Page 20

C haos is apparently my new norm as I wake to the sound of shouting and screams.

There’s no one other than me and a male in the tent.

My eyes find the male Shadow three beds down from me. The one that Arabella tried to take advantage of.

He sees me staring and dips his head to me. “I’m Seth. Nice to officially meet you, Sena. I’m here to keep an eye on you. But also keep my distance.” He smiles. It’s one full of humor but also a hint of fear.

I don’t have to take a wild guess to wonder who put it there.

“Where are they?” I ask him, sitting up.

“Out destroying the entire camp,” he tells me with a straight face making me blanch.

He chuckles at me. “Do you even know who your mates are?”

I really don’t, and it must show by the expression on my face.

He shakes his head with a small smile. “Many fear them because of their unusual and powerful abilities. No other Shadow can do what they can.”

“None?” I ask, and he shakes his head.

“Most can wield shadows and create weapons based on their sectors. The rare few have some extra abilities. But nothing like your four.”

They’re not mine. But I don’t correct him when I’m finally getting some information about them.

“Do you know what Cyrus can do?” he asks.

I nod, having actually seen it first-hand. “He can dream-walk.”

Seth chuckles. “That’s the PG version. They call him the Nightmare because he can literally slip into your dreams and make you believe you are in the worst imaginable place you can think of.

Then he makes it ten times worse.” He leans his head back and glances up at the top of the tent looking all too relaxed by this conversation. While I feel like freaking out.

“Malakai is a literal beast. An alpha in every form he takes.”

I guess that makes sense. He is one of the biggest assholes.

“And Theon…” He glances over at me. “One touch from the shadows he creates, and you will feel nothing but excruciating pain.”

I wince. That’s why that male Shadow was screaming and begging for it to stop once Theon’s shadows touched him.

“And you’ve just set them lose,” Seth says.

An icy chill slides down my spine. “I thought they knew… about the test for the females.”

Seth’s expression quickly morphs from playful to angry. “It’s something most of us were not aware of. But I doubt you or any other female will have to worry about it again.”

I frown. “Why?”

“Your mates have not only killed those involved. They’re hunting everyone that was even aware of it.”

Shit…

“I heard Cyrus dragged them into a nightmare in their sleep and Knox slit their throats.”

I wince at the visual that just flashed across my mind.

“Have they been gone long?” Maybe I can catch up to them and stop this madness.

But instead of answering me, he stares at me quietly for a moment. “Thank you… for the other day,” he says, quickly distracting me and reminding me of Arabella.

“Why didn’t you just push her off?” I ask remembering he just sat there and let her do whatever she wanted.

He shrugs. “She’s a companion and has ties to some of the higher-ranking males. When she says she can get away with anything, she means it and has.”

I clench my jaw. “I should’ve punched her harder.”

He chuckles. “I doubt she’ll be going near you now.”

I glance at him with a questioning look.

“Your four mates have made it very clear that you are their mate and off limits.”

I sigh to myself, wondering what trouble that will bring me. It definitely won’t stop Arabella in any way. She seems to like the power she thinks she has and hates anyone getting in her way.

Seth watches me for a minute before continuing.

“I heard you lost your memory.” He doesn’t wait for my reply but instead searches my face something.

“Those four may be the most powerful Shadows we’ve ever known, but they weren’t always like that.

They’ve had to fight every step of the way to get to where they are now. ”

Another male steps into the tent, his face pale and gaunt, his body almost sickly thin. His dark eyes gloss over me to find Seth.

Seth immediate gets up and goes over to him, giving him a tight hug before murmuring something to him so low I can’t make it out.

The thin male nods his head and slowly makes his way out of the tent.

“What happened to him?” I ask once he’s gone. It’s the first time I’ve seen any male Shadow that looks sick.

“Ever heard of the Void?” Seth asks and something in his eyes has a chill running down my spine.

“I heard it’s horrible place,” I tell him as my stomach drops at the look he gives me.

“It much worse than you’re imagining. Think Hell on steroids. There are beasts, creatures, and… beings that sense and hunt anyone that enters. The weather is worse than the red zone here, and the only food is the kind you can catch and kill. And that’s if they don’t kill you first.”

My stomach drops and twists. “What aren’t you telling me?” I see it in his eyes; there’s something he looks hesitant to reveal.

He slowly moves closer to me, sitting a bed away from me. “They shouldn’t have survived it the first time. They were only kids.”

They … I give him a questioning look, wondering who he’s talking about, and he nods confirming my fears.

Nausea churns my stomach, making me feel like I’m about to throw up.

Seth watches me with nothing but sadness in his eyes.

“Your mates were sent there for months at a time. Time moves differently in the Void. It’s longer.

More dragged out and unbearable.” He sighs and shakes his head.

“They shouldn’t have been able to survive the number of times they’ve been sent there.

Most that have been sent that many times have died. ”

He swallows hard and stands up and starts pacing. As if he needs to move to release the energy running through him.

“They were so broken after the first time. But it didn’t stop them from sending them back, over and over again.”

“Why?” I croak and clear my throat. “Why were they sent there? What did they do?”

He searches my face again and sighs. “Nothing. They did nothing to deserve it.”

“But—”

He pauses his pacing to scan my face once more. “But they grew stronger each time. They learned about their abilities and how to wield them. And eventually even the commander became afraid of them. Though I doubt he’d ever admit it.”

But why send them. Why?! He said they were only kids. “Seth. Why would?—”

Knox saunters into the tent, looking all too happy with himself. “It’s a glorious morning for bloodshed and violence.”

Seth gives me a quick look, practically begging me not to say anything. “I’m just going to… go…” Seth rushes out of the tent as fast as he can, leaving only me and Knox here.

Knox gives me a savage look, but I see past it now. See past the dark look in his eyes to the sadness.

I also believe them when they say they didn’t know about the Wasteland test. They wouldn’t be causing this much trouble otherwise.

He frowns at whatever expression he sees on my face, and my heart breaks thinking about a younger Knox, trapped in that horrible place, scared and starving while trying to survive with the others.

They may still be assholes. But…

I get up and move in front of him. Leaning forward, I wrap my arms around him, hugging him and holding him tight. Wishing he and the others never had to go through something like that while also promising him silently that I’ll make sure they never have to again.

He stills, standing there with his hands by his side, as if in shock. I start to pull back, thinking I’ve crossed a line, when he snaps out of his shock and wraps his arms around me pulling me closer to him.

“I still think you’re all assholes,” I tell him as I relax into the hug.

He chuckles and pulls me even closer to him. “We are. But you’ll get used to it.”