Where Shadows Gather (Shades and Shadows Book 4)

Because Some Wars Don’t End

Three years after the Fall, the world knows the tribes exist. The 8th Battalion exposed the Shades, Shadows, Sages, and Shifters—but it was the Fall that revealed the man behind the chaos: Lewis Rede, a powerful Shadow who manipulated a nation in his pursuit of absolute power.

Now Shadow clan leader Alaric Lambrecht has agreed to tell the truth on live television. His story begins with captivity, a desert compound, and Mason Jerah, a healer thrown into the same prison after days of torture. Their escape forged a bond that would become love, partnership, and a shared fight for survival.

But the past is not as buried as Alaric hoped.

As he recounts the war, Rede’s experiments, and the fragile alliances that brought the tribes together, old enemies begin to resurface. Mason continues to heal those scarred by the 8th Battalion’s brutality, while Alaric works to hold his clan together in a world still uneasy with the truth.

Peace has come—but it may not last.

For readers drawn to paranormal fantasy, hidden tribes, political manipulation, forbidden experiments, and emotionally grounded survival stories, this new chapter follows Alaric and Mason as they face the consequences of telling the truth.

Step back into a world where power leaves scars, love is tested by war, and some battles are only waiting to begin again.

Excerpt from the book

“Good evening, and welcome to our special broadcast. We are live in the WUSA studios tonight with a very special interview with our guest, Alaric Lambrecht, on this, the third anniversary of the Fall. Alaric was present that day when we witnessed our vice president transforming into a creature, and we learned as a nation that we had been manipulated, but his story is so much more than that single day. He has kindly agreed to tell us that story today. Welcome, Alaric.”

He forced a smile, still not completely convinced this was a good idea. “Thank you, Claire. I’m happy to be here with you.” His eyes flicked to the camera, fully aware that at that exact moment, he had the attention of millions of people. He turned his attention back to Claire, banishing the idea of what he could do with his power.

“I want to start with you. Tell us about you.”

“Okay, um.” He had given it a lot of thought—how much to tell, where to begin. “Well, I’ll start by saying that I am the clan leader for the Dachte Lichte, what history has named Shadows. I inherited the position after the 8 th Battalion killed my father.”

Claire nodded for him to continue.

“My father was on the city council in a Sacramento suburb before the 8 th Battalion rose there. I believe he was targeted for his support of the Shades after William Darchel’s arrest. As a clan, we had been trying to rebuild after years of being scattered, but once it was clear that we weren’t safe, we went into hiding.” There was so much more to it, of course. Flashes of the fire that took Abigail’s life and nearly ended his own flickered through his mind.

“Tell me about the term Shadows. Where did that come from?” Claire asked, pulling him back to the moment.

“Ah, yes. It comes from a skill that was never very common and takes years of training to fully master, but it terrified those not of our clan. It involves going so deep into another person’s mind that you can control them. Mind you, the number of Shadows who can do it has always been rare.”

“You have to admit, that is terrifying.”

He nodded. “It is, which is why our rules prohibit it.”

“Have you ever done it?” Claire’s eyes were intense.

Alaric met her eyes with equal intensity. “Yes, I have.” The vicious way he’d had to subdue the men of the 8 th Battalion that day filled his mind. His absolute determination to make his plan work. Because he had to get to Mason, and he had found no other way.

“Explain.”

He exhaled slowly. “It is a long story, and to tell it, I need to go back to when and how I met my partner, Mason Jerah.”