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She watched me closely, her slight smile suggesting she could read my thoughts. It drove me crazy, and I almost growled.

“Male Shadow Warriors prefer death and destruction,” she said in a quiet voice that sank into my bones. “As females, we balance our need to protect with the need to nurture.”

Her palm flattened against the table, and she leaned back in her chair slightly. “Male Shadow Warriors destroyed our home planet through war and terror, dragging female Warriors with them. We warned them for centuries, but they wouldn’t listen. If it breathed and wouldn’t surrender, it needed to die. To prove themselves, they killed by the thousands. They destroyed small villages and large towns, wiping out everyone as spoils of war, including the children. A hundred years before our planet became unlivable, they smeared babies’ blood on their bodies to celebrate their victories.”

There was no anger in her words. This history had happened long before she was born. But the thought of men committing such atrocities, killing an entire planet, should be upsetting. It was to me. It also held an eerie similarity to what the Federation was doing now. A shiver ran up my spine. Was Earth on a similar path? King and I thought it was. We were fighting against it with everything we had.

She continued speaking as I studied her every nuance. “Female Warriors are different. The energy you feel keeps us connected, sharing our life essence when we meet the eyes of other Shadows. Our females do not kill other females, even those who alter form, such as yourself.”

Part of me found that impossible. I’d read most of the female history texts King possessed. Nalista, the writer, had never mentioned anything about sharing energy between female Warriors. The part about females not killing each other had also been mysteriously left out. I’d seen human women kill each other effortlessly. Sure, men were more aggressive for the most part, but women were just as deadly.

“Are there other females who alter form?” I asked carefully.

Her large eyes blinked slowly, giving nothing away, and her voice was almost too calm. “Not for more than one hundred years. After we left the men, the need to shift to Beast form disappeared for most of those who could morph. We were glad the ways of killing left us. Fortunately, the negative energy that stirred inside us has stayed buried.”

“You say we like you were alive hundreds of years ago.”

Her shoulders rose in a small shrug. “I was not alive, but I am now Keeper of the Past. This knowledge has filled my mind for more than ten years.”

She had to be older than she looked. “Keeper of the Past?”

Her gentle smile returned. “Keeper of our journals.”

“The texts?”

“Yes. Ours are the female rendition of the texts,” she acknowledged.

Her answer prompted my next question. “How many female Shadows are there?”

Her smile softened even further. “We know your secrets, but we will not help with the war. We are pacifists and will have no part in what is happening.”

She was insane. “Then you’ll die,” I said simply.

Her expression remained stoic. “Yes. Many of us have passed, and many more will. We accept our fate.”

My heart squeezed, and I didn’t even know this woman. “You’ll just roll over and die without a fight?”

“It is our way,” she said quietly.

Rage boiled inside me. It should have been anger, but I literally saw red. How could they not fight?

“It’s a stupid way,” I said with righteous condemnation. I had been this woman not long ago, ready to put a red stripe on my uniform that marked me as the Federation’s human fodder. I had trembled at the thought of military service. This woman didn’t tremble. She accepted her fate, and I hated her for it, because it was the old me.

Her energy surged toward me again, soothing my rage like a balm. For the first time, I admitted to myself how much I liked it. Everything clicked into place within me, and it felt damned good.

Ms. Beast paused her antics, her ears perking up in curiosity. Then, behind her in the mist, I noticed a vague outline, an imposing figure I hadn’t seen before. Nova. It had to be her. She was more than Ms. Beast, her essence a thunderous tornado of dark energy.

My defenses kicked into overdrive as I fought to keep Nova from surfacing and revealing my secret. The K-5 settled, and Ms. Beast returned to basking like it was the best thing she’d ever experienced.

“When the separation from the male Warriors came,” the woman continued, “we believed it would take less than a century for them to destroy this world, as they did our home planet. We wanted to live outside their hatred and rage, to give ourselves the best lives possible, no matter how short-lived they might be,” she hesitated for only a breath. “But a century passed, and the males’ ability to successfully assimilate into human society surprised us. It didn’t, however, change our path. We couldn’t trust the Warriors’ unquenchable need to conquer. We moved on. Our women married, had children, and built new lives with the human men on this planet.”

It felt like I was being bombarded with enlightenment. Too much all at once. I needed to focus, to ask questions that would help me make sense of this flood of information.

“Can you bear male offspring?” I asked, my thoughts racing. I knew male Warriors and human females could only produce males. I was the first known female Warrior in two centuries, and I still didn’t understand why I could shift when other female Warriors couldn’t.

“We only produce female offspring when mating with humans,” she replied.

Something in her tone shifted. Somehow, my question had disappointed her. I was missing something important, but I couldn’t grasp what it was.

I sat up straight, my gaze drifting around the room as I tried to organize my thoughts. My mother and father had produced me, but my father wasn’t a Warrior. The female’s essence, as she called it, filled my head, muddying my thoughts somehow.

With a pull of my own energy, I forced Ms. Beast to pay attention again. That’s when I realized I could gather the woman’s energy and use it to increase my power. It was like I had a rechargeable battery within me that was finally getting its full charge. The discovery gave me a jolt. I kept my expression neutral, glancing up briefly to ensure she didn’t notice. I swiveled my head, fixing my eyes directly on her.

“My name is Marinah.”

She smiled, showing a full display of white teeth. “I am Endura, Keeper of the Past. Your proper title would be Marinah, Daughter of Shadows, Leader of Warriors.”

Not good. “What makes you think I’m their leader?” I asked carefully.

We’d been keeping information from Landan. Not because we didn’t trust him, but out of self-preservation. The Federation didn’t need to know everything about us, and with so many humans joining the settlements, there were bound to be spies among them. Even Landan agreed we needed to limit shared knowledge.

Endura laughed, the sound trilling like a bird’s song. It was light and melodic. The happiness in her laugh washed over me, influencing my mood in spite of my frustration.

“Your mate deferred to you immediately,” she said. “That does not happen unless you hold dominance over him.”

Her words didn’t just ruffle my feathers; they pissed me off. “No one dominates King,” I said, my power flaring.

The intensity of my energy usually sent male Warriors running for cover, but Endura didn’t even flinch. Her calm demeanor was maddening.

Her gaze dropped to her lap. “I meant no disrespect. It would take an incredible Warrior to dominate your mate,” she said softly, her tone full of submission. “We’ve known about him for a long time. He is a great Warrior, and even though we won’t be part of the war, we acknowledge his fairness. When the humans sent the Warriors to your island, we thought the end was near again. Warriors from our past would have annihilated every human on the planet. King didn’t respond the way we expected, and we celebrated his desire to protect his people, including the humans, over his need for revenge.”

Her eyes lifted, meeting mine squarely. “This never happened on the home planet. I may not be what you expected, but I understand Warriors. You said, ‘Leave us,’ and though King didn’t like it, he obeyed you immediately. You are alpha of the Shadow Warriors, and I am honored to know you.”

I didn’t intend for her to discover my biggest secret, so I had to tread carefully. I gave her a short nod of assent. “I am alpha,” I said simply.

Her eyes lit up, a spark of admiration shining in them. “As was your grandmother,” she said. “She worked very hard to keep that side of her quiet. She faced a great struggle and didn’t always succeed. Her wisdom was invaluable, and we overlooked her violent tendencies when they happened.”

“She wasn’t a pacifist?” I asked, startled.

Endura shook her head and leaned forward in her chair, closing the space between us. “She was our greatest pacifist. She fought her nature every single day and, for the most part, succeeded.”

I felt a pang of sadness for my grandmother. She’d carried a burden I could barely comprehend. But I needed Endura to understand who I was without revealing my Nova side. “I refuse to fight my nature,” I said firmly.

Endura watched me closely, her gaze relentless. “This is not the time for you to fight your power. You are alpha, and this world needs you.”

“But you won’t fight with us?” I asked, keeping my tone cryptic.

“We will not engage.”

I wanted to scream. We needed their help. Humanity needed them. I couldn’t hide my anger at her selfishness, and the emotion boiled to the surface. Bad people had committed unspeakable atrocities, and no one should stand idly by and allow it to continue.

“Why are you even here?” I demanded, my voice carrying my anger. I felt the heat of the words and hated that this woman could see and hear my emotions so clearly.

Her smile didn’t waver, which only irritated me more. “Your grandmother left her journal for the offspring of her blood,” she said. “Her daughter, your mother, refused the journal. It’s been in my family’s keeping since your grandmother passed.”

My heart stuttered at the mention of the journal. It might hold the secrets of my past; answers I desperately needed. “Have you read it?” I asked, trying to keep my tone even.

She shook her head. “No. It was your grandmother’s private journal, containing things personal to her and her Beast. I would not invade her privacy. Along with the journal, I am also gifting you the collected histories of our women.”

Her words caught me off guard. Technically, as alpha, I was Keeper of the Shadow Warrior texts. I studied them when I had time, but I still didn’t fully grasp the significance of the title.

“Why would you want me to have your texts?” I asked, narrowing my eyes as I tried to gauge her intent.

“Our history must be protected,” she said. “My time as Keeper of the Past has come to an end. The new Keeper will teach her children about our heritage. Those children will be male or female, the first union of a Shadow Warrior pair in two centuries.”

Well, wasn’t I special?