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“Dannika. Can you hear me?”

She nodded, but could not form words. Her mouth was too dry and the pain too intense.

“How are you still alive?”

Her arms broke, followed by her legs.

Raine jumped back with a mortified expression.

Her spine twisted into unnatural proportions. A human pretzel, with the shadows consuming her flesh, leaving parts of her body transparent.

The darkness sucked inward, invading what was left of her soul. She entered the shadow realm with a silent scream of retribution. While she could feel her form—her arms, her legs—were invisible. She moved her fingers in front of her face before an insatiable hunger rose inside her. She growled before focusing on the only living creature in the room. Her fingernails lengthened before she attacked.

Raine moved like wind over water, evading her clumsy strike. She lunged after him again. He grabbed her arms, holding her away from him. She could hear his heartbeat within his chest. Hear the blood pump through his veins. It smelled like fine wine, and she wanted a taste.

Men stormed into the room, surrounding her. She heard them shouting, but she couldn’t focus on the words. The influx of new prey was intoxicating. Only the hunger mattered and the sound of blood rushing through her victim’s veins.

Dannika turned on a large man who held thick chains in his hands.

She hissed before pain sliced the back of her head, and she fell to the ground.

Her blood dripped to the floor before the men fastened shackles to her wrists and dragged her out of the room. She kicked out, but the metal links clanged, halting her movements. Bits of rock bit into her skin as she slid along the rough ground. The grey walls of the tunnel wavered as her eyelashes fluttered.

Someone shouted her name before the welcoming darkness devoured her.

CHAPTER4

Raine resisted the urge to release his wolf. The beast was usually calm, but now chafed at the confines of his human body, a battle he was unused to fighting. His eyes remained on Dannika’s still form crumpled in the cell. Her shadow warrior had receded, and her injuries from transformation had healed. She huddled in the fetal position with her chin tucked to her chest. Her diminutive size made her appear almost childlike if it weren’t for the chains.

Had she been a man, he could have seen to her injuries, but her unconscious confined state had his wolf and his warrior raging for retaliation. She was his. His to train. His to... His mind shied away from his wolf’s instincts.

He turned to Maddock. “Why have you chained her? She survived the transition.”

Maddock’s jaw twitched. His eyes roamed over Dannika’s still form. If he’d had his way, he would’ve chained her to the wall like a criminal instead of dropping her on the cell floor. “Women are not supposed to survive the transformation. It’s unnatural. A curse. If we allow her to live, we will all turn reaper.”

Raine growled. “How can you say such a thing? Are you honestly afraid of a woman, or do you believe our clan is too weak to handle circumstances of this magnitude? If the latter is the case perhaps, we should turn to the bear or cougar leader.”

Maddock grabbed Raine’s shirt, pulling him against his chest. “You believemeweak? I saved you. Trained you. How dare you show me such disrespect.”

Raine’s eyes flashed with blue fire, signifying his beast was barely leashed. “There was no disrespect intended, but if you fear a woman, then you are not fit to lead this clan.”

Maddock surveyed the room as other clan members nodded.

He released Raine’s shirt. “There has never been a female in any shadow shifter clan. She is a mutant and we have no way of knowing what the repercussions of her existence are. I don’t expect you to put her down. I will do it myself.”

Dayton, a senior pack member, growled. “You kill a woman out of mercy. You don’t kill her for surviving. When you kill innocents, then you are no better than the reapers.”

Raine met his leader’s angry gaze. “Dayton is right. You kill her, and half the wolves will walk away. Hell, I will take her and start a rival clan myself.”

“And I will join him,” Dayton said.

Several men growled their disapproval, but others nodded their ascension.

Maddock held out both hands. “This is what I mean. She’s been in our presence for less than an hour and we have dissension in our own clan. Talk of a splinter group. This is what the reapers want. We are already losing the fight because of dissension with the cougar and bear clan. If we don’t unite, we will all die.”

Raine nodded. “You’re right, Maddock. Instead of looking at the woman as a curse, use her existence to call a meeting with the other clan leaders. A woman surviving the transition is unheard of. I guarantee Steele and Ryder will heed your call under these circumstances. Like it or not, she is the excuse you’ve been looking for to unite the clans under one leader.”

Maddock’s eyes returned to Dannika’s still form. “Perhaps we could use her existence. Surviving the transformation doesn’t mean she has an animal. Her transformation isn’t complete unless she can shift. She may still die.”

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