Compelled (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 5)

Turned out we weren’t going to learn her name yet since there was an entire ceremony and blessing when a child of the Shadow Realm was named. Knowing I didn’t have much longer with Mera, I crawled up to her side, lying beside her as she fed her daughter. Shadow let out a rumbling growl when I brushed against his mate, and I knew on instinct not to touch his child yet.

The possessive bastard would need time for that. Time before he could share the new female who had him wrapped around her little finger.

We were all fucked.

“Beast,” Mera said with a soft laugh. “Calm. Simone is family.”

His growl got louder, and as he crossed his arms and stared down at us, I knew this wasn’t a battle she would win. Not today, when his emotions were raw and heightened.

“It’s okay. I should give you both some bonding time with little… Shadowshine Jr.”

Mera snorted. “Perfect name for her.”

Shadow didn’t sound as amused, but I was getting better at ignoring the scary, rumbling beast in the room.

“I’ll inform the others of our strong, healthy, powerful girl’s arrival,” Angel said from where she was perched near the end of the bed. Her hands cradled her own belly, as if it had truly hit home to her that she would soon be a mom too. “And we will celebrate when you’re ready.”

Mera blew her a kiss. “Thank you for being here.”

Angel returned the gesture with a kiss of her own. “There’s nowhere else I would have been. Now rest up.”

She left, and Mera turned to me. “You’re not leaving yet, right? We haven’t even had a chance to catch up. You have to meet my baby girl properly.”

She glanced down and adjusted the feeding baby, who looked very comfortably snuggled into her momma.

“I’m going to stay as long as I can,” I murmured, feeling the pressure of Valdor’s summons hovering. “But I can’t ignore the masters for too long. Lucien’s running interference, but he’s already done so much for me. It’s time I faced up to the consequences of my actions.”

It was time I stopped blaming him for my own bad choices in the vampire world. All of my growing up since then would be worth nothing if I continued to hide from the consequences of my screw-ups.

Mera jolted upright, and I could have sworn the baby let out a growl similar to her father’s at being disturbed. “You don’t have to do that on your own,” Mera said, voice harsh. “If you go to Valdor, we all go to Valdor. It’s like the Desert Lands. No one faces challenges or dangers alone in this family.”

The fire suddenly spilling from Shadow could have scorched the damn oceans dry. Hoping I wasn’t about to spontaneously combust, I reached out and placed a hand on Mera’s shoulder to press her back into the bed. “Meers, you just had a baby. You need to rest and not worry so much about me. I don’t even know what’s happening yet or if it’s serious. I promise I’ll keep you updated though. If there’s a possibility of danger, I’ll take whatever help I can get.”

I never forgot I was the weak one in this world. Shifters dominated on Earth, but in the rest of the Solaris System, I might as well be a human.

Mera didn’t appear very convinced by my reassurances, but she wasn’t really in a position to hunt me down. So when I dropped a kiss on her cheek and hopped off the bed, she didn’t move two inches before Shadow was in her face.

Huge Shadow.

The version that topped out at fifty million feet tall or whatever he grew to.

“Mera…”

The low rumble of her name had the hairs on my body standing up, and since he’d used her real name, I knew it wasn’t safe for me in here any longer. Gaster must have had the same thought, since he spluttered out some congratulations and well wishes before he scurried out of the room with me hot on his tail.

The door slammed behind us, and I felt the entire library urging us to fuck right off. As always, present or not, Shadow got his point across with ease.

With the birth of his child, the beast Mera had somewhat tamed was gone, and this new version was a touch terrifying.

By the time Gaster and I made it to the exit, we weren’t alone. Angel and Reece, along with Len, Inky and Midnight were heeding the warning and getting their asses out of Shadow’s direct domain too.

“Of course it had to be a baby girl,” Len groaned with a dry laugh. “If we thought he was bad over his Sunshine, wait until we have that little—”

“Shadowshine Jr,” I added since we didn’t have the official name yet.

“Shadowshine Jr for sure,” the fae snorted. “We’re all fucked.”

“My sentiments exactly,” I said with my own weak laugh.

As we tumbled through the doorway and back into the white library, I found myself face to chest with Lucien, who’d clearly been standing there waiting for our return.

“Shadow had the entry locked down,” he said in a low, ominous voice. “Is the baby okay?”

“Perfectly fine,” Angel told him. “They birthed a beautiful, powerful little girl, whose presence has the beast’s protective instincts… elevated.”

Lucien nodded like he wasn’t remotely surprised by this, and I tried to squash the mental image of his strong arms cradling a child. An odd thought since I’d all but decided that bringing children into this fucked up world wasn’t for me. Still, Lucien would make one sexy father. Not just sexy, but caring and strong.

My father was the worst kind of role model, but I had a feeling Lucien’s children would not feel the same as I did. One day that might happen for him, when he found the mate who called to his blood.

A thought that turned my stomach.

Nope. Nope, nope. I couldn’t go there.

Luckily, a huge distraction crashed through the library, sending Gaster forward as an enraged howl left his lips. Energy whipped around us in the same instant, and I realized I’d spoken too soon about the “luckily” part. Vampires had a distinct and icy energy, and it was filtering through the library now.

Lucien was gone before I could blink, moving so fast he was a mere blur. Gaster disappeared too, and I took off in the direction of Valdor’s door.

“Simone!” Len snapped, racing after me. “You’re supposed to run away from danger.”

He reached for me, but I pushed his hand away. “No! This is my fight, and I will never again cower in the face of a supernatural threat.”

Angel, who was keeping pace with us, despite her belly, made a deep, satisfied sound. “Yes, warrior friend. We fight until the bitter end.”

Reece, huge desert deity that he was, released a gust of red sand that swept around his mate and lifted her up into the air. “The rest of us fight. You grow my child and stay safe.”

Oh, damn. We were about to have another battle on our hands. Between those two.

Part of me was sad that I couldn’t stay to watch Angel kick his ass, but I had more pressing concerns. Like what the hell the vampires wanted with me that was so important they would risk Shadow’s wrath. Even if they were able to enter the library under that bounty rule, they had come in with some real aggression.

They were not playing around, and it was clear that one way or another, I was going to Valdor today.