AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Colton crossed his arms. “Darwin has a special talent for investigation. Whatever happened to her, he will find it.”
Dannika smiled. “Sounds like Darwin should’ve been a cop.”
Darwin winked. “I was, but that was seventy-five years ago.”
Dannika blinked rapidly. “You transitioned seventy-five years ago?”
His smile held a sadness that made her stomach squeeze. “I was investigating a murder. A young woman drained of blood. The reaper who killed her returned to the scene to clean up his mess. Steele saved me, but a reaper bite is irreversible, as you know.”
The front door burst open.
A muscular blond-haired man entered. He looked around wildly. “It can’t be true.”
Darwin cleared his throat. “Settle down, Lamar.”
Black smoke rolled off his shoulders before he got himself under control. “Settle down? Are you kidding me? Steele is literally throwing us to the wolves. There is already talk of the cougar splinter group.” He pointed to Dannika. “All so he can breed a poly shifter. It’s disgusting.”
Colton stepped towards Lamar. “Modify your tone or get out.”
Lamar looked Dannika over with disgust. “Raine vouched for you. Convinced us you were worth saving. You didn’t deserve his trust. Do you even know what Maddock did to Raine after you left?”
CHAPTER9
Dannika stepped back. Lamar’s words stung as if he had slapped her. Mostly because they were true. She had put her needs above Raine’s to discover what had happened to her sister, and to examine her connection with Colton. To help him find the truth behind this alliance. They had left Raine in the cold, in a cell, at the hands of a madman drunk on power.
Guilt left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Colton stepped in front of her, poking Lamar in the chest. “How dare you! Dannika is a member of our clan. Steele has requested that we make her feel comfortable. You barge in here accusing her of betrayal when she had no part in this agreement. She was discarded by the wolf clan like she was a piece of dirty laundry. Show some respect.”
Colton was protecting her, but his words reminded her of her station in life. Every family had returned her. Why had she thought this one would be different? There was only one person she could rely on, and that person was her. Dannika knew how to play the game. Get along until she got what she needed and moved on. She had performed this dance her entire life.
Her shadow swirled within her body, its emotions as chaotic as hers. She walked to the corner of the picture window and gazed at the forest as the edges of her vision turned gray. She focused her thoughts inward.
We can do this. We can pretend until we get the information about our sister. They can’t contain us. Their overconfidence is their weakness.
Her shadow warrior didn’t speak with words, but it coalesced inside her body, a hard shell beneath the surface. She had to concentrate to return her vision to normal. To appear like nothing was wrong. With her shadow encasing her heart, her emotions dulled, offering a reprieve from the betrayal and the heartache.
“It’s fine, Colton. Lamar isn’t wrong.”
Lamar shook his head in disgust. “Maddock, at least put his clan first. He recognized the threat you pose. You will be the end of the cougar clan.”
He slammed the door when he left.
Darwin raised his hand, intending to defend her, but shouts came from outside. Darwin bolted out the door and leapt over the railing, followed by Colton. Dannika was right on their heels. They landed on the ground below and sprinted toward the congregation of shadow clan members.
They ran to the edge of the clearing as Steele’s alpha emerged to oppose Ryder. Black waves rolled off each man, licking the trees above them.
Colton put his arm in front of Dannika, barring her from going closer to the infuriated clan leaders. “What’s going on?”
Ryder’s massive form turned to him with glowing golden eyes. “How could you side with Maddock? He was given a gift, and he used it to gain power. If Dannika will choose someone other than Raine, then I insist the trials continue and that the bear clan has representation. If you refuse my request, then consider us at war.”
Steele growled at Ryder. “These are our lands. She is now a member of our clan. I made a sacrifice; one you would never have made. If you try to take her, I will fight you.”
“Then it’s war.”
Steele’s claws sprang from his knuckles as he swiped at Ryder. The bear clan leader was big, but he was agile. He’d been head of his clan for centuries and his experience showed. He shifted to mist, before coalescing behind Steele. His hand was around the cougar leader’s throat before Steele dissolved.
Colton rushed at Ryder, but Tarik appeared before him. Dannika recognized him from the shelter. He had helped her and Raine dispose of the bodies by burning them. He fought Colton as efficiently as he did the reapers, though her cougar counterpart appeared just as skilled.
