Glamoured (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 6)

When we left the dining room, the main library was quieter than it had been before. I had no idea what time zone it was here, or maybe it was its own time zone, but the light had faded through the windows that lined the room.

“I meant what I said before,” Len’s tone was rough. “You and Tabitha have a family. I’m your family.”

There was a sense of claiming in that statement, and I tried to stop my pulse from racing away. He’s being a good father. It means nothing more than that.

“Thank you,” I managed to say without letting all my emotions escape. “It’s hard for me to believe that a day I’d consider to be one of my darkest has turned into one of the best.” I’d probably jinxed myself saying that out loud, because if I knew my paranormal romance stories, this was the moment it all went to shit.

“Tell me more about today,” he said. “I know some of what transpired, but I need to know everything.”

Dark memories sprang to life, bitterness lacing my tone. “Today was my mating slash wedding day to Grant, the alpha’s second son.” A glance at Len revealed no visible emotion on his face. Quickly, I detailed the rest of what happened, from Shadow and Mera showing up, to us finding Tabitha, and finishing up with the moment he burst into the library. “I would have done anything to save Tabby,” I said as we approached a shiny white door embossed with flowers and thorns that I assumed was Faerie’s.

Len paused, letting out a deep breath. “I’m going to kill every fucking one of them,” he said softly. It was almost scarier than when he rumbled. “You don’t need to ever fear their control or influence in your life again. For they have ceased to exist.”

I’m going to kill every fucking one of them. The deep smooth rumble of those words would live rent free in my mind forever. Len was destroying me in ways I’d never expected. I’d been prepared to fear the fae and Faerie, but he… he was changing everything.

Sparks raced across my skin to settle deep as an ache in my center. It wasn’t difficult to figure out why I’d fell into bed with him. Not difficult at all.

“I appreciate that,” I said. “At the moment, Alpha Lorenze is frozen, a veritable punching bag for the pack he mistreated. His son is free though, and I still haven’t decided if he is a victim in all of this as well, or someone who was just too weak and pathetic to fight back. I’m giving him a chance to prove whether he’s worthy of living or not.”

Len shook his head but didn’t say anything further. Instead, he stepped forward to press his hand against the door. The white lit up briefly, music drifting out to wrap around us, tugging against my chest, tempting me to step closer.

I almost let it take me in. I enjoyed the sensation of my will fading under the stronger power, until I remembered that I’d very nearly lost my freedoms today. I wasn’t about to surrender them a second time. Shaking my head, I stepped back, and the music’s pull faded.

“Good girl,” Len murmured. He said it so low I wondered if I was supposed to hear it.

Good girl. Fuck, that deep rumble slipped down my body, and if the damp heat between my legs was any indication, the fae might have just unlocked a new kink.

Tabitha distracted me when she let out a low musical sound, very similar to that coming from the world of Faerie. She leaned out of my arms, and I only just managed to keep her from flying away. “She tried to jump.” I gasped as my fingers flexed against her tiny body. “She’s trying to get through the doorway.”

“A very good sign,” Len told me. He pressed his hand against the door once more, the brightness increasing until it opened. This was the point the nerves really kicked in. I’d understood the concept of going to Faerie, and in my mind it was akin to stepping into the Library of Knowledge—weird and magical, and hopefully a journey I could handle.

For Tabitha, I could handle a lot. But that didn’t mean there weren’t nerves.

As I stepped forward to follow Len, his arm swept around both of us, and I gasped at the contact. There was no bare skin, his coat and my clothing a barrier between us, but somehow it burned into my soul, branding me with his touch.

Len leaned down closer to my ear. “I need to guide you through the doorway,” he said. “It’s easier if you don’t fight me.”

“No worries,” I got out breathlessly. “Lead the way.” Sir.

It was a silent add-on, and I didn’t stop to examine this sudden need I had to release myself into his control. Hadn’t I just gotten out of a damn situation where I’d lost my free will. Suddenly I wanted to just serve myself up to the first sexy fae that crossed my path.

Someone fucking help me.

Faerie was thankfully a huge distraction, and I strained to see my first glimpse of the world through the bright entryway. Eventually the white under my feet started to shift, as the land darkened to a green that was so deep it was a mix of emerald and black.

Len released his hold on me. A chill wrapped around me as he moved away, and since it wasn’t cold here, I had to assume that was all to do with the fae prince. Even Tabitha let out a low mournful cry, as if she’d been enjoying the closeness of her father and his power.

That makes two of us, baby.

As the last of the light faded from view, I found another gasp slipping from between my lips. It was hard to distract from the sexy fae, but the garden before me was doing a pretty good job of it.

Gates surrounded what looked like a magical garden, with plants behind the gates, towering well above the tops of us. Flowers and vines, so many varieties that were not native to any place I’d seen.

I warily eyed the two huge plants on either side of the gate, with their dozen or more razor-sharp teeth, as they kept a watch over the entrance.

“They won’t hurt you while I’m here,” Len said, reaching out to open the gate.

As we stepped through, he ran his hands over both plants, giving them almost loving pats.

“This is yours?” I asked as I pushed forward, following in his path.

“Nothing in Faerie truly belongs to us,” he said simply. “We claim friendship with our land, and in some ways choose where we reside, but nothing is owned by me. I have tended this patch of land since I was young, some thousand or so years ago, and in that time a true oasis has formed. We are symbiotic, with my power entangled here to help this garden thrive. In return, it offers me comfort and solace. Along with protection.”

It only took a few minutes of being in the garden to see the truth in what he was saying. There was a wild and ancient feel to the flourishing plants, flowers, and trees that filled every space, outside of the paths that wound between them. The tops of some trees I couldn’t even see, hidden by the flowers that towered above me. Their bright heads twisted and turned in the breeze, seemingly moving with the energy of the air.

Maybe it was the glory of the garden, but it took me a beat to register what Len had just freaking said. “Wait,” I spun and faced him, clutching Tabitha closer. “Did you say… thousand or so years? You’re… old. What the hell!” At most he looked to be in his late twenties to early thirties.

Len laughed, a rich sound that had more of the plants freakily moving toward him. “We’re a long-lived race,” he said. “Near eternal, and very hard to kill, but it can be done.”

“Is that part of the reason why you struggle to have young?” I wondered, the thought occurring to me.

“Yes, but apparently it wasn’t always this way. The last few hundred years has our new births almost nonexistent.” He glanced at the child in my arms. “Until Tabitha.”

She was special in more ways than one.

“Let’s hope our memories hold the key to why Faerie has been weakening,” I said with a decisive nod. “It’ll be good to have a means to help this world.”

It was a stretch, but there had to be a deeper reason behind everything.

“We should head to the Silver Lands,” Len said after standing in the tranquility of his garden for a few more minutes. “It’ll get dark soon.”

“There’s a sun here?” I asked, not able to see where the light came from through the trees.

“Yes, we have one semi-weak sun,” Len said. “We also have five moons and a lot of crystals embedded high in the crust of our world. They all give us energy and light, rejuvenating the energy of the fae. We live in a symbiotic relationship too.”

“I like that,” I said softly, surprised by how relaxed and at home I felt here. “This world feels calmer. Less chaotic than Earth.” It might have been a stupid thing to say, considering I’d seen less than two percent of Faerie, but the vibe felt right.

“You both look stronger,” Len noted, those silver eyes locked on me. “It makes sense for you to be here. With me.”

It did make sense, and that freaked me out a touch. I wasn’t used to life feeling right or calm or perfect. In this moment, I had all three.

“So, does everyone in the Solaris System speak English?” I asked, changing the subject to another question that had plagued me since my first time in the library. “Your accent is almost a cross between British and American, which is weird, right?”

His lips twitched like I was amusing him. “English is what Shadow speaks, and he made sure to introduce it through the worlds. I’ve also learned how to blend into cultures, and this accent is the most natural for me.”

Shadow introduced English to the worlds. Okay, yeah, that was never in any of my history classes. I knew who to believe though: the beings who literally lived through history.

“Are you ready to leave now?” Len asked.

“Yep,” I said quickly, smiling as Tabitha waved her arms. We started to move, and she shifted forward in my grip, telling me she wanted to go to him.

This time, I finally felt comfortable allowing that.

“Len,” I called since he was a few steps ahead. He turned back, the plants framing him on either side. Lifting our daughter out toward him, I smiled. “She wants to go to you.”

The little girl waved her arms once more, and I noted how healthy her skin looked. She glowed in the soft light of Faerie. Just like her father.

Len’s eyes met mine briefly, before his gaze dropped to Tabitha, and I swore it was fear that creased his features before they smoothed out once more. “Are you sure?” he asked.

Tabitha waved her hands harder toward him. “I’m sure,” I said decisively. “She deserves to have both her parents in her life. To have the family you’ve promised. As scary as it is, I don’t own her, and cannot just keep her all to myself.”

Len’s expression softened, and even as he reached out for our daughter, he was looking at me. “You’ve already lost too much time with her, and I never questioned your need to keep her close. If anything, I admire the ferocity and protectiveness you hold toward her. It’s all I would ask for in the mother of my child. All I would ask for you.”

Slayed. Actually slayed.

“Thank you,” I whispered, thanking him for so much more than just those words. “You gave me space when I was a mess and desperately clinging to sanity, but now it’s time for you to hold your child.”

“I’ve dreamed of this forever,” he admitted, shaking his head as he brushed a hand over Tabitha’s hair. “It’s hard to believe that we’re finally here.”

Nearly impossible. This was a second chance, forgotten romance story, with the added bonus of a secret baby. Only nothing was that simple or clear-cut in this world, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. My daughter had her father, and she hadn’t been taken from me. As long as that remained, whatever else happened, would be fine by me.