Page 13 of Shadow

Marinah stirred, her head lolling as a faint groan escaped her lips.

Footsteps and low voices echoed from the hallway. Axel and Beck entered, their conversation just within earshot.

“How is his beast reacting?” Axel asked, his tone curious but laced with caution.

“I’m protective of the woman. Beast is not,” I snapped, irritation clear in my voice.

I waded to the pool’s edge, where Axel had already set his bag. Gently, I lifted Marinah’s arm from the water, and he took her wrist, his fingers pressing against her pulse point.

“Her pulse is sixty-two,” Axel said after a moment, his expression tightening. “Borderline problematic. You’ve cooled her body temperature, which is good, but fluids are critical now. My guess? She hasn’t slept in days or had proper hydration. Leaving her in a hot, stuffy room for hours didn’t help.”

The pointed accusation in his tone stung. A low growl rumbled in my chest before I could stop it.

Axel ignored it, reaching for my wrist instead. His fingers pressed firmly against my pulse, and I held perfectly still. Jerking away risked letting Marinah slip under the water, and he knew it.

“Hmm,” he muttered, his brow furrowing.

His calm, clinical demeanor only fueled my frustration, but I bit back another growl. Right now, Marinah’s survival mattered more than my pride or Axel’s thinly veiled judgments.

I didn’t ask if his muttered observation was good or bad. I didn’t care. He released my wrist and focused on starting an IV for Marinah. When the needle slid into her vein, she groaned softly and instinctively tried to pull her hand away.

Beck knelt beside her, his large fingers wrapping around hers to still her movement. My growl erupted, louder this time.

“What the hell is wrong with you, King?” Beck snapped, his eyes meeting mine for a dangerous second before he looked away, avoiding a confrontation with Beast.

I inhaled deeply, forcing the dopamine raging through my system to a manageable level. The chemical storm inside me subsided just enough for rational thought to take hold. “Don’t know,” I said gruffly. “I tasted Secretary Church in her blood, and things got… interesting.”

The room fell silent.

Farris Church had saved my life once, along with Beck’s and Nokita’s, at the cost of his own. We had been pinned down in a trench, surrounded and under relentless attack. Death had been certain. But Church had run out of the trench, a one-man diversion that had drawn the hellhounds away from us. He had acted before I could stop him. With most humans, it was always the other way around. They expectedusto die forthem.

The Shadow Warriors held great respect for Church. Yet it didn’t explain why his daughter stirred something so volatile in me. Beast’s disdain for humans was well known, but this felt different. Deeper. More personal.

I tightened my hold on Marinah as she shifted against me. Her limbs stiffened, and I knew she was awake.

“You’re safe,” I told her. “You’re in a pool. It’s dark because there are no lights in here. You have an IV in your arm, and I’ve placed you in the water to cool your body temperature.”

The words echoed through the cavernous room. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open. She blinked, squinting at the darkness as her gaze darted around, searching for answers she couldn’t yet see.

Axel handed the saline bag to Beck. “Fifteen more minutes on the fluids,” he instructed, his voice clipped. “It’s best she stays in the water while they’re administered so her body continues cooling.” He crouched to pack his medical bag before standing and dusting off his hands. “I’ll check on her tomorrow. No more hot rooms, lots of fluids, and plenty of rest.”

Neither Beck nor I responded. Beck’s uncharacteristic silence didn’t go unnoticed; I could almost hear him turning over the implications of Marinah being Church’s daughter in his mind.

I took the opportunity to study her while she was still. Her dark, frizzy hair framed high cheekbones and a pointed chin; her features distinct. She was thin. No surprise, considering the Federation’s rations. I had eaten them too and knew they were barely enough to sustain anyone.

Strangely, I found her attractive, though she was far from my usual preference. I favored women with more substance, shorter in stature, and with an air of vulnerability. Marinah exuded none of that. She was tall, wiry, and defiant despite her current condition. Beast churned inside me, growing increasingly agitated the longer I looked at her.

She didn’t speak until Beck removed the needle and I lifted her from the pool. “Please put me down,” she said, her voice rasping, a far cry from the boldness she had shown earlier.

“No,” I replied, my tone brooking no argument.

“I’m heavy,” she protested weakly.

“Don’t insult me,” I growled. “I could carry five of you and not break a sweat.”

Without giving her another chance to argue, I strode through the never-ending hallways, water dripping off both of us with each step. Beck trailed behind, collecting my discarded weapons.

At my temporary quarters, I barked commands to the guards stationed outside. “Food and water. Now.”

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