Page 35 of Beast

“That’s the problem,” Labyrinth said.“King has never kept you from danger.He wants you to make military decisions and to stop thinking with your human brain.”

“Oh, and I should be thankful for that?”I shot back.“I’m either a Shadow Warrior, or I’m not.”

“The butterfly leaves its cocoon, but it’s more defenseless,” the prisoner chimed in from his spot on the roof.

I rolled my eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t fall out of my head.

Labyrinth smirked, clearly amused.“You aren’t defenseless, but you are rash, and one of these days, you’ll get someone killed.We pray it’s not you who dies.”

So, they’d been talking about me.Big surprise.“Thaaanks,” I said, my voice dripping sarcasm.

Labyrinth turned his eyes back to me.“You have no idea what an anomaly you are.We’re all stepping carefully around you and King.He’s volatile when you’re not around, and vice versa.And when the two of you are together?Add in the mating rage, and we’re running for cover.This hasn’t been easy for anyone.”

Oh boy.Tell me how you really feel.“So, what you’re saying is, I’m bad for King,” I said, daring him to agree.

He didn’t hesitate.Instead, he stood and took a step in my direction, looming over me, his eyes locked onto mine in a silent challenge.

Ms.Beast went on high alert.Kill.

Labyrinth looked me up and down, really looked, his gaze assessing every inch of me.“You’re a miracle,” he said finally.

I studied his amazing eyes, trying to read his expression.Beast forms made that difficult, but his tone left no room for doubt.

“I don’t feel like a miracle,” I admitted, speaking quieter now.

He shook his head slowly.“That’s because you haven’t fully accepted who and what you are.”

I looked away, unable to meet his gaze.He was right, and we both knew it.“I don’t know how to be a Shadow Warrior,” I said softly.

When I glanced over, Labyrinth tipped his head back, his jaw lifting as a laugh erupted from deep in his chest.Not a small laugh, oh no, it was the kind that came straight from his diaphragm.

It’s great to be laughed at.NOT.

It took him a solid minute to get himself under control, and I’ll admit, I briefly hoped he’d try to wipe a tear and accidentally gouge an eye out.No such luck.

His next words hit me harder than I expected.“We lived for so long hiding who we were.None of us knew how to be Shadow Warriors, except for Graystone, King’s uncle.We’re still learning, and now it’s sometimes hard to remember we were once farmers.Back then, a bad day was broken equipment.”He shifted his rifle off his shoulder and cradled it in his arms, leaning back against the wall.“It’s your job to teach us to be Shadow Warriors.”The last sentence didn’t contain a smile.He was completely serious.

“What could I possibly teach you?”I asked, confused.

He shook his head slightly; a frustrated gesture that told me I wasn’t getting the point.“The female Warriors left the men because of our violence.Now we have you, and the last thing any of us wants is for you to leave.You’re a Warrior, and you’re more human than the rest of us.That’s what you have to teach us.We’re men, and it’s not something we can change easily.”

“But we need Warriors,” I argued, still not following him.

“Yes, we need Warriors,” he stated.“You.Are.A.Warrior.Get it through your head.You’ll never be exactly like us because you aren’t.You’re female.In the animal kingdom, many females are deadlier than their male counterparts.Our race was no different.The difference was the women carried compassion.They thought differently, and that’s not a bad thing.”

He paused, his voice softening as he continued.“King weighs the good and the bad and decides what’s best for the majority.You think differently.You think in closer bonds.You went after Garret, and we wouldn’t have risked this mission for him.We’d already written him off.”He shrugged.“You got caught because we decided to retrieve his body and take it back with us.”

His eyes shifted to Axel, who was resting beside Garret.

“You’re saying I’m a Warrior, and I’m not a Warrior,” I said, even more frustrated now.

“No.”Labyrinth’s tone was firm, but not unkind.“I’m saying you’re like no Warrior we’ve ever seen.Instead of trying to be us, be yourself.You came to us for a reason, and the last thing we need is for you to be just like us.”

Now it was my turn to laugh, though it came out bitter.“You have no idea what I was really like before becoming a Shadow Warrior.I didn’t have a brave bone in my body.”

He raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.“You saved Che at the expense of your own life, and you thought you were only human when you did it.How many hellhounds did the poor little scared girl face down?”He didn’t even give me the chance to answer.“Those aren’t the actions of a coward.Get over yourself.”

It sounded so simple when he said it.I just wasn’t sure how to do what he wanted and most likely what I needed.

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