Page 3 of Warrior

He tipped my head back and met my eyes.His gaze was honest and steady, offering a reassurance I wasn’t sure I deserved.The thing inside me didn’t like his stare.

“You carried Che for miles after being bitten by a hellhound.I doubt there’s anything you can’t do.”

He and Axel thought I did something amazing.I barely remembered it.The only thing I remembered clearly was the single thought:Save Che.I didn’t know where the burst of bravery had come from, but I was so relieved it showed up.

I couldn’t leave Che behind.And what those monsters did to Boot…

“Breathe, Marinah.”

I hung onto King’s voice as the sudden rush of Kedorine 5, or K-5, as King called it, threatened to shove its way through my veins.K-5, the so-called miracle that triggered the shift for Shadow Warriors, was packed with other powerful hormones too.It wasn’t something you could catch; it wasn’t a disease.It was something you were born with.And lucky me, I happened to be the first female Warrior in over two hundred years.

“Inhale, count to five, exhale,” King coached calmly.“Don’t let your beast win.You decide when she’s in charge, not her.”

Sweat broke out across my freshly washed skin as the red haze slowly receded.I managed to tug Beast back where she belonged.

“I’ve got it,” I wheezed through clenched teeth, my voice growing stronger.The room swam into focus, and my breathing slowed.

It took most Shadow Warriors a year or longer to control their beasts enough to be around humans.For most, the shifts began when they reached puberty, though some were older.Their fathers pulled them out of school before it started, homeschooling them to keep their secret and to keep humans safe.Boys.Always male.Not me.I was the lucky female.Woohoo.

Humans would be present tonight, and I needed to remember how fragile they were.As of today, I barely had control over my clawed hands, and I was lucky I hadn’t taken out my own eye.My teeth, more fang than anything, in and out of Warrior form, were another problem entirely.My jaws ached with the constant urge to rip and tear at anything that irritated me.It was as if they had a will of their own.

“Talk to me.How’re you doing?”

I glanced at King, who was watching me closely, studying every nuance of my expression.

“I’m ready for shoes,” I said, hoping to ease some of the worry.

He rested the brush on the bed and grabbed the sneakers, holding them up for me.

“Did someone do this for you when you were young?When you changed for the first time?”I asked, staring at the shoes and trying to remember how to get them on my feet.

Claws.

The whisper in my mind wasn’t as terrifying as it had been at first.Now, it was just unsettling.I ignored the beast inside while King knelt in front of me and slipped the first shoe onto my foot.

Once he tied the laces, he rocked back on his heels and grabbed the other shoe.

“Yes,” he said, answering my question.“My father did all this for me.My mom was gone by the time I hit puberty, so Dad was all I had.”

“Gone?”I asked, seizing on his words.Whenever King talked, it gave me something else to focus on, making it easier to push back against the strange force inside me.

“She left us,” he said simply, his voice distant.“They’d been in love.It’s what I remembered most before I became a Shadow Warrior.Unfortunately, my dad had never been honest with her about who and what he was, or what I would become.”

King finished tying the laces on my second shoe and stood, extending his hand to me.“I didn’t appreciate my father much back then,” he admitted, his tone softer now.

I stood there, stunned by the first part of King’s explanation and confused by the second.“Your mom never knew what he was?”I asked as I rose with his help.

“She found out by accident, and things didn’t go well afterward,” he said, his tone edged with sadness.

“But this was before humans knew about you.He let her leave, even knowing how dangerous that could be?”I pressed.King had given me small pieces of Shadow Warrior history over time, likely more than any human knew.

But that was the thing.I was no longer human.Hadneverbeen human.Talk about being in the dark.

King’s lips curved into a slightly twisted smile.“He wouldn’t kill her, if that’s what you mean.It goes against who we are.He also knew she loved me and would never endanger my life.”

Wow.It was tragic, and my heart swelled with emotion, triggering another surge of K-5 in my veins.This time, I was ready.I slammed it back, forcing it to my will.

“Did you see her after that?”I asked, catching the slight smile of approval from King at my ability to regain control.

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