Page 50 of Shadow

“Took out five,” Nokita rumbled, his massive jaws twisting his words into a guttural snarl. “King can claim two.”

“One,” Beck snapped. “Had to save his sorry ass from the second one.”

Axel ignored the banter, his sharp gaze landing on me as he approached.

“First,” he clicked up one finger. “Did it occur to any of you idiots to take anti-venom with you? It’s extremely new and still in the experimental stage. I’ve told you again and again that it must be administered quickly. Second,” he didn’t wait for them to reply and snapped up another finger. “Did you give him anything for the pain?”

“No, we enjoy watching our damn leader suffer,” Beck grumbled, his tone filled with sarcasm.

“No,” I snapped, focusing on the words, the pain, and cutting through Axel’s mommy issues. “Beck knows I despise painkillers.”

Through the red haze clouding my vision, I caught Axel’s grin.

“Sucks for you,” he said gleefully. “You’re in my domain now, and my rules apply, not yours.”

I could have fought him on it, but I’d have lost. I barely registered the prick of the needle as it slid into my arm. The churning inside me as the poison traveled through my veins like fire, and Beast’s incessant snarls overshadowed everything.

Finally, the heavy pull of the narcotics seeped into my body, coaxing me into surrender. Beast fought it, his resistancedragging me into an exhausting mental tug-of-war. It took every ounce of willpower I had to pull him back.

The effort was too much, and blackness rushed in, swallowing us both before the battle was settled.

Chapter Nineteen

Marinah

The pounding in my head dragged me out of sleep, and the churning nausea sent me stumbling to the bathroom. The contents of my stomach came up violently, leaving the acidic burn of bile in my throat. I clutched the cool porcelain of the toilet, gripping it like a lifeline. For a fleeting moment, I wished I could yank my stomach out and rid myself of the misery altogether.

“Never again,” I thought, but it was a lie I had told myself before, even if it had been years since the last time. I knew damned good and well the suffering I would feel that day. Too bad it didn’t stop me.

After what felt like an eternity, the nausea finally subsided. I pushed myself up, feeling wrung out but oddly lighter, like a phoenix rising from the ashes of its poor decisions. As I stumbled back into the bedroom, my eyes scanned for any sign of King. The rumpled covers were a chaotic mess, and the faint indent where he had sat on the bed the previous night taunted me with the memory of his presence.

It wasn’t a dream.

Damn. That was definitely not good.

Fragments of the night before came rushing back. Me asking him to have sex was at the top. The way his hand felt on my leg, the heat in his gaze. My cheeks flamed with embarrassment as I groaned internally. Maybe I should have just dug a deep hole and buried myself in it to escape that day’s humiliation.

Instead, I grabbed fresh clothes from the closet and retreated to the shower. The pounding water did little to erase the mortification etched into my brain, but at least it cleared the last vestiges of sleep. As I slipped into workout pants, a fitted shirt, and my athletic shoes, I steeled myself for the inevitable. The sooner I saw King and faced the consequences of my drunken idiocy, the better. I’d play dumb, pretend I didn’t remember a thing. I definitely wouldn’t think about how his touch lingered or the unsettling desire still simmering beneath my skin.

I had never realized I had lust heightened so high that I would do something this stupid. I’d cut that part of myself off. Fear was a great motivator when it came to quelling desire. The last thing I needed was to be attracted to a man who might kill me.

It pissed me off that I wanted him at all.

No. It could not happen, and it was up to me to ensure it never did.

With a killer headache and all the courage I could muster, I stepped out of my room. Two different guards snapped to attention, their stoic faces giving away nothing.

Time to face the music.

“Do you know where His Majesty is?” I asked the guards, keeping my tone as neutral as possible.

Blank stares.

“King, your leader. Do you know where he’s at?” I tried again.

Still nothing.

“Would it be possible to eat breakfast somewhere other than my room?”

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