Page 16 of Hitched to the Shadow Creature (Monster Matchmaking #3)

V arkolak

I stood in the Council chamber as the evidence against Umbra unfolded before the assembled leaders.

Shadows rippled across my form, betraying my tension despite my efforts to remain composed.

The human documents recovered from the hidden laboratory were damning as detailed plans to weaponize shadow creature abilities, genetic manipulation experiments, and lists of paid human conspirators.

"These records confirm what Aya and I discovered." My voice was low but carried through the chamber. "Umbra wasn't working to protect our kind. He was selling our abilities to human military factions."

Elder Nyx, her ancient shadow form barely holding coherence, drifted forward. "Umbra has betrayed not only our people but endangered the peace we've struggled for generations to maintain."

Four shadow guards restrained Umbra, their essence wrapped around his limbs, as he snarled. "You're all fools! Humans will never accept us as equals. Taking power is the only way!"

"Power?" Aya stepped forward, her brown hair catching the dim light. My chest tightened at her courage. "You weren't seeking power for your people. You were selling them out for your own gain."

I felt her anger vibrating through the air between us and remembered how she'd risked everything to help me uncover the truth.

How many nights had we spent tracking Umbra's movements, infiltrating his meetings, gathering evidence?

Too many to count. Each one drawing us closer until the boundaries between shadow and human seemed meaningless.

"The human conspirators have been identified and are being detained by the colony authorities," said Commissioner Reeves, the human liaison. "They'll face full prosecution."

I watched Umbra's face twist with hatred. The shadow master who had mentored me, who had once seemed so wise, now revealed as nothing but a power-hungry traitor.

"Take him to containment," Elder Nyx ordered. The guards pulled Umbra away, his protests fading down the corridor.

When the chamber had emptied except for the Council members, Elder Nyx turned to me. "Varkolak, you have proven your wisdom and commitment to peace between our peoples."

I shifted uncomfortably. "I only did what was necessary."

"The Council has deliberated," she continued. "We need a new leader for our tribe. Someone who understands both shadow and human ways."

I felt Aya's hand slip into mine, warm against my cool darkness.

"We are asking you to lead the reformed Shadow Tribe," Elder Nyx said. "To guide us toward integration rather than isolation."

The weight of the request pressed down on me. "I... need time to consider."

"Of course." Elder Nyx drifted back. "But do not take too long. Our people need direction."

Later that night, Aya and I stood on the balcony of our temporary quarters, overlooking the lights of the human colony.

"What are you thinking?" Aya asked, her face illuminated by the distant glow.

I slipped behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist, feeling her warmth penetrate my essence. "I'm thinking about what home means."

She leaned back against me. "And?"

"It's not here." I breathed in her scent—ocean salt and wildflowers. "Neither the colony nor the shadow caverns feel right anymore."

"So where is home?" Her fingers traced patterns on my forearm.

"The mountains." The answer came suddenly, but with certainty. "The eastern slopes of the Navi range. Where shadow and light meet. Where neither species has claimed territory."

Aya turned in my arms, her eyes bright. "A new beginning? Something we build together?"

"A place where both our kinds can learn to live together." I cupped her face, marveling at how naturally we fit together despite our differences. "If I accept leadership, I want to lead us toward something new, not just reform the old ways."

"I love that idea." Her smile warmed me from within. "But what about the colony? My work with the fisheries?"

"You'd be giving up a lot."

She laughed, the sound dancing through the night air. "What am I giving up? Cramped quarters and endless labor? The mountains have streams and lakes. We could establish trade routes. Build something beautiful."

"It won't be easy."

"Nothing worthwhile ever is." She pressed her lips to mine, and I felt myself melting into her touch, my shadowy form becoming more substantial wherever she made contact.

I pulled back just enough to speak. "Then we'll do it. I'll accept the Council's offer, but with my own terms."

Three days later, we led the first group of settlers, thirty shadow creatures and twenty humans who believed in our vision, up the winding path to the eastern slopes. The journey was difficult, but filled with hope.

"There." I pointed to a protected valley nestled between two peaks. "Water source, natural shelter, and enough space to grow."

Aya squeezed my hand, her eyes taking in the landscape. "It's perfect."

Building our settlement tested every skill we possessed. Shadow creatures shaped stone and moved earth with their abilities, while the humans applied their knowledge of agriculture and construction. We named our new home Penumbra—the space between shadow and light.

"The meeting hall is nearly complete," I told Aya one evening as we sat by the central fire. "We'll have our first community council tomorrow."

She nodded, but I noticed her hand resting on her stomach, a gesture she'd been making more frequently.

"Aya? Is everything alright?"

Her eyes met mine, a mix of nervousness and joy. "I was waiting for the right moment to tell you. I'm pregnant."

The world seemed to stop. "You're certain?"

She nodded. "The colony doctor confirmed it before we left. I'm about twelve weeks along."

I reached for her, pulling her into my embrace, careful not to let my form dissolve into my emotional state. "A child. Our child."

She pressed her forehead to mine. "Twins, actually. Our babies will be the first born of Penumbra. A symbol of everything we're building here."

That night, I held her as she slept, my mind racing with questions. What would our children be like? Would they inherit my shadow nature or Aya's human form? Could they survive in both our worlds?

The seasons turned. Our community grew as more joined us—outcasts, dreamers, those seeking a different path.

By the time winter's grip loosened on the mountains, Penumbra had become a true settlement with permanent structures, gardens prepared for spring planting, and a governing council with equal shadow and human representation.

Aya's pregnancy progressed, her body changing in ways that fascinated me. The colony doctor visited regularly, but even she admitted this was uncharted territory.

"You're carrying more weight than expected," she told Aya during one examination. "The babies are developing normally though."

"Babies?" Aya and I spoke in unison.

The doctor smiled. "Twins. I'm certain now. I hear two distinct heartbeats."

That night, Aya couldn't sleep. We walked along the edge of the settlement, under a sky brilliant with stars.

"Twins," she whispered. "I knew I had felt both of their energies."

I placed my hand on her rounded belly. "Two children of shadow and light."

"Are you afraid?" Her question caught me off guard.

"Of being a father? Terrified."

She shook her head. "No, of what they might be. Neither fully human nor fully shadow."

I considered this. "Our children will be first of their kind. They'll face challenges we can't predict. But they'll have us. And this community."

"I want them to be proud of both sides of their heritage," Aya said fiercely. "To never feel they must choose."

I kissed her beneath the stars. "They will know they are whole exactly as they are."

The day the twins were born, a spring storm rattled the windows of our home. The labor was long, and I felt helpless watching Aya's pain, unable to share her burden.

"You're doing beautifully," the doctor encouraged. "I can see the first one coming."

Aya gripped my hand with surprising strength. "Don't you dare dissolve on me now," she gasped between contractions.

"Never," I promised, holding my form solid despite my anxiety.

Our son arrived first, a robust cry announcing his presence. Even in the first moments, I could see he was different with his skin a deep olive tone rather than shadow-dark like mine, but with swirls of darkness moving beneath the surface.

"He's beautiful," Aya whispered, before another contraction took her words away.

Our daughter followed minutes later, her cries softer, but no less determined. She appeared fully human at first glance, fair-skinned with a dusting of dark hair, but when the doctor placed her in my arms, her tiny form briefly dissolved into shadow before solidifying again.

"They're perfect," I said, voice thick with emotion I'd never experienced before.

Later, with the newborns sleeping between us on our bed, Aya and I marveled at what we'd created.

"Kai and Selene," Aya murmured the names we'd chosen. "Children of a new world."

I reached across our sleeping infants to touch her face. "Thank you for this gift."

She smiled tiredly. "It's just the beginning."

The twins' unique natures became apparent as they grew. By six months, little Kai could manipulate small shadows while remaining solid in daylight, something no shadow creature had ever done. Selene, who looked entirely human, could dissolve into darkness when startled or upset.

Our community embraced them, these children who embodied our vision of integration. Human children played alongside shadow offspring, learning each other's ways. The Council established trade routes with nearby settlements, and Penumbra prospered.

Five years passed in what felt like moments.

"Papa, watch this!" Kai called from the meadow where the children played. At five, he had mastered control of his shadow manipulation, creating intricate patterns that danced across the grass.

Nearby, Selene was showing her human friends how to find their own shadows. "You have to feel it," she explained with the seriousness only a five-year-old could muster. "It's always with you, even when you can't see it."

Aya came to stand beside me, her hand finding mine as we watched our children. "The new education center opens tomorrow," she said. "Fifteen human children enrolling alongside twelve shadow young ones."

"Your curriculum ready?" I asked, admiring how the years had only enhanced her beauty, adding a confident wisdom to her features.

"As ready as it can be." She'd become Penumbra's first teacher, developing ways to instruct both species. "I'm starting with shadow appreciation for the human children. They need to understand darkness isn't something to fear."

I nodded. "And I'm taking the shadow children to the summit to practice light exposure. Building their tolerance gradually."

Our community had grown to over two hundred residents, the buildings a unique blend of human construction and shadow-shaped stone.

Gardens flourished in terraced fields. A central marketplace buzzed with activity.

Most importantly, children of both species played together without thought to their differences.

As the sun set, Aya called the twins. "Time to come in!"

They raced toward us, Kai's shadows streaming behind him like ribbons, Selene occasionally dissolving into darkness to gain speed before reforming with peals of laughter.

"Can we watch the sunset first?" Kai asked, his dark eyes—so like mine—pleading.

"Please?" Selene added, already climbing onto my lap.

Aya smiled. "Just for a little while."

We sat together on the hill overlooking our settlement. The setting sun painted Penumbra in gold and amber hues, the shadows lengthening across the valley.

The twins soon grew restless and began chasing each other, their forms shifting between solid and shadow. Kai created patterns of darkness that Selene would dart through, their laughter echoing across the mountainside.

I wrapped my arm around Aya, drawing her close. "Did you ever imagine this? When you first learned your DNA matched with a shadow creature?"

She leaned into me. "Never. I was just hoping for safety, maybe a sense of belonging."

"And now?"

She turned to face me, her eyes reflecting the sunset's glow. "Now I know home isn't a place. It's this. Us. What we've built together."

As darkness fell around us, I didn't need to maintain my solid form. Yet I remained substantial where our bodies touched, our shadows and forms intertwining as we watched our children play in the gathering dusk.

"Shadow and light," I murmured against her hair. "We need both to see clearly."

Read the 2nd book in the Monster Matchmaking Series: Hitched to the Mapinguari