Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 3)

It took Shadow half a day to bring the library back into working order, and when he was finally done, he was barely able to stand. I personally liked the beast on his knees, but this was neither the time nor the place to take advantage of that. Instead, I attempted to haul his heavy ass up, dragging him to the newly reestablished seating area so he could sink into one of the cushion chairs to recharge.

Sam stayed with me, but Gaster had already hurried off to check if everything was as it had been. From what I could see of my library, it looked just as I remembered pre-Dannie, so I spent my time focusing on Shadow.

“Are you okay?” I asked, kneeling beside the cushion he was sprawled across. He tried to move forward, but I pushed him back. “You basically just rebuilt an entire travel system, maybe give yourself a second.”

Shadow’s eyes darted toward Sam, and I knew he was unhappy about being this vulnerable around an unknown shifter. I mean, we all knew he could kill her with a blink of his eye, so there was no real danger to him, but it was part of his nature to distrust a stranger.

“I’ll recover in a few minutes,” he rumbled gruffly.

Reaching out, I took his hand but didn’t push for anything else. Sometimes you just needed a little support when times were hard. I had no idea if Shadow had ever had a person like that in his life, but he certainly did now.

The moment our skin connected, the fire of our powers rose together, visible between our palms. Shadow tilted his head in a way that indicated he hadn’t expected that. “Your power is restoring some of mine.”

The moment he said that, he pulled away, and despite my best attempts to hold on, there was no fighting his strength. “Let me help you,” I protested.

The rumble in his chest told me everything he thought of that statement. “I won’t drain your power to restore mine. There’s no immediate danger, and I’ll recover shortly.”

Gods save me from stubborn beasts.

“How did I even do that?” I pushed. “Share my power with you?”

His expression gave nothing away at first, but when I continued to stare him down, he released a long breath. “We’ve formed a bond,” he said, giving no indication how he felt about that. “At some point, the sort of true mate connection that’s common in the Shadow Realm and among shifters has settled between our two energies.”

I eyed him closely, keeping my expression neutral, even though my heart was slamming against my chest. I’d been feeling a connection, but I hadn’t realized it was a true mate one. “You don’t sound very happy about that,” I attempted to joke. “But I’ll have you know I was picked first for every sports team up until the sixth grade. I’m an excellent choice.”

His lips twitched. “That’s your sales pitch? For an eternal true mate bond? You got picked for sports?”

I crinkled my brow as I tried to think of something else. “Uh, is that enough? I can probably make some cooler shit up?”

He shook his head as his expression finally thawed. “Sunshine, there’s no being in any of the many worlds I’ve traveled who is worthier than you. But I do worry that with our fates so entwined, if I fall, then so will you. I cannot live with that.”

Unsurprisingly, the possibility of me dying with Shadow caused not even a blip of concern. “Dude, if we go down together saving the world, I’m okay with that.”

He didn’t look happy with that statement, but I gave zero fucks. My true feelings about death had been established long ago, and now I was all in for this crazy ride. Every part of it, good and bad.

“Let’s just not waste any more time worrying about what might be,” I continued. “We know there’s a battle to come, and… maybe we won’t lose. Sticking with my sports analogy, I’ve been a dodgeball champion on at least three separate occasions. The balls I have to dodge this time are just bigger and scarier.”

“That’s what she said,” a familiar voice joked from behind us.

Spinning, I almost tripped over myself before scrambling to my feet so I could run, ugly-snot crying toward my best friend. Simone caught me as I sobbed against her shoulder, my relief at seeing her healthy and alive too much to be contained.

When we finally pulled apart, I noticed Lucien nearby, his blond hair a little longer, while his bronze skin and piercing green eyes were as familiar as ever. “Ah, ma petite,” he murmured, stepping closer. “We’ve been worried about you.”

Simone shot him a dark look, and that was all I needed to know that all was not well between my best friend and the enigmatic Vampire Master. “Lucien would not allow me to return,” she bit out. “He said that until Shadow was able to restore the library, it was not safe to travel through any of the normal means. I’ve been imprisoned in his stupid castle, locked away for fear of the vamps eating me.” She raised an eyebrow. “And not in the good way, apparently.”

Lucien’s face was wreathed in frustration, turning his surfer good looks into a more formidable and scarier façade. Shadow Beast three? “You’re the most hotheaded, frustrating, insufferable…” He trailed off, clearly having run out of adjectives to describe Simone.

“Annoying?” I chimed in helpfully and she elbowed me.

“Don’t encourage this asshole of a vampire who couldn’t sparkle if his damn life depended on it.”

Lucien muttered something about her life and its value before he pushed past us and strode over to Shadow, who looked relieved to have one of his trusted friends back in the library. They started to talk, and I knew Shadow would be filling Lucien in on everything that had happened.

Which gave me a moment to catch up with Simone.

“Are you really okay?” she asked, pulling me closer, like she couldn’t believe we were finally together. “What the fuck happened? One minute you were heading off to the Shadow Realm, and the next, Shadow was back here raging like a beast, destroying everything. Not even his friends were safe.”

Her words broke at the end, and she had to swallow a few times before she could speak again. “No lie, I thought you were dead. I figured that was the only event that would set off your beast-man, and it’s not cool that I had to think that, Mera.”

She wasn’t exactly mad at me, but I could tell that more than once, she’d cursed my name. “Lucien didn’t know anything?” He hadn’t been in the realm with Dannie, but even Gaster had heard rumors.

She sniffed. “That bastard tells me what I need to know. Not what I want to know. All he said was to have some faith, and you’re stronger than I think and would not have fallen so easily.”

“This is going to be a long conversation,” I told her. “We best find a seat.”

I dragged her back to the beanbag chairs, pulling her down beside me. “Can we order food from here?” I asked Shadow. “Because I really need some food.”

He nodded. “I will feed you,” he said, “just relax and let me take care of it all.”

I blinked at him, and fuck, if I wasn’t feeling some kind of thing about being taken care of. I mean, it wasn’t like I was ready to hand in my independent woman card, but having him fetch me food was almost a complete role reversal, and I was into it.

“Mera,” Simone snapped, “I’m going to need you to start talking.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, “hold on to your hair. I’ll tell you everything, but first…” I waved Sam closer. “I want you to meet the shifter who helped me get back here and ultimately restore my memories so I could bring Shadow back from the brink of Egyptian godhood. Samantha Rowland. Sam.”

Simone grinned as she reached out a hand to Sam. “It’s so nice to meet you. And holy hell, you are super gorgeous.”

Sam’s lips curved into a genuine smile. “Thank you, that’s quite the compliment from someone as beautiful as you.” When they were finished shaking hands, Sam pulled a cushion closer so we could all chat. “And it’s really great to have another somewhat familiar face here.”

“It’s like we’re bringing a little of Earth into this fantasy world,” Simone said, looking pleased with herself as she leaned back and laced her fingers across her flat stomach. She was dressed in the sort of outfit I’d never seen her wear before: blue flared harem pants, a white top with similarly flared sleeves, her long hair drawn back in a tight bun. Sam hadn’t just been blowing smoke up her ass to return the compliment; Simone was looking beyond gorgeous after her time in Valdor.

What had happened to her there? I knew there was more to the story than just being locked in Lucien’s castle. I’d get all the details one day, if we managed to save the world in time for girls’ night.

“So, remember Dannie?” I said, since Simone was once again glaring at me, ready for my story.

She nodded. “Yep. Scary shifter who owned a bookstore.”

Fighting a smile, I continued. “Well, yes, and it turns out that she’s actually a little more than a scary shifter with a penchant for paperbacks.”

Hitting the most important points, I detailed all the shit we’d gone through in the Shadow Realm. From Shadow’s former mate, to my unusual birth and rebirth, finishing up with what had happened when I’d crossed over to the Grey Lands, and Dannie had made her ill-informed decision to change our fates.

I’d been so intent on telling the story that I only noticed halfway as more and more familiar faces joined us in the sitting area. Len, Reece, Galleli, and Alistair were all there, along with other members of the ten worlds.

“And then I woke in Torin’s bed,” I finished with a huff, “thinking it had only been a few months since I turned as a shifter, remembering nothing from my time with Shadow.”

This was a part of the story I hadn’t specifically told Shadow before, and I wasn’t at all surprised when he leapt to his feet, his fatigue gone as flames whipped out in stormy arches.

“Mera.” He growled, his voice far deeper than normal. “What happened with Torin?”

I waved off his fire, even though I secretly wanted to bathe in it. “Nothing happened; I already told you that. Even without all of my memories, I knew he was a piece of shit. I spent most of my time avoiding him until eventually I had to slam him in the nuts to really drive the point home.” I smiled sweetly. “Even nuts as petite as his felt it.”

Shadow’s dark expression remained. “Remind me to kill that entire fucking pack when we get a spare minute.”

I tilted my head. “You say the sweetest things.”

He grumbled, retaking his seat, and before I could open my mouth again, he reached out and hauled me from my cushion onto his lap. The words died on my lips as I tilted my head back to meet his gaze.

“Mine,” he said softly.

Dammit, who knew I was such a hussy for that one possessive word? Because I was fairly certain my panties could swim out of here. When I finally managed to tear my gaze from his, I found Simone grinning like a maniac at me, with Sam slack-jawed as she shook her head.

I shrugged, shooting them both a small smile. Apparently, we were not hiding this relationship, which had the possessive shifter side of me unimaginably happy.

Of course, a desert god had to go and pop my blissful bubble. “What are we going to do about Dannie?” Reece asked, crossing his arms to showcase how huge his biceps were. He was dressed in his usual tan-and-brown fatigues, suitable for war if the occasion occurred. His dark hair was closely shaved to his head, with even less length than Shadow’s, and if it weren’t for the deep blue of his eyes, he’d basically be Shadow’s twin. In my opinion, those two were the closest of the six, even if all of them were close to Shadow in different ways.

“We have to kill her,” Lucien said, his voice rougher than I’d ever heard. I wasn’t sure if it was this situation or Simone who had this effect on him, but he was clearly bothered. “No one can be that powerful and remain unchecked. The balance she’s so desperate to keep… well, she’s the one throwing it off.”

Len nodded, also uncharacteristically somber. The silver-fae had not taken the loss of the sunburst stone well, especially since his prediction of it falling into the wrong hands had come to fruition. “In her quest to continue to bring balance,” he said softly, “she’ll only bring destruction. My family’s stone is not inherently evil, as some stones tend to be, but it was filled with a millennium of power. Too much for any to handle. There’s no telling how that has changed them both.”

“Wait,” I said quickly. “How are you not all still affected by Dannie’s memory spell?”

I’d only just clued into the fact that they’d all been in the realm when we’d been spelled, and therefore, should not be here now.

We were all under her influence. I wasn’t the only one who jumped when Galleli spoke in our minds. But Shadow freed us from this burden when he restored the pathways.

I stared at Galleli of the Honor Meadow, and he looked exactly as I’d seen him the first time. Huge gold wings tucked behind his back, simple black pants, and no shirt. The only difference was his hair. It used to be longer, hanging down his back in intricate braids. Today, it was shaggy across his forehead, with only a little length on the sides and top. It made him look younger and maybe a little less intimidating. Had they all coordinated new haircuts or was this an extra from Dannie, when she’d been messing with our minds?

It was kind of cute.

“Wait, if everyone’s memories have been restored,” I said with a new thought, “then where are Angel and Midnight?” I reached through the bond for them both, getting a flutter and static electricity in return.

Shadow ran his hands across my arms, his touch soothing. “We’ll figure out where they are,” he told me. “Neither is easy to kill, and that must mean they’re out there, unable to return for some reason.”

That didn’t sit right with me. What in the worlds could be strong enough to stop either of them from returning to the library? I had a bad feeling that this was still to do with Dannie, and I wasn’t sure we were ready to take her on yet.

For my bonded friends, though, I’d be there in a heartbeat.