Page 28

BONDED TO THE FALLEN SHADOW KING FIRST CHAPTER

I dropped the glass maroon mixing bowl onto the beige tile floor with a crash .

Blinding hot pain engulfed my left hand, and I turned toward the kitchen sink. My feet and legs stung from where small shards had cut into me, but that pain didn't hold a candle to the burning on top of my hand.

I gasped as the agony intensified making it feel as if I’d thrust my hand into a fire of blue flames.

On the floor, red velvet cake mix had splattered the tile, reminding me of blood.

My heart clenched. I'd seen too much blood already; I didn't need to see anything resembling it any time soon. At least the bowl had been nearly empty.

My older sister, Ember, yelped and shoved the cake pans into the oven behind me. She quickly closed the oven door and turned to me.

Are you okay? she asked, using our pack link.

I'll be fine, I reassured her as I turned on the cold water and put my hand underneath it. Even then, the pain didn't ease—in fact, it actually increased.

Are you two okay? Ryker, our pack alpha and my sister's fated mate, connected. Are you being attacked? There was a thump from above our heads from what must be him jumping out of the shower.

We’re fine. I hated that I’d caused panic. Both my sister and Ryker deserved a little bit of peace. That was why I’d offered to bake with her, after all. It’s just... my hand is killing me. It feels as if it’s on fire.

Ember was at my side in an instant, her copper-red hair falling forward as she bent to examine my hand under the running water. The harsh kitchen lights made even her olive skin appear pale.

"Let me see." Her light-green eyes narrowed with concern as she gently took my wrist.

I winced as she turned my hand palm down. The water ran over my skin, but the burning sensation didn’t subside. I’d never experienced anything like it before.

"What the hell?" She gasped as her fingers hovered just above something forming on top of my hand.

Through the haze of pain, I followed her gaze. Black lines curled and twisted on my skin, forming an intricate pattern. The design looked like some kind of butterfly.

The black butterfly pattern shifted before our eyes, the lines blurring and reforming. I gasped as the wings began to extend, stretching across my knuckles and down my wrist. The black ink transformed into a deep crimson that pulsed with its own light.

"Ember, it's moving." I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

The wings elongated, curling around my wrist. The edges transformed into licking flames that seemed to dance across my skin. What had started as a butterfly was now something impossible, a fire butterfly with flames that formed perfect wings extending from a normal body.

“Ryker!” Ember shouted aloud this time, her voice tight with fear. "Get down here!"

Heavy footsteps thundered down the stairs as I stared, transfixed, at my hand. The flames weren't just burning. They were becoming part of my skin.

Ryker burst through the kitchen doorway and stepped up to my sister, water dripping from dark brown hair that clung to his forehead. Beads of water ran down his bare, muscular chest to the waistband of his on jeans. His gold-flecked brown eyes locked onto my hand.

"What is that?" He leaned down to examine my hand more closely. His presence usually calmed me, but even his steady energy couldn't quell the panic rising in my chest.

“If we knew that, I wouldn’t have been frantically calling for you.” Ember rolled her eyes.

I almost laughed. I loved how snarky she could be. Still, now wasn’t the time to lose focus.

I… I don't know. I went back to using our pack link, afraid of how my voice would sound. With Ryker being my alpha, he’d know how much I was panicking. But I also knew he wouldn’t want my sister to freak out, which she often did when it came to me. It just appeared. One second I was cleaning up cake batter, and the next... I trailed off as another wave of fire radiated from the mark.

Ryker's fingers hovered over the design, not quite touching. "I've never seen anything like this."

"I would say it’s witchcraft, but there are no shadows over it.” Ember tilted her head as she studied the intricate, fiery pattern crawling across my skin. Unlike most wolf shifters, due to our trace of unique heritage, my sister could see the magic of witches’ spells.

Ryker shook his head, and water droplets from his hair hit my face. "Yeah, I wouldn’t think a witch could do that."

"Fuck!" Ember slammed her fist against the pale gray granite counter. "It has to be a fae thing. Nothing else makes sense."

The word fae sent ice through my veins despite the burning in my hand. Neither Ember or I had known of their existence and had believed they were just fantasy stories until a week ago, when our great, great—many greats—fae grandfather had visited us.

We shouldn’t have been surprised. Humans didn’t believe that wolf shifters, witches, and vampires existed, and the few that did, others believed were crazy.

"But why?" The crimson flames pulsed brighter, and I could feel each movement slither across my skin. “I thought you said that only your fae magic would be activated, not mine.”

Ryker's brow furrowed. "We don't know enough about fae magic to—"

The burning sensation suddenly shifted, transforming from a piercing agony to a gentle warmth pulsing beneath my skin. I gasped, but this time from relief rather than pain. The fiery butterfly continued its dance across my hand, but now it felt almost... pleasant. Like fingers gently tracing patterns on my skin.

"The pain is receding." I flexed my fingers, wanting to know if that would impact the tattoo, but it remained steady.

Ember's eyes darted between my face and the mark, her expression anything but reassured. She exchanged a loaded glance with Ryker, whose jaw had tightened into a hard line. They were having a private conversation through their mate bond—I could tell by the way their expressions shifted in silent communication.

My heart dropped. I hated when people worried about me. There were so many other things that deserved their attention.

I forced my lips into what I hoped was a convincing smile. "Hey, I'm okay. Besides, we still have to finish this cake." I pulled my hand out from the water and dried it with a paper towel. "The icing won't make itself, and those strawberries need to soak in the syrup for at least thirty minutes before serving."

Ember's eyebrows shot up. "Are you serious right now? You've just been branded with fae magic, and you're worried about dessert?"

I shrugged, trying to project a casualness I didn't feel. My stomach was in knots, but that didn’t mean everyone’s needed to be. "What good will panicking do? The mark's already here. Might as well have cake while we figure it out."

Ryker's lips twitched, almost forming a smile despite the tension in his shoulders. He placed a hand on Ember's back and said, "She has a point. We need time to research this properly anyway. Finishing the cake will give us time to think clearly."

“Fine.” Ember huffed and turned to open the cabinet to get a clean mixing bowl for the icing. “But this conversation isn’t over.”

I bent down to pick up the larger pieces of broken glass from the floor. I couldn’t register what the two of them were talking about as I threw the glass into the trash, then carefully wiped up batter and more smaller shards. The entire time, Ryker tracked my movements.

The intensity of his gaze made me pause, so I walked past the island and into the walk-in pantry to grab the broom and dustpan. But as soon as I walked out, Ryker was watching me again. My skin crawled.

What? I began sweeping up the remaining glass.

You can’t fool me, Briar. You’re still scared, he linked to only me as he smiled at Ember. I can feel your emotions through the alpha link.

My shoulders slumped slightly. Please don't tell Ember how worried I actually am. She's finally starting to relax. She deserves a night to not be worried or feel like I’m being threatened. I tried to seem unbothered as I discarded the last of the tiny glass fragments. Besides, this is just a weird tattoo. We've been through worse. I didn’t have to mention what that meant. Both his childhood pack and ours had been slaughtered.

For now I’ll let it go. She’s so happy baking and being with you. But after we eat, we tell her. I refuse to keep things from her.

Ember strolled across the room and opened the silver refrigerator to grab a carton of cream cheese, seemingly oblivious to our silent exchange. "We need to finish the frosting. Briar, can you measure out the powdered sugar while I beat this?"

"On it." I stored the broom, grateful for the distraction. The mark on my hand pulsed with warmth as I came back and washed my hands before getting to work.

Briar, Ryker pushed.

Fine, after dinner. There was no stench of a lie, because I meant it. I just hadn’t clarified when after dinner would be. I was hoping for never, but I was quite certain I wouldn’t get away with that for long. Not with how much Ryker cared for my sister and thus me.

He seem satisfied as he focused on Ember, watching her doing the other thing she loved most—baking.

* * *

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of forced smiles and feigned normalcy. The cake turned out beautifully—three layers of red velvet with buttercream icing and syrup coated strawberries. But I barely tasted a bite.

Unfortunately, our other pack mates, Kendric, Gage, and Xander, had decided to stay with King Harry, our wolf shifter ruler, and his daughter, Princess Liv, to protect them, which meant I got to eat with Briar and Ryker alone.

Great.

Throughout dinner, Ryker kept glancing at me, his eyes narrowing whenever I avoided his gaze. The butterfly mark pulsed beneath my skin, a gentle reminder of whatever magic had claimed me, so I kept my hand under the table as much as possible.

When Ryker took his last bite of cake, he leaned back and looked at my sister with adoration. He beamed. “I love being included in your family recipe. I’ll admit it’s a little sweet, but watching you eat it made it my favorite dessert ever.

My heart squeezed a little. I hoped that I would find a love like that one day—a fated mate— but my sister wasn’t typical. She was gorgeous, strong, and fiercely loyal. I paled in comparison to her. My hair was a lighter cooper, my skin a little paler, and I had freckles, which wasn’t typical of wolf shifters. The only thing I had that my sister didn’t was deep-jade-green eyes where hers were a soft, welcoming color.

“I’m glad you liked it.” Ember smiled tightly. Then she glanced in my direction, searching for my hand.

That was my cue to get the hell out of here. The conversation was about to turn back to me.

I yawned loudly, not bothering to hold back. "I'm exhausted." Luckily, it wasn’t a lie, because after eating a full meal I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I stood and collected the plates. "Mind if I turn in early?"

Ember frowned. "But we haven't talked about—"

"Tomorrow, please." I steepled my hands. "My brain can't process anything else tonight."

Ember's expression softened, her hands falling to the table. "I get it. Fae magic—it takes a lot out of you." She reached for my hand, her fingers gentle against my wrist. "Just promise we'll talk first thing tomorrow."

Ryker's disapproving glare burned into me, his jaw tight with unspoken frustration. Before he could open his mouth to object, I pressed a quick kiss to my sister's cheek.

"Promise. Love you." I slipped past her with the plates, hurrying to the kitchen.

I rinsed the dishes with trembling hands as the mark pulsed with each beat of my racing heart. Not bothering to load them properly into the dishwasher, I abandoned them on the sink and fled upstairs, taking the steps two at a time.

In my room, I locked the door, and the exhaustion of the day sank into my bones. I quickly changed into my favorite pajama set, a tank top and flannel pants depicting Stitch sleeping, then crawled between my black sheets.

I snuggled deeper, willing sleep to take me away from the worries plaguing my mind, but my mark pulsed with an eerie fire-like glow as the butterfly flapped its wings.

After I didn’t know how long, my eyelids finally grew heavy. Moonlight filtered through the dark purple curtains, casting eerie shadows across my room. Just as consciousness began to slip away, someone materialized over me.

The scent of lilac, roses, and wet soil filled the air. I sat up, ready to fight, when I realized who the man was. It was my many-greats grandfather, the fae. I’d seen him only once previously, and he’d done the same thing—appeared in my room with no warning. “What is up with you and popping into family member’s bedrooms uninvited?”

His long dark auburn hair curled wilder than the last time I’d seen him, and his golden brown skin seemed a shade lighter. “As much as I wish our first words weren’t curt like this, I need to take you somewhere now.” His liquid gold eyes glanced toward the corner of the room, and my vision caught on one of his pointed ears.

“I’m not going anywhere without Ember.” There was no way I was going to leave. He might be family, but I didn’t know him.

He waved a hand and created some type of portal. "We don't have time for this. You're being hunted. If they find out you're part fae, you'll die." He grabbed my arm and tugged at me to go with him, and my wolf surged forward, lending me strength to yank out of his grasp. He fell back into his own portal, his eyes wide in what look liked horror.

The portal vanished, leaving me alone on my bed. My heart pounded against my ribs as I stared at the empty space where my fae ancestor had disappeared.

Something was very wrong, and I needed help.

Ember! Ryker! I linked frantically, pushing all my fear into the mental connection. I need you!

I jumped to my feet and had just lunged toward the bedroom door when two massive figures materialized on either side of me. Their appearance was so sudden I had no time to react before their hands clamped around my upper arms like iron vises.

I couldn't see their faces because of the hooded helmets they wore, and they wore black body armor that covered them entirely. If that wasn't terrifying enough, huge sets of leathery black wings protruded from their backs.

"No," I screamed, thrashing against their grip, but this time it was useless. Two winged men are in my bedroom.

I heard Ember and Ryker running up the stairs. I had to buy time for the two of them to get here.

I tried to take in any sort of detail that would be telling. Through their helmet eyeholes, I caught glimpses of inhuman eyes—one pair midnight blue, the other a molten amber. My legs gave out.

"Let me go ," I snarled, digging my heels into the plush carpet as I tried to wrench myself free. "You have no right to take me anywhere!"

The one on the right with midnight blue eyes tightened his grip. "We cannot release you. Fate herself has chosen you. The mark on your hand proves it."

"You should be honored," the amber-eyed one added, his voice melodic yet chilling. "Many would sacrifice everything for such an opportunity."

A strange tingling sensation began at my feet and spread upward through my body like thousands of tiny needles pricking my skin. The air around us shimmered, warping and bending, as if reality itself was melting away. I thrashed harder against their iron grip, my wolf howling in panic beneath my skin.

The walls of my bedroom began to fade, dissolving into white mist at the edges.

My door burst open with a resounding crack as Ryker's massive frame smashed through the wood. Ember rushed in behind him, her face contorted in horror as she took in the scene.

"Briar," my sister screamed, lunging forward.

The sound of her voice was the last thing I heard before everything disappeared in a blinding flash of white light.