There had always been the tiniest hope that she would reach out, and Dannika would discover her mother had regretted her decision to give her up. That she was in a better place now and wanted to be a part of Dannika’s life. One where she could have a relationship with her mother. Dannika had never realized how important that fantasy was until Killian ripped it away.

  Killian smiled. “Who do you think left that note on you before leaving you at the hospital?”

  Raine pulled Dannika against his body, his shadow mixed with hers, wrapping her in a cocoon of warmth and compassion. “Why would you save her?”

  Killian licked his lips, tasting the blood in the air. “Dannika is special. Her mother was special.”

  Dannika’s beast howled for blood, but the leader of the reapers possessed a piece of information she’d wanted her entire life. She caged her raging emotions. “Who was she? How did you know my mother?”

  Long, black fingernails unfurled from Killian’s hand as he reached out to her. “Come with me, Dannika, and I will tell you all about your mother and your history. I assure you, it’s not what you think it is.”

  Raine stepped in front of her. “She isn’t going anywhere with you, Killian. Dannika’s mine.”

  Killian laughed, but the grating sound that echoed from his lungs made Dannika’s stomach roll. “The shadow wolf clan is no different from the many foster homes she attended—a temporary housing before she realizes her place in the new world.”

  “The new world? We heard you fancied yourself a king. Delusions of grandeur are a human trait, Killian. Are you embracing your true heritage?” Raine asked.

  The snarl Killian emitted echoed in the air, drowning out the distant sirens. “I am the king. I planned to kill you quickly, but you have earned a special place beneath my boot. You will lick it and fawn at my feet before I kill you.”

  Raine shook his head. “You’re more delusional than I thought. Enjoy your fantasies while you can. I will remind you of them when I kill you.”

  Killian glanced down the street, where red and blue lights flashed against the buildings. “We are out of time. Come with me now, Dannika.”

  She stepped back into Raine’s chest. “No.”

  “Bad decision. The next deaths are on you.” The shadows rose from the earth, consuming Killian before sinking to the ground. A black stain charred the grass where he’d stood.

  Raine grabbed Dannika’s hand, pulling her into the mouth of the shadow pathway. They hovered in the opening, watching as the emergency vehicles parked.

  Lights flashed against the mirrored windows on the businesses across the street as men and women in blue uniforms and gold badges ran between the victims. They looked for life, hope, maybe a miracle, but they would get none.

  Inside the shadow pathway, Raine and Dannika’s raw emotions mixed in a gray cauldron of pain. Fear, anger, and disgust all intertwined so completely, Dannika couldn’t tell who they originated from. Raine had warned her mates were entwined, but this was absolute. One being. One soul.

  Dannika focused on a detective in a tan overcoat as he approached a victim, taking pictures with his phone. “This is a catastrophe. Why so many?”

  “I have no idea. His thirst for power concerns me, but his fascination with you is out of character for a reaper, especially Killian.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself, though the shadowy limbs offered no warmth. “Did he really leave a note to ensure that I was safe after killing my mother?”

  “Hard to say. The reapers spy on us. It’s just as likely someone heard you tell us about the note. I detected no lie from him, but Killian is a master deceiver. He mixes enough truth in with his lies to trick our shadows.”

  She turned to him. “I thought you monitored the shadow pathways. Wouldn’t you know if a reaper penetrated the caves?”

  “Normally, yes. But reapers are former shadows. Some were specialists. They do not lose those special abilities when they turn reaper.”

  “There’s a reaper that can mask his presence in the pathways?” Dannika asked.

  Raine’s shadow tightened around her. “Yes. We’ve tried to take him out for a few years. He is crafty and well protected.”

  “What do we do next?” The ice in her heart refused to thaw. Ghostly fingers clawed at the fleshy organ, attempting to take a permanent hold.

  “We need to investigate your heritage. Killian’s fascination with you originates from your mother. We must find out who she was.”

  Dannika turned around, looking up at Raine. His face could’ve been carved from stone. The pale color, with the flickers of black shadow, made him look like a granite Adonis. “I checked my social worker’s documents. Other than the trail of group homes, she had nothing useful in my file. Just the address for the hospital where I was abandoned.”

  Raine focused on the sea of blue uniforms that swarmed over the dead. “Regardless of who your mother was, Killian fixated on her. He wants you, but the question is why? I am concerned you are a stand-in for the object of his obsession?”

  “Could just be the whole female shadow thing,” she said.

  “I don’t think so. Reapers don’t mate, and Killian wants you for something. He was salivating at the sight of you.”

  Ice skated down Dannika’s spine. “Don’t remind me.”

  Raine pointed to the detective in the tan overcoat. “He appears to be the lead detective. He is taking photos of all the men, likely for identification purposes. Wait here while I make a few suggestions to him.”

  Dannika grabbed his arm when he made a move to exit the shadow pathway, but he dissolved and raced across the grass. Each blade created a tiny shadow, a highway of darkness that led him to his prey.

  Dark mist rose from the grass beneath the detective’s feet. He looked around, rubbing his neck uncomfortably as the dark molecules entered his eardrum. His eyes glassed over as all movement ceased.

  It was only a matter of seconds. To the surrounding officers, the detective appeared to be looking at his phone. Only Dannika knew his heart had stopped beating. Some kind of stasis locked the detective in place, a rapture created by her mate.

  The dark matter exited the detective’s eardrum and returned to the grass below. The detective scratched his ear before returning to his crime scene and taking a picture of a dead referee as if nothing had happened.

  Raine raced along the ground and reformed in the shadow pathway’s mouth. His arms encircled her body before he whispered in her ear, “Did you miss me?”

  The words enveloped her heart. Despite the grave circumstances, his voice wrapped around her soul, causing her body to come alive. He did that. Always. There wasn’t a moment, good or bad, that Dannika didn’t want to be with him.

  “What did you do?” she asked.

  “I whispered to him.”

  She pointed at the detective, rubbing his chin. “What did that do to him?”

  “You’re aware that some shadows have specialized talents. Ones they develop as they mature. Mine is the power of suggestion. If I whisper an idea to a human. More often than not, they will believe the whispers as truth.”

  Her eyes widened. “What did you tell him?”

  “I suggested this was an organized terrorist attack. My brethren will plant some evidence that supports this theory around town, and I will direct the lead detective toward that theory.”

  Her brows knit together. “This isn’t the first time you’ve done this, is it?”

  “I have been using my talent to cover reaper kills for centuries. This is the most overt demonstration of Killian’s quest for power to date.” He surveyed the field, littered with dead bodies. “I fear it won’t be the last.”

  Dannika glanced at the detective. He was barking orders at several officers and directing the coroners. “What do we do now?”

  “We need to return to the caves and report to Maddock.”

  The pain associated with her molecules separating, her skin ripping from bone, and the strange security of the dark pathway was a welcome reprieve from the macabre death scene at that soccer field.

  Raine shrouded her and protected her as they raced through the dark streams that made up the shadow network. The wrenching feeling and abrupt halt as he exited the pathway made her stomach flip, but it was getting easier. She didn’t throw up, and she recovered from the disorientation much faster.

  They walked outside the caves, where Maddock was overseeing a combat trial between two younger clan members. He didn’t turn when they stopped beside him.

  “The reapers killed over thirty men. Killian oversaw the attack himself,” Raine said.

  Maddock turned with black eyes. “That’s a massacre. How do we spin that to the humans?”

  “I’ve suggested it was an organized terrorist attack. I will make the necessary arrangements, but we can’t continue like this. Killian said he did this for Dannika. He wanted her to go with him.”

  Maddock’s eyes bored into Dannika. “What’s Killian’s interest in you?”

  Dannika nibbled her lip. “No idea, but I don’t want any part of that freak show.”

  Raine glanced at the fighting shadows. “Maybe her blood is poisonous to the reapers. They have been watching us, perhaps they know.”

  “We are yet to test that theory,” Maddock said.

  “They don’t want to hurt her. Perhaps it can work to our advantage.”

  Maddock’s eyes roamed over Dannika. “That’s interesting, isn’t it? They kill over thirty people, but won’t threaten Dannika.”

  Raine shook his head. “It’s concerning. I had planned to wait a bit, but I’m going to have Darren rune Dannika now. The reapers have already proven they will attack us here. If she needs to enter the shadows, she needs those maps.”

  “She has not passed a single trial. Runes are earned, not given out like cheap pieces of jewelry,” Maddock snapped.

  Raine stepped up to Maddock. “She is getting the Rune. This is my decision, not yours.”

  Dannika put her hand on Raine’s arm. “What is this all about? What runes?”

  Raine’s eyes softened when he looked down at her. “I want Darren to give you map runes. The caves. The city. The outlying areas.”

  “I can’t travel the pathways without you. I don’t know how to use the maps yet,” Dannika said.

  “I will teach you. If the reapers come for you, you’ll need an escape route.”

  Maddock huffed. “She is a fledgling. A reaper will enter the pathway and follow her. She’s too inexperienced. Too slow to evade a reaper.”

  Raine’s eyes met that of his leader. “I also want her to have maps of the other clans. Darren has made them for the cougar and bear clan. We have access to all of them.”

  “I don’t trust her.” Maddock held up his hand when Raine growled. “It isn’t just her. I don’t trust any fledgling until they prove themselves. You know this.”

  “Killian is trying to acquire her. This situation is unprecedented,” Raine said.

  “By your own admission, he won’t hurt Dannika. Until we learn who her mother is and why Killian wants her, it’s not safe for the clan to give her access to all the pathways.”

  Raine’s eyes flickered black. “She gets them or we are leaving. I’m done with your lack of trust in me.”

  Maddock stepped back. “I trust you, Raine. Your specialized talent has been invaluable in keeping the humans out of this war.”

  “Then trust me now,” Raine said.

  A wisp of dark mist rolled off Maddock’s chest. His muscles flexed before his lip twitched. “I will allow the maps of the caves and city, but Killian’s interest makes me nervous.”

  Raine inclined his head. “Me as well. Dannika and I will discover his fascination with her.”

  Maddock nodded, turning back to the fight.

  Raine took Dannika’s hand and led her through the cave tunnels. She recognized the door as soon as they stopped.

  Darren’s smile lit the room when he spotted Dannika. “I was hoping to see you soon.”

  Dannika hugged Darren despite Raine’s hard look. “I would’ve been back sooner, but I’ve been training.”

  “How can I help you?” Darren asked.

  Dannika held out her wrist. “I’m getting a rune map.”

  Darren’s eyes widened. “Truly? I have never administered runes on a fledgling.”

  “There are extenuating circumstances.” Raine rubbed his chin. “Give Dannika maps of the city, outlying areas, and the caves.”

  “It will be my pleasure.” He wrapped his fingers around Dannika’s wrist, then extended a claw before drawing the intricate patterns that produced the maps when activated. She grunted as his claw bit into her flesh.

  After Darren finished the runes on her wrist, he ran a finger over the healed skin. The map of the caves sprung to life, with the spiderweb of dark pathways intersecting the physical tunnels. He turned her wrist, double-checking his work. “All done.”

  He released her wrist.

  Dannika touched the map and discovered that it blurred when she flicked an area she could zoom in. “It’s like an iPhone, only in 3D.”

  Darren frowned. “What’s an iPhone?”

  She glanced between Darren and Raine. “How can you not know about smart phones?”

  Darren looked down. “I have never left the tunnels. I have read about smart phones, but that technology is useless to us. It cannot travel the pathways.”

  “I saw a computer in Maddock’s room. You have access to the Internet.”

  Darren nodded. “We do. Seniors are required to study the human world before they enter it.” He glanced around the room. “Maddock has let me use his computer to do research on mapping techniques and art.”

  “That’s good. Your pictures are beautiful.” She winked at him. “Your maps are pretty good too.”

  Darren grabbed her wrist. “I almost forgot. I made you a cougar rune. It’s a perfect replica of your cat.”

  The 3D image of a cougar sprang to life as the sting of pain subsided. Dannika moved it left and right, causing the mouth to open, exposing the long incisors. It was beautiful. Deadly. Perfect.

  She wrapped her arms around Darren’s neck, kissing his cheek. “I love it.”

  They both froze when Raine growled.

  CHAPTER 3

  Dannika flashed Darren a smile of reassurance before unwinding her arms from his neck. Her eyes flashed with green fire as she turned to Raine.

  “Did you just growl at me?” she snapped.

  Raine’s face could have been carved from granite. “My wolf does not approve of you molesting my fellow clan mates.”

  “Molesting? Are you kidding me right now? Darren is my friend. It was a simple hug.” Her eyes flickered in warning as black mixed with the iridescent green. Her mate, however, was unrepentant. His muscles twitched beneath his perfect skin before he crossed his arms.

  “You do not need to hug him, or kiss him.”

  Dannika glanced at Darren when he shuffled his feet. His eyes remained downcast as he fidgeted with his fingers.

  “You are unbelievable, and you’re making Darren uncomfortable,” she said.

  “The warning was for you, not Darren. He did not initiate contact—you did. While I trust him, you need to understand that we are not human. Your affections, though innocent, could get a clan member killed,” Raine said.

  She locked with his hard eyes. The swirl of black behind the pupils focused on her. “You’re serious.”

  “Deadly serious.”

  She stepped up to Raine’s chest, pointing her finger. “Darren is like family. At the moment, he’s the only wolf shadow shifter I actually like. Drop the macho bullshit before I drop you.”

  Raine’s jaw ticked. “Drop me?”

  She tapped his rear. “Right on your ass, if you keep this up.”

  His body relaxed as his lip twitched. “I am more than happy to continue this discussion in the ring. I love training you.”

  “You wish.” Dannika allowed Raine to lead her from Darren’s room, but she sent the cartographer a friendly goodbye wave. “How old is Darren? He seems younger than he looks.”

  Raine put his hand on her back. The heat sent a sizzle of awareness crackling across her skin.

  “He is twenty-two. By our standards, he is very young. He only left the sanctuary a year ago. His father was killed in a reaper attack less than a month after Darren moved into his private room.”

  “That’s terrible,” Dannika said.

  Raine put his arm around her shoulders. “Your compassion never ceases to amaze me.”

  A large man leaned against the rock wall of the tunnel. His eyes moved to Raine’s arm as his lip curled. “You should have more respect for your leader, Raine.”

  Raine stepped up to the man. “You got something to say, Ruger?

  Ruger’s eyes roamed over Dannika. “It’s bad enough Maddock allowed you to train your little tramp, but traipsing her around and throwing it in his face is unbecoming of a future leader.”

  Raine grabbed Ruger’s shirt, pulling him against his chest. “You disrespect her again, and I will challenge you. It won’t be training—you will fight my alpha.”

  Ruger’s eyes widened. “You would kill me, over her?”

  “Without hesitation.”

  “Is she really your mate?” Ruger asked with hesitation.

  Black smoke rolled off Raine’s shoulders, signifying his shadow was vying to be released. “She is.”

  The dark undertone of his alpha made Ruger flinch.

  “But she’s an abomination. The next wolf clan leader cannot be attached to her.”

  Black mist exploded from Raine’s body as his alpha emerged, roaring its displeasure. It slashed Ruger’s chest, then took the startled man to the ground.

  Ruger’s shadow emerged to protect him. Black waves rolled off his shoulder as he attempted to protect himself, but he lacked the strength and training to oppose Raine. Ruger’s blood splayed across the rock walls before Dannika stepped in.

  She put her hands up. “Raine, stop it. He’s a jerk, but he doesn’t deserve to die.”

 

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