Not good.“What makes you think I’m their leader?”I asked carefully.
We’d been keeping information from Landan.Not because we didn’t trust him, but out of self-preservation.The Federation didn’t need to know everything about us, and with so many humans joining the settlements, there were bound to be spies among them.Even Landan agreed we needed to limit shared knowledge.
Endura laughed, the sound trilling like a bird’s song.It was light and melodic.The happiness in her laugh washed over me, influencing my mood in spite of my frustration.
“Your mate deferred to you immediately,” she said.“That does not happen unless you hold dominance over him.”
Her words didn’t just ruffle my feathers; they pissed me off.“No one dominates King,” I said, my power flaring.
The intensity of my energy usually sent male Warriors running for cover, but Endura didn’t even flinch.Her calm demeanor was maddening.
Her gaze dropped to her lap.“I meant no disrespect.It would take an incredible Warrior to dominate your mate,” she said softly, her tone full of submission.“We’ve known about him for a long time.He is a great Warrior, and even though we won’t be part of the war, we acknowledge his fairness.When the humans sent the Warriors to your island, we thought the end was near again.Warriors from our past would have annihilated every human on the planet.King didn’t respond the way we expected, and we celebrated his desire to protect his people, including the humans, over his need for revenge.”
Her eyes lifted, meeting mine squarely.“This never happened on the home planet.I may not be what you expected, but I understand Warriors.You said, ‘Leave us,’ and though King didn’t like it, he obeyed you immediately.You are alpha of the Shadow Warriors, and I am honored to know you.”
I didn’t intend for her to discover my biggest secret, so I had to tread carefully.I gave her a short nod of assent.“I am alpha,” I said simply.
Her eyes lit up, a spark of admiration shining in them.“As was your grandmother,” she said.“She worked very hard to keep that side of her quiet.She faced a great struggle and didn’t always succeed.Her wisdom was invaluable, and we overlooked her violent tendencies when they happened.”
“She wasn’t a pacifist?”I asked, startled.
Endura shook her head and leaned forward in her chair, closing the space between us.“She was our greatest pacifist.She fought her nature every single day and, for the most part, succeeded.”
I felt a pang of sadness for my grandmother.She’d carried a burden I could barely comprehend.But I needed Endura to understand who I was without revealing my Nova side.“I refuse to fight my nature,” I said firmly.
Endura watched me closely, her gaze relentless.“This is not the time for you to fight your power.You are alpha, and this world needs you.”
“But you won’t fight with us?”I asked, keeping my tone cryptic.
“We will not engage.”
I wanted to scream.We needed their help.Humanity needed them.I couldn’t hide my anger at her selfishness, and the emotion boiled to the surface.Bad people had committed unspeakable atrocities, and no one should stand idly by and allow it to continue.
“Why are you even here?”I demanded, my voice carrying my anger.I felt the heat of the words and hated that this woman could see and hear my emotions so clearly.
Her smile didn’t waver, which only irritated me more.“Your grandmother left her journal for the offspring of her blood,” she said.“Her daughter, your mother, refused the journal.It’s been in my family’s keeping since your grandmother passed.”
My heart stuttered at the mention of the journal.It might hold the secrets of my past; answers I desperately needed.“Have you read it?”I asked, trying to keep my tone even.
She shook her head.“No.It was your grandmother’s private journal, containing things personal to her and her Beast.I would not invade her privacy.Along with the journal, I am also gifting you the collected histories of our women.”
Her words caught me off guard.Technically, as alpha, I was Keeper of the Shadow Warrior texts.I studied them when I had time, but I still didn’t fully grasp the significance of the title.
“Why would you want me to have your texts?”I asked, narrowing my eyes as I tried to gauge her intent.
“Our history must be protected,” she said.“My time as Keeper of the Past has come to an end.The new Keeper will teach her children about our heritage.Those children will be male or female, the first union of a Shadow Warrior pair in two centuries.”
Well, wasn’t I special?
Chapter Two
King
Landan said a few words as we walked away from the cabin, but his voice trailed off when he realized I wasn’t paying attention.He’d quickly learned the nuances of dealing with Shadow Warriors and made his escape with a muttered excuse about checking on things, whatever that meant.
My Beast had fully accepted Marinah as Alpha.Unfortunately, there were two parts of a whole inside this body, and I personally wanted to bite her head off for dismissing me so abruptly.I no longer harbored any delusions about who could kill whom.Marinah took her training seriously, and every Shadow Warrior had seen her transform into a deadly fighting machine, even without shifting into Nova form.
She’d been working on her Nova transformation too.Her control wasn’t great yet, and pulling Nova forward took a lot out of her.If she was angry, the transformation came easier, which only frustrated her more.Marinah wanted absolute control over every facet of her Warrior abilities, and I had no doubt she’d achieve it.Eventually.
