Page 43 of Shadow's Claim

Gabriela's expression shifts subtly. "The shadow integration would be significantly reduced. Neural pathways would be redirected toward human development parameters." She hesitates. "The consciousness as you currently experience it would... likely not remain the same."

The hybrid's distress intensifies, pressing against my mind with what feels unmistakably like fear. Without thinking, I send back reassurance, protective instinct overriding rational calculation.

"I need time to think," I say, trying to process these conflicting emotions. "How long do we have before?—"

The bathing chamber door slides open with sudden force, and my heart stops.

Kael stands in the doorway, his massive form blocking all light from the outer chamber. Shadows writhe around him with barely contained violence, his glowing purple eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. All four of his arms extend outward, manipulating darkness into physical barrier between me and Gabriela.

"Return to your assigned duties," he commands Gabriela, his voice carrying that dangerous resonance that makes the air vibrate.

Gabriela's face betrays nothing as she bows her head in perfect submission. "Yes, Lord Nightshadow. I was simply assisting with fresh linens."

"In the bathing chamber, with water systems activated at maximum capacity?" The shadows around him darken further. "Creating conditions known to disrupt surveillance?"

Though nothing explicit was said about escape, his shadow senses have clearly detected something amiss. The tension in the room builds to nearly unbearable levels as his glowing eyes shift between us, assessing, calculating.

"Leave us," he orders Gabriela, one pair of hands gesturing toward the door while the other pair maintains the shadow barrier.

She exits without another word, her calm demeanor never faltering even under his suspicious scrutiny. I remain frozen under the water spray, the shadow patterns across my skin pulsing wildly with my racing heart.

When we're alone, Kael's attention fixes on me with that predatory focus that once terrified me but now carries complicated emotions I'm still learning to interpret.

"The Midnight Court session ended early," he states, stepping fully into the bathing chamber, shadows swirling around his massive form. "Fortunate timing."

I shut off the water, grabbing a towel to cover myself though it seems pointless after months as his claimed omega. "Gabriela was just helping me?—"

"Do not," he interrupts, all four hands clenching simultaneously, "insult my intelligence with lies."

The hybrid's consciousness presses against my mind again, sensing the dangerous tension. I place my hand protectively over my abdomen, a gesture Kael doesn't miss.

"What did she offer you?" he demands, moving closer, shadows extending from his form to brush against the patterns on my skin. "Extraction? Escape?"

The directness of his question surprises me. No games, no manipulations, just blunt confrontation.

"Yes," I admit, seeing no point in denial. The connection between us—physical, mental, and the shadow bond formed through the hybrid—makes sustained deception nearly impossible.

His eyes flare brighter, but he doesn't immediately respond. Instead, one hand extends toward my abdomen where the shadow patterns pulse most intensely. "And the hybrid? What plans do these 'rescuers' have for what grows inside you?"

The question hits directly at my own conflicted feelings. "Purification procedures," I say quietly. "To ensure appropriate human characteristics."

A growl rumbles from his chest, shadows darkening throughout the chamber. "Meaning elimination of shadow essence. Destruction of the consciousness developing between us."

"Not destruction," I counter, though even I hear the uncertainty in my voice. "Redirection toward human parameters."

"Semantics," he dismisses. "They would erase what makes the hybrid unique. What connects the three of us."

Something in his phrasing catches me off guard. Not just the hybrid's connection to each of us separately, but the three-way bond that's formed—carrier, offspring, sire in unprecedented integration. The shadow patterns beneath my skin pulse in rhythm with his proximity, visible evidence of connection I can't deny regardless of how it began.

"I didn't agree to anything," I tell him, which is true even if not the complete truth. "I was listening to options."

Kael's four hands move in perfect synchronization, manipulating shadows around us both. Not restraining me, but creating a cocoon-like barrier between us and the rest of his domain.

"They offer freedom with one hand and destruction with the other," he says, voice dropping to dangerous intensity. "They would 'save' you by eliminating what they cannot control or understand."

The bitter irony of a shadow demon lecturing about freedom isn't lost on me. "And what do you offer?" I challenge. "Permanent captivity? Being paraded before Obscura weekly like prized breeding stock?"

"Protection," he responds immediately. "For both you and the hybrid. Development without interference."

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