AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I won’t put up with the disrespect. They have a problem with me, that’s fine, but if they talk smack about Dannika, they pay the price.” Raine backed away as his human form surfaced.
Ruger wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand. “You saw what he did, Dayton. Raine isn’t fit to be the next clan leader.”
Dayton stepped up to Ruger. “You instigated this fight, probably with Maddock’s encouragement. Move along and try to learn some respect for your betters.”
Ruger’s face turned red. “Maddock will learn of everything that has transpired here. You can’t treat me this way.”
Dayton growled. “Perhaps you need a session in the ring. I’m happy to oblige. It’s obvious by your pathetic attempt to defend yourself that you need some instruction.”
Ruger shook his head. “No...”
“That wasn’t a negotiation. That was an order.” Dayton grabbed him by the arm. Then pulled the struggling Ruger down the tunnel.
Dannika and Raine returned to his room, but she turned on him when he closed the door.
“What the hell was that? You just about killed him for having a poor attitude. Ruger doesn’t like me, but I don’t think he’d hurt me,” she said.
Raine sat on the couch, putting his feet on the coffee table. He looked tired. “The clan is split on its views about you.”
She sat down, clasping her fingers in her lap. “Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. I’m the first female shadow. I understand it will take some getting used to.”
Raine let his head fall back against the cushion. “I wish that was it. I fear I’ll have to challenge for leadership.”
Her body went rigid. “Why?”
“We are falling apart. Right or wrong, this derision is what Maddock feared.”
She nibbled her thumbnail. “There has to be some other way.”
“Half the clan believes you are a miracle, but the other half...”
“Thinks I’m an abomination. A curse.” There were times she had to agree with them. Her life had been a series of terrible events, each more horrific than the last. How could she blame these men for thinking the same thing she had?
Raine leaned over and took her hand. “You’re not. You’re more than I could ever hope for. A fantasy I dared not believe in.”
She stood up and walked towards the door. “There must be a way to unite the clans, so you don’t have to kill Maddock.”
Raine winced before covering his eyes with his hand. “This is a nightmare.”
The sadness in his voice made her turn. “You still respect Maddock. Love him. Could you kill him?”
His eyes met hers, the pain as clear as the crystal blue within them. “I don’t know. Maddock is still in his prime. I’m young for an alpha, and Maddock has never lost a fight. His shadow skill is mirrors.”
Ice crystals formed in her blood as her heartbeat slowed. “What is mirrors?”
“Maddock can create replicas of his shadow warrior. Doppelgangers, if you will. While only his true form can hurt you, when there is thirty of him attacking, you lose sight of the genuine threat.”
“That sounds ominous. You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”
Raine nodded. “Maddock trained me himself. Though it’s been over fifty years since we sparred, I remember my lessons. He’s a skilled warrior.”
She threw her hands in the air. “How do you fight something like that?”
“I’ve not sparred with Maddock since my shadow skills emerged, but he is fast, as the previous leader found out.”
Her heart stuttered. “What happened to the previous leader?”
Raine sighed. “The previous leader was old, but he was still winning his reaper battles. Maddock had just completed his ascension trials when his skill emerged. He killed the previous alpha and took his rightful place as clan leader.”
