Deserted (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 4)

Reece and I journeyed back to the ship, re-clothed ourselves from the spares in the supplies, and finally got some rest, but after that moon there were no more chances for dalliances in the desert. The next few moons were a battle with the sand streams again as Tsuma’s rising power mixed with the treacherous deeps, sending all of us to the edge of losing our minds.

‘It’s time for you to go now,’ Shadow told Mera in the dining area on the eve of us making the Guardian’s lands. ‘We have delayed for you to see the Rohami sands, observe an echinat jump in all its full skeletal beauty, eat the food supplies because there are starving children in the worlds, and now you have glimpsed the black sands of the Guardian dynasty. That’s it. Now it’s time for your gorgeous ass to return to the library so I have enough time and energy to get back here for this battle.’

Mera pouted, the look only falling from her face when the lurch of our ship sent us all to the left. ‘Reece said we have to make land at the Guardians for more supplies,” she said in a rush. “You told me you could portal from there as long as it’s only you who returns. I can leave once I’ve gotten off this ship and had a proper look around.’

Shadow’s eyes narrowed until they were flaming slits. ‘I know what you’re doing mate, and I promise you this is the last moon. Okay?’

Mera’s smile was practically a beam as she shifted along the bench. ‘You’re the best. I feel really good about all my new experiences. I think it’s rounding me out as an eternal being.’

I wasn’t the only one hiding a smile; it had not escaped my notice that she hadn’t agreed to Shadow’s new terms. I’d already won the bet by default of Len losing—even if I wouldn’t get the gems until after this battle because I didn’t want to leave him short—but it was great to know that my guess had been accurate. I knew my best friend.

‘Are you sure that Darin has allowed safe passage into the Guardian dynasty?’ Len asked as he rolled a deep purple stone in this hand. The enjette gem was used for calming and strengthening a soul. I’d noticed him playing with that particular stone a lot lately, and it was clear we were all on edge.

It wasn’t only the energy below us growing in strength, but also the unease in the Delfora too. I kept having the most vivid of dreams while meditating—dreams that tore me through a sea of bones and silver sand. The gods dragging me down so that my essence could rest with my sister’s.

‘Darin’s last message assured me that we’ll be welcome,’ Reece said shortly. “He advised us to replenish ourselves before we face Tsuma and the others. If there was another option, I’d take it, but this is our best chance.”

‘We should get some rest, then,’ Lucien said as he smoothly stood. ‘My plasma is almost out, so I’m hoping the Guardians have extra supplies. Otherwise I’ll be heading back to the library with Shadow.’

‘Remind me again why we didn’t just take a doorway in the first place?’ Alistair asked, voice raspy as he poured another cup of water over himself. ‘I think I missed the explanation in earlier conversations.’

Reece leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his broad chest as he said, ‘Only someone as powerful as Shadow could open an unapproved doorway this close to the Delfora, and he wouldn’t have the strength to keep it open for all of us to cross. The same if I tried to transport all of us that far in my sands. This is the safest way to ensure we didn’t use up all of our power getting there and have none for the battle.’

Shadow nodded. ‘Yeah, it’s going to be a struggle even for me. Luckily I only have to return with myself because the more I take, the harder it will be.’

Mera’s face fell. ‘Fuck, I’ve been a selfish bitch,’ she said in a rush, standing as fast as she could with her belly. ‘My need to stay with you outweighed the truths you’ve been telling me all along. We should go now, I won’t have you weakened for this sort of battle.’

Shadow reached out and took her hand, halting her. ‘Sunshine, I won’t be further weakened by one more moon. We can stay for you to see the Guardians.’

She examined his face closely, searching out the truth. ‘Please don’t lie to me. I won’t put any of you in danger.’

Her mate stood as well, towering over all of us while still having to crouch to fit in the cabin. ‘There is no additional danger. You will see the Guardians and then go to the library.” He took his eyes off her for a beat to look around. “And with that in mind, Mera needs to rest.’

She didn’t argue, clearly exhausted. This close to the end of her pregnancy, she’d been a trooper for staying this long. I was also fairly sure that while Mera thought she was convincing her mate to stay, he’d been secretly happy to keep an eye on her for as long as possible.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the Guardians would be her last stop, and I was going to miss my best friend. Worrying about her was second nature now, but in this situation, she would be safer away from this world. Even if we won this battle, there was a decent chance that some of us could be badly injured or killed in the Delfora, but that wasn’t to be Mera’s fate. The only event she had to worry about was the baby arriving while we were gone, and in that case, Gaster was powerful and well-versed in healing energy.

Mera and our baby would be okay, which allowed all of us to be clear-minded in this final mission.

When Shadow and Mera left, the others soon dispersed, everyone aware that Reece’s sands controlled the ship when he didn’t, so they were free to rest. As I moved to clean the table, Reece got there first, sweeping away the dishes with his sands.

‘It wouldn’t kill you to use your hands,’ I snarled, feeling extra tense for many reasons. ‘Sure, it’s a few minutes longer, but we’re in no rush this moon. Why waste your energy? Once it’s gone, it’s hard to reclaim.’

Before I could say another word, his hands were around my waist as he hauled me back against his body. ‘What if I want to use those few minutes for something else,’ he murmured near my ear. ‘What if my energy is renewable, or at least refillable, and I would sacrifice it all to taste you.’

And just like that, my mood dramatically improved.

My head dropped back, and I swallowed my moan as his lips grazed along my cheek.

‘Can you be quiet, Angel?’ he asked, and for once he didn’t make that name sound like a disease on his tongue. ‘Can you swallow your screams and keep our secret?”

Our secret. I’d forgotten to tell him that Mera and Shadow knew, which really wasn’t important when he turned me around, slipped the strap of my black tank to one side, and pressed his lips lower to caress my collarbone and the tops of my breasts.

‘They have exceptional hearing and are only a few meters away,’ I murmured, my hands cupping the back of his head to keep him in place. His chuckle was low and delicious, and as he sucked on my nipple through the shirt, I had to squeeze my legs tightly together. Once again, too many days had passed since we’d had sex, and already the throbbing tension in my center was spiraling.

Reece stripped my shirt off in one smooth movement, leaving me naked from the waist up. ‘Fucking beautiful,’ I thought I heard him murmur.

Before I could take another breath, he lifted me to place me back on the newly cleared table, his hands grazing across my bare skin as his lips closed over my left nipple, working it into a hard and sensitive peak. At this point I was literally digging my fingers into the pamolsa material on either side of me to stop from crying out. I felt the wood crumble under my touch, but there was little else I could do. A few finger marks in the table wouldn’t destroy its usefulness, and there was no way I could stay silent without that focus.

Reece’s kisses grew hotter along my skin, his touch firm as his fingers followed the path, tracing every naked valley and peak, bringing my power to the surface in a way that, hopefully, wouldn’t visibly light up this cabin. When his kisses reached my pants, they were stripped from me the same way my shirt had been, and since my feet were bare, there was nothing to stop him from having me naked in seconds.

As he leaned down, he pressed his lips to my lower stomach before his tongue scraped over the junction of my thighs. Just when I was about to say fuck it and scream in frustration, he reached the seam of my aching pussy, swiping at the moisture there. His groan was barely audible, and it seemed staying silent was going to be a challenge for both of us.

A challenge I would probably lose.

It had been too many days, and as we’d reach the Guardians at the next new-moon, this was our last chance to really take advantage of our situation.

On the eve of battle, you never let an opportunity slip you by.

Not when you knew it could be your last.