Glamoured (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 6)

Angel took me, since Galleli was an unmated male and my bond with Len wasn’t complete yet. When Len said as much, Galleli just smiled. Ten steps ahead of you, friend. Hence why Angel has returned.

“How are you feeling about all of this?” Angel asked as she flapped, ferrying us to our next destination. “Your bond with Len and the knowledge of your ancestry as a descendant of a powerful Faerie queen? It’s a lot to absorb all at once.”

Until she asked me in such a point-blank way, I hadn’t really given it much thought. I’d been too busy trying to survive and save the worlds. “It’s confusing,” I admitted, a little surprised by the realization. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m freaking blessed to be Len’s mate. The Fates couldn’t have chosen better for me. But I’m also very aware that I’m not a full shifter or a full fae. I don’t really fit into either world.”

Angel and I had never spoken so openly, but it didn’t feel odd to chat with her the same way I would Mera or Simone. “You change the world to fit you,” she told me. “Not the other way around.” Her voice gentled. “You’ve found your pack now, and you fit in as if you were always here. All of our genetics are mixed. That just makes us more powerful. You’ll figure that out when we restore the fae side of your energy.”

My chest and throat were tight as I said, “Thank you. I think I needed the reminder that this is just the beginning of my journey.”

My eyes found Len, who was about ten feet away, Galleli gripping his forearm. He was watching me, and I didn’t know if he’d heard the conversation, but the look on his eyes had my body burning in all the good ways.

“We’re almost back to them,” Angel said, and my focus returned to the land around us. A sight less enticing than my mate.

As we got closer, a low curse escaped Angel as she picked up the pace. “Where did they come from?” she snarled.

Our friends were on a vast expanse of what looked like bright blue sand, mostly flat with just small sections of undulation. They weren’t alone, though, as we caught sight of multiple large creatures scurrying across the sand.

“Do you know what they are?” I asked, pulse racing as I mentally urged her to get there faster.

“I have no idea,” she said, sending a chill down my spine.

These ancient supernaturals generally knew everything. “They look like mutated crabs,” I noted, examining them from their spindly legs and two huge pincers out the front. Their black shells were dotted with purple, red, and green stones. Knowing Faerie, those stones would no doubt make them extra strong.

Len and Galleli moved closer in the air as we rushed toward our pack. “Do you know what those creatures are?” I called out.

Both faces were set in grim lines. “I’ve never seen one before,” Len replied. “They’re referred to as guardians. Beasts of the Deep. They’re strong, lethal, and near unbeatable, or so the myth says.”

“Should we attempt to just fly to the next land?” I asked. “I know you both need to rest, but if you have the energy, it’s got to be better than ending up as crab chow.”

We dropped lower, preparing to land next to our pack, who had backed up together. “I’m not sure they’ll let us leave this area until we defeat the guardian,” Angel told me. “It’s all part of the securities.”

“It’s the Faerie way,” Len said shortly. “There are no shortcuts in the journey of life. Every step is a learning tool. All equally as important.”

I didn’t disagree. It was one of the reasons I never skipped ahead to the last page of a story, even if my anxiety was at a thousand percent because I had no idea what was going to happen next. Skipping to the end would have taken away experiencing each step as it happened, so I always pushed through. We just had to hope that in this story, all of us made it to the end alive.

We landed behind a giant Shadow, who was half shifted into a demonic Anubis figure. Mera was also shifted, standing heads above me now, her skin covered in flames as a phoenix danced across her body. No one had attacked, but the guardian crabs were closing in, their movements in sync as they raised both pincers, clacking them together in a near deafening sound.

Up close they were terrifying, standing twice the size of Shadow in his current form. Could the beast go even larger to counter the size difference? I had no idea.

“We can’t beat them in a direct attack,” Len warned, close enough on my right side that I could feel wisps of his energy. “Faerie lore states that they’re true immortals, born of Origin energy.”

“Then what’s our option?” Shadow snarled, his voice more animalistic than I’d ever heard, deeper than any wolf’s, rumbling as the beast.

“Maybe we try and run,” Mera said, a lesser rumble in her voice. “Just keep going until the blue sands end.”

As soon as she said run, I knew it was a bad idea. “Predators love to chase,” I reminded them. “Maybe we should submit?” No doubt that suggestion would not go over well with the powerful beings here. Each was used to being a god. Top dog, so to speak. It would go against their very nature to submit, but they had to understand, if these guardians were the top dogs here, then submitting was our only chance.

“No!” Shadow raged, as predicted. Sand flew up around Reece as he grew larger and more aggressive. Angel and Galleli had their wings out, flapping hard, even though they were on the ground. Simone was in her Lycan form, and Lucien had his fangs out as he waited for the next command. Every single one of them displayed signs of aggression, except for Len and me.

“I’ve been the weaker one before,” I added louder. The guardians were close enough now that the clacking boom of the pincers had my ears aching. “To survive, I had to play the game. I had to give the alpha what he wanted. Submit and survive long enough to fight another day.”

“I vote we give battle a go first?” Shadow rumbled. “I’m sure we can take them.”

Mera let out a laugh as she transformed back into her human self. “Mate,” she said, placing a hand on her beast’s arm. “I know you want to test yourself against the best, but you have nothing to prove. Don’t forget we have a baby girl to return to.”

A huff of smoke and flames escaped the beast, but he didn’t argue with her. The vast expanse of his energy faded as he also returned to his slightly less terrifying humanoid version. Not that any of them could ever be mistaken for human.

One by one the others followed suit, until there was barely a whisper of our power to be felt in the area. Knowing what had to happen now, I led by example, lowering myself to my knees.

A spark of energy from the closest guardian ran over my skin, but it was more uncomfortable than painful. Grinning and bearing it, I forced my power to stay calm.

The others did the same, until only Shadow was left standing. It wasn’t a stretch to assume he’d knelt to no one before this day, but as the pincers picked up the pace near him, I hoped he could find the strength to give these guardians what they needed.

After leveling all four crabs with a fire-filled glare, the beast lowered to his knees. He never dropped his head though, eyeballing the fuck out of all of them, but his power didn’t follow suit. It remained low and calm.

The guardians slowed, and despite the dim light, somehow, we were cast farther into shadows. As the darkness grew more pronounced, Len reached out and grasped my hand.

At least if this was our last moments, I wasn’t alone.

Together as a pack we stood, and together we would fall.

End of story.