Glamoured (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 6)

The feeling of sand against our skin faded as Angel returned clearly unharmed, her wings strong and sure as she closed the distance. “Mate,” Reece growled. “What took you so fucking long?”

It didn’t matter how badass you were, these alpha males worried the moment their ladies were out of sight. Exactly how it should be.

“I was less than ten minutes,” she shot back with a smile, hovering effortlessly before us. “I only went as far as the next land, which looks safe to approach. I should be able to easily ferry everyone across.”

Mera’s fiery wings expanded and she took off just out of Shadow’s reach to hover near Angel. “I can help,” she said.

At the same time, Shadow rumbled, “Get your fucking ass back here, Sunshine.”

“I can help!” she repeated with more force. “We don’t have time to fuck around, beast. If we don’t save this damn line, the worlds will fall, and not even you could keep me safe.”

His face was creased in thunder. “I could and would keep you safe. The worlds be damned.”

Judging by the amused looks on everyone’s faces, I was almost certain they’d had this argument before. “We would all let the worlds burn for our mates,” Lucien said, tone light and chipper, like he was discussing his favorite hobby. “But maybe we should attempt to save them first, just for ease of where to live when there’s only darkness left in the abyss.”

Shadow let out a growl and released his hold on the cord, disappearing in shadows before he reappeared near Mera. Those shadows wrapped around them both, before they vanished once more.

“Hope he knows where he’s going,” Angel said with a low laugh. “The path through this deep is not without many dangers.”

Len shrugged. “There’s a reason none dare to tread here, except those too stupid to heed the warnings. But Shadow is his own special entity, and he wouldn’t risk Mera. He’ll probably just follow your energy trail.”

“You’re right,” she agreed, before her wings flapped harder again and she moved toward Simone. In seconds, she’d lifted the shifter, hauling her off into the distance.

Reece and Lucien were taken by Galleli. We’ll be back for you soon, the transcendent called as he vanished with the pair gripped at the forearms, as if that was as much assistance as the other two would allow. Luckily, Galleli was a bulked-up angel dude, easily handling their equal amount of bulk.

When it was just Len and me, I drew up more light and shifter energy, reinforcing the barrier once more. The darkness was surging behind it, chipping away, and if we didn’t repair the cord to the Great Line soon, it would succeed in breaking through.

“Do you need my energy?” Len asked, and I pulled my focus back externally. “Is the barrier holding?”

“You could feel me repairing it?” I asked.

He swung closer, reaching out to grab at a spot above my cord, holding himself just inches from me. “The bond is there,” he confirmed. “Even if it is weakened by everything you’re going through, I’m still feeling flickers of your energy. I want you to tell me if you need help.”

“I will,” I promised. “I’m learning how to ask for help. I’m determined that we get our future together.”

He relaxed but didn’t move away. We remained so close that I could see every facet of his stormy winter eyes. Being alone, I decided to take advantage of some pressing questions. “What happened to the layers of land Angel used to control?” I asked. “She feels as strong and capable as ever to me.”

Len let out a low breath. “She’s always going to be a powerhouse, but those layers she controlled, which represented the power passed down through her family line, had to be used to save their lives in the Desert Lands. We almost lost them both…” His voice broke. “We did lose Alistair.”

I wanted to release my hold on the cord and wrap my arms around Len. But considering my shaky limbs were barely managing to hold on, I settled for leaning in and pressing my lips to his. A simple, gentle kiss. “I’m so sorry about your brother,” I said as I pulled back. “It breaks my heart that you lost him like that.”

His throat visibly moved as he swallowed. “Thank you. It’s a scar that will never heal, but we will meet again. Which is only slightly comforting from this side of the veil.”

“Now that I have a true family,” I told him, “I can finally understand what they mean when they say pain is the price we pay for love. Fuck, it’s so true.”

It was Len’s turn to kiss me. “I’d never trade a second of time with you and Tabitha, even if there is pain waiting for us in the end.”

I felt the same way. “I miss Tabby,” I admitted. “It’s hard being away from her, especially when she’s hurt.”

“She’ll be fighting, just like her mom,” Len said quickly. “I’m so proud of our little girl.”

“I am too,” I said, a small smile breaking through our sad conversation. “Our shifter side helps us fight as well. It’s part of what’s allowing me to remain out of the death realm.”

Len’s eyes darkened. “No more talk of the death realm. You’re staying right here, mate, at my side. I don’t care who I must kill to ensure that happens.”

Mate. The way he said it slayed me right in the damn chest. A good hurt this time, the sort of pain you wanted to feel again and again.

“What do you remember from our time together?” I asked, still caught in the snare of his stormy gaze. “What happened between us?”

He shook his head suddenly, as if to release darker thoughts. “We were together for at least two months,” he said softly. “We traveled around America in an old van that you bought for five hundred dollars. It was a bomb, and I never felt more human as I attempted to fix its multitude of issues without using magic.”

“Did I know what you were? Did you suspect I was anything other than a shifter?”

He shook his head. “I never told you I was fae, deciding instead to live out a human type of existence for a few months. I never saw any fae in you, and I never cared.”

Truth rang in his tone, and his actions thus far only backed this truth. Len had never cared that I was a shifter. He’d have chosen me as his mate over every fae he’d met in his long life.

“The Great Walk usually lasts a night,” he continued. “But I chose to remain with you for sixty, unable to tear myself away as we built a friendship and then a romance together. You painted naked in the moonlight, falling into bed at 5 A.M., only to stumble up at lunchtime, starving as you fixed us food.” Mischief danced across his face. “Love, I hate to tell you, but you can’t cook to save your life.” A laugh escaped me. “But I ate every one of your meals and it felt like the finest dining of Faerie because it was with you. It was so much more than a simple magical connection.”

“I have some memories,” I admitted. “These frozen moments in time.” I lowered my gaze to my side. “Like, when you gave me my tattoo. I should have known then that you weren’t human. There was no way my shifter side wouldn’t have healed and rejected the mark. I mean, I told the others I got the tatt before I shifted, which was clearly a lie, and I just ignored the fact that it stuck.”

Len nodded. “The glamour you were under would have helped you to dismiss anything that didn’t really make sense. It doesn’t want you to think about or explore your differences. It wants you to be accepting of them and write them off without much consideration.”

That was how I’d been fooled for so long. “Why did you leave?” I asked, a bite of pain pushing the darkness inside higher before I calmed once more.

His loosened one hand around the cord, reaching out to wrap it across mine. “Because I wanted more. I wanted the true bond to be triggered, so I returned to Faerie hoping to initiate the next step.” Sorrow darkened his features. “I got greedy to have it all, and it cost me everything.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I said fiercely. “You had no idea that two spells were at work, or that when the magic from your walk kicked in, it would clash with that from the Great Queen. You certainly wouldn’t have expected a child from our love. No one could have expected that.”

“I will spend forever making it up to you,” Len said just as fiercely. “This is our second chance, and I refuse to waste one moment of it.”

“That makes two of us,” I replied, the light in me burning brighter than it had since the line was severed.

Before anything else was said, two transcendents appeared in the distance. Angel and Galleli were back to ferry us across, and I had the feeling that shit was only going to get harder from here.

But at least this time I wouldn’t face it alone.