Page 16 of A Shadow of Betrayal

My body heaves, making my sore ribs ache as it tries to empty the contents of my stomach, and I close my eyes, wishing the damn man behind me would let me go so I can throw up in peace. Instead, his big hands loosen around my neck, moving to the side where his thumb strokes the skin behind my ear in a calming motion, his body pressing closer to my own, lending me his strength as my vision dims at the edges.

“Call for the Rangers on cleaning duty,” Senior Axford grumbles, moving back several more paces as Elaine rushes to my side, grabbing my arm.

“Lennox,” she whispers as my stomach heaves again. The hand around my neck tightens before a small growl rumbles from the chest I’m still held against. “She is your responsibility,” Elaine snaps, making the growl cut short, and Umbra Regalis sighs in irritation.

“Fine,” he clips out, tearing his hands away from me so fast that I almost stumble forward into the puddle of vomit.

“I’ve got you,” Elaine whispers when I gasp, my vision swimming as she steadies me on my feet.

“Take her to the north wing and give her one of the rooms,” the Viking clips out, his voice low and full of anger.

“She needs to be brought to the Ranger barracks and put through the training. With her advanced age, I don’t suggest you put off the trials. If she succeeds, she can be brought into the fold on the blood moon,” Senior Axford states as my stomach finally settles. I run the back of my hand over my mouth, my sweaty face heating when I look up and find all the eyes in the room staring at me, ranging from mild disgust to full-on hatred.

“The girl is a lost soul without knowledge of the Umbra culture, Senior Axford. It would be wise to teach her our ways before sending her in for training and trials,” Elaine pipes in, her small hand clutching my arm.

“Elaine, return to our residence,” Senior Drakos snaps, and shocked silence fills the entire room as Elaine slowly turns her narrowed eyes on her husband and arches her brow in question. “Please,” the man is quick to add, and if I weren't still feeling sick and a bit dizzy, I would have laughed at the instant change in the dickwad’s tone.

“Elaine makes a good point,” Umbra Regalis says, stepping around my pool of vomit and making his way toward the small table where the men deposited the bowl and knife used for the bloodline ceremony. Senior Drakos glares at Umbra Regalis, apparently not liking how he has been interrupted. “Miss Smith should at least have the basic knowledge of our ways before she undertakes the trials.”

“Ranger Smith…” Senior Axford corrects, giving Umbra Regalis a disapproving look. “Will join the other Rangers in training, and if she holds enough merit, will then complete her trials in order to be bled into the Umbra units.”

I freeze at the old man’s words and shake my head. Nope, I don’t like that idea.

“Do I get a say in this?” I whisper to Elaine, who purses her lips, her glare still on her husband, who is now shuffling from foot to foot under her angry gaze.

“Unfortunately…” she starts, leaning closer to me so only I can hear her. “You’ll find our Seniorem is a rather stubborn bunch of jaded old men who don't care for an outside opinion. But you can try,” she suggests with a shrug of her thin shoulders. “Your best bet would be talking to your bloodline Senior in private and working out a schedule.”

“And that is who?” I ask, looking around the room at the angry-looking men. Several have moved from the chairs and gathered in small groups, occasionally throwing me weird looks before turning their back on me.

“Lennox,” she whispers when she tugs me back from the mess I made on the floor as two young men come into the room and look at the vomit with grimaces before setting a mop bucket down and getting to work, scrubbing the floor clean. I wince when one of the boys cleaning the floor gags a little before I turn toward Elaine. The old men have seemingly forgotten my existence in the room as they argue about what to do with me, and I briefly wonder how far I could get if I managed to sneak out.

Almost like he’s reading my mind, bright green eyes snap up to meet mine, and Umbra Regalis’ jaw tenses as the two older men talk to him. A weird chill runs down my spine, and I take a step back, not liking the intensity of his stare. “Umbra Regalis is…” I trail off, and Elaine nods and uses her grip on my arm to spin me to face her.

“Umbra Regalis’ name is Lennox. But you shouldn't call him by his given name. It's Umbra Regalis to all the Rangers. And this is a good thing, Meyer. You lucked out getting him as your Senior—the one he replaced wasn’t a good man. Talk with him, dear. He’ll help,” she whispers before her eyes snap up and narrow at the person who has walked up behind me.

A warm hand suddenly clamps around the back of my neck, startling me enough that I thrust my elbow back, making contact with something hard before I spin, reaching for the hand on my neck and grabbing two of the thick fingers in my hands, the burst of fear radiating through me making my breath hitch.

“Meyer, wait!” Elaine's panicked voice says behind me, but it's already too late as my knee slams up and connects with Umbra Regalis’ crotch.

“What the fuck?” Umbra Regalis snaps, doubling over just the slightest amount while yanking his hand away from me. He quickly recovers and uses his other hand to grab my wrist and yank me forward. I try to pull back, but he’s too strong, pulling me hard until my hands press against his firm chest, bringing me so close that there’s not even an inch of space between us. I glare up at him, which seems to only piss him off more as he leans forward, his narrowed eyes locked with mine as he mutters something I can’t understand under his breath.

“Lennox, don’t!” Elaine snaps, making the man pause in his ranting to cast a crazed look at the small woman, who looks down and frowns and nods. “Umbra Regalis,” she corrects herself, and I honestly try not to lose the small amount of respect I held for the lady as she bends to this man's will.

“Let me go,” I grind out, tilting my head back so far that the sore muscles start to complain.

“You attacked me,” he snarls, his face dipping closer to mine, the green of his eyes flickering like a weird flame.

“You shouldn't have touched me!” I snap back, yanking against his grip and holding his glare, unwilling to back down. The man's lips twitch at the corners like he’s fighting a smile, but his facial features remain frozen in anger.

“Umbra Regalis!” Elaine says, stepping closer, her hands clasped in front of her once again as she looks at the much larger man like he's a small child she's disciplining.

“She needs to learn her place,” Lennox sneers, his eyes still on mine, not caring about the attention we are gaining from our little showdown.

“She is a Regalis. Are you truly surprised that she tried to defend herself?” Elaine asks with a small laugh, making Umbra Regalis’ grip loosen a small amount.

“I still have my doubts. This girl is not a descendent of the Regalis line,” he mutters, eyeing me cautiously before releasing my wrists and stepping back, his hand rubbing at his bearded jaw. “Move,” he growls, nodding toward the door and crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“Where are we going?” I ask, looking to Elaine for an answer. Instead, she looks up at Umbra Regalis and sighs.

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