Page 12 of Shadow (Marinah and the Apocalypse #1)

King

H umans rarely captured my interest. Today was the exception. All afternoon, I had wrestled with Beast. Though my human side was captivated, he had no fondness for Marinah. The time away from her had given me room to analyze these strange, if I dared call them, feelings.

Marinah’s scent lingered in my senses, her tall, lithe frame commanding my attention even as it provoked Beast’s disdain. She occupied a space in my mind that no other woman ever had, igniting something raw and unexplainable within me. Being near her pulled at a level of awareness I had never experienced. My greatest concern was why. None of it made sense.

She was supposed to be unremarkable, a woman who would drone on about Federation policies while we delayed and grumbled. Instead, we got the daughter of a man I respected. From the moment she had fallen at my feet outside the plane, I knew the plan was doomed. Nothing had gone as expected since.

Beck and I returned to the Citadel, a name one of the men had given this temporary headquarters as we prepared for our human visitor. Without a word, I left Beck and headed straight for the small training room I had assigned to Boot. What I found there was entirely unexpected.

Before I even entered the room, Beast surged forward at the sound of Boot and Marinah laughing. The low, relaxed hum of their voices was jarring. Through the narrow window, I saw them seated against the wall, their bodies angled close, their postures easy. Friends enjoying themselves. Not the combative pair I had forced into training together.

Beast flooded my veins with raw energy, his aggression clawing for release. It was a searing internal battle that wasn’t usually so visceral over something so mundane.

Beast hurled two thoughts through my mind: Kill the man. Kill the woman.

Boot’s attention was on Marinah, but the instant Beast’s volatile energy filled the room, his head snapped toward the door. He might not have fully grasped what was happening, but he sensed the dangerous fury radiating off Beast like a storm. Rising slowly to his feet, he kept his eyes lowered and his posture submissive, positioning himself between me and Marinah. Did he actually think he could protect her if I allowed Beast full rein?

“Out,” I hissed, barely holding onto my restraint.

Boot hesitated, casting a quick glance at Marinah. That single action infuriated Beast even further. Boot’s sharp gaze darted back to me, and I saw fear flicker in his eyes. It was a fleeting admission of vulnerability.

To Beast, he was prey, a trembling creature ripe for the hunt. The guttural growl that rumbled from my chest built into a roar, shaking the walls with primal force.

Boot bolted without looking back.

I forced myself to remain in human form, but it was Beast’s eyes that now assessed Marinah. Black training pants. Simple T-shirt. Aggressive stance. No defensive posture. And oh, so easy to kill.

I blinked hard and gritted my teeth, battling the chemical storm coursing through my veins that urged me to allow Beast to take control. My blood pounded in my ears, the air around me thickening with heat as I fought to stay anchored, refusing to let Beast tip me past the point of no return.

“That was rude,” Marinah said, oblivious to how close to death she was.

I drew a slow, deliberate breath, then exhaled just as measured, forcing the surge of K-5 back down, doing everything I could to leash Beast’s rage. What was it about her that provoked him so violently?

For a mate, this level of intensity might have been understandable. But Beast didn’t want to claim Marinah. He wanted to destroy her and everyone near her. That, without a doubt, was not normal.

Ever since Greystone had convinced me to see Beast as an intrinsic part of myself, I had held the upper hand. His instincts were sharper than my human logic could ever hope to be. Beast had saved my life countless times, alert to dangers I couldn’t perceive. His thinking was simple. Kill bad problems. All problems are bad. My human side added the balance.

But even though we were one and the same, I had always drawn a mental line between us. Beast handled the animal. I handled the human. I controlled us both. It might not make sense, but that separation had kept us sane. It was one of the most valuable lessons my uncle had ever taught me.

"Let your beast rule only when a body count is necessary. At all other times, keep him tightly reined," my uncle used to lecture whenever Beast slipped into my consciousness, leading me to destruction. His advice echoed now, sharper than ever, as I dealt with a human who tested my control at every turn.

I should have killed her. Beast insisted on it. He knew something I didn’t, and this was no time to ignore him.

Yet, I couldn’t give in.

The Shadow Warriors understood what we faced against the hellhounds. Working with humans was possibly our only chance to avoid extinction. Killing her would destroy the fragile, possible alliance that even if made we wouldn’t be able to trust.

“I guess you just plan on being rude—” Marinah stopped, her voice trailing off as her expression shifted. Whatever she saw in my face, or thought she saw, stopped her short. She might not have sensed the energy rolling through the room, but she could feel the rising heat if she paid attention.

“Don’t move,” I ordered as she took a hesitant step back.

Beast growled again, the sound vibrating through me. The internal war was excruciating, shredding me from the inside out as Beast refused to yield. My vision darkened, red bleeding in at the edges. Marinah Church was a threat. Beast was certain of it. She had to be eliminated.

“King,” Beck’s voice came from behind me, low but loaded with meaning. He knew I was on the brink.

“I’ve got this,” I ground out through clenched teeth, even as doubt clawed at my insides.

“Marinah, step around him slowly. No sudden movements,” Beck said calmly.

“No.” The word tore from my throat, a guttural growl laced with Beast’s fury. Marinah halted mid-step, freezing in place. It was the only thing that saved her.

Beast bellowed within me, and I felt the sickening crack of bones as his will surged forward. Rage flooded my veins, carrying more Kedorine 5, heightening the transformation. I had never pulled Beast back from this point before, but I knew I had to now.

Pain slammed into me, nearly driving me to my knees. The red haze thickened until only a narrow sliver of clarity remained, centered on Marinah. The pressure built, Beast’s presence forcing my human body to the brink of submission.

“No!” The word exploded from me, echoing through the room.

The bones cracked again, the agony almost blinding as I pushed back, trying to shove Beast down with everything I had. Every shred of control I’d built over the years was put to the test.

“No.” The word was quieter this time.

“What’s happening?” Marinah asked, her voice cutting through the storm inside me.

“Don’t move,” Beck ordered, his tone as grumbly as usual.

Their voices pierced my skull, amplifying the internal fight inside me, and Beast gained another inch of control. Pain exploded through my body as I forced my bones to reknit, the surge of K-5 to recede, and my vision to clear. It was a brutal fight, each second stretching into eternity.

Slowly, the agony ebbed, and my human side regained ground. Beast growled his frustration one last time before grudgingly retreating.

The struggle left me shaken. Even as a teenager, wrangling Beast had never been this relentless.

Finally, I drew a steady breath, my human thoughts in control once more. “See her back to her room,” I ordered.

Beck nodded quickly, stepping out of my path. I didn’t glance back. Distance was the only solution right now. I needed space between me and the woman who challenged Beast in ways I couldn’t understand.

Marinah was dangerous, and the animal knew it.

I couldn’t help wondering if everything she’d said was a lie. Even her clumsiness seemed suspect.

I strode to the larger gym where the men trained. This wasn’t about exercise. I needed destruction. Two warriors glanced up as I entered, and their expressions turned wary. They wisely left without a word, disappearing as quickly as Boot had earlier.

Grabbing a stack of five-hundred-pound barbells, I hurled them across the room with a force that rattled the walls. The metal stand they had rested on followed, crumpling under my grip. A treadmill was next, reduced to a twisted heap in seconds. Each piece of equipment met the same fate until there was almost nothing left to throw or smash. The rage coursing through me demanded more, and I seized a barbell bar, bending it nearly in half.

I didn’t know how long the rampage lasted, but eventually, Beck’s voice sliced through the haze.

“You’re losing control, King. Maybe you need a break.”

“Fuck you,” I snapped, my chest heaving as exhaustion finally caught up with me.

Drained, I staggered to the nearest wall, turned, and slid down until I was sitting on the floor. My hand drifted to the scar on my cheek, a habitual gesture that grounded me. The flood of melatonin in my system began to counteract the remnants of K-5, dragging me toward a welcome post-shift lethargy.

The lazy heaviness felt like a reprieve. Sleep tugged at the edges of my mind, but I pushed it back. I didn’t have time for it right now.

Beck approached cautiously. “How bad is it?” he asked carefully.

I knew what he was really asking. Should he call Axel?

When teenagers or newly mated warriors lost control, we had a drug that knocked them out cold. Axel was the gatekeeper of our supply, and only he and I knew its precise chemical formula. The ingredient list was hidden securely, a contingency in case we were both gone. The drug forced unconsciousness for hours, but it was a temporary solution at best.

In the end, every warrior had to learn to master their beast.

The lessons from our ancestors weighed heavily on us. On our home planet, we had fought until we annihilated millions of our kind, leaving only a fraction to flee. That long journey had saved us, but the scars remained.

Control was a necessity, though it was far from absolute.

“You need to send her back to her people,” Beck said, breaking the silence.

I raised a hand to stop him, already feeling Beast stir at the suggestion. “She can’t go back,” I said through my teeth. “There’s something off about her, and Beast knows it. What do you feel when she’s around?”

Beck narrowed his eyes, thinking. He was gruff by nature, but his control over his beast was solid. When he wasn’t complaining, his advice was usually helpful.

“Fear,” he admitted. “Most of the time, anyway. But earlier? It was anger, without the fear.”

He lowered himself to the floor beside me, his movements cautious to avoid triggering Beast further. This wasn’t the first time we had handled an out-of-control warrior together.

I stretched my legs out in front of me, knees bent slightly, focusing on keeping my breathing even. “Something’s wrong. We need time to figure it out. Beast wants her dead, which is usual for him. But it doesn’t stop there. He gets jealous if anyone else is near her, and then he wants them dead too. It’s not mating. I don’t know what the hell it is.”

Beck breathed slowly, his calm rhythm coaxing me to match it. Slowly, our heart rates began to synchronize, the tension between us easing. After a few minutes, he spoke.

“Has this happened before?”

“No,” I replied flatly. “And it shouldn’t be happening now.”

“Then kill her.”

He said it simply, but I knew he didn’t mean it. Beck had cared about Marinah’s father and mourned his death. No matter what he had said in the meeting, he had a need to protect her, and that flicker of sentiment set Beast off again. Beast didn’t just want Marinah dead. He wanted the satisfaction of doing it himself.

I glanced at Beck, who was studying the floor as if it held the answers we needed. I let out a long, slow breath, then inhaled, feeling my control return piece by piece.

“We need to make a deal with the humans. Killing her won’t make that easier.”

Beck rubbed the scruff on his jaw, a familiar tell that he was deep in thought. “Do you think Beast wants to kill her because she’s spying on us?”

I snorted. “She admitted to spying without even considering the consequences. She seems sincere, and my human side believes her. It’s Beast who senses something else. Maybe the Federation has bigger plans, and she’s using the spy angle to distract us.”

“Hmm,” Beck murmured, his brow furrowing. “We knew before she came that the government would ask her to gather intel. If we let the hounds wipe out the humans in the U.S. and stay out of it, it could solve one of our biggest problems.”

I rubbed my temple, frustration building. “We’ve been through this. The hellhounds won’t stop at humans. They won’t stop at all. If we can’t find a way to work with the Federation, this island will be next. We don’t have a spaceship to escape like our ancestors did, and we are responsible for the humans here. The metals we need don’t exist on this planet, and we’ll never build a rocket strong enough without it.” My voice dropped into a growl as I muttered, “We fight beside our enemy, or we die.”

Beck nodded grimly. “We fight,” he echoed, his gaze lifting to meet mine for a brief moment. Then, with a flicker of dry humor, he added, “Try not to kill her.”