Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters #1) - Jaymin Eve Page 0,97

rest of my life.

When I was done feeling sorry for myself, I shed the wet clothes on the bathroom floor, padding out naked into the main bedroom. My line of sight was on the floor as I marched forward, fuming about my stupid decision-making, so I missed the intruder in my room.

It dove at me, a creature of darkness that I’d never seen before, and I went down in a naked heap, screaming my fucking head off. The second the creature’s and my flesh connected, fire raced across my pain receptors, just like when Shadow touched me.

It hissed at me in a foreign tongue, which I ignored as I swung my elbow to clip it across the face, shooting it back from me. When the contact between us broke, the pain faded, and outside of the two handprint burns between my boobs and shoulders, there were no other marks on my skin. From what I could see.

My full attention returned to the shadowy specter as it tilted its head to the side, observing me. More hissing sounds emerged.

“I don’t speak shadow creature,” I snapped, hands out in front of me in case I needed to defend myself again.

Now that it wasn’t on top of me, I had time to really look at what I faced. This particular creature had four arms, two sets off each side of its torso, with wolf-like, curved hindlegs holding it upright. The face was wolf-like as well, with an extended muzzle, sharp teeth, and dark, beady eyes. It fit the shadow realm stereotype, being in shades of grey and black, and it was not happy.

More waving of those arms and hissing.

“For fuck’s sake,” I cursed, sprinting to the side and around it. “Shadow!” I screamed when I slammed into the door, using my entire body weight. “Inky! Gaster!”

One of these stupid fucks had to be close by.

Surely, Shadow had felt the disturbance; he’d felt it the first time I’d touched the Shadow Realm.

I just had to hold out long enough until he arrived, releasing me from this damn prison.

Spinning and pressing my back against the door, I was surprised to see the thing was still standing in the same position, watching me closely. When our eyes met, it took a step forward, and I braced myself.

In the adrenaline rush of being attacked, I’d forgotten that I had controlled the shadow creatures back on Earth. Something I hadn’t had time to tell Shadow or anyone else.

Could I control this one too?

“Stop,” I commanded it. “Don’t take one more step.”

It moved forward.

Shit!

Whatever this creature was, it felt strong, with a commanding presence. It was almost regal, as it sat eye to eye with me, on those wolf-like hindlegs. And the fact that it was too strong for me to control did not bode well for my chance of surviving. Especially teamed with a similar firepower to Shadow’s.

“What do you want?” I asked inanely, since it spoke in clicks and clacks.

It took a step forward, making no sound, as it was clearly smarter than me and knew we couldn’t communicate. I had nowhere to back up, already pressed against the door, so when someone slammed it open, I went flying forward, my face crashing into the floor, pain rocketing through my nose and cheeks.

“Ugh,” I groaned, tasting blood as I dragged myself to my hands and knees.

From this angle, I had no idea who had busted through the door. Was it Shadow? Or could it be another beast that wanted to kill me too? Maybe four arms had a friend?

Maybe I’d hit my head really hard and this was all a dream? Or Shadow had murdered me in my sleep and this was my afterlife?

So many questions.

So few answers.

Story of my life.

43

My nose had already healed by the time I got to my feet, focusing on the two figures hissing at each other. The sight of a familiar eight-feet-tall male with broad shoulders and a mop of curls was a huge relief. Shadow towered over the wolfie beast, which would normally be a great sign, but he wore an odd expression I didn’t like. It wasn’t fear, but he was confused, and one thing was clear: this was not a normal shadow creature.

The two of them started to hiss back and forth, and I wished I could understand what they were saying. Shadow’s face was darkness personified as he glared at me, and I wished I could take my naked, bloodied ass out of this space, because these