Reclaimed (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 2)

My hands slipped under the water, tracing over my body, and I threw my head back as a moan fell from my lips. My skin was overly sensitive, and as much as I wished it was Shadow touching me, any caress was working for me today.

“Sunshine,” he cautioned, his voice disappearing into the beast territory, deep and rumbly.

Ignoring him, I slipped my fingers into my pussy—not wasting time since we didn’t have any—going straight for what I knew would get me off first. Another moan escaped, and at this point, I really enjoyed Shadow watching me. Under his dark pants, I could see his dick swelling, not to mention the fire in his eyes and the tension in his muscles. He wanted me, and I wasn’t the only one suffering in this current situation.

Opening my eyes as my fingers slipped inside again, I met his gaze, and there was no need to act defiant because I was hovering closer to my orgasm.

“You are going to be the death of me, Sunshine,” he said through gritted teeth. His power froze me, and I was lifted from the water. “Don’t ever touch yourself like that again.” Now I was completely fucking locked in by his hypnotic voice. “Your orgasms belong to me.”

I would have writhed if he wasn’t holding me still.

“Mine, Sunshine.”

“Shadow,” I choked out. “If I’m yours, then fucking prove it.”

His power jerked me forward, and by the time he caught me, the heat he was throwing off had dried me completely. I arched as he held me tightly, and when he turned us, my back hit the wall. His hard length pressed into my nakedness. He was still fully dressed, but somehow his pants were open, the velvety tip of his cock edging inside of me.

“You want this, little wolf?” he rumbled, and I cried out, jerking my pussy to slide down his cock further.

“Dude, you better dick me right now before I lose my brains.”

Shadow’s chest shook with his laughter, but he did as he was told for once. A choked gasp escaped as he thrust up into me, and he was still in his seven-foot height, which meant I was about to get my vagina annihilated. And I couldn’t find it in myself to care. I was a wolf shifter, and it would heal.

Shadow went hard and fast, holding me immobile as he fucked me, slamming into me like he was determined to ruin me for all other cocks. And, unfortunately, I was starting to think he had.

“Fucking hell,” I screamed, clawing at him when the orgasm slammed into me. It was one of those hard and fast jolts, and it started another buildup, so quickly, I couldn’t catch my breath.

He was relentless, his eyes locked on me, one hand holding my neck and shoulder blade while the other was under my ass as he drilled me so intensely, I saw stars.

“Come, Sunshine,” he ordered.

I did, jerking against him. “Gods.” I was sobbing now. “Shadow god.”

“Correct, baby,” he whispered, and fuck me, if that endearment didn’t tether my pussy to him just a little more. This was like the possessive attitude he threw around. It did it for me. Outside of the bedroom, I would hate his attitude, but inside it… I was hooked.

For some reason, he slowed, his thrusts no softer, but he drew each one out, his cock almost completely out of me before he slammed it back in, over and over again, and this time, the buildup was slower. I could already tell the intensity was possibly going to kill me.

“Don’t come yet,” Shadow warned, and I didn’t, even if my head was spinning, the pleasure in my stomach spiraling from my toes up to my gut. His fire burst to life across the both of us, bringing more energy and pleasure.

I tried so hard not to come, but it was too much. I wouldn’t survive it.

Thankfully, just when I was about to explode, Shadow let out a low groan. “Come now, Sunshine. Come with me. Together.”

I screamed. A guttural, beyond-my-control sound, and it was so much that when the dark spots danced before my eyes, I embraced them and might have passed out for a few minutes. Shadow didn’t stop even as he came, each thrust continuing to draw out the pleasure for both of us.

What felt like hours later, he stopped moving, his weight solid and comforting against me, as we both breathed heavily. I was pretty sure the wall at my back was the only thing holding us up.

“Fuck,” he rumbled. “That shouldn’t have happened here.”

Like an ice-cold bucket of water had been thrown over me, clarity returned with force, and I wanted to scratch his face off. Somehow, I managed to keep my shit together.

“Let me down, Shadow,” I said softly, not releasing my fury yet.

For once, he didn’t argue, and when I was set on my feet, I swallowed another groan at the pain in my body. Pleasure and pain mingled together. My freaking jam, apparently.

As I slipped out from under him, Shadow dropped his head toward the wall for a second, like he was pulling himself together. He straightened not a few seconds later, so maybe it had been something else.

“Meet me in the dining hall in ten minutes,” he bit out before he left the room in a flurry of energy, his coat flying out behind him, and for all I knew, his dick flapping in the icy breeze. Stupidly impressive dick.

On weak legs, I made my way back into the bath, and as I sank down, my body continued trembling from the aftershocks of the sex. I wondered if maybe that was the actual last time we’d ever be together like that.

He hadn’t even gotten naked, so desperate, he’d only had his cock out and nothing else. There had been an urgency in his actions, like he couldn’t help himself.

A darker thought followed.

At no point did he kiss me.

Not like he had the last time when he’d devoured my mouth, unable to get enough. There was a void between us that hadn’t been there yesterday. A void I feared would only grow with time.

We’ve arrived and wait with Shadow.

I felt Midnight’s presence the moment before it spoke, and that jolted me from the bath.

Meet you there. Give me five minutes to dress.

There was nothing to dry myself with, but that was proven redundant when I stepped into the center of the room, and a whirl of icy air all but spun me around. I hadn’t been prepared for it, but the moment it hit me, the moisture on my skin and hair faded, leaving me feeling refreshed and clean, if not a touch frozen. And again, that drain on my power hit me briefly before I regrouped and got shit done.

Once I was dressed in the newly provided clothing, I noticed a small bag of toiletries that must have gone flying with Birdy. I was relieved to be able to brush my teeth and hair, which I then braided back to keep it out of the way.

I felt better approaching this day clean and ready for battle.

Walking through the solid wall, which was as weird as it sounded, I used the wall guides to find my way back to the main dining room. Shadow and Ixana were the first people I saw, in deep discussion, and what do you know… there was food between them.

Looked like they did eat on occasion.

My view was cut off by Angel, half-running and half-gliding across the wide space. She’d clearly been waiting on me, zooming over the moment I’d appeared. When her arms wrapped around me in a tight hold, I found more of my natural quirky disposition returning.

“I’ll kill him,” she murmured in my ear, her hold almost to the point of painful. “How dare he parade her in front of you!”

I had to chuckle at her ferocious nature. Since my father’s death, I hadn’t been able to trust new people, but Angel had blown through those barriers, and now I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

This friendship might be the true love story here.

“It’s fine,” I said, not quietly, because why the hell was I protecting anyone else in this situation? “It’s no secret that I was always just a side-chick until the frontrunner showed up.”

I had no idea if Ixana heard me—she didn’t stop chatting animatedly to Shadow—but he sure as fuck heard. The fire in his gaze drilled into me as he watched every step I took across the room, Angel at my side, and my confidence exactly where it should have been yesterday.

I’d had a moment of weakness in my room, fucking him again, but that was all it would ever be. A moment. I could never settle for the mistress position, while someone else held his heart and soul. I deserved better.

For the first time, I didn’t let my eyes remain locked with his. I turned away.

Angel, the smartest and most observant being I knew, wrapped one arm around me as we walked toward the table.

“Never let him see he’s getting to you,” she murmured.

“Never,” I parroted.

And in that moment, I meant it. Shadow hadn’t been exactly warm with his “true mate” since our arrival, and he was clearly playing some sort of game. Until I knew my part in it, I had to be cautious with my approach. For my future sanity.

When we took our seats at the table, I looked toward the food, which was in a long line down the center of the crystal. There was absolutely nothing I recognized, but with the help of Angel and Midnight, who popped down from the ceiling long enough to wrap around me in a welcoming hug, I managed to find some food I would have eaten on Earth. Mostly the realm’s equivalent of fruit and crackers. “They don’t always eat, but when they do, it’s definitely the good stuff,” Angel told me. She, of course, still wasn’t eating, but she did move a plate of food around.

Just like old times.

While eating, I drank about ten gallons of fresh water, my body needing replenishment in more ways than one, and the entire time I chatted to Angel, who told me about their dash across the realm to find us. “We had days over the water,” she said with a huff, “and I would have been more than a little drained if Midnight hadn’t allowed me to regenerate some energy through their network.”

Thank you.

Midnight responded immediately. Your family is my family.

I honestly couldn’t thank it enough. And while this unexpected bond had freaked me out at first, I felt differently now.

I’m so honored that you’re part of my life. That we are bonded.

Midnight swelled larger and did a jiggling move with lots of sparks of its synapses.

The honor is mine.

We would work this bond out over time, and even in the short days we’d been together, I was growing used to the feel of its energy within mine.

Speaking of… “I felt you when you got closer,” I told Angel, eating a soft “cheese” spread on a cracker. I hadn’t bothered to ask what it really was because that would probably gross me out. I preferred to just enjoy the new experiences.

“You felt me how?”

I tapped my chest, swallowing the last bite. “In here, like a warmth that flared harder as you arrived in The Grey Lands.”

Her smile was near-blinding. “I mean, we were warned about never bonding to any being not from Honor Meadows, but… I had a gut feeling, as your humans would say, and I went with it. The fast evolution of our bond is quite exciting for me; I think it speaks of a connection truly destined to exist between us.”

“What warning did they give?”

She hesitated, reaching out to pick up a round, purple fruit that tasted like a melon but with large, passionfruit-like seeds. “Bonding allows our energies to intertwine, and over time, there’s no telling what might result from that. It was a risk worth taking for me because there’s another bonus of this bond. When I die, you will inherit my power, and since I have no line left to pass it on, it’s imperative the power goes to one who is worthy. One I want to have my family’s protection.”

Tears sprang to my eyes, even though there was no reason to think Angel wouldn’t be around for another few thousand years.

“I don’t want your power,” I whispered, my voice choked. “I just want you to always be alive.”

She smiled. “I have no plans of going anywhere, but I like to be prepared. We always bond within our family, from birth actually, so no power is ever lost in our passing. I now have a millennia of family members’ power, and it cannot die with me.”

The odds of my immortal bestie dying before me was slim to none, but the fact that she considered me worthy of this honor, absolutely destroyed me.

“I love you,” I said, throwing my arms around her. “But if you do ever die, I’m going to be pissed as fuck. I’ll figure out a way to find your afterlife and kick your ass.”

She laughed, returning my hug with the skill of someone who’d been hugging her entire life, when I knew for a fact, she was brand new to the experience.

“I love you too, Mera. You’re the friend I never even knew I was missing in my life. You’re my ride or die, and I will bury every body for you.”

She was mixing Earth sayings like a pro there, and as a laugh of pure joy escaped me, I wondered why I even gave a fuck about Shadow.

This shit right here was what life was all about, and I was one lucky bitch to have it.