Deserted (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 4)

After Reece’s energy disappeared from his bedroom, I wondered why he’d left without taking a final pleasure for himself too. He’d been hard, those veins pulsing along his shaft, and it felt strangely generous for a male who was just “hate-fucking” to get me out of his system to do that.

I mean, I wasn’t a complete idiot… I knew our feelings were more complex than just ‘hate,” but it had been the defining emotion between us for too long to ignore its influence in our newly formed agreement.

Deciding I was going to drive myself crazy if I pondered his every move during our time in the deserts, I let it go for now and finish cleaning my skin. It didn’t take long, and determined to get out of Reece’s bedroom before anyone noticed, I left the tub and dried myself off with a little energy. Thankfully, when I emerged into his room, there was a set of clothing sitting on Reece’s bed. Another generous act for the broody god.

Shrugging on the tunic and pants, which were an exact match to what I’d worn earlier, I ran a hand through the tangle of my hair, smoothing it out with a hot brush of energy. By the time I emerged, there wasn’t a single sliver of evidence that anything had happened. And even better, no one was in the lounging area to see me sneak from his room.

But… wait, Reece had said they were entering the tent earlier. Sending my senses wider, I found that none of them were here at all. Had Reece lied to me about the others returning to keep me quie—

An explosion of energy rocked through the tent, slamming against my own protective wall of power. Reacting on instinct, I called my weapons, then my armor in the next beat. If the sound of the attack could penetrate the silence of this tent, it had to be close.

Tapping into my bond with Mera, I was relieved that she felt somewhat calm and in no pain. She was my priority, and it pissed me off that I’d lingered longer in that bathroom, caught up in lusting over Reece, while she was possibly out there in danger. If anything happened to her because I had newly awokened hormones, I’d never forgive myself.

Outfitted and ready for battle, I sped across the pillows and burst out the entrance. As I rolled free and leapt to my feet, the true scope of the commotion hit all my senses, and I was prepared for an impending strike.

The dull blue shine of the dark-moon was enhanced by fire, no doubt courtesy of Shadow and Mera, as many of the tents around ours were burning. Smoke obstructed my view, but I could hear the battle and smell the energy in the air. Coordinating energy. This was more than just a random attack… it’d been planned.

Needing to move closer to the heart of this battle, I stepped into the smoke, senses on high alert. Even without sight, I was hardly vulnerable. I heard the swish of a blade a second before an attacker came into view. Shifting my stance to the left, just enough for the weapon to slide past me, I was now facing an assailant clad head-to-toe in a black bodysuit. Taking advantage of our close proximity, I struck out in two quick blows, aiming to mortally wound them, only to find my blades glanced off their suit.

My weapons were ancient and power-infused, so the only way that could happen…

Through the smoke, I focused on their suit, noting the distinct glint as it was illuminated by sparks from a nearby fire. Dammit. This was not just any outfit, but one enforced with the armored shell of the deker beetle—a furious desert predator, even if it was only a few inches wide. Its shell was nearly impenetrable, and this asshole had taken advantage of that by securing thousands across their suit.

Not that it was going to save them. I was trained to spot weaknesses and had already noticed a few spots where the shells weren’t perfectly overlapping. Releasing my curved blades, I sent them back to my room in the tent before reaching out to the Honor Meadows to bring forth a different set. These were my skintas, thin, almost circular blades with a fine, needlelike tip.

The suited figure jerked back as I struck a second time, my skinta sliding between two shells right near their ribs; a deliberate choice to attack their dominant sword-arm side first. As I jerked my weapon free, I was satisfied to note that the injury had already caused them to lose strength, their sword dropping a few inches.

They compensated by roaring loudly and switching their blade to the other hand, attacking with a surprising level of ambidexterity. Most well-trained warriors were good on one side and adequate on the other, but this one was good on both.

We struck and parried, metal clashing as we danced, and all the while I sent my senses out to make sure Mera and my friends were okay. From what I could tell, there were at least a dozen darkly shrouded attackers, but it seemed that all of us were holding our own and that was a relief.

Focusing all of my attention on my opponent now, I picked up speed, ready to finish this. Exploiting more imperfections in the suit, I sliced out in three quick thrusts, cutting into their right shoulder and left thigh and slicing a deep gouge near their cheek. At this point their strength started to wane, and with one last lunge forward, I flicked the tip of my weapon up under the neck of their disguise, hoping that the small slip of material there was the key to unmasking them. They tried to back away, but there was not a hope in hell of that happening.

These assholes had attacked my friends. My family. My pack.

With a deft flick of my wrist, I got enough leverage in the material to slide it up and over their head. Long black hair came into view first, thick and lustrous as it burst free from its confines. It was followed by a familiar face.

‘Zena!’ I spat. ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’

Tsuma’s daughter glared up at me. ‘You have no idea what you’ve stumbled into here, Melalekin. You should have stayed on your world because now you’ll die here just like your sister.’

My blade was at her exposed throat in a heartbeat, and she never blinked an eye, clearly prepared to die. ‘Why have you attacked us?’ I demanded.

She shook her head, a dark laugh spilling from her lips. ‘Always the last to put the pieces together.’

She was goading me. It was a classic move to get me to lose control and do something stupid, but even with my rebirth, I was too well-trained to fall for that. I also had a very good idea why they were attacking us: my suspicions of Tsuma were correct. But it never hurt to see if she would reveal additional information.

Pressing the blade deep enough to break skin, I smiled. ‘Spell it out for those of us too stupid to put it together.’

Her eyes, dark pits of midnight green, spat fire at me, but there wasn’t much she could do. ‘You don’t belong here Melalekin. You don’t belong with Reece.’

Again she was trying to distract me, and I’d be a liar if I didn’t feel a pang at that jab.

‘Angel,’ Mera shrieked, appearing through the smoke, fireballs in her hands as she glared down at Zena. ‘Who is this bitch, and how do we kill her?’

Zena’s eyes widened, and I was fairly certain she had no idea how to take the heavily pregnant redhead who was literally holding flames in her hands and casually talking about murder.

‘This is an old family friend of Reece’s actually,’ I said shortly.

Mera snorted. “My god, he has horrendous taste in friends. We should still kill her; he won’t even notice.”

I tried not to laugh, lest my prisoner think I was weakening. “Reece would want you to remove the blade, lunta,‘ Zena sneered at me, insulting my heritage with that Desertlandian slur.

Kicking out, I slammed my boot into her side, and even with the protective shells, her forehead wrinkled as she winced.

‘Firstly, I won’t remove my blade,’ I said softly, infusing into my tone every ounce of the deadly intention I felt. ‘Secondly, if you insult my family one more time, I won’t wait for Reece to finish the job. I’m giving him a moment because I know your family was important to his, but my patience is very thin.’

Her bravado was all but gone now, the light brown of her skin paling to the point that she was turning splotchy.

Mera laughed, her fire fading away as she relaxed by my side. “And that’s why you don’t fuck with my best friend.”

Taking my eyes from Zena for a beat, I met Mera’s warm gaze. “How is everyone else? Do they have it all handled?’

‘Of course they do,” she shrugged. “These dumbasses vastly underestimated us; most of them weren’t even armed. Shadow rounded up three of them, Reece a few others, and you’ve got ass-eyes here, who looks like she swallowed an entire lemon with that sour expression.’

Her observation was acute. ‘This one is well-trained,’ I said, keeping my voice even. ‘Wearing protective shells.”

“None of the others have that.” Her statement confirmed what I’d been guessing—Zena was the leader of this little attack. But did her orders come from Tsuma?

“Did you find out exactly what this is all about?” I asked. “Is everyone from Rohami?”

Reece stepped out of the smoke then, his gaze running over me so fast I doubted anyone else would have noticed. I wasn’t sure if he was checking me for injuries or just checking me out, but either way, heat blossomed in my chest despite our current situation.

“There are members of almost all the clans,” he said flatly.

“They’re part of whoever is attempting to wake the ancient gods?”

He nodded, looking grim, and whatever lust I’d been feeling faded under the worry of that statement.

“None of them are the leaders or higher-up family members,” I said softly, having already felt their energy.

Reece’s lips thinned; his brow furrowed. “I know. This attack was either a distraction or a ridiculous attempt to cast suspicion onto lower members so the higher-ups could continue on with their task.”

“We need to get them to talk now,” I said in a harsh bark. “We need to know what their plans are and why this gathering was called.”

Before it was too late.