finally relax. “I know ways to disarm them, but I couldn’t do anything when it was draped across you. Not without risking you in the process.”

This powerful master had been scared for me, and I was just thankful that I’d woken up before anyone got hurt, including Bowley. I had no doubt Lucien could have taken the poor little guy out if he wanted.

“How long have I been asleep?” I asked, yawning and stretching. Bowley shifted on my shoulder with the movement but didn’t fall off. “When is the next part of the selection due to start?”

Before Lucien could answer, Len lowered his tall frame to crouch beside the bed. Bowley made a chirping sound but didn’t move from my shoulder.

“I need to head back to Faerie,” the fae told me. “Just for a few days. There’s been some problems in the Silver Lands that I have to take care of, but Lucien assures me that he’s more than capable of handling Simone duty.” He seemed privately amused by this. “I promise to be back before you’re crowned the new Mrs. Lucien. I wouldn’t miss that for anything.”

Lucien snarled at him, but Len just winked and stood.

“Thanks for guarding me up to now,” I told him. “I really appreciate the backup.”

Len’s mirth faded. “I didn’t do the best job. You were hurt and almost died under my watch, but the limitation of not being with you at all hours of the day made the task more difficult than anticipated.”

“No,” I said with a decisive shake of my head. “It was my fault for eating that food before I checked it. Hattie knew exactly how to play and manipulate me. The poison was on me.”

He ran a hand through his silvery hair, sending the shorter strands into attractive disarray. “What’s on you is on all of us,” he said. “You may not understand this yet, but you’re part of the inner circle now. You’ve joined the ranks of the few beings I give a shit about. Mera, Angel, and you are the first new members in centuries.”

Lucien shot him a look I couldn’t decipher but didn’t argue.

“I’ve never had a pack,” I breathed. “Just Mera, so… thank you.”

I couldn’t find the words to really express what I was feeling in this moment, but Len appeared to understand, his smile gentle. Then he leaned over to kiss my cheek, which produced another small rumble from Lucien. “I’ll see you both soon,” the fae said. “Stay out of trouble.”

Then he was gone, and I wasn’t surprised to feel a pang at his absence already. Once a wolf found a pack, she wanted to be with them all the time.

“Is everything really okay with him?” I asked Lucien. “Like, back home in Faerie?”

He nodded. “Len didn’t indicate this was anything more than a call back for some obligatory royal duties. He’ll let us know if he needs assistance.”

A sense of relief hit me. “Okay, great. Now back to the selection.”

I’d been in bed for too long, so I turned to drop my legs off the edge and stand. My legs wobbled, but I didn’t feel too bad. Still, Lucien must have been worried since he was at my side in a moment, reaching out to steady me. Bowley made a small squeak on my shoulder but didn’t come out from under my hair.

The entire way to the bathroom, Lucien supported me, the burning print of his hand on my skin. I was completely naked, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. Probably due in part to the fact I was a shifter, but also due to Lucien and whatever this was between us.

“I’ll let you shower,” he said, “and then we can go over the selection itinerary for this awake cycle.” He pointed toward a set of drawers near the huge bath we’d been in last night. “There’re new toiletries in the drawer for you.” His voice got a little harder then. “Your animal sidekick can wait outside, princess.”

I glared as hard as I could without breaking my face. “Call me that again and I will straight up murder you.”

Lucien’s smile was slow and did things to me, but I could also tell that he wasn’t going to budge about Bowley. Not wanting to fight, I slid my hand under my hair to find the froden. Lifting if off my shoulder, I placed it on the floor. “Off you go,” I told it. “I’ll be back soon.”

It brushed against me and then rolled away into the bedroom. Lucien’s smile grew, and I slammed the door in his face because that vampire was driving me crazy.

In all the ways.

Alone, I took a second to focus on the bathroom, since my last time in here I’d been very distracted. It was quite luxurious, with navy and white tiles, a huge tub spanning almost the length of one wall, and an equally oversized shower stall.

There was also a surprisingly modern toilet—Lucien had said more than once he enjoyed many aspects of Earth—and after I was done using it, I moved on to the shower and took a nice, hot rinse, allowing the water to beat over my sore muscles. That tatan root powder had really done a number on me, and even now, hours later and full of Lucien’s blood, I was still feeling the effects.

I had no doubt it would have killed me if I’d ingested that as a regular shifter.

Hattie hadn’t known I’d been feeding from a master vampire, and it had saved my life.

And cost hers.