Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 3)

“You must follow me,” Angel said, when she was done with our hug.

She turned and walked off, and I exchanged a glance with Shadow, knowing we didn’t have a lot of time. We’d planned to meet the others back in the library in two days, and I had no idea if time moved differently between Honor Meadows and the library, but even if it didn’t, the clock was still ticking.

When Shadow didn’t argue, I had to assume we were still good on our deadline, which allowed me to enjoy observing Angel in her natural environment. Not to mention I had about fifty questions to ask her.

“Go on,” Angel said with a smile when I caught up to her. “I might not remember everything about you yet, but the snippets I have through our bond are memories of you questioning everything.”

I laughed, reaching out to link my arm through hers, just like old times. “See, the thing is,” I said, “I’m like twenty-ish years old.” I’d lost track of the specific age with all the world-jumping and memory lapses. “You’re all thousands of years old. The worlds are brand new to me, as is magic and… basically everything else. I need to know about it all, and with the way my life is going, we might all be dead next week. There’s really no better time to ask.”

“That makes sense,” she said softly. “But I’ll have less talk about your death, thank you. If anyone’s time is up, it’s mine. I’ve lived too long as it is, and I’m tired.”

I ground to a halt, and surprisingly, she stopped with me. “I’ll hear none of that talk,” I mimicked back to her. “None. You signed up to be my family, and with that comes a certain set of responsibilities. No sacrifice. No loss. No death. Understood?”

Shadow chuckled, and I narrowed my eyes on him next. “Same goes for you, mate.”

Angel forgot whatever wise thing she was about to say, which was probably something like: Death is not the end of family. Instead, she was fascinated by my utterance of the word mate.

“You’re the mate of Darkor?”

I gritted my teeth. “Shadow and I have somehow formed a true mate bond. Without any actions on our behalf, and he assures me that it means our Nexus sides are fated to be together.”

Thankfully, even with sketchy memories, Angel followed along well.

“Ixana?” she asked Shadow.

“Dead.”

Why waste words when you could answer with just one… Shadow’s motto in life.

One word was enough for Angel, though, who just shrugged as she started to drag me along with her. We walked for a few minutes in silence, and I marveled at the array of grey and green and gold plants that surrounded us.

Some were familiar, others not at all, and I’d hazard a guess that Angel had modeled the different species after plants from various worlds when she’d created this level.

When we entered a small clearing, we stopped outside of a dwelling. Excitement at maybe seeing her home shot through me. Everything I knew about Angel was based on our life outside of her world, but I was finally getting a sneak peek.

The outside of her home was nondescript, blending into the plants around it. The layered boards were gold, accented by stone and wood in shades of green and grey. It mostly looked like a cabin that had been claimed by nature. There was no visible entrance, at least not until Angel pressed her hands to a mass of intertwined vines on one wall.

Energy flowed through her fingertips, and the vines responded, twirling and slithering like snakes until there was an opening big enough for even Shadow to walk through without ducking his head.

Inside it was as I’d expected. Simple, practical, with a few select touches of Angel. A shimmery wall of armor, with many varied colors, including gold, bronze, silver, and a deep rich maroon set that looked ancient and heavy. “I can call this armor to me from any place in any of the worlds,” she told me when I stopped to stare at it. “Also, the weapons.”

Even Shadow was impressed when we reached the next wall in her main room, which was covered top to bottom in weapons. From swords to small blades, axes and other lethal chop-off-your-own-arm items, there were so many, I couldn’t take them all in. Each one was mounted upon what appeared to be bone, displayed to perfection. “They sit on the remnants of our enemies,” Angel explained.

Remnants of her enemies? Bone was correct.

“I remember some of these,” Shadow said, leaning in close, but not too close that there was any chance of him touching her items. If I knew anything about ancient Honor Meadow weapons, they did not like to be handled by those who were not family.

“When our bond is complete,” she told me, “you’ll be able to call any item from these walls.”

Now that was exciting. Except… “You don’t have to die first, right?”

She actually cracked a smile. “No, the wall can be called by more than one. Any who are in our bonded family are gifted with these ancient battle materials.”

Okay, then, sign me up.

When we were finally able to tear our eyes from the wall “art,” we moved farther into the cabin. Angel led us into a lounge room containing a few wooden chairs. “I like to carve in my spare time,” she said, gesturing for us to sit on the intricate pieces. “They’re stronger than they look.”

That was probably meant for Shadow because they looked plenty strong to me. I was the first to sit, and before Shadow could move to the bench beside me, Angel stepped in front of him.

“Free the rest of my memories,” she said in a rush. “I’ve been able to release some through my current awareness of the spell, but… the being who cast it is too strong for me to best their energy completely.”

“All of us needed help to remember.” I piped up from my spot. “Nothing to be ashamed of.” They both shot me a glare and I shrugged. “Just trying to help. I figured it’s tiring being a badass all the time. It’s nice to let others support you on occasion.”

Angel had actually imparted that advice to me in the realm, which she may not remember.

Their glares didn’t cease. “Completely not tiring,” Shadow said bluntly.

“Agreed,” Angel added, and I just smiled because they were adorable… and scary. Always scary.

Shadow wasted no time placing his hand on her forehead. Angel closed her eyes briefly, and I felt the burst of power that came from them both, near knocking me off my seat. Angel flew across the room, her wings shooting out to stop her from slamming into the walls. Scrambling to my feet, I was prepared to jump between them if a battle broke out, but Angel just shook her head a few times, finally meeting my gaze. “Mera.”

She’d known me before, but until this moment hadn’t truly known, known me. I ran toward her because of course we had to hug again, both of us holding on for many minutes.

It had been too close to almost losing them all.

When we were all hugged out, we sat and caught up. I quickly got her up to date on what had happened on Shadow’s and my side after Dannie, and where we were at now.

“What’s the plan to defeat the Danamain?” Angel asked, leaning back in her chair, mulling over everything she’d heard.

“Shadow’s friends have all gone to their worlds to gather their most powerful spells, energy, and artifacts,” I said quickly. “Len has some stones that will hopefully prevent her from stealing our memories again, and the others are bringing their strongest weapons and abilities to the table. We need the firepower to trap her in a prison, which will drain some of her energy. If that works, we’ll attempt to remove the stone from her… in whatever way necessary.”

“Mera is hoping that she’ll release it on her own,” Shadow added, “always trying to save us, even when we’re barely redeemable.”

He wasn’t just talking about his mother. “I would never give up on you,” I assured him, squeezing his hand. “And while I’m mad at her as well, I believe Dannie deserves a chance.”

Angel tilted her head, probably considering my words. “The stone itself is neither good nor evil. It was just too much power for her to handle. She wanted to return the balance to how it had been before Ixana. Before Shadow was expelled from the realm. Dannie’s logic was flawed, though, because the path of destiny was long changed from that time.” She waved at me. “Take Mera, for example. Until Shadow was exiled from his world, Mera’s path did not exist in the cosmic plan. Her life came about to match the new Shadow who would emerge from the flames of the wreckage of his last life. There’s no turning that back, which was why neither of you embraced the world Dannie tried to create for you.”

Shadow nodded, reaching out to drag me closer to him; he’d hardly let me out of his sight or hands since we’d found each other again, and I was one lucky shifter.

“Not even with her current power could she change our fates,” Shadow said. “She was only muddying it up, but thankfully for all of us, Mera is too damn stubborn to accept that sort of subterfuge.”

I found myself feeling strangely proud. Sure, I’d had some help from Shadow’s spell, but those niggling doubts and inconsistencies wouldn’t have meant much without the stubborn part of my personality forcing me to dig deeper until I uncovered the truth. I never gave up. My time being the pack’s punching bag, of refusing to roll over and die, had prepared me well for my future.

A future that was now in grave jeopardy.

Hopefully, a few of my other life skills would come in handy because I was not ready to lose my current fated path. Not when it meant losing Shadow and the rest of my pack.

Yeah, hard pass, Dannie. Hard fucking pass.