Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 1)

The roars woke me.

No longer in my wolf form, my disorientation lasted a few seconds before the memories returned: running in Honor Meadows with Angel, running from Inky, and then hiding out…

I jerked up, or at least tried to, but there was a heavy furred arm draped over me, holding me in place. The abervoq! Fuck. Shit. Fuck! What the hell was my wolf thinking when she’d escaped right into this cell, and… how was I not dead?

The arm stirred, lifting enough that I could roll out from under it. Stumbling my way back toward the door, I eventually found the wall, groping across it for the exit. When I pulled it open, light filling the small space again, I let out a low shriek as Shadow stepped out of the, uh, shadows and made his presence known. “Oh, hi there,” I chattered, my nerves shot. “What’re you doing here?”

His body vibrated—there was no other way to describe it—and a new illumination filled the room as flames licked up over his skin in the shape of a burning wolf. Oh, my shifter. I blinked, unable to tear my eyes from the burning wolf that Shadow wore almost like a façade above his true self.

“Fire demon wolf,” I breathed.

I’d heard the rumors of the Shadow Beast shifting into a fire demon, but I’d thought they were exaggerated tales. There were so many stories passed down about the beast, some saying he was ten feet tall, others that he ate the souls of the dead. They spoke of his fire eyes and sharp claws. One story blended into another until it was hard to keep them straight.

Considering how close some of these were to the actual truth, one had to wonder about the soul eating one, too.

“You seem upset,” I said stupidly. Understatement of the year right there, but I had no idea what to say to calm this situation.

Silence.

Not a word.

If the cut of his jaw was any indication—oh, and that flaming demon beast—he was too pissed to speak.

“My wolf kind of got the best of me,” I added, quieting my words, even as my own annoyance grew. I didn’t need a fucking psycho beast losing his shit because I didn’t do exactly what he wanted. When words still weren’t forthcoming, I attempted to step around him, tired and ready to wash off the last twenty-four hours.

Shadow did his instant movement, appearing in front of me, the glow of his fiery wolf brighter than ever in the near darkness. “What is your fucking problem, dude?” I snapped. “We went for a run as a wolf, she decided to play with the shadow creature, and then we took a nap. No. Big. Deal.”

He wrapped his hands around me, palms so huge, they covered half my upper body. As he yanked me up and against him, I flinched at the rush of heat that crashed into me. There was no pain, and instead of pushing him away, like any normal person would, I reacted the way a recently shifted—horny and naked—wolf would.

I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him even closer.

Shadow’s face descended to mine, the fire of his demon wolf disappearing. “You belong to me,” he said, his voice nothing more than a rumble of fury and demon. “Not to Honor Meadows. Not to the shadow creatures. Not to the wolf pack. Not to any of them.” His voice was louder than I’d ever heard. “No other can lay claim to you while I do. You would do well to remember that, wolf.”

His lips were so close, and as each forceful word emerged, they grew even closer. My body ached as I pressed myself harder against him. It wasn’t like I’d missed the words he’d said—his dominant, possessive claiming—but in that moment, I didn’t give a fuck.

“What do you want from me?” I breathed. “If you think you have a claim over me, then what the hell are you going to do with it?”

Was I insane to challenge him? Yep. Was I going to do it anyway?

Obviously.

“I’m going to figure out what you are,” he growled. “Then, when I figure that out… let’s just say, your usefulness to me will have run out.”

Ouch. Well, okay then.

The abervoq roared from behind us, different to his usual bellow—melancholier, if anything. I had a sense it was sad that I’d left, and still chained to the wall, it could not reach me.

Shadow’s eyes darted over my head toward the bellowing creature. “I will figure you out,” he warned me. “And when I do, whatever threat you pose to me or the Shadow Realm will be eliminated.”

Blah blah. “Yeah, I get it. You want to kill me. You’re sad you can’t kill me. All you dream about is killing me. It’s a fun dance.”

He released me, but already anticipating this move, I landed easily on my feet. This time, when I scrambled around him, he let me go.

When I reached the door, I turned back for a second. “Don’t hurt the abervoq. I’m sure it has no idea what the deal with me is.”

“Leave.”

Okay, then.

Thankfully, there didn’t appear to be a way for Shadow to kill these creatures, or he’d have done that from the start. Shooting one last worried glance behind me, I took another step toward the door, but for some reason couldn’t make myself leave.

Shadow didn’t turn back to me, but he seemed to know I was still there. “I won’t hurt the creature,” he bit out, clearly reluctant to give me any reassurances. “Can’t promise the same for you after your insubordination.”

Sticking my tongue out at his back, I decided that was the best I’d get. I just had to hope he had more honor than the stories said. Truth be told, he absolutely had a temper, and there was that coldblooded murder of Victor—who’d totally had it coming—but for the most part, he wasn’t unstable. If anything, every one of his actions was controlled and strategically planned.

Today was the first time I’d seen him truly lose it. I’d pushed him too far, as per my one true talent.

“I’ll check on the abervoq,” I yelled as I ran out the door, slamming it behind me. After the dark room, it was bright enough in the hallway to have my head spinning and dots dancing before my eyes.

And I felt panic. All the freaking panic. Dealing with Shadow had distracted me briefly, but now I couldn’t help but remember that I’d had a nap with an abervoq. One of the most feared creatures in the Shadow Realm.

Why was I befriending such a being?

Possible explanations ran through my head, each more farfetched than the last. But I mean, in reality, was anything truly farfetched at this point?