Page 5 of Shadow

King

Beast stirring beneath my skin was never a good sign. No human should have affected me this way. I knew who she was now. Church’s daughter.

My control among the Shadow Warriors was legendary, yet the smell and taste of her blood had me on edge. Her father’s scent lingered faintly, woven into her, and instead of steadying me, it spiked my anger. Church had been a good man; one I owed a great debt to. There was no reason his bloodline should have provoked me like this. If anything, it should have calmed me. She was female, after all, and that should have made her less of a threat.

I ground my teeth, forcing Beast to recede. It didn’t matter that she was Church’s daughter. Among my kind, we judged a person by their own merit, not their lineage. If the U.S. government thought sending her would sway us, they had miscalculated. Perhaps it was their relentless manipulations that had Beast on edge. Or perhaps it was something about her specifically. Either way, my composure was unraveling, and I didn’t like it.

She trailed behind me, keeping a safe distance of at least ten feet. That didn’t speak well of her damned backbone. Myglance shifted to the soldiers waiting by the vehicle. They stood stoic, as always, but I could sense their unease. My interaction with the woman hadn’t gone unnoticed.

And then there was Beck, my second.

Arms crossed and feet planted wide, he radiated displeasure, his stance practically daring me to acknowledge it. Knowing Beck, it wouldn’t be long before he started tapping his fucking foot like a cranky old woman. His open defiance was nothing new, and I could already hear the endless pissing and moaning I’d endure from him tonight.

My glare cut through the distance, and his eyes dropped, sliding away in submission. I was King. I was his alpha. Holding eye contact too long resulted in consequences.

But then Beck’s gaze shifted to her.

A low growl escaped my throat before I could stop it. The sound was sharp, territorial, and unnatural, and I cursed myself for the slip.

Beck’s head snapped back to me; his eyes wide with surprise before darting around to check the reaction of the others. I felt the ripple of tension among my men. They had seen enough to know this wasn’t normal behavior. Their eyes flicked away, choosing not to meet mine or linger on the woman.

Good. Let them look elsewhere. I didn’t need their scrutiny right now.

There was a reason Marinah was here, and forming any kind of attachment wasn’t part of the plan. Debt to her father or not. If it came to it, she might die here. And if that happened, it would be by my hand.

We didn’t kill women unless absolutely necessary; it went against the instincts of Shadow Warriors as a whole. Women and children had always had that effect on us. But I would pull the trigger if it meant sparing one of my men from carrying the weight of it.

We had put safeguards in place to ensure she stayed in the dark about our secrets. That didn’t mean something wouldn’t slip past our defenses, shattering her safety net. If it did, the responsibility fell to me.

Labyrinth moved to the vehicle and held open the back door, a gesture so out of character I nearly laughed. The brute had never held a door for anyone in his life, yet here he was, playing at civility.

Beck and Nokita mounted their motorcycles, engines roaring to life.

The woman moved past me and slid into the car without hesitation. Her skirt rode up as she settled into the seat, exposing long legs and a glimpse of white panties. If the U.S. thought they could entice me with her, they had miscalculated. Sending her without the undergarments might have been a better strategy.

I cut off the thought with a growl of irritation.

She might not live through the day, and allowing my focus to slip for even a second was a mistake.

Her height had caught me off guard when she first stepped off the plane. Freakishly tall for a woman, she had a warrior’s build but lacked the coordination or confidence to use it. That awkward tumble down the stairs had proven it.

With time and effort, I could have molded her into a fighter, making her deadly and efficient.

But I had neither the time nor the inclination.

As she scooted to the far side of the seat, I folded myself into the car with a reluctant sigh. We preferred motorcycles. Freedom, control, the connection to the road. I had only agreed to this vehicle out of deference to the woman I thought they’d send.

This one, though? She’d probably relish the thrill of a ride, skirt be damned.

Perhaps I’d make the time to take her on a short trip in one of the zones we had prepared for her visit. There was something about her that demanded a closer look, and not just because of the skirt.

What was wrong with me?

Where were these thoughts of forming some kind of connection, even a friendship, coming from?

Beck revved his throttle and sped ahead, taking point, while Nokita rode behind the vehicle, tailing us in perfect formation. The habit was ingrained, even when there was no immediate threat. Our military training kept us sharp, our instincts honed.

We were born warriors, and now that our beasts had been unleashed, there was no going back to the docile men we once were.Forward or Die.It was more than a motto; it was who we were.

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