Page 5 of Hitched to the Shadow Creature (Monster Matchmaking #3)

A ya

The shadow dwelling felt alien to me. Cold stone walls stretched up into darkness, rooms connected by tunnels carved into the mountain. My fingers traced the smooth surface, polished by centuries of shadow creatures moving through these spaces.

"You'll adjust," Varkolak said, his deep voice echoing slightly as he watched me explore. "Humans usually do."

I turned to face him, still not used to how his form seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. "Are there many humans here? In the shadow lands?"

"Few. Very few." He moved closer, his movements liquid and graceful. "You're the first in our settlement in many seasons."

My heart skipped. "Why me?"

"The blood test. It showed compatibility."

I wasn't sure what compatibility meant, but the way his midnight eyes lingered on me sent heat across my skin. I'd only been here two days, and already I felt drawn to him in ways I couldn't explain.

"Can I see more?" I asked, needing to break the tension before I did something stupid like reach out to touch him.

"Follow."

Varkolak led me through winding passages that opened into a massive cavern. Dozens of shadow creatures moved about, their forms varying from nearly human to abstract collections of darkness. Some nodded at Varkolak. Most stared at me with obvious suspicion.

"They don't want me here," I whispered.

"Some don't. Others are curious." His hand hovered near the small of my back, not touching but close enough that I felt the cool energy radiating from him. "The elders approved your coming. That's what matters."

I watched a group of shadow children manipulating small orbs of darkness between their hands like clay. "What are they doing?"

"Learning to control shadow energy. All of us can manipulate darkness, but it takes practice."

"Could I learn?" The question slipped out before I could stop it.

His expression shifted, something almost like amusement crossing his features. "No. But your children might."

The implication hung in the air between us. My children. With whom?

My face flushed hot, and I turned away quickly. "What do you eat here? I haven't seen any gardens or livestock."

"We hunt. There will be a gathering tonight. You'll see."

The hunting gathering wasn't what I expected. I'd imagined spears and weapons. Instead, as night fell, Varkolak led me to a high ledge overlooking a vast stretch of forest that climbed the mountainside.

"Watch," he said.

Dozens of shadow creatures lined the rocky outcropping, their bodies seeming to pulse with energy. At some signal I couldn't perceive, they extended their arms, and darkness flowed from them like liquid, stretching down into the forest.

"What are they doing?" I whispered.

"Hunting."

The shadows moved through the trees with purpose, and suddenly I heard distant cries of animals fleeing. The darkness surged, and I realized with a shock that the shadows were herding prey.

Then Varkolak stepped forward. Unlike the others who remained stationary, he leapt from the ledge, his body melting into a streak of absolute blackness that shot into the forest like an arrow.

I gasped, clutching the stone beneath me. "He'll die!"

An older female shadow creature beside me made a sound like bitter laughter. "He is Varkolak. Watch."

My heart hammered as I strained to see through the darkness. Then the shadows parted, and animals broke through the tree line with sleek, deer-like creatures with six legs and silvery fur. They raced in panic, and behind them came the shadow hunters, flowing like oil through the trees.

Varkolak moved fastest of all. His shadow form coalesced into something terrifying as a massive predator shape with jagged edges.

He engulfed one of the largest animals, and I watched in horrified fascination as the creature simply dissolved.

Its essence seemed to be absorbed directly into Varkolak's shadow form.

Fear and fascination warred within me. This was how they fed, not by eating flesh but by consuming life energy itself.

When Varkolak returned to the ledge, he was himself again, but his skin seemed to shimmer with power, his eyes brighter.

"You're afraid," he said, coming to stand before me.

I couldn't lie. "Yes."

"But you didn't run."

"Should I have?"

His mouth curved slightly. "No. You belonged here tonight. You needed to see."

I swallowed hard. "Will you hunt me?"

The other shadow creatures nearby went still, clearly listening.

Varkolak reached out, his fingers stopping just short of my cheek. "Never. Your energy isn't for taking. It's for..." He paused, searching for words. "Sharing."

My breath caught. Something in his tone made the word "sharing" sound intensely intimate.

The female shadow creature who had spoken to me earlier made a disgusted sound and turned away. I understood that not everyone welcomed this human in their midst.

I woke to chaos in my small sleeping chamber. I found my few belongings—the clothes from Tankor, my parents' worn photo, and the shell necklace I'd made—scattered across the floor. The necklace crushed with pearls and shells ground to dust.

Worse, someone emptied my water container onto my sleeping mat, soaking it completely. In this cold mountain cave, I'd have no way to dry it before night.

I gathered my things, hands shaking with anger and hurt. I'd only been here five days. Who would do this?

A shadow fell across the entrance, and I looked up to see a female shadow creature as tall, willowy, with eyes that glinted like obsidian.

"Humans don't belong here," she said flatly. "Go back to your sea colony."

I recognized her voice from the hunting night. The one who had laughed bitterly.

"I can't go back," I said, meeting her gaze. "I was sent here."

"Because your blood test showed compatibility." She spat the word like venom. "That doesn't make you one of us."

Two more shadow figures appeared behind her, younger males with hostile postures.

"We don't need human weakness in our clan," one said.

I stood, drawing myself up to my full height, though I was still much smaller than them. "I didn't ask to come here. But I'm not leaving."

The female stepped closer. "Your things are broken. Your bed is wet. There's no place for you."

"Then I'll make a place." My voice came out stronger than I felt. "I survived an orphanage in Tankor where thirty children fought over scraps of food. I survived diving for spiny crustaceans in freezing water when I was ten. This?" I gestured at my ruined belongings. "This is nothing."

Something flashed across her face, not as respect, but perhaps surprise.

"Mela." Varkolak's voice cut through the tension as he appeared behind the group. "Is there a problem?"

The female, Mela, stiffened. "Just welcoming our guest."

Varkolak moved past them into my chamber, surveying the damage. His face hardened. "This is not our way."

"It should be," one of the young males muttered. "Humans are prey, not?—"

Varkolak turned so quickly I barely saw him move. Suddenly, Varkolak pinned the young male against the wall, Varkolak's arm across his throat, darkness emanating from him in waves.

"Finish that sentence," Varkolak said, his voice terrifyingly calm.

The young male's eyes widened in fear. "I meant no disrespect to you, Varkolak."

"But you meant it to her." He released the male, who stumbled away. "Clean this chamber. Bring new bedding. Now."

They left quickly, Mela casting one last glare at me before disappearing.

When we were alone, Varkolak turned to me. "Are you hurt?"

I shook my head, suddenly feeling the adrenaline drain from my body. "Just angry. And sad." I knelt to pick up my parent's photo, water-damaged. "This was all I had from my parents."

He crouched beside me, his proximity sending that now-familiar current of energy between us. "Why do you keep it?"

"To remember them. To imagine what they were like." I carefully cradled the photo.

Varkolak studied the photo, his expression unreadable. "Memory is important to humans."

"Isn't it to your people?"

"We live longer. Too many memories become a burden." He touched the edge of the photo, careful not to contact my fingers. "I can show you something. When you're ready."

"I'm ready now," I said, needing to get away from this violated space. "Show me."

The deeper into the mountain we went, the older the tunnels seemed. Varkolak led me through passages that grew increasingly narrow and rough, lit only by strange, phosphorescent fungi that cast everything in pale blue light.

"Few come here now," he said as we descended a steep path. "These are the old places. From before."

"Before what?"

"Before the separation."

He didn't elaborate, and I was too busy watching my footing to press him. Finally, the passage opened into a small, round chamber. Paintings covered the walls.

My breath caught as Varkolak's shadow energy flared, illuminating the ancient images. Unlike the abstract patterning I'd seen in the living quarters of the shadow clan, these were figurative and unmistakable.

They showed shadow creatures and humans. Together. Embracing. And more shocking, shadow-human hybrid children, with human features but shadows clinging to them like second skins.

"What is this?" I whispered, stepping closer to one image that showed a human female with a shadow child at her breast.

"History," Varkolak said simply. "Once, we lived together. Shadow and human. We mated. Had children."

My heart pounded. "What happened?"

"Fear happened. Humans feared our hunting. Our power. Shadow creatures feared human expansion, human weapons." He moved to stand beside me, his shoulder nearly touching mine. "The separation was not peaceful."

I studied the images, noting the tenderness in them. "But it was possible. Humans and shadows. Together."

"It still is." His voice dropped lower. "That's why you're here, Aya. Your blood showed the ancient compatibility. The elders believe it's time to try again."

I turned to face him, suddenly understanding. "That's why Mela and the others hate me. They think I'm here to mate with one of you."

Varkolak's eyes met mine, intense and unwavering. "With me."

The air between us charged with electricity. "Why you?"

"I requested it. When your blood sample came to the elders, I felt..." He struggled for words. "A pull. Like shadow to darkness."

My mouth went dry. I should have been terrified, should have run screaming from this cave and these revelations. Instead, I felt that same inexplicable pull he described. I had felt it from the moment I'd first seen him.

"Is that even possible?" I asked, my voice barely audible. "Physically, I mean."

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "The paintings suggest so."

Heat flooded my face. I looked back at the images, noticing details I'd missed before with the intimacy, the clear depiction of shadow and human forms intertwined.

"I need time," I whispered. "This is overwhelming."

"Time is something I have plenty of," Varkolak said. He reached out, his fingers hovering just above my arm, not quite touching. "But know this, Aya Fletcher. I will protect you here, whether or not you ever choose to fulfill the purpose of your coming."

I stared at the ancient images, hope and confusion battling within me. If human-shadow unions were once possible, even common, why had they stopped? And what dangers might come from trying to restart them?

But beneath these questions, I could no longer deny a deeper truth: I felt drawn to Varkolak in ways that defied explanation.

And here, in this ancient place of memory, surrounded by evidence that such feelings weren't unprecedented, I allowed myself to imagine possibilities I never would have dreamed of in Tankor.