The room was cool, dark, and quiet.
To anyone who hadn’t grown up as I had, it would’ve felt peaceful.
But my mind immediately flashed to my past
I scrambled out from beneath the blankets, crashing to the ground and then clawing my way back to my feet. My power flooded me, and I was engulfed by shadows in an instant. My monster charged at the side of the tent, tearing her way through the canvas walls. The light off the full moon illuminated the clearing, but the shadow wolf only saw one thing:
Threats.
A handful of them, gathered near the hanging fabric that the king had slept in until he took my tent.
They all spun to look at her, at my monster, and a few shocked murmurs ripped through the crowd.
She barreled toward them, barely noticing the dark-haired king and his two closest companions standing at the front of the group.
Lavee barked, “Give the king space,” and Jesh enforced it with his gigantic form.
Namir lunged for my wolf as she threw herself at the crowd, her fangs bared and her shadows darkening, thickening.
She slammed into the king, and together they crashed to the rocky dirt. Never losing steam for a moment, the pair rolled, shadows fighting shadows.
My shadows were screaming, yelling, demanding blood, revenge, and death. His were whispering, but somehow, the whisper of his power seemed even louder than the scream of mine.
“Safety,” the shadows whispered. “Security,” they said. “Peace,” they continued. “Mate,” they added.
The words were on a constant, soft loop.
Safety.
Security.
Peace.
Mate.
Safety.
Security.
Peace.
Mate.
Safety.
Security.
Peace.
Mate.
Mate?
My roaring heart skipped a beat, or six.
The shadows engulfing me, giving life to the monster that lived within me, were sucked back into my body as if by some living force.
I rolled away from Namir, rocks and dirt cutting into my bare knees as I straightened and gasped for air, clutching at my chest, at my throat, at my head.