Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 3)

I felt him before I saw him, his raging energy so widespread and strong that it hit me before he did. This spurred me on faster, desperation to see him again filling me until I could barely breathe. We could have opened portals and moved between the layers of energy in this world, but instead, we chose to come at each other the old-fashioned way.

Like a goddamn romantic movie. All Shadow needed was a boombox over one shoulder and some unsent letters clutched in his hands, and we’d be our own Hallmark Channel special.

As his power grew stronger, I reached out to drag mine along it, wanting to feel the sparking flames. I barely got a second of touching in before his energy wrapped around me, caging and locking mine down, dragging me toward him.

I could have fought back, and I might have even won this time—okay, probably not, because Shadow’s level of badassery was unmatchable—but I didn’t even try. Powerful or not, my soul belonged to Shadow, and I wanted him to claim and possess it, exactly as he was currently doing.

When he came into sight, I found his eyes first, those twin pools of flames spilling from the irises and down his cheeks. There was fire everywhere, but since I’d been born of the same flames, it only made me feel at home.

He didn’t say a word as he continued to drag me into his orbit, his very naked orbit, which I only had a second to notice before his rage captured my full attention again.

Shadow was spilling pure, unadulterated power. He’d lost control, ready to destroy the worlds because I’d died. It was probably narcissistic to jump straight to that conclusion, but my mate had spent two thousand years not destroying shit, even when he’d suffered plenty of losses. I was the catalyst that had changed it all. The one who’d finally put a chink in his armor.

And I was owning that shit because I’d landed the freaking Shadow Beast. Take that, Sisily, you dumb bitch. You only got Torin.

Apparently, a metamorphosis-style rebirth didn’t make me less petty or more mature, but that was okay. My way of looking at life had gotten me this far, and for that, I’d never curse it again.

When Shadow’s hands finally landed on me, his grip unyielding in its desperation as he pulled me into his chest, I sank into him, not even caring if he crushed my new wings.

We were twenty feet in the air as he held on to me like I was the last anchor in this world, heat and rage spilling from him.

“Shadow,” I murmured against his chest, unable to lift my head from the strength of his hold. I loved it, though, the feel of being caged against him, his scent filling my nostrils until I could smell nothing else, our powers mingling strongly. “Shadow?” I repeated. “What happened?”

I knew what had happened in the moments before I’d died, but I had no idea what had gone on in the time since I’d returned to the Nexus.

“You left me,” he rumbled. Chills traced along my spine as sparks of electricity hit me in time to his thundering voice. “You left me, Sunshine, and the world went dark.”

His voice broke, and I fucking lost it, crying like a damn baby. One of Shadow’s hands came up to my face, and without saying a word, he wiped my tears away, still cradling me against him.

Comforting me even though he’d been the one suffering.

Hurting Shadow had never been my intention, and even though we were together again now, I knew in those moments he’d believed I’d been dead, it would have been truly devastating. As it would have been for me if the roles were reversed.

I tried to say something, to offer comfort or an apology, but before I could, his power eased up enough that we could pull back to see each other. “You were reborn,” he said. “I feel the change in your power, see the fire wings you sport, and yet, you’re still my Mera.”

I tipped my head back—the extra addition to my height did bring me a little closer, but I would always have to look up to the Shadow Beast.

“Third rebirth is the charm, right?” I joked, but it was clearly too soon since he didn’t even crack a smile. “Tough crowd,” I murmured before hurrying on. “My shifter and Nexus sides have merged. I have another form like you, but it’s just a Super Saiyan powered-up version of this, with a wolfie face and some phoenix fire.”

And now he was looking at me like I was an idiot, and since this was our familiar dance, I wanted to cry again… this time, in happiness. “You almost destroyed the Shadow Realm,” I said softly. “Should we talk about that?”

His jaw was rigid, his muscles under my touch trembling. “This world stole you from me, Mera. There was darkness and there was pain and I cared nothing for the rest. It deserved to be rubble and maybe from the ashes—”

“The phoenix would rise,” I finished in a whisper. “All along, that saying meant more than I could have ever expected—”

It was Shadow’s turn to cut me off, his lips pressing into mine as he devoured my mouth. The kiss was heavy, filled with pain and unspoken hurts, tempered by this sheen of pure joy at once again being alive and together.

It had been close. I had legitimately died trying to save them all. Ironic, since apparently, my death would have destroyed the realm anyway, through the rage of one pissed-off Shadow Beast.

When we pulled apart, I had to ask him, “Would you really have ended this world? I mean, I’m sure you’re aware, but if you had succeeded, you would have not just taken out Dannie, but also our pack and… yourself.”

He shrugged. “The others might have survived, but anything born in the realm… yeah, it was end game for us. Dannie was just a bonus, but the real truth is that I go where you go, Sunshine. Right or wrong, you and I exist together… or we don’t exist at all.”

Fuck, Shadow spoke love without saying the words better than any being I knew.

This time, I kissed him, using my power to lift me so I could wrap my arms and legs around his body, our naked skin sliding together as I pulled his head toward mine. As the kiss deepened, our energy mingled, and for a second, I felt him in my mind.

For a second, we were one.

It was only then that I understood the big deal they made about kissing here in the Shadow Realm. Having just touched Shadow’s soul, I wasn’t sure I’d ever think about kissing and its connective forces the same way again.

Rocking against him, I was hit with frustration that there was no time to seal this new soul-bond with some good old-fashioned sexing. We were already naked, and it would have been so easy to slide onto his impressively hard cock, but today we were rocking PG-13 since we still had a world to save.

“Come on, Sunshine.” Shadow growled, clearly having the same thought. “The others are waiting for us.”

He moved back far enough to magic up a pile of clothing in his hands before he all but threw them at me, his energy dressing my body faster than I could have done myself. Comfy sweats and sneakers covered my sensitive skin, and I still had to marvel at his skill in choosing just the right outfit for me. Even if I figured out how to create my own clothing one day, I was fairly certain Shadow would still be better at it than I was.

“Tell me about Dannie,” I said, watching as Shadow dressed himself as well in the same manner. “Did the cage work?”

His fire flared again at the mention of his mother, and clearly, he was not ready to talk about what had happened yet. “Your energy sealed the fortress,” he finally rumbled. “It drained you until you shattered like ash in my arms.”

Fuck. Seriously, fuck.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know,” I said, wrapping my arms around him again. “I promise I would never have touched it knowing that I’d hurt you like that. I wanted to stop Dannie too, but it was a stupid risk.”

He let out a curse. “In hindsight, it was the best choice to make. She remains caged, and I believe it’s slowly draining her. But if you ever take a risk like that again, I will punish you so thoroughly, you won’t be able to sit for a week.”

My lips twitched, and I managed not to encourage this line of thinking. Not today.

“Draining her is good,” I told him. “So now we just wait until she feels weak enough, and we release the cage, hold her down, and tear the stone from her?”

He nodded. “Yes, we’ll have no choice but to free her long enough for one of us to rip her to pieces. And in regard to that, there’s one problem only you can help us with.”

Before I could open my mouth to ask what the hell he was talking about, a flash of amber over his shoulder caught my eyes.

“Angel,” I breathed.

My rebirth had allowed some of my shifter frailties to fall away, and with that came a new, clearer vision when I looked at beings like Shadow and Angel. They were so much brighter and more brilliant to me now. The shine of their power and strength filled my eyes and my heart to the point where it felt a touch overwhelming.

“I have to go to her,” I whispered to Shadow, seeing the shattered desperate face of my best friend as she flew toward us.

“I’m only sharing because she was as broken as I was,” Shadow warned me. “And only for a few minutes.”

I leaned in and pressed my lips to the right corner of his mouth. “Thank you, mate.”

As I went to pull away, he tightened his hold on my waist, and when I lifted my gaze, expecting another possessive warning, I instead got a slow, sexy smile. “I love you, Mera Callahan,” he said without hesitation, that smile softening as he gave me another piece of himself.

“I love you too,” I choked out. “For what it’s worth, considering how you feel about that overused word.”

Now he chuckled, finally releasing me. “I’ve decided that it’s not the word, Sunshine, it’s the depth of emotion behind it. When we use the word ‘love,’ it becomes ours. We will claim it.”

I had to laugh. “Arrogant Beast.”

He wasn’t wrong, though. Love was ours to claim.