Compelled (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 5)

By the time Shadow had swept Mera into his arms so he could place her back on the bed, Gaster was front and center, ready to deliver the baby, and Angel had shooed everyone from the room except Lucien.

With reluctance, I shuffled closer to him, and pitching my voice as low as I could—which was probably still not low enough for the advanced hearing in the room—I asked him, “Is it best if I leave? Am I putting everyone in danger? How powerful are these tier two masters?”

His scent grew stronger, and I could feel his energy simmering. He was no calmer than I was, even if his outward appearance was expressionless. “No danger to anyone except you,” he replied tersely. “They know better than to attack in Shadow’s territory. But they also know the laws, and our hands are tied as long as you’re considered a fugitive and a summons is being requested.”

In my head I was picturing a damn wanted poster plastered across the world with my face on it. Fugitive…

“Wait, how much are they offering for my capture?” Was it stupid that I hoped it was super high because they all feared me so much—

“Nothing.” Ugh, the asshole could have at least pretended I was worth the big bucks. “The masters told me you’re being called in to answer some questions about what happened when you touched the stone. I have no idea why they’ve waited so long, but I was assured that you won’t be harmed as long as you arrive within the next few sun arcs.”

Valdor had one red sun, which gave off about the heat of a California spring. It never disappeared from the sky, the red light eternally there. It did move back and forth, though, so they traced the movement of time via this arc.

A shudder traversed my spine at the thought of being back there, and my wolf whimpered from where she existed now, compressed under foreign energy.

Energy I was starting to understand, since it’d felt stronger and more reactive since I’d been near Lucien, telling me, it was definitely vampire related.

“Could the energy from the stone be the reason my wolf is subdued?” I asked him. No one else must have been able to hear, or the compulsion would have stopped me.

Lucien’s hand wrapped around my right biceps, encasing it completely as he pulled me into him. “Your wolf is subdued?” he asked.

I nodded, swallowing roughly as I said, “I barely recognize her. At times I have heightened senses, and then other times, it’s as if she’s asleep. It’s almost like—” I cut myself off, unable to finish that crazy thought.

“Like what?” he bit out, those green eyes nearly drowning me in their striking intensity. Lucien’s ability to focus so completely on me that it was as if the rest of the world didn’t exist was part of the reason I’d fallen so hard for him in Valdor.

He blurred the world around us, and I’d never had anyone create feelings of calm and home inside me like he could. At least when he wasn’t driving my hormones crazy, turning me into a mess of neediness.

He’d rightly rejected me, of course—vampires never dated outside their race. And I’d acted like a fucking moron, almost getting myself killed in the process. I’d learned a lot from my time in Valdor, and I’d grown up.

I just didn’t want to go back there and fall into old bad habits.

“B,” he pressed, and I shook my head.

“One: stop calling me by my damn blood type, asshole,” I whispered tersely. “And two: I think the stone shared some of its energy or something with me because there’s this foreign power swirling inside me now.”

His grip on my arm tightened; he wasn’t hurting me, but I could feel the strength in that touch. Lucien was more powerful than any alpha shifter I’d ever known. “You should have told me long before now,” he rumbled, and fuck if my traitorous body didn’t react in the complete opposite way it should have.

The emotion and need he stirred inside me was what had gotten me into trouble in the first place.

Jerking myself out of his grip, or at least attempting to until he released me, I fought the urge to rub at my arm. At the brand his energy had left across my skin.

Before I got a chance to say another word, Mera’s scream ripped through the room.

It wasn’t that I’d forgotten my best friend was having a baby, but it had been a background thought as I dealt with the more pressing issue of Lucien and the vamps. That scream, though, was filled with a sort of terror and pain that had every part of me freaking out.

“Can you give me until Mera’s baby is born?” I said in rush. “I can’t miss this, and I know I already owe you from last time, but just add it to the goddamn tally.”

Lucien looked like he wanted to say no, but thankfully, he didn’t. “I will run interference. Go to Mera.”

Spinning on the spot, I raced across the room. Even though I hadn’t been far away, it felt like a lifetime before I reached her side. She was in the same position as before, her head now cradled in Shadow’s lap. The massive beast held her like she was the most precious thing in the world, and I could feel power pouring from him as he shared it with her.

Gaster was at the end of the bed between Mera’s legs, both of which were bent at the knee. Pillows elevated her lower back. Angel was on her right side, holding her hand, and I slid across the bed to her left. Mera, her face streaked in tears, cried out and reached for my hand. My chest was tight as I fought through the panic.

Women died in childbirth, a truth through every part of history. But there could be no way that was a risk for Mera, right? She was immortal. Practically indestructible.

Could this child be her one weakness?

Her grip tightened on mine. She was so much stronger than me now that it legitimately crushed my bones, but I bore it without complaint.

I’d die for Mera and her child, so a few broken bones were hardly anything to worry about. “Is everything okay with the masters?” she huffed out, still more worried about me than herself.

“Everything is fine,” I told her firmly. “You have nothing to worry about; Lucien and I have it handled.”

A quick glance told me the vampire was gone, and I refused to examine why that had me feeling as empty as the space he’d previously occupied. At least he was keeping his word and running interference.

Another contraction hit Mera, and she was screaming once more, her grip cracking a few more bones, which, thankfully, my shifter energy would heal in a few minutes.

“The contractions are coming faster,” Angel said tersely. “Is the baby close?”

Gaster didn’t look up, his entire focus on whatever magic he was weaving. “Yes. But it’s fighting the release. It’s very possessive of Mera, wanting to claim her energy as its own.”

Mera laughed through her pain, shaking her head. “Sounds like someone else I know.” Her pinched and drawn features relaxed as Shadow brushed her sweaty hair back from her face, and she tilted her head to meet his gaze. He didn’t smile as his beast flickered across his normal form like he was barely holding onto himself.

“It will be okay, mate,” Mera told him softly. “Our baby is almost here. They’ll let go when the time is right.”

“Sunshine,” he bit out, the word strangled. “I need you to survive. The worlds need you to survive; do you understand?”

“We will both survive,” she said without hesitation. The brightness of her personality and power shone through, fighting against her pain. A sense of calm came over her as the last of the tension left her features. “I can feel it.”

Angel tilted her head back, her hand still wrapped around Mera’s. “Peace,” she whispered, serenity caressing her face too. “You’re both finding it. The new path is clearer.”

And just like that, everyone, including Gaster and Shadow, relaxed. I had no idea what peace they’d all found, but I was taking this as a positive that Mera and her baby were going to be okay. The battle to release this child into the world was over, and now they were on the path to freedom.

This time when the contraction hit, Mera didn’t scream or hunch forward like her body was being torn in two. Instead, she held onto her best friends’ hands, arched into Shadow, and closed her eyes as she let nature take its course.

“One more push,” Gaster said softly, his earthy scent and energy dying off as he returned control to Mera. “You’re so close.”

A smile spread across her lips, so beautifully content. When she opened her eyes, it was to meet Shadow’s flaming gaze. A gaze that had not left her face for many minutes. Fuck, who was I kidding… His eyes had been on his Sunshine from the first moment he saw her.

“I love you, Sunshine,” he said. “You’re a fucking miracle.”

She laughed through tears. “This baby’s first word is going to be fuck.”

Shadow shrugged like he really didn’t care.

“And I love you too,” Mera told him, her laughter fading as tears streaked her skin. Tears of joy and healing and hope. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. You and our baby. Our family.”

Now I was the one crying, seeing the full circle of my best friend’s life. No longer would she know pain or rejection. She had a pack and family, and my heart soared in happiness for her. She deserved all of this and more.

She arched and groaned, and a stillness descended over the room as she pushed one last time. We were held in stasis then, until a single cry filled the air.

Gaster’s waiting and capable hands received our newest blessing, and the moment the child entered this world, a massive tidal wave of power almost blew me off the bed. Mera’s hold on my hand, though, anchored me to her side.

The baby let out another cry, which was followed by a second wave of power, not quite as strong as the first. A single, chiming note filled the air, lingered for a moment, then faded out. As if the worlds were finally settling after this new arrival of power.

“A baby born of power and fate,” Angel said. “It felt as if the original energies realigned to make room for”—she looked down—“her. To make room for her new place in the power scale.” Angel had been right; it was a baby girl.

Mera pushed herself up to see her daughter for the first time. Gaster didn’t hesitate to pass the crying, bloody, tiny but powerful being up to her mother. Huge golden eyes met Mera’s, and my best friend just stared and cried at her little miracle. “She looks just like you, Shadow,” she whispered, large tears dripping down her cheeks.

The beast reached out, and I could have sworn his hand shook as he placed it on the mop of red hair, so thick no baby should be in possession of it. The baby’s silent gaze met her father’s, and she was no longer crying. Instead, Shadow and the baby wore a look that I could only liken to two ancient beings exchanging an understanding of the universe. It wasn’t just her hair or direct gaze that felt unnatural, but everything else was as well.

Then that moment was over as Mera pulled her closer and the baby acted like a normal, fussy, boob-obsessed newborn.

“She’s hungry,” Shadow noted.

Mera went with it, moving the beautiful little girl to her breast, her loose white top easing down as she did. The child latched on immediately, which I’d heard wasn’t always the case, but what did I really know.

Taking a step back, I took a moment to appreciate the perfection of the scene before me. Mera might think that the baby looked like Shadow, but I could see a lot of my friend in there too, from the red curls to the full lips and high cheekbones.

I mean, no doubt she had Shadow genetics with those otherworldly eyes and straight nose, along with the long limbs he was famous for.

“She’s a perfect mix of Sunshine and Shadow,” Angel said with a sigh, her thoughts aligning with mine. “What name will you honor her with?”

I honestly couldn’t wait to hear what they called her.