Chapter One
Main U.S.Outpost
Marinah
King’s hand slid across my shoulder, drawing my attention.Comfort and strength shone in his striking blue eyes.He was dressed in military fatigues instead of his usual “tear you apart” Shadow Warrior gear.The fatigue shirt stretched at the seams, struggling to cover his broad chest and shoulders.I preferred his leather chest straps, for their practicality, of course, and because they showed off his muscles to their best advantage.
Today, we were both dressed in outpost military attire, covered from ankle to wrist.If we shifted to our Warrior forms, the material would shred.The male Warriors wouldn’t care if they were nude.I wasn’t as indifferent.I’d spent too many years thinking I was human to feel comfortable showing my naked bits to the people at the U.S.Outpost.If shifting became necessary, we’d deal with that problem when it arose.
The outpost had grown to three times its size since our last visit.After another outpost was destroyed, many of the people decided to band together and moved here.The place wasn’t pretty.It was actually a ragtag mess that somehow managed to appear organized.They had slapped together houses, huts, and cabins with whatever materials they could find.Some had even repurposed trailers and semitrucks as living quarters.The town was divided into designated spaces, much like campgrounds from before the apocalypse, giving each family a small area of their own.
At the center of the settlement was a cordoned-off square with trade stands.People gathered there, sorting through wares and bargaining with their own products.Paper money was good for nothing but wiping your bum in this new world.Towns like this, scattered across the outskirts of demolished cities, were the future of the U.S.
“Are you ready?”King asked, his warm breath brushing over my ear.
“No,” I admitted truthfully.
The pressure of his hand on my shoulder intensified for a second, a silent promise that he had my back no matter what I discovered inside.
We kept walking.Human eyes followed us, filled with uncertainty.It was still disheartening that so many of the new arrivals didn’t trust us.But with a mental shrug, I reminded myself it wasn’t the day to solve all our problems.I already had enough on my plate.
The woman I was about to meet had information about my grandmother.The same grandmother who gave birth to my mother, who in turn gave birth to me, a Nova Warrior, a super alien from another planet.
Even thinking those words to myself felt strange.For most of my life, I thought I was just a scared human woman with a limited number of days left on Earth.Now, I was trying to accept my role as leader of the Shadow Warriors.My Nova Warrior status had made me the leader by default, whether I wanted the title or not.And I didn’t want it.
I could only hope this woman had information that would help me figure out what the heck I was doing.
Our enemy, the U.S.Federation, wasn’t going away anytime soon, and neither were the hellhounds that had ravaged and annihilated so much of Earth and its people.
I straightened my shoulders and lifted my head.I could do this.King’s hand slid from my back, and I instantly missed the contact.With a firm mental shake, I took the lead and continued toward the front door of the small cabin we’d been directed to upon our arrival.
Landan, the local governor and one of our good friends, greeted us when I knocked.He’d taken over when Garret moved to our island to be with Axel, our doctor.I was impressed with how easily Landan handled his new role.He had spoken with the surrounding outposts and offered them the safety net of combining resources and people.It also gave the Shadow Warriors we had here less area to keep safe.
“Good to see you,” he said, and shook King’s hand while simply giving me a nod with no physical or eye contact.
King’s mating rage was getting better, and mine was all but gone except in Warrior form where it flared a little.I hadn’t tested Nova because I didn’t want anyone to die.Ms.Beast might grumble, but she no longer shot painful bursts of Kedorine 5, the hormone that produced our beasts, through me.We called it K-5 for short.
Landan stepped back to let us in, and my vision quickly adjusted as I scanned the four corners of the small cabin.
A young woman wearing a loose cotton dress stepped out of the bedroom and froze.So did I.
She wasn’t what I’d expected.She was tall, like me, and possibly as young as me, but the resemblance ended there.Auburn hair framed a freckled face with striking blue eyes that were similar to a Warrior’s.Was she a Shadow Warrior?My pulse quickened.Her jawline was sharp, and her cheekbones high.Incredibly beautiful was the only way to describe her.
She dipped her head, avoiding my eyes.That small gesture told me she had at least a passing knowledge of Shadow Warrior protocol.Given that her visit had to do with my grandmother, it made sense.
“I can handle eye contact if you so choose,” I said softly.
Her head snapped up, and our eyes met.What happened next was completely unexpected.Energy, unlike anything I’d ever encountered, flowed from her to me.It slid across my skin like liquid fire and wove into Ms.Beast’s energy in a kaleidoscope of swirling power.The sensation was overwhelming.
The woman took a step toward me, and I instinctively held out my hand to stop her.“What did you just do?”I demanded, somehow managing to keep my voice even.The fact that her surge of energy hadn’t triggered the K-5 was deeply unsettling.
Her eyes darted to King, but she stayed silent, lowering her gaze again.As soon as her focus had shifted to King, the energy had dissipated, leaving me able to breathe normally again.
Without thinking, I waved my hand.“Leave us.”
King’s Beast energy hit immediately, rolling over me in stabbing waves that were nothing like what the woman had done moments before.He was letting me know he wasn’t happy with my command.But despite his displeasure, he and Landan were gone within seconds, leaving me alone with her.
I focused all my attention on the woman.My irritation burned, and I could feel my eyes narrowing into small pinpoints of flashing anger.“I do not like repeating myself,” I said in precise English.“What is happening, or what happened a moment ago when you looked at me?”
