Page 8 of Shadow Spirit

“I was wondering if you might like to spar.”

“With you?” Decker’s voice was incredulous, which was slightly insulting. Decker shook his head. “Sorry, Doc, that didn’t come out the way I meant it.”

“You haven’t answered my question,” countered Greg in a somewhat threatening tone of voice that he most definitely meant.

“Your funeral, Doc. I’m in a particularly nasty mood, but if you’re game, so am I.”

Greg followed Decker into the boxing ring and caught the gloves the captain threw his way. They squared off and Greg threw his best punch, which Decker danced away from and then double-tapped Greg in the ribs. It wasn’t a devastating blow by any means, and Greg knew it wasn’t meant to be. The arrogant captain wanted Greg to know just how badly outmatched he was. What Decker didn’t know was that Greg hadn’t just trained with Oliver’s warriors, he’d trained with the she-wolves led by Oliver’s mate, Roz, who had once been beta to an all-female pack. The she-wolves had known in a fight they would be outmatched by size and strength and so had honed their skills accordingly.

Greg feinted away and when Decker dropped his guard, Greg landed a solid body shot to the warrior’s solar plexus, not only making him grunt, but letting Greg know he’d felt the blow. From that point on, the two men went at it as if they both knew they were fighting for something important. Greg was fairly sure he knew what that was, but that Decker had yet to figure it out.

Interspersed with punches, Greg began to ask fairly pointed questions about Adriana and how the captain saw her fitting in at St. Piran’s, her not having been born a she-wolf and the like. The more Greg asked, the more forceful Decker’s hits became. Greg continued to press his attacks with questions, his physical fighting now being defensive only. The captain was getting pissed and it seemed only to sharpen his skills.

Decker drove Greg to the mat and had him pinned there. “What the fuck is with all the questions Doc? Why do you care about Adriana?”

“She, like everyone else here at the abbey, is my patient.”

Decker slammed his fist down. Greg was grateful Decker had chosen to hit the mat instead of his face, because it would have been completely ruined. “Try again.”

“I think what’s bugging you, Captain, is that you have feelings for her. I think you’re probably masking all of the symptoms of being her fated mate—nausea, dizziness, extreme attraction to, and preference for her. I think your wolf is on the prowl and barely under control. It wants to growl and rip and tear into anyone and everyone it perceives as a threat to your claiming her.”

Decker sat back. Granted he was still sitting on Greg, but at least he wasn’t doing so in a way that made Greg feel as though he was going to be first on the list of Decker’s annihilated opponents.

“How do you know that?”

“At the risk of having you murder me, because I’m feeling it, too.”

Decker rocked up on his feet, pulled his glove off, and then extended his hand down to Greg to help him up. “That’s fucked up.”

Before Greg could respond, Decker turned and walked away.

CHAPTER 5

ADRIANA

She allowed Colby to lead her away from Greg and the medical facility. She couldn’t help but feel it was yet another time the lynx-shifter had rescued her from a dicey situation. They were headed for the great library Colby was amassing. The abbey at St. Piran’s had been renowned for its library of books and medieval scrolls. Some of those ancient texts had been saved from Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries.

When she wobbled, Colby steadied her. “Why don’t we get you back to your rooms? I think maybe everything is catching up with you.”

“I’m fine. I don’t want to be a burden. I need to know what’s going on.”

“You are neither fine nor a burden. You are relatively new to being a shifter so are not as steeped in our lore as some. I can tell you that while a woman having two fated mates in one lifetime is rare, it is not unheard of. However, I have never heard of a woman having two at the same time. I’m going to set Wordsworth to tracking down any information he can find in the old texts. I’ll get our IT people on it as well…”

“I’m sure the IT people have better things to do.”

“You might think that,” said Colby, “but sometimes something like this is a nice break from their usual jobs, and you never know where arcane research might lead you. As for Wordsworth, who deplores the idea of transferring all the data contained within the tombs to electronic media, he’ll want to show that it is in the pages that wisdom will be found. The latter being his words.”

Adriana smiled. Colby was a different kind of alpha. While his word was law and he could rule with an iron fist, he was also charming and approachable. The fact that he seemed to prefer female betas was something she heard people talking about. Colby didn’t seem to care what people thought, and in the end, his people—his clan—were devoted to him and would willingly follow him through the gates of hell if that’s where he wanted to go.

He led her back to her rooms, opening the door for her and shaking his head. “You know that you are welcome to live in the more modern part of the abbey if you desire? There is plenty of room, and even if there wasn’t, as one of the two betas of the Shadow Sisters, you are entitled.”

Adriana nodded. “I am aware, but I prefer it here. There’s something about the simplicity of living this way that I find soothing at the moment. It gives me a kind of solace I find nowhere else.”

“I know none of this—from being turned without your consent, to being kidnapped and rescued and moved around—has been easy. I’ve talked to Brie and while I agree you would bring a lot to the Shadow Sisters, you are entitled to opt out. It doesn’t have to be forever, but I keep thinking you just need a chance to catch your breath.”

Adriana smiled at him. “I can see why she loves you so and why the rest of our people are devoted to you. You can count me among them, by the way. Don’t think I don’t know the risks you all took for me. It is a debt I can never truly repay. The League might well use me as a tipping point with the Ruling Council to openly engage the Resistance…”

“Don’t worry about that. If it comes to that—and that’s a big if—we’ll be ready for them. If they do try to use you, they’ll be on shaky ground with those shifters who have yet to get off the fence. Turning someone without their informed consent is a big no-no for most shifters and is a bridge too far for many. Who knows? The Resistance might well use what was done to you to bring the League to heel. The difference is, we’ll do it with your permission and cooperation.”

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