Reclaimed (Shadow Beast Shifters, #2)

by Jaymin Eve

“My inbuilt security system no longer considers you… Well, let’s just say that there might be six now who are free to touch me without consequences.”

“Shadowshine,” I murmured. He grimaced, which almost got a smile out of me. His exasperation with our couple nickname was just like the good old days.

“How the fuck is she even doing this? I’ve not heard of any able to control creatures like this, except maybe a Danamain, the true Mist Born. Which is a damn myth.”

“Mera,” Shadow said, his voice as serious as I’d ever heard it. “Step away from the mist.” I snorted, crossing my arms. “I’m afraid you’re too late for this lecture. About the same as advising a dude to wear a condom after his chick is already pregnant.”

“It’s dick measuring time,” I said, somewhat amused. My eyes met Shadow’s. “You gonna whip yours out too? You might be the underdog here, but I’d still put some money on you.”

Shadow laughed. “We’re not. My kin are well known to me, and I plan on killing a decent amount of them.” Phew. “Good to know.” A pause. “Also, you’re a touch scary.” Shadow shrugged. “I am what I am. If you can’t handle me, that’s your issue.”

The Concordes is the main mass of land. There are five kingdoms of royals sharing its territory. Trinity is Shadow’s, the strongest of the five. Then there is Holister, second in power, followed by Fraple, Glist’n, and Ashan.

“Sunshine is about the least respectful being from any of the worlds I’ve ever met,” he said, sounding amused.

“Don’t let it fool you,” Shadow whispered, his voice rebooting my senses into their normal semi-cynical setting. “The darkness of the realm exists above and below the light. In some way, this entire world is an illusion.”

“Shadowshine is exactly how I see us,” he rumbled. “One too dark, the other too light, and nothing but destructive storms between us.”

“Sometimes they are betrothed at birth, and sometimes it happens when they find the perfect match and perform the ceremony. Before they find this one, they will be open sexually, but they never…” She swallowed roughly. “And I can’t reiterate the never enough. They never kiss someone who is not their mate.”

I had to think about it, like really think about it, before I answered. “You’re going to take my virginity, right? If we stop now, you promise we will find a time to finish this?” His lips tilted up, a wicked smile gracing his face. “Sunshine, I’m going to destroy you before I put you back together. But I don’t have the time right now for everything I intend to do, so you’re going to have to stop tempting me and let me get on with the rest of my mission.”

“We’ll have our moment, Sunshine,” he said, pulling away. “And then it will be over.”

“You were fighting with me in a different way, Mera. Before we were adversaries, but then… it changed.”

My mouth and throat were dry, unlike other… parts of me. When he went all possessive alpha on me, it fucked me up mentally and physically. Shadow was my trauma and I didn’t even care.

“Why did you choose me for your first kiss?” He stopped, and the flames were mesmerizing as they danced through his eyes, almost spilling out over his cheeks. I found myself as desperate to hear his answer as I had been for my previous orgasms. Please answer me. His expression was destroying me, and when I heard the rasp of his deep voice, I all but clung to him, not wanting to miss a word. “In thousands of years, you’re the first being to cross my path and give me a reason to fight for a different future. I never saw you coming, and I never anticipated you would wreak such havoc on both me and my life. There was no one else who was worthy.”

Shadow’s face was awash in secrets, and as he leaned over, his mouth tasting the tender spot beneath my ear, he murmured, “Her face is a blur, and I have a fantastic memory for almost everything else in this world. Out of duty, I never kissed a single being in the time I was exiled from my world, but then you exploded into my life. Full of sass and fucking questions, with hair of a sunset, and a temper to equal my own. The gods themselves couldn’t have stopped me from claiming you.”

“Because. Little wolf. You belong to me.”

“Who said I don’t belong to you, Mera?”

“We are irrevocably linked, Mera Callahan,” he rumbled against my skin. “A bond built in fire and shadows.”

He growled close to my face. “Never. We don’t kiss any who are not our true mate…. anywhere. I’ve had more sex than you’ll know in ten lifetimes, but never have I used my mouth to fuck a pussy like I did yours. Never have I tasted such sweetness, and I’m starting to think you put a fucking spell on me because I can’t even remember my life before you came into it.”

“Dude, you better dick me right now before I lose my brains.”

Shadow growled. “No one touches Mera. Ever. If her death is required, then this world will continue to fall. It’s as simple as that.”

He reached out and brushed his thumb across my cheek, before he leaned in closer. “Ixana is up to something,” he murmured in his low rumble, “and I’m sorry that I screwed up when we first arrived here. In not wanting to tip her off, I hurt you, and that’s not okay. I promise I won’t do it again.”

“Our demons match, Sunshine,”

Sleep claimed me in seconds, but just before I was unconscious, I could have sworn I felt lips press to mine. “Our souls match, Sunshine.”

Shadow’s lips curled up. “Turned out you could have been an even bigger help, had I known everything you were capable of.” I shrugged. “Surprised us both. But in the end you got what you wanted from me.” His shoulders lifted as he chuckled. A dark, smoky sound. “So much more than I ever expected.”

Our demons matched. Our souls matched.

Was there actually a future where Shadow and I could truly be together?

“You’d burn The Concordes down for me?” I swallowed roughly. “I’d burn the entire world down for you, Sunshine.”