Glamoured (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 6)

The house was lit up, as if it waited to welcome us home.

“You are my home,” Len said, keeping me firmly over his shoulder.

Jerking my head toward him, I blinked. “You read my thoughts?”

We were connected as true mates, but without the direct link we’d had earlier, his mind was closed off to mine.

“No, not directly,” he said, “but I can sense some of your stronger emotions. When we entered the house, your energy grew soft and warm.”

He was smart and observant. The first to ever truly pay attention to me. Before Len, I’d been an Origin god—a tool to be used and forgotten when not needed.

“And now your energy is sadder and cold,” Len said softly, pausing in the entrance as he dropped me back to my feet so we could face each other. “What are you thinking? I don’t want to guess at this, I want to fix it.”

Warmth returned to me as my lips tilted up. “Origin gods were always on the outside looking in. We didn’t get the mate or the family or the pack-like connection that most others crave. We were tools, created and designed to keep the worlds turning and powered. My memories of that time are clouded now, so I feel some distance, but it’s painful to truly understand the difference now.”

I shook my head to dispel the memories. “I really didn’t comprehend it until Tabitha and you came into my life. Funny to be so grateful to Dalmia, since he almost destroyed our world, but I kind of am.” His actions had changed everything, including the power balance in the worlds, which allowed me to weaken enough to find a mate and have a child.

“Baby, I need you to look at me.” The command in Len’s voice had my head jerking up, my gaze locking on his. “You will never be alone again,” he said. “Not for one second from this moment on. If the magic allows, we will have a dozen babies, travel every world with them, and I will love you and our babies through each and every moment. My life began the day we met.”

“Yay!” Tabitha yelled suddenly, breaking the spell he had me locked in. “Love. Together.”

Her words were clearer each time, and as she hugged her daddy closer, my heart swelled painfully. “A dozen babies,” I rasped, filled with so much light. “I’m ready to practice.”

The purple in his gaze pierced into my horny soul.

Yep, the vagina had spoken. She was ready.

Len grabbed my hand and all but swept me upstairs, leading us down the hall. “Where will Tabitha sleep?” I asked, needing her close but also hoping we’d have some privacy while she slept.

“My room,” Len said when we reached the largest door at the end. “There’s a small nook inside that will be perfect until she’s old enough for her own room and space.”

The relief to know I could have both made my knees a little weak. “That sounds amazing.”

Inside, his room was done in neutral colors of white and silver, with a massive bed in the center. It was dressed in dark bedding, a storm in the middle of a cloud land. It reminded me of his eyes when they darkened, amidst the silver of his being. Off to the right was a small sitting area with what looked like a bar lining the wall behind. Crystal bottles and decanters filled silver shelves, all set up for a nightcap.

“There’s a bathroom in here too,” he told me. “You have everything you need.”

“Oh, am I sleeping in here?” I laughed. “I thought I’d still have my own room.”

His eyes darkened to match his bedding, though he also looked amused. “You sleep with me, Storm. No exceptions.”

He didn’t have to worry. I wanted to be by his side and in his bed. “No more time wasted,” I agreed.

He relaxed and gestured for me to follow him. “The nook has no furniture, but I can conjure up a mattress for her, and tomorrow we’ll find the rest.”

The nook turned out to be a small room, as he led me toward a door. “I never imagined designing a room for my daughter,” I said with a happy sigh. “Thank you.”

Len shook his head as he reached for the door and pushed it open. “Thank you, Sam. You’ve given me everything.”

We stepped inside then, and I ground to a halt, blinking at what I saw.

“What the hell?” he rumbled, and it was odd to see him taken by surprise.

Tabitha waved her hands at the beautiful room, furnished within an inch of its life. “Gran-mama,” she cooed, wiggling against Len until he set her on the floor.

Underfoot was a soft carpet-like material, purple to match Tabby’s eyes. The walls were silver though, since she was a Silver Lands’ princess.

“Your mom did this?” I said softly, pressing a hand to my chest.

“You can redo it,” Len said quickly, maybe misunderstanding my tone. “She would have just wanted to keep busy while we were in mortal danger, but she’d understand you wanting to design Tabitha’s first room.”

Shaking my head, I finally managed to say, “No. Oh my gods, no. This is wonderful, and it goes to show the true family unit we’re part of now. Tabitha clearly loves it already.”

She had crawled her way across the floor toward the gorgeous bed in one corner. It had no visible base, and instead looked like a larger version of her chair at dinner, a silver cloud. It appeared so soft that I wanted to crawl in there and have a little nap.

Tabby reached out to grasp a small stuffed animal wolf perched on the edge of the bed.

“Mama, mama!” she called, waving it at me.

She remembered our pack, and Glendriel had thought to give her a piece of our new history.

I hurried forward, reaching down to wrap my hands around Tabitha and the stuffed animal. “You’re so clever, little one,” I said in a ragged voice. “Momma can turn into a wolf.”

Len was crossing to join us when a shiver of energy raced over my skin, and I jolted as if being shocked. A second later, I was holding a tiny bundle of fur in my arms.

Len’s laughter broke through my shock, as I stared down at a silver wolf pup with flaming purple eyes. “What in the worlds?” I choked out. “How did she…?”

If I ever needed extra evidence that the new version of myself I’d created was more than a “glamour,” it had just landed in my lap. My shifter side was a part of me now, and clearly part of Tabitha’s story too. “Apparently she’s not held to Shadow’s rules of shifters either,” Len said with a laugh, as he reached down to cuddle our wolf. She was so damn cute as she bounced around on the bed, growling and barking, before Len captured her cheeky butt and hauled her up into his arms. “Okay, littlest love,” he crooned softly, “time to shift back so you can get some sleep.”

His commands worked on both the females in his life—in completely different ways of course. Tabitha returned to her fae form, and unlike with normal shifters her clothes returned with her. Len moved her over to a small table that matched the bed, finding sleep clothes there that he quickly changed her into.

When she was clean, wearing a purple onesie with crowns across it—I see what you did there, Queen Glendriel—Len placed her in the center of the bed. He reached around her and molded a barrier in the material to ensure she wouldn’t roll off.

“Clever,” I said with a smile. “She looks so cozy.”

Her blinks were already slowing as she clutched the soft wolf. Leaning over next to my mate, we both pressed kisses to her cheeks and told her we loved her.

As we pulled away, watching her fall into slumber, Len started to hum. Soft words followed soon after. “Little fae, dream of night in the silver streams.

The world is yours to claim.

The light burns in your lifeforce,

warrior of our hearts.

Burn brightly, and honor the lands, for you will

Be honored.”

There were more verses of the journey young fae take to be warriors, poets, and energy wielders. Len’s deep rumbling tone had her drifting off in seconds, and as tears burned in my eyes, I knew that this would be one of my favorite moments for eternity.

No matter what happened, I’d treat each magical moment like it might be my last.

Soaking it all in.

Forever.