“Nor am I your responsibility. I’m a grown woman, Roan.” Maddie bit her bottom lip, something she did anytime her frustration began to get the better of her and there was a possibility she would act like a six-year-old ready to tell someone they weren’t invited to her birthday party. Which, for the record, Roan definitely was not.

  The Shaman didn’t respond. Maddie took several deep breaths and let them out slowly. Her mind ran back over the events of the day. There was no point sitting there fuming over the presence of Tall, Dark, and Gloomy. She knew that nothing she could say or do would make him leave. He was a grown-ass, ancient, magical man who could do… Who knows what? And she was just an ordinary teenage human girl who could do… Well, she could make a mean Margherita pizza, but other than that, not much. Roan: one point. Maddie: zero.

  They came to a third—yes, third—set of stairs. Didn’t they have a freaking elevator in this massive house? As they began to climb, Maddie looked at Roan. “Those women today, they seemed to take the things Taras and Lyra told them surprisingly well.”

  Maddie remembered walking into the room earlier that day, unsure of what to expect. In her mind, she’d totally pictured this harem of women, like a sheik might have, all lying dramatically on pillows, dressed in the finest silks, with sizeable hairstyles, expensive jewelry, and no, she had no clue why she suddenly put them all in India. Instead, what she’d seen was, yes, a very luxurious suite, and it was massive, but much more like a fancy dorm-type setting than an exotic den of silky pleasure. The women were all doing normal things like watching TV, reading, crafts, or yoga. It was as if Maddie had walked into a very exclusive country club where people happened to live. Oh, and it was an all-women’s country club. No dudes allowed. She glanced at Roan. Maybe that part wasn’t all bad.

  “Lyra. Taras.” A tall, blonde woman with hips, breasts, and basically all the womanly curves that Maddie would kill for, set her book down and rose from the couch where she’d been sitting.

  Maddie tried to glance around the room, but every time she moved, the big-ass Shaman shifted and blocked her view. What was his problem?

  “Shayree,” Lyra said, warmly.

  Maddie looked back at the two women who were currently embracing.

  “You’re looking lovely,” Lyra told the other woman.

  “Please.” Shayree waved the prima off. “I’ve gained ten pounds because your cook keeps feeding us. He insists we won’t find a mate until we get more meat on us.” Shayree looked at Maddie and raised a brow, a wry smile forming on her lips. “If that’s the case, sweetie, you don’t have a chance in hell.”

  Roan stepped directly in front of Maddie, blocking her from Shayree’s view.

  “Okay, I realize you don’t want me here, but that’s just rude.” Maddie grabbed the back of his arm and pinched as hard as she could. He jerked and glared over his shoulder at her. Maddie smiled sweetly. “Move, please. I enjoy meeting new people. Except you. I haven’t enjoyed meeting you.”

  “Roan,” Shayree cocked her head at him. “It’s good to know you are still as charming as ever.”

  “If by charming you mean he’s still an insufferable ass, then you’re right on the money.” Maddie stepped around him. “I’m Maddie.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Maddie.” Shayree held out her hand and shook Maddie’s. “If he’s this protective of you, I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’re not an animus.”

  Maddie frowned. “But I thought they were really protective of animuses.”

  “Animi.” Shayree grinned. “The plural of animus is animi. And yes”—she gave Roan a pointed look—“they are very protective of animi.”

  “Shayree,” Roan growled, nearly as good as Callon.

  “What?” She held up her hands. “I didn’t say anything.”

  “I would hate to come to regret what I gave you,” he said cryptically.

  Shayree’s eyes narrowed. “There’s no need to be, as Maddie put it, an insufferable ass.”

  A medium-height brunette with smooth, chocolate brown skin joined them. She wore a jogging suit and looked like she’d just finished a workout. Maddie noticed she practically bounced on the balls of her feet. Her beautiful, ringlet hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and bobbed with her movements. “Greetings King and Queen. To what do we owe the pleasure?” She smiled at Taras and Lyra. The genuineness of her tone made it clear she liked them. “We don’t get to see you two often enough.”

  “I know,” Taras agreed. “And we apologize for that, Carmen.”

  “We have news. Important news, and it affects all the animi.” Lyra gestured toward the hall. “We need everyone to gather in the large living room, if you would, please.”

  “I’ll get everyone.” Shayree nodded and strode out.

  Maddie noticed Shayree seemed to be the leader of the group.

  “Thank you,” Lyra said.

  A few minutes later, the ladies were all gathered in a large living area. It held five couches, three love seats, five overstuffed chairs, and a lot of floor space with huge pillows for lounging. Almost all the surfaces were covered with women. Maddie counted fifty-two in all.

  “Holy sh⁠—”

  “Maddison,” Roan snapped.

  “That’s not my name, you overgrown man-child,” she snapped right back.

  “Maddie is your full name?” He stood beside her at the front of the room, looking out over the group, who stared back at them. Well, not them per se, but at Taras and Lyra, who were standing just to the right of them.

  “I didn’t say that, either.” She was being purposefully difficult, but he was being a dick. And as the saying goes, all’s fair in difficult and dick. Or something like that.

  “Thank you all for joining on such short notice.” Immediately, the room’s soft chatter quieted, and all eyes focused on Taras. “We’ve had some news from the Council of Shaman.”

  The females’ gazes shifted to Roan. When he didn’t speak, they turned back to the prime and prima.

  “Thank you, Roan, for that riveting account,” Lyra said dryly, causing the ladies to chuckle. But then her face grew serious, and everyone in the room felt the gravity of the situation. Lyra stepped forward and placed her arms behind her. Her shoulders rolled back, and her chin rose. Suddenly, she was no longer the kind, gentle mother figure. She was the commanding prima. “The Creator of our kind, Visata, has made a new decree, and it is for the animi—for you.” She held out her arms, encompassing the room.

  The women all seemed to lean forward at once, and the tension in the room grew. Maddie’s heart pumped a little quicker, though she wasn’t sure why she was getting so worked up. She already knew what Lyra was going to say. But that was before she’d seen the women, before she’d been introduced to Shayree and realized what their lives were. They were privileged captives, but captives nonetheless.

  “Roan, Chosen Shaman for Visata, speak, so we can listen.” Taras’s words were so formal they startled Maddie.

  Now Roan stepped forward, almost robotically, and words poured forth. “So the Creator has spoken: My servants, you have gathered with the intention of seeking to bring justice where there has been corruption. What you desire to accomplish is honorable, but I ask you this: What about the injustices you allowed to be committed a decade ago? Did you seek my guidance then? Did you think I could not help you? Do you think anything is too great for me? Did you think I did not care?

  “I have seen the fighting that has gone on between my children. I see it all. I see every worry, and I feel every fear you have. I have not left you to your own devices, but I wait for you to call on Me for help. I wait for you to recognize that I did not create you because I wanted to be a spectator of my creation. I created you because I love you. Each and every one of you from the ten kingdoms to each and every Shaman servant. You are mine. And here, the animi in this room, are mine. And because you are mine, you must endure the consequences of your actions, and the actions of those who you lead or are led by. You made a law to stop the atrocious action of taking humans, and for that, there is a blessing. But you let them be taken in the first place. And for that, there is a punishment.

  “This day, I wash you clean of your past transgressions. You will go forward as my voice to the ten kingdoms. You will tell them what you have heard this day. The human females who have become possible mates for the Damarians will no longer simply find a male and fall in love. They will be preordained. Each male will have one mate that is theirs and theirs alone.

  “I will not strip the animi power from them because it is not my desire to see my children perish, but I will make them have an even greater appreciation for the gift that a mate is. The mark she bears will match his own. This is how you will know to whom each belongs.

  “The females you have cared for all this time will be given their mark and sent to the kingdom for which it matches. Their mates might be there, or might not have been born yet. To this end, I will grant them the lifespan of their future mate. As long as the animus chooses to stay with the kingdom for which she is destined, she will be healthy and live beyond a human lifespan. If she chooses to leave, then her lifespan will be that of a human, and her mate will have to accept her choice. She will be made a null, no longer able to bring forth the soul of the animal in a male. Therefore, no beastwalker will be tempted to take her. The male that would have been her mate will forever live without the full ability of his beast.

  “I hear each of your thoughts. I know your hearts. And I am not unsympathetic to your plight. For that, you will receive a mercy and a lesson. Those that bond will be known as the Erossazzi– the Only Beloved– as you are my Only Beloved. The beastwalkers and the animi who complete the bond will carry the essence of the other in their souls, as you carry Me in yours. They will be a beacon to one another for healing and feeding each other’s soul with emotion and touch. Just as I ask you to look to Me for guidance, love, and spiritual nourishment. Should the males be forcefully separated from their mates, they will wreak blind havoc on the world until they are reunited. As you would do should you leave My presence. The Erossazzi will bear male and female children, just as I wish for you to bear the fruit of my love.

  “You have my forgiveness, but there is always a consequence to wrongdoing. Go now. Deal with those who are still choosing the wrong path. Help those who need it. I am with you every step of the way.”

  Roan immediately turned around and walked straight up to Maddie. He took her face in his hands, his swirling, silver eyes, which she now saw all the time, searched every inch of her. “Are you okay?” His voice was gruff.

  “Umm.” She cleared her throat and held her head very still, mindful of the fact that there was a room full of women staring at them. Roan had just basically dropped a biblical prophecy down on their heads from their god, and it was going to change the course of these people’s lives. And he was worried about her. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Roan’s jaw clenched tightly as his handsome face darkened briefly before he dropped his hands and took a step back. “Right.” He gave a sharp nod. “Of course.”

  When he turned back to the room, Shayree was standing at the front of the group. Others were also standing, but most still remained seated. All of them looked shell-shocked, sucker-punched, gobsmacked, or, dammit, she really needed Katy for a better word to describe what was happening in the room.

  “So we can go home?” a petite blonde, standing in the far back corner, asked. She had her arms folded in front of her, and her shoulders were sort of hunched over in what Maddie would have considered a protective posture. Maddie glanced around the room but didn’t notice anyone else exhibiting the same behavior.

  “It is an option,” Lyra answered. “What we did was wrong.”

  “You’ve apologized before.” Shayree shook her head at the prima. “And we’ve all been here long enough to know why we’re still here.”

  “That doesn’t make it right,” the blonde in the back said.

  “No,” Lyra quickly agreed. “It doesn’t.” She started walking toward the female. Her movements were slow, as if approaching a cornered animal. “And there’s nothing we can do to fix what we’ve done. We can’t stop you from going to the authorities and telling them we abducted you and held you captive.”

  Another woman, a redhead, jumped up. “You wouldn’t. They’ve only ever been kind to us and given us the best of everything. My life here has been a whole hell of a lot better than the rathole I lived in before.”

  “No one is going to the police,” Shayree declared in a hard tone. Then she met the gaze of the blonde. “Yes, you were taken against your will. But you were never mistreated. Not once.” She nodded to the redhead. “And like Kendall said, some of us came from crappy situations. We’re not going to let you drag Lyra and Taras through the mud because you were taken from your high society, country club life and missed out on social parties and the Junior League’s latest pet projects.”

  “I wasn’t… I mean… I didn’t…”

  Shayree held up a hand, and the blonde snapped her mouth closed. “Your decision is yours. You want to go home and forget about this world. Then go. We wish you the best. The rest of us will honor those who’ve honored us.” Shayree turned her back on the blonde and focused on the rest of the room. “Lyra, Taras, what do we need to do? Roan said a lot. Break it down for us.”

  “I think this is where we come in.” The old lady, Jaxine from the Wild Ink Tattoo Parlor, walked in with her cane, with Kian and Zephyr beside her.

  “Yes.” Lyra gave the blonde girl’s arm a pat and then strode over to where Jaxine set down a large bag. Kian and Zephyr carried similar bags. “As you all heard Roan, those were Visata’s direct words. If you choose to stay, you will be marked by one of our tattoo artists. Normally, this would only happen after you’d chosen a mate. But my son has found a mate…” Heads swiveled and eyes widened. “And we know, based upon his experience, that things are different now. Visata saw fit to give him an Erossazzi mate. She got a tattoo at Wild Ink, and it was the identical lion of his own. Kian was shocked because our artists never give a Damarian the same tattoo. Every tattoo is unique to the Damarian that receives it. We never, ever repeat one.”

  “Until Lola.”

  Jaxine turned her wrinkly smile on Maddie, and her mischievous eyes danced between her and Roan. “Ah, we meet again, Nunshawani.”

  “Nope. I’m Maddie, though. I can see how you’d get the two names confused.”

  Kian laughed and walked over to her. He started to give her a brotherly, one-arm side hug, but Roan stepped in between them at the same time, looking at Jaxine. “You know her name.”

  Jaxine shrugged. “I’m old, Roan. Sometimes my mind slips.”

  “Kind of like your tongue?” Zephyr stared at Jaxine. “You move freely in and out of our language to the human one.”

  “Exactly.” She pointed her cane at him. “Just like that.”

  “Nunshawani is a Damarian word?” Maddie asked.

  “No,” Roan said that at the same time about five other voices said, “Yes.”

  Maddie gave the Shaman a dry look. “You’re not funny. I hope you know that.”

  “Oh, he knows.” Jaxine cackled. “Now, when any of you lovely ladies are ready to move forward with your life, you just come see me, Kian, or Zephyr.”

  “See me. I’m the best artist.”

  “You wish.” Kian shook his head and grinned at Zephyr.

  “Please know,” Taras spoke up, “there is no judgment here. Jaxine, Kian, and Zephyr are going to go into separate rooms. Myself, Lyra, and Roan will each be in the room with one of them. This is a private matter. When you leave this room, the decision you make is yours and yours alone. We will hold no ill will toward you.”

  “Wait a second. We have to decide now?” It was the blonde that Shayree had read the riot act to earlier.

  “I’m afraid so.” Lyra nodded. “We’ve defied our creator long enough. Rest assured, those of you who belong to another kingdom will be treated with honor and respect, just as you have been treated here.”

  Maddie looked up at the ceiling. She wasn’t sure that Lyra’s statement was entirely true, considering one of those kingdoms had kidnapped her friend. But Maddie decided to keep her mouth shut on the issue.

  “Those that choose to return will be helped as well. We will do everything we can to assist you in assimilating back into your normal life. As you know, we have extensive resources and connections.”

  A sandy-blonde haired woman spoke up. She looked to be about five-six, with brown eyes, tan skin, and pretty average features. There was nothing remarkable about her, yet something about the woman drew the eye. Maddie tilted her head, trying to figure out what it was about the woman that made her so compelling despite the fact that she seemed pretty average. Not that there’s a damn thing wrong with average. “Roan said if we choose to go back to our human life, we will be made a null. What does that mean, exactly?” the woman asked.

  “Being made a null means that the magic that has been imbued within you will be removed,” Roan said from beside Maddie. All the females turned to look at him. For some reason, Maddie found herself wanting to tell those eyeballs to look elsewhere. That was ridiculous. She didn’t even like Roan. Sure, he was stupid hot, but he was also stupid assholish, too. “It’s for your protection,” he continued. “If you have no magic, then you can’t bring out the animal in a Damarian male, and none of the Damarians who are of ill reproach⁠—”

  “He means the bad guys,” Maddie interrupted. She felt weird standing next to him with all those eyes on them.

  He glanced at her, his mouth turning up in the tiniest amount as if she’d amused him. Why do I like that? I don’t. I absolutely do not.

  “If you have no magic, then the … bad Damarians will have no reason to go after you, which will allow you to have a normal life.”

  The sandy-blonde, average chick stared at Roan. She crossed her arms over her chest and cocked a hip to the side. “And if we don’t want a normal life?”