Submitting to the Shadow (Kindred Tales)

She started to close the door in his face but to Roark’s surprise, her Beast Kindred mate stopped her.

“Wait, Meg,” he rumbled. “If the male says he has an overwhelming feeling about his female, you should listen to him.”

“Sammi is not his female!” Meg snapped. “He threw her away like a piece of trash!”

“His actions may have been fucking awful, but you did say he fathered a child on her, right?” The Beast Kindred raised an eyebrow at his mate.

“Two children—twins,” Meg snapped. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, if he was able to get her pregnant, he must have some kind of bond with her—even just a partial bond,” the Beast Kindred pointed out. “Which means the Goddess intends for them to be together. And if that is what she wishes, you shouldn’t be keeping them apart.”

“Well…” Meg looked undecided but apparently her mate’s words held weight with her. “All right,” she said at last. “Hang on, I’ll go write down the address.”

Roark still didn’t believe in the Goddess, but he felt a rush of gratitude towards the other warrior.

“Thank you, Brother,” he said, nodding at the Beast Kindred.

The Beast Kindred scowled back at him.

“Don’t make me regret this kindness. Samantha is like a sister to me. I will protect her if I find out you’ve hurt her in any way—physically or emotionally.”

“I only want to make up for the wrong I’ve done,” Roark said honestly. “I see now that we belong together and that I was a fool to send her away.” He ran a hand through his hair. “And I really do have a feeling she is in danger. I must go check on her.”

“I understand.” The Beast Kindred gave a nod of grudging respect. “I hope your feeling is wrong and that your female is well and safe.”

“I hope so too,” Roark said.

Just then, Meg returned with a slip of paper that had an Earth address printed on it.

“Here. This is her Aunt Vicky’s house,” she said, handing it reluctantly to Roark. “But you’d better treat her right this time!”

“I swear I will.” Roark took the slip of paper from her. “Thank you so much.”

He wanted to say something about how he hoped they would be on better footing in the future. Since Meg was Samantha’s best friend, it was reasonable to assume that they might socialize with the other couple if she came back to him.

But at the moment, both of them thought he was scum—which Roark couldn’t really debate until he was able to bring Samantha back and show that he could treat her well. And besides, the feeling that she was in danger was growing by the minute—he literally couldn’t stay here on the Mother Ship one moment longer. He had to go down to Earth and make sure she was all right.

“Thank you,” he said to Meg and her mate, and hurried away.

Forty-Four

The man standing behind her, when Sammi turned around, was tall and imposing. He wasn’t as big as a Kindred, but he wasn’t far off, either, standing at least 6’6 by Sammi’s panicked estimation. Small black eyes, a hooked beak of a nose, and thin, red, cruel lips defined his broad face. He had long, shaggy black hair and meaty hands as big as catchers’ mitts.

She saw the hands up close when he reached out to brush a strand of hair away from her face.

Sammi ducked instinctively away, not wanting him to touch her. The man’s cruel red lips twisted into a frown.

“Now, Beautiful, is that any way to treat your lover?” he demanded in a deep, harsh voice.

“You are not my lover! I don’t even know you!” Sammi lifted her chin and tried to sound strong, but her voice came out shaky and weak. She had to fight with herself not to burst into tears and beg him to let her go home.

“Oh, but I know you, Beautiful. I’ve been watching you such a long time now.” He smiled, revealing crooked yellow teeth that crossed over each other in the front. “I’ve seen you at school…at your house…in the shower…”

His words confirmed her worst fears. This was the man who had followed her across the country. This was the man who had invaded her home.

“You’re him,” she whispered, backing away. “The stalker.”

“Stalker? Well, that’s kind of a nasty word, isn’t it?” He frowned and made a tsking sound with his tongue. “I prefer to think of myself as a ‘watcher.’ And of course soon, I’ll be your lover, Beautiful.”

“No.” Sammi shook her head vigorously and took another step back. “No, we’re never going to be lovers. I don’t know you and I don’t want to know you!”

“You might feel that way now, but I bet I can change your mind, Beautiful.” He stepped closer to her and Sammi edged backwards. She felt something against the backs of her legs and realized with a sick feeling in her stomach that she had backed right into the bed.