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Ryder’s muscles flexed. “You are insane not to utilize the gift you have been given. She should be trained.”
“We will train her for defensive purposes, as all clan members require. No female will fight for the men of this clan. Call me old-fashioned, but I will die before I allow a woman to fight for me,” Maddock said.
Ryder nodded. “I can respect that. Perhaps it would be best if we passed her gifts into the next generation. We need to breed, Dannika.”
Dannika backed away from the table. “Not a fucking chance. I’m not an animal, and you’ll have to kill me before you treat me as one. If you plan to rape me, then you should know, you won’t be the first to try, but you will be the last.”
Ryder held up his hand. “Dannika, I apologize if you misunderstood. No man, no shadow, would put his hands on you without your permission. You are unaccustomed to our breeding cycle, but rape will not produce a viable shadow. You must choose your children’s father and accept him willingly. You must choose a mate. Perhaps more than one.”
CHAPTER18
Raine fought the beast within him. The instinct to lash out at a man he had always respected was primal. He moved to the end of the table to stand beside Dannika. “She is mine. If she is required to have a mate, then it will be me.”
The timbre of his alpha made his presence known.
Dannika pushed at his arm, but he didn’t move. He didn’t understand his connection with her, but nothing would keep her from him. Not even his chosen family.
“I don’t need you to fight my battles for me. I’m not choosing a mate because some jerk tells me to,” Dannika hissed.
He felt the rumble in his chest before he realized what it was. Laughter. In the midst of the chaos and anger, his shadow was amused by its chosen mate. The realization sent a sizzle of awareness and excitement racing through his body. Despite centuries of loneliness; the knowledge that there would never be a second half to his soul; that shadows were destined to a solitary existence of fighting and death—he had a mate.
A member of the cougar clan stood up. Raine had never met him before, but if he was in the room, then he was a senior for the shadow cougar clan.
“My name is Landon. Dannika is a cougar and I request the right to court her.”
Dannika lurched forward. “What part of ‘I’m not interested’ don’t you understand? This shadow shifter business doesn’t make you stupid, does it? I mean, you understand that concept of consent?”
Ryder’s lip twitched before he looked at Maddock. “I believe there are members of my clan who would also like to court her. She may be wolf and cougar, but her blood is unique. If she chose a bear mate, her children could be any shadow species. Maybe even a future king.”
Maddock’s hands fisted at his sides. “No shadow should have that kind of power.”
Steele settled in his seat. “I agree with Ryder. All eligible males should have the right to court Dannika.”
Maddock laughed without humor. “All shadows are eligible. None have women.”
Steele and Ryder shared a glance. “Males that have had children or found their fledgling through transformation are not eligible to court her.”
Raine growled. “No.”
Steel held his gaze. “While you have the right to train her, you do not have the right to mate her. No shadow possesses that right. That honor should fall on all clan members.”
Maddock features scrunched. A look of disbelief. “She is not a bear. If she is to choose a mate, it must be a cougar or a wolf.”
Dannika shook her head. “Unbelievable. You can all go to hell. I’ll return to the shelter and resume my life as if I never met any of you idiots. I’m done with all of you.”
She headed towards the door.
The wall of black mist that barred her exit was composed of several men. She glanced back at the table. Maddock sat alone.
“It takes hundreds of years for us to unite on any subject and it’s because of a woman. Pathetic.” Maddock’s eyes turn black before returning to their natural gold.
Raine resumed his human form, leaving the others to bar the door. “We’ll get this sorted out, Dannika. No man will touch you without your permission, or I will kill him.”
Her eyes held fire. His little sprite was planning something, and she had no intention of telling them what it was. “Sure, whatever.”
Landon resumed his human form. “I wish to court you, Dannika, but I would never touch you or force you to mate. That is not our way.”
Raine stepped up to Landon. “She has already told you she doesn’t want you. Why force this issue?”
