Glamoured (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 6)

The entire time I crossed the dark plain, I knew that we were being led into a sense of false safety. The air was light and there was almost no drain on my energy. My stones didn’t even falter, despite the unstable energy of the Deep.

Nothing ever went this smoothly in a place of power, and as I’d decided to double back and tell the others we needed a different plan, a huge crash of shadowy darkness launched up from the surface before me. It took a moment to figure out the dark form was another guardian, this one more akin to a water beast, with an elongated body, four fins, and a narrow jaw filled with a multitude of sharp teeth.

I’d never seen anything like it, and I reacted on instinct, flipping backwards along the line of power. The creature just missed crashing into me, clearly intending to take me down into the depths. It was a close call, and I didn’t stick around to see what it did next, racing back along the line, using more crystals for speed.

I didn’t have many stones left in my possession, but I had enough to keep boosting for now. My speed picked up and, in the distance, I caught sight of my family. They were perched on the line of power staring out into the sands. Had they seen the shadow guardian too?

A small black wolf caught my eye, and despite having never seen her shifted form, I knew it was Sam. My mate. Her beast was regal, head slightly elevated as she stared into the darkness.

Mate.

The instinct was strong. The call even stronger. A desperate need to save her drove me to levels of speed I’d never reached before. Not even when I was testing myself against vampires in Valdor. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for Sam, even if it cost me every fucking sliver of energy inside.

Just when I thought I was going to reach them in time, another guardian launched from the dark stones. A shout roared from me, a warning to watch out, but it was too late. Time slowed as I watched it hit my mate, sending her off the side of the line.

I launched into the air, my energy crashing against the side of the guardian as I sought to find Sam in the midst of the creature’s hold.

Only I was a second too late.

They disappeared into the depths, and as I followed my body smashed against solid ground. My rage exploded, the entire land lighting up in frost, sending whatever shadows that remained away from us. I’d been unaware that so many creatures lurked out there, waiting to pounce.

Not that I cared. Bring them on.

I’d fight every single one until I figured out which one had taken my mate.

More of my power exploded from me into the ground as I tried to shatter the barrier keeping me from Sam, but it didn’t move an inch.

“Len!” Shadow’s roar cut through the frost in my brain, and I focused long enough to see that I’d coated everything in ice and snow. Ice that was sparking and zapping my pack.

Shadow was on his knees, unable to move closer to me, and as I saw the others in the same position, a flake of sanity returned. My raging instinct to destroy still pushed at me, but I found that I couldn’t destroy them. My family. And Sam’s.

Withdrawing my power from their forms, Shadow was up and on his feet in the same instant.

“Why is the ground solid now?” he snapped, showing no anger over my attack. “That guardian took Sam below and now I can’t feel any power. Why?”

I knew. I’d known the fucking truth since we’d landed down here but I’d ignored my instinct. “Her energy originated in this land,” I rasped. “And they want it back. They want her back. No one has ever confirmed this, but I believed that the Great Queen was created here. Her energy, and that of her offspring, belongs to the Deep.”

If Sam was the last of the line—well, Sam and Tabitha—then it stood to reason that this land recognized her as their own. Which allowed another rational thought to crash through my pain and fury. “If the Deep recognized her as its own,” I managed to say without letting my rage spill further, “there’s a chance it’s taking her to the source of original power. It has sealed this path so that we cannot follow. But there’s still the path we were on.”

As fucked up as it was, now that the ground was hardened, and there was no more draw on our power, we could cross from here easily.

“We should continue on,” Shadow agreed. We all knew it was a long shot, our last hope. But that iota of hope was the single factor allowing me to continue through the darkness.

Shadow approached me, recognizing that I was slightly more reasonable. His hand landed heavily on my shoulder. “We will find her, brother. I refuse to let this be the last of Samantha and our pack.”

I nodded, lowering my voice. “If we reach the end and she’s not there, make sure I don’t hurt the others. Get them the fuck out of here before I bring it all down around us.”

“You have my word.”

He understood—better than most, thanks to the reason for his existence standing a few paces away from us.

My power returned to me as I withdrew the ice. The stones embedded in the hard ground returned as well. They were drained and in need of recharge, and I hoped I had enough power to do what was needed for Sam. For my little Storm, who’d blown into my world and leveled that fucker to the ground.

Shadow remained between me and the others as we started back across the black expanse, the rest of our pack shooting me worried stares, but no one said anything directly.

“Is he okay?” I heard Mera ask her mate.

His reply was immediate. “Not even remotely. Stay on the other side of me. I’m the only one who’ll survive the fallout.”

At least Shadow was aware of my capabilities, and how close I was teetering to the edge. This fucking universe had to stop attempting to take my mate from me. That was the simple truth.

When we reached the end of the black plain, we were once again facing the edge of a cliff, and on the other side was a garden. Usually, flora calmed me, but this time there was no easing the raging swirls of ice in my chest.

Leaping across the final twenty-foot gap, I landed on the edge of the garden. From here, a chill attempted to encase me, but it was nothing compared to the chill raging inside.

“I’m guessing none of these plants are the friendly types?” Lucien said, his tone forcibly light. The loss of one in our pack was a raw wound that hadn’t healed from the last time. Alistair had been a death that almost broke us, but Samantha… hers would shatter me.

I wasn’t just fighting for her life now, but for both of ours.

“We should approach with caution,” I replied flatly. “Everything is a threat.”

Actually… before the others got close to the first tree, I sent out my rage, knowing it was better to ice the garden than my family. A thin sheet settled over everything, slowing their attack.

“He’s killing plants,” Mera said in an urgent whisper. “This is really bad.”

“Not yet,” I replied. “I hold a small hope that she’s waiting for us at the end. If that hope fades, so will my control.”

The silence was heavy, and I pushed on, needing to finish this task to know whether Faerie was about to fall. Truth be told, even if the balance wasn’t out of line, I’d level this world and all the rest until I found my mate.

End of story.