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The dark thoughts sent a chill down her arms. She backed away from the mirror. Green eyes replaced the black pupils, but the hunger remained. She rubbed her stomach, attempting to ease the violent sensation. It wasn’t like craving a cheeseburger or chocolate. It was primal.
Raine had warned her about the consequences of feeding the dark soul within her. One hit. One kill, and she was in danger of losing her wolf. Of becoming a reaper.
She splashed water on her face, cooling her skin, looking for the normalcy of working in the shelter. It was lost. Things were different.Shewas different.
Determined to find the reason Margo and the others were so adversarial, she secured her apron and returned to the buffet.
The patrons were eating and chatting. Though she was hungry, the smell of eggs and melting cheese turned her stomach.
Margo was working in the back, so it gave Dannika a chance to clear the pans from the buffet without interference. A false sense of normalcy derived from repetitive actions.
Dannika felt him before she saw him. There was no chime at the door or warning that he had entered; Raine was simply there, standing on the other side of the buffet. His eyes pierced her with an angry stare.
“Go away,” she said, stacking the empty dirty pans. “I’m not going back.”
Raine glanced at the men in dirty jackets who sat at the tables. They watched but didn’t approach him. “You’re coming back one way or another. Your actions have put these innocents in danger.”
Dannika grabbed a rag, pretending to clean the side of an empty bin. “I’m not endangering anyone. I keep to myself, and I will continue to do so. Maddock will not dictate my life and neither will you.”
Raine’s jaw ticked. “If Maddock knew you were here, he would’ve already killed you. Darren intercepted the clan member before he informed Maddock. Darren also arranged a distraction. I’m not sure how you got the cartographer on your side, but I’ll be interested in the story.”
Dannika’s chest squeezed.
“Darren is kind. You’re lucky to have him,” she whispered.
Raine’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, I will be very interested in hearing that story.”
Her eyes snapped up when she detected a low growl. “It’s not like that. I can’t believe you’re acting jealous. Now go away.”
Raine leaned against the metal buffet table. “Tell me how you escaped the caves. There were shadows from multiple clans in almost every corridor.”
Dannika stirred a tray of bacon. The salty, sweet smell had been one of her favorites but now made her cough. “I’m sneaky, and I’m quick on my feet.”
He arched his eyebrows. “You were unconscious when I brought you to the caves. How did you make your way back?”
She shrugged. “I have a good sense of direction.”
“You’re lying.”
Dannika grabbed a clean plate. “If I give you a free meal, will you quit harassing me?”
“I have no interest in your human food. Now tell me how you escaped the caves.”
Her shadow rose within her. How dare Raine question her? She was powerful. The colors leeched from the room as her eyesight turned to shades of gray.
“None of your business.”
Raine hissed. “Your shadow is fully formed. You traveled the pathways. You have no idea how dangerous that is without training. Hell, you shouldn’t have been able to dematerialize yet. No fledgling enters the shadow pathways.”
Her voice lowered with the undertone of her shadow. “We have already established that I don’t follow the rules. You shouldn’t be shocked that this is any different. I am who I need to be. Begone, or I will challenge you myself.”
Raine’s eyes turned black. “You’re allowing your demon soul to corrupt your animal. You don’t know what you’re doing. We will never let an untrained shadow loose in the human world.”
She leaned forward. “Are you threatening me? Maddock trained you well, didn’t he?”
“You don’t understand, Dannika, the ramifications of a shadow traveling the pathways without training. You risk not only your own death but the death of any shadow in the same stream with you.”
Her heart stuttered. “Stream?”
