Page 18 of Shaped by Darkness (Beasts of Extinction #3)

S erena’s been sneaking around.

I think we all know it, or most of us do, but none of us have said anything.

At first, I kept quiet because I was worried she would be upset with me.

So much is already going on; I’m not sure I could handle her being pissed off at me.

I’m not even mated to her like the others are, and they’ve all been fighting left and right.

I don’t say shit because I might sound crazy, but I’m pretty damn positive that she’s happier. She seems more herself than she has since everything went down with Lyle, and while I can’t guarantee that’s because of her nighttime adventures, I’m not going to risk fucking it up if it is.

Unfortunately, it would seem that the whole ‘ curiosity killed the cat ’ saying isn’t just about cats.

Which is how I find myself sneaking around the castle, sniffing around for the scent of the girl who stole my heart years ago. A lesser beast wouldn’t be able to track her like this. Her scent is damn near plastered around the building from the weeks we’ve lived here.

But my wolf finds her newest trail with ease, and before I know it, we’re outside, running through the woods, her scent thick and delicious, like a trail of candy left for us to follow.

It’s not until I hit the clearing she’s in that I even register the fact that her scent isn’t the only one.

Blair is with her, but that’s not really a shock. He’s always with her, but what, or who, does this other scent belong to?

Fuck, what was that guy’s name? The one who saved her from Lyle—fuck, what was it?

“Pike?!” Serena’s voice cuts through my thoughts, and I let out a groan.

Damn it, his name was on the tip of my tongue; I can almost imagine Garrett hissing it. He did not like this guy.

Oh! That explains the sneaking around.

I might not have remembered his name, but I figured something out, and that’s enough for me.

With a yip of excitement, I run up to Serena, and even though she braces herself, she’s no match for my wolf.

She goes down, and the second she’s on her back, I’m licking her face, tail wagging.

She tries to push me off, but it’s useless, and after a second she’s laughing, which is music to my ears.

“Pike,” Blair scolds me, and I whimper at the sound. I hate when he goes all dark and serious.

Hanging my head, I take a step back, allowing Serena to get up.

She doesn’t even make it to her feet before she’s looking back at…damn it, what is his name!?

Her eyes are wide, breathing labored, and why does she look… scared?

Finally, she whips back around to look at me, and I swear she should have just broken her neck with the way she moved. Before I can think about it much more, she's scrambling to her feet and in front of me, as I shift so that I can actually talk to her.

“What are you doing here?” she demands in a rush of words, her voice a few octaves higher than normal, eyes still wide with worry.

“Woah, Buns, calm down. Where’s the fire?” I joke, but it doesn’t land, and when she takes a step closer, I step back.

Serena’s scary like this.

“What did I do?” I ask, my hands up in surrender as I look over Serena’s shoulder to Blair for some help.

“Little Rabbit,” Blair calls to her, and she frowns, whipping back around to look at Blair, and I sigh in relief. “You’re wasting time.”

He looks up at the sky that’s still pitch black, the only light from the sliver of the moon and the millions of stars that decorate the sky. So many more than we were ever able to see back home.

So much is different here. It was strange at first, not having tech and things like the bathhouse and being able to control all four elements, but now, I think I might prefer it.

It’s kind of beautiful here, and not just the land.

It’s too bad the bad guy is terrorizing everyone and trying to kill Serena.

Hey, wait…

“Isn’t he the bad guy's son?” I point across the clearing at the guy whose name I still can’t remember.

It’s right there, something with an S or maybe an R?

Rain, Ryan, Ralph…

“Ryker isn’t like his father.”

“Ryker!” I shout, smacking a hand to my head.

Damn it, I was close. I knew it was an R; that has to count for something, right?

“Pike, why are you here?” Serena’s question and tone let me know she’s not playing, and she doesn’t think this is funny.

It also lets me know she’s less than happy to see me.

Ouch.

“I…” I look from Serena to Blair and then to Ryker.

Blair appears indifferent the way he usually does.

His eyes focused on Serena, even as she looks at me.

Ryker seems confused by me; he watches me with his brows knitted together, a small frown on his lips.

I can’t help but wonder what I could have done for him to look at me like that.

I’ve only ever seen this guy the night we faced off against his father.

If anything, I think I should be the one worried about his presence.

But it’s Serena’s reaction to my appearance that hurts the most.

“I just wanted to see you. See where you've been going at night.”

Clearly, I should have just stayed at the castle; I was just…

lonely. Ever since we lost Lyle, things haven’t been the same.

Storm doesn’t even talk to us, and he can’t even handle being in the same room as Sol or Serena.

The few times I’ve cornered him, he ended up giving me some lame excuse before he took off.

We’re falling apart at the seams, and all I want is my pack back, my family.

Before I do any more damage, I turn away, heading back to the castle. I can handle being lonely; it’s better than this, better than feeling unwanted.

“Wait, Pike…” I hear her behind me, but I don’t stop. I love Serena, but if she doesn’t want me around, I need to respect that. No matter how much it might hurt, I know I don’t deserve her; I haven’t earned a spot beside her after what I did.

But one day I will. One day she’ll see how sorry I am for hurting her, hopefully.

“Pike!”

I didn’t even realize I was running, but now that I am, I can’t stop, even though all I want to do is turn back and go to her.

Why do I have to fuck everything up?

One second I’m running, the next I’m in the air. I mean, I guess technically I’m still running; I’m just not getting anywhere.

For a moment I’m lost, completely fucking lost about what’s happening, until I’m turning midair to face Serena and I see the shadow tendril that’s wrapped around my waist, carrying me back to her.

I think it’s safe to say she’s getting better with her shadows, and while I can see her brow crease in concentration, I can’t help but be excited for her. Serena’s whole life has been a struggle, and while these powers aren’t easy, it makes sense that she would have them, that she’s special.

The second my feet are back on the ground, she’s moving, running toward me. I can’t bring myself to move away again. It was hard enough the first time; now it’s impossible.

She flings herself into my arms, and I catch her without thought or hesitation. My body calls to her, the same way my beast does, and I couldn’t imagine a world where my arms weren’t ready for her every single time she needed me, night or day, rain or shine.

Loving Serena is life-altering. It changed the way I think and act, making me a different person. I can’t even recall who I was before.

I don’t want to.

She’s wrapped in my arms, hanging off of me like a spider monkey.

“I’m sorry.” We both say at the same time.

The sound of her giggles makes me pause, the sound like music to my ears. She pulls back, but I don’t let her go, and it doesn’t seem like she wants me to. Instead, she leans back to look me in my eyes.

“I didn’t mean for you to leave, I just…” She looks back over her shoulder toward the clearing. I don’t need to look to feel the eyes of both Blair and Ryker.

“I just… I didn’t want you to freak out about Ryker or say something to Garrett.

” She sounds so small, so vulnerable in a way I’m not used to with her, not anymore.

It makes me pull her closer. Turning back to face me, she lets her head fall to my chest. I rest my chin on her head, content with the way she feels against me, the feeling of her heart as it pounds in time with my own.

“He’s not bad, Pike. I’ve seen the good in him. He never wanted any of this.”

She pleads his case, and I know I should probably tell her she’s wrong or insist we go back to the castle, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

I’m not one who should be judging him. I might not be a murderer like Garrett claims Ryker is, but I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of. I know better than most that not everything is always as it seems. If Serena trusts him, I think he’s at least worth giving a chance.

After all, she gave me another chance.

“He can help us. He’s training me with my shadows.” I can hear the plea in her voice, and suddenly her reaction to seeing me makes more sense. “He can help me save Lyle.”

“Hey,” I rub a hand up and down her back as I nuzzle my cheek to her head in hopes of offering her comfort. “Lyle’s lucky to have you, Buns.” Her breath catches, and I feel the way her heart rate picks up under my hand.

Apparently, she expected a different reaction, and again, I get that.

If I were Garrett, I can’t imagine there would be any hugs right now. No, they would probably be screaming at each other, or Garrett might have skipped past that and gone right after Ryker.

Damn. Yeah, I can see why Serena might not have been happy with me just showing up like I did.

Serena’s fingers dig into my shirt, her legs gripping me like she’s holding on for dear life, and I feel more than hear her sniffle.

Crap, I hate it when she cries.

It’s literally one of the most heartbreaking things, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

So I do the only thing I can think of and hug her tight.

Tight enough that I’m worried I might crush her, but if she has a problem, she doesn’t say anything.

Instead, she presses a kiss to my neck that makes my toes curl and my beast begs to be let loose.

In the end, I manage to keep him at bay, but I’m pretty sure I’m not only sporting a tail but also wolf ears now.

Asshole wolf.

“Losing Lyle hurt all of us. He’s like my brother, a member of our pack, and my friend, but he’s more than that for you.

Watching you lose him, seeing your heart break, it’s been…

” I struggle to think of a good way to describe it; nothing feels like enough, like a good enough way to describe how terrible it’s been.

“Devastating. If there’s a way to help him, to save him and bring him back to us, I’m all for it.

Tell me what I need to do, and I’m down.

I’ll never turn my back on him. If that means trusting the villain’s murderous son in the woods after dark—“

I snap my mouth shut, cutting myself off because that sounded better in my head.

“I mean, I don’t really know he’s a murderer, that's just what Garrett said—” Nope, not better.

“You know what, you get what I’m saying even if I’m doing a terrible job at it. Anything you need, I’m right here, always have been.” I press a kiss to the top of her head and feel her relax a bit in my arms. “Always will be. You’re stuck with me, Buns.”

Serena pulls back enough to meet my eyes but doesn’t make any attempt to get down, and I can’t complain. I love the feel of her in my arms, against my chest, her skin on mine, or her fingers in my fur.

I’ll take her anyway I can have her.

The thought has my beast pressing harder, trying to force me to shift, but I fight him. He’s had more than enough cuddles and time with her the last few weeks. It’s my turn.

Serena stares at me for so long I wonder if maybe I’ve done or said something wrong, but before I can ask her, she’s moving, leaning forward until her lips brush against my cheek, just barely catching the corner of my mouth.

Shit.

She tastes delicious. If my beast wasn’t trying to break free before, he sure as hell is now.

It takes effort, but I manage to control both of us as she pulls away and then attempts to get down.

Instead of letting her go, I pretend like I didn’t notice and simply head back the way we just came, back to the clearing where Blair and Ryker are no doubt waiting for us, even if I can’t see them anymore.

It won’t be for long, but I’ll take every second I can get, and I’ll be whatever I need to be for her.

For our pack and our future, because without them I’m just a lone wolf, and I’m not sure I’d survive without them. I know for sure I don’t want to.

We make it back to the clearing, and just like I thought, Ryker and Blair are waiting.

They aren’t standing so close that they look friendly exactly, but they also aren’t so far apart that they look like they’re avoiding each other.

Looking them over, I kind of get the feeling they have similar personalities, ones that aren’t the friendly, cuddly type.

Boo.

Reluctantly, I let Serena slide down my chest so that her feet are once again on the ground.

It takes me a second to actually let her go, though, which makes her shake her head, but she doesn’t say anything, instead slapping my chest before she turns away.

I’m left following her like the mutt they claim I am.

“Oh, do I get to meet the murderer?” I ask, seeing we're headed in Ryker’s direction.

Serena stops dead, turning to glare at me with enough heat that I take a step back as I realize that was the wrong thing to say.

I really need to watch what I’m saying, or she might just kill me yet.

Skidding to a stop, I put my hands up and pray for mercy.

“I wasn’t trying to be rude, I swear.”

“I’m not sure there’s a way to say that and not sound rude, Pike,” Serena hisses, and yeah, she’s got a point.

“Maybe try staying quiet and letting them train, or you could always head back to the castle instead.” Blair also sounds less than amused, though that’s pretty normal for him. I’m not surprised he’s here with her. I swear that guy is like her shadow, always watching and ready.

Though I guess Ryker is the shadow one now. Well, him and Serena.

“It’s fine. Let’s just get back to training. We don’t have long before the sun comes up.”

Serena turns back to Ryker, but he’s already turned away, headed for the center of the clearing. Her face falls when she’s met with his back, and I’ll be damned. Maybe he is more than just a murderer after all.