Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters #1) - Jaymin Eve Page 0,38

made it through my time with the Shadow Beast, I was making it my life work to get a library like this. No matter the cost.

A rumble from across this magnificent room drew my attention, and I reluctantly turned away from the sweet scent of adventure and followed his energy deeper into the library.

Gods, it was huge. Bigger than the biggest shopping mall I’d ever seen, it reminded me of an ancient, gothic, turn-of-the-twentieth-century abbey. And while the previous white room had been light and open, this one was cozier and more comforting, with the sort of ornate detailing reflective of boatloads of character. I particularly loved the huge crystal chandeliers—five in total—that were evenly spaced right through the center, hanging from the twenty-feet-high ceilings.

There was no more time to take it all in, though, because Shadow had clearly reached the end of his limited patience. One would think by the way he was rumbling at me, he’d been the one kidnapped out of his life and forced to deal with an asshole.

He waited for me in the sitting area of my dreams—fitting to be in the library of my dreams—surrounded by solid, heavily padded couches. At his back was a roaring fireplace, the mantle bricked with a dark stone.

As I passed through some couches, I noticed a small table with a couple of open books. Had Shadow been in the middle of reading when he’d been pulled to Earth by my actions? The urge to try to sneak a peek at what he enjoyed to read overtook me, but I managed to refrain, focusing instead on the beast himself.

“This is where you live?” I asked, my voice a little breathless at the pure perfection of his home.

“Yes.”

I shook my head. “Having this much beauty and knowledge at your fingertips is beyond words.”

Again, he stared at me like I’d said something unexpected, and I decided to shut up and let him have the floor. Even if I was still sneaking little glances at the library. Without opening one book, I knew there was information here that humans and shifters would kill to possess. Lost stories. Secrets. Spells. Magic and life. And he just had it all to himself.

New goal: figure out how to toss him out into the snow and take over the library.

17

He sat in one of the single seater armchairs. A huge piece—I supposed it had to be to encompass his frame. Again, he was watching me with those fire-touched eyes that just never stopped seeing everything. Stripping me down to the base element that made up my soul.

My wolf stirred in my chest, her energy reaching out to touch the beast himself. Shadow didn’t flinch, just accepted her touch, and I had no idea what went on between them because she didn’t communicate it to me, but I felt like she was content when their exchange was done.

“Sit,” he ordered.

Deciding to choose my battles wisely, I didn’t fight, settling into the chair opposite his.

There were dozens more chairs around us and I had to ask, “You have a lot of visitors?”

His eyes flared, and I could have sworn swirls of inky smoke slithered off him as his face settled into hard lines. “I do the talking, pup.”

I glared. Pup was used in packs if the shifter was a child. Calling an adult a pup usually meant you thought they were small, pathetic, beneath you… an insult. Exactly how this motherfucker meant it.

Biting my lip to not say what was on my mind, I went to my happy place: imagining all the books in this room were mine and I’d be forever surrounded by their beauty and knowledge…

“Are you even listening to me?” he demanded.

I blinked at him. “Sorry. I figured if you wanted me to listen, you’d have ordered it. Like everything else.”

He stood—a giant, scary beast—and I lost the ability to move or speak or breathe. Everything inside shut down, and while my mind was screaming, I couldn’t force any sound from my lips.

“I could kill you without laying one finger on you,” he said, almost conversationally, and this time I was definitely listening. “Even better, before I kill you, I could make you hurt in ways that you’ve only imagined in your worst nightmares.”

If I had the ability to panic, I would have. As it was, not breathing was definitely taking its toll on me. If he didn’t loosen his hold soon, I was going to pass out, leaving me in a very vulnerable position