Deserted (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 4)

None of us did goodbyes well, but we all took the few extra seconds to hug Mera. Lucien, Len, and Reece all whispered their goodbyes. Galleli was a silent exchange, and Alistair went last. I didn’t like the look on his face as he held her tight.

Fuck the statistics. I could not lose anyone to these lands… not again.

When I was the only one left for a goodbye, Mera threw herself at me. ‘Please don’t die,” she said into my shoulder. “Promise me. The Nexus is too temperamental for us to trust that we’d return that way again.”

‘I promise,’ I replied without hesitation. No part of me was leaving this world again. ‘I’ll be back. I’ve got a baby to spoil and eventually win over with chocolate.’

Mera chuckled through her tears. ‘Yes, remember that. You’re going to be the favorite aunt who lets my beast-baby get away with everything.’

It was a future I was desperate to have. ‘You know it.’

Shadow stepped in then. ‘I’ll return her to the library, get everything in place, and then meet you wherever you are on the journey,’ he told Reece as he wrapped Mera in his arms.

“Can you just doorway everyone to the Delfora now?” Mera asked him.

He shook his head. “No, it would take all of my power and more to open a doorway close to the Delfora and transport others. I could take myself there, but no one else.”

And we all knew the beast couldn’t defeat Tsuma and the others without Reece.

“There’s no rush,” Reece reminded her. “We can’t stop them until they arrive in the sacred lands, which could be no earlier than the approximate day of the power moon. Best we save all of our energy and not fight the deserts on our way to the Delfora.”

He turned to Shadow then. “We would understand if you decided to stay with Mera. I can call for you if it looks like we need the help.’

That offer was very tempting to Shadow, as was obvious by the dark burst of power that shot around us. If there was one thing this beast hated, it was not being close to his mate.

‘I need to be here,’ he finally said. ‘I need to make sure that this danger to our family does not come to pass.’

Reece nodded once, and in the same beat, dropped the sands that had been forming the wall between us and the others. They were all in the same spot, held down with more of his energy.

‘While Shadow is gone,’ Reece said, voice much colder now that we had an audience. ‘We will gather supplies and find the fastest vessel. We need to get onto the eastern stream before this new-moon.’

Mera all but pouted. ‘I wanted to see the sand rivers the most. There’s not even any danger this far out from the Delfora. You said you can take yourself closer, right?’

She turned her sad eyes to the ground, and Shadow groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. ‘Two hours, Mera,” he eventually bit out. “I will give you two hours on the vessel and then we head to the library, no more arguments.”

Her head jerked up, and somehow she refrained from bouncing on the spot. ‘That would be wonderful,’ she said sedately.

With a shake of his head, Shadow leaned down to kiss the hell out of her. As I turned away from them, a hand brushed across mine. Reece’s energy slid into me, and I had to clench my thighs to ease the fire his touch sent spiraling through my needy body. Our gazes met, and there were promises in those endless depths. Promises I really needed him to keep.

But first… Reece’s sands swept up the prisoners, encasing and lifting them so he could move the lot at once. For the first time since being captured, they started to fight, and knowing it would strain his energy, I placed a hand on his shoulder and shared my power.

‘I don’t need your—’

I cut him off. ‘I know you don’t need my help, but you’re still getting it. You have to be at your strongest going into this mission. So shut the hell up, take the help, and let’s get it done.’

We might be fucking, but I would not hesitate to smack him upside the head when he needed a wake-up call. He wanted to argue, I could tell by the flare of heat in his eyes as he narrowed them.

`When he leaned down, I expected one of his usual harsh retorts. ‘You’re lucky that we’re not alone, Angel,’ he said instead. ‘Because you would learn to do as you’re fucking told.’

I laughed in his face. Who the hell did this moron think he was? ‘Listen up, Desertlandian,” I said, not bothering to keep my voice low. ‘You will never tell me what to do, and I will never blindly obey. Take my damned help and stop being a juvenile. You’re too old for that shit.’

I heard a harsh intake of air from nearby—Len I was fairly sure—and I also felt Shadow press in closer, no doubt anticipating a fight that he would have to break up. Despite our declaration of a truce, they all knew how hard it was for longstanding grudges to truly end.

Reece’s breathing grew heavier as he used his sands to move me away. “I’m not fighting with you, Lale. You need to save your strength.” Despite his annoyance, the push of his energy was gentle, and I decided not to bother again because this was wasting time.

Turning my back on him, I made my way to Mera, grateful she’d be around for a few more hours. She slid her arm through mine. ‘Are you two actually getting worse in this attempt at a truce?’ she asked in a whisper, as we watched Reece’s sands sweep the prisoners out the door.

‘We’re doing our best,” I said, memories of our sex high above the Ostealon filling my mind. Reece’s best had near killed me. “Truth is, being here and heading toward the Delfora for battle has memories rising and tempers flaring. Reece’s controlling nature also appears to have really amped up in the years since we stopped being friends. He’s forgotten that he’s not my superior, even in the Desert Lands.”

Mera squeezed my arm. ‘Yes, exactly. You’re Angel of the motherfreaking Honor Meadows. You’re a legend. And you’re not going to be defined by the past any longer.’

She always had my back, and I must have done something right to have a being like Mera in my life. ‘Thanks, friend,’ I replied softly.

At this point everyone was following Reece and Shadow out of the tent, so we did as well. Outside was still very dark, the new-moon quite a few hours away. The group of prisoners were visible off in the distance, Reece’s sands holding them above the tents.

‘So, how long do you think until our bond moves past what it is now?’ Mera asked randomly after we had left the red tents and were halfway through the gold. “Like, at times I can hear you in my mind, but then it’s gone and our bond is barely a blip in my chest.”

Through our joined arms I felt her energy and that of the unborn child, muted but steady. ‘Increases in power or stress can amp up the connection,” I told her, explaining how we’d heard each other’s thoughts before. “But it’s like a wave; after the peak, there’s an inevitable fall. As the years go on, though, the waves will calm and we won’t have so many ups and downs. Eventually, our bond will be strong and unbreakable. No matter where we are, you will be able to feel and talk to me.”

She made a pleased sound. ‘Good to know. Is that when we’ll become twin souls?’

Ever since I’d mentioned the term, she’d been curious about it. “It’s the strongest bond in the Honor Meadows,” I explained. “The birth of transcendent twins is as rare as any birth in the Solaris System, and it results in a bond with shared powers, a mental connection, and a plethora of other strengths. It’s also a bond we can almost replicate when we connect in the way you and I have. In the next few decades, we will find our twin compatibility.’

Decades no doubt sounded like a lot to a youngling like her, but she’d come to find that it was barely a blip in time.

Mera let out a happy sigh. “After years of being alone, it’s still astonishing to me that I’m now bonded to you, Shadow, and Midnight. Beings I can literally feel in my chest and even talk to in my mind. The concept should freak me out, but for some reason, it doesn’t. I feel… safe and protected.’

‘You are safe and protected,’ I said, the words more forceful than was probably needed in casual conversation. ‘All of us would give our lives for you.’

‘I have to live for my child,’ she said, pulling me to a stop amid the brown tents of Shale, ‘but know that I would give my life for you as well. This bond doesn’t just go one way. Promise me again’—she swallowed roughly—’promise that you will do everything in your power to come back to me. You and Shadow and all of our family. Bring them home to me, Angel.’

‘I will do everything in my power,’ I said, sealing my words with energy. There was a thrum in our bond, and both of us pressed a hand to our chest.

‘It feels stronger,’ Mera whispered.

‘It does,’ I confirmed as tendrils of her lifeforce ebbed into mine. ‘I think I’ll be able to sense you in the library and know if there’s anything wrong. Or if the baby is coming.’

She narrowed her eyes. ‘Girl, do not even mention this child coming into the world while you’re all stuck in the Desert Lands fighting the freaking gods. Nope, they will do just as their momma tells them and stay inside until we’re all back together as a family.’

She stomped her foot to reiterate her point, but we both knew that there was nothing she could truly do to stop this impending birth. The race to the power moon wasn’t the only race we were in.

At this point, a few Shale Desertlandians exited their tents, wondering at the noise. Ignoring their stares, I dragged Mera along again, hurrying until we caught up to Galleli, who brought up the back of the pack.

All of the princeps and powerful families are meeting in the main tent now, he told us. Reece said it’s best to let them know what is happening so that we can get the supplies and permissions we need.

“Yep, the East River will require permission,” I said, remembering that from my time here. “It’s the fastest and most direct route to the Delfora but is also guarded.”

And the last thing we needed was to waste time fighting Desertlandian warriors.

‘I’m near peeing myself with excitement to see how this transport system works.’ Mera said in a higher pitch than normal. ‘Rivers of sand are not easy to imagine.’

There are dangers to it, Galleli said, But it’s an experience. I just hope that the stolen power set in motion already doesn’t stir the tumultuous streams too much before we make the Delfora.

“It will take days to build,” I said shortly. “But I imagine it’s going to be rough going by the end.”

Luckily, Mera would be gone at that point, and the rest of us would manage the swells.

‘It’ll be fine,’ Len called as he fell back to join us. ‘Not much can best our family. Not when we’re together.’

Mera let out a huff, and I knew she was once again pissed about our inevitable separation. She might understand the reasons why, and even somewhat agree with them, but that didn’t mean she liked it.

None of us did.