Claimed by the Claws

by Laura Wylde

  My mind was on full tilt and though I tried to calm it down, it felt impossible to do it. I was wearing the man’s T-shirt and I hoped that he would be just outside the door. I didn’t want to walk around like this, but there was nothing to wear. I thought about the room with all of the clothes in it and I wanted to get there. Then I could find something a little more suitable to wear.

  I had to build up some courage before I would open the door and start to move outside of the room. I could hear voices and I could recognize a few of them. While I wanted to see Daxton, I didn’t want to see anyone else. I knew that Meatloaf and Sandra were out there from their voices, but there were other people there as well. I didn’t know who they were or why they were here. I just knew that I needed to get to the other room or I was going to be stuck in his bedroom with nothing on.

  The short hallway didn’t take long to navigate and I was sure that I was going to be seen. When I stuck my head out around the doorway and looked into the living room, I was shocked to see so many people there. There was at least twenty people there and I knew without having to ask, that all of them were shifters. The very idea of it was hard to fathom. I knew that I was going to have to go through the room, but I was half-tempted to just go back into the bedroom. He would come back eventually.

  I turned around to leave and I heard my name being said. Daxton knew I was in the hallway and he called to me. If he could read my mind, he wasn’t doing a very good job of it at the moment. If he was, he would have known that the very last thing that I wanted to do was to go out there in front of all of those people. The shirt was not that long and I didn’t like to expose so much. Not to mention that with what I was wearing, everyone was going to know what we had done. I don’t know why, but I didn’t like the idea of that at all.

  “Come on Bree. I want to introduce you.”

  “No, I’m good, thanks.”

  I started back towards the room and the next time I heard my name, I was staring back at Daxton. He was a lot closer and his fiery eyes took in what I was wearing.

  “It wasn’t a request Bree.”

  “I’m not going out there with all of those people, wearing this.” I couldn’t believe that he was even willing to consider it. What sort of woman did he think I was?

  “Yes you will. You look lovely and no one cares what you are wearing.”

  “Where are my clothes?”

  “They are being cleaned. I didn’t want them to be dirty. They will be back soon with them. There isn’t that sort of facility here, so we had to take them out.”

  It was then that I noticed that he was wearing just a pair of shorts. His chest was bare and he was towering over me. Thoughts of the night before flashed back and again I couldn’t meet his gaze. He had left the shirt for me, so I guess I should have been thankful.

  “You could have at least left me some underwear.”

  He leaned in, his eyes twinkling.

  “I kind of like the idea of you bare under that shirt. This meeting will be over soon and then I have every intention on finishing what we started last night. Come get some breakfast and I assure you that I will take care of you soon enough.”

  He was moving closer and if I didn’t know any better, Daxton was going to go against his own spoken words and he was going to get started right now. The sad thing was how badly I wished that he would. My body was craving him, no matter how many people were in the cabin. They would hear us, hear me screaming, but I just didn’t care.

  When his lips moved onto mine, I didn’t care what happened next, as long as he didn’t stop touching me. Daxton was like a drug that I was hooked on and there was no turning back.

  “So come on Bree, I want you to meet a few people.

  I looked down at what I was wearing and then back up at him, not sure if he saw it or not. I was only wearing a T shirt and he knew that I didn't have anything on underneath it.

  “You want me to go out there?”

  “Yeah I want you to meet some people.”

  “What about what I'm wearing? I don't want to go out there like this.”

  “There is nothing wrong with what you're wearing very. You are completely covered.”

  “But I'm wearing your clothes.”

  “Yeah and you're my mate. There is nothing wrong with it. They're probably wondering why I'm out here talking to you instead of in the room with you. I know that everyone will be thinking that.”

  I didn't know what to say but he started pulling me towards the other room. It looked like I didn’t really have a choice. While he was happy with what I was wearing, I certainly wasn't. I was the type of person that liked to stay covered up and it was hard on me when he was pushing it the other way. I liked that he liked what he saw, but that didn't mean that I was comfortable enough to go out in front of everybody like this.

  “Can you just bring me some clothes?”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah, I am.”

  “Come with me, everything will be fine. You are going to have to learn to keep your head up and do not worry about what other people think of you. You are the mate of an Alpha and you cannot hide.”

  I wasn't sure what he was talking about as far as an alpha was concerned and I was still nervous, but I did know that I wanted to make him happy. If that meant that I had to go out in front of everyone in what I was wearing, I was just going to have to do it.

  Taking a deep breath, I told him that I was right behind him. He wanted me to hold my head high, even though I wanted to disappear into the carpet.

  He made me think that it was important to him, thus making it important to me. I wanted him to be proud of me and I wanted to fit in. I still don't know what the future is going to hold for us, for me, but I knew that there was a good chance that Daxton was going to be in it. That meant that I had to get used to his people and his clan as he called them or it was never going to work. Of everything that I wasn't sure of, the one thing I was sure of is that I wanted to work with Daxton and me. He made me feel like no one else had and I didn't want that to ever go away.

  Chapter 20

  Greg

  “I want to know where they went!”

  No one was really looking at me. I had a temper and it looked like I was about to lose it. It wasn't the first time that any of my shifter family had heard about Bree. Everyone that knew me, knew about Bree and the fact that she wasn't giving it up like she was supposed to. I was sure that she was to be my mate, but it was hard to think that way when she was making it impossible for us to be together. The fact that she had ran off with Daxton Connor didn't make anything any better.

  “I don't know about where to find them. We found out about them before, it is only a matter of time before we find them again. They won’t be able to get away this time boss.”

  I wasn't the only one that was upset about the run in with Daxton. He had always been a hard man to crack and everyone knew that he was Buck’s right-hand man. He had been the enforcer that did all The dirty work and I knew that he wasn't going to be easy to take out. But I was going to have to get rid of him. It was rather clear since he had been back, if I was sure of nothing else. Daxton was a loose cannon that had to be taken care of. He didn't want to play the game and I had worked too hard for the last couple of years, setting everything up to let a man like Daxton ruin it all.

  But no one was giving me the answers that I wanted. They were giving me excuses and reasons why they couldn't find them. That wasn't what I was looking for. What I was looking for was the person that told me that it was done. I wanted Bree in front of me, and I wanted Daxton dead. Nothing else would do at this point.

  “I want you to go ask everyone that you know. Every single person and I want to know where they are. The man just got back in town, so how is he able to work around me already? This is supposed to be our turf now!”

  Arlo didn't have an answer for me but he was smart enough not to try to give me an excuse. I would much prefer silence then either one of those things. I
didn't want to wait hear why they couldn't do it, or how hard it was going to be, I just wanted it done. They should know that by now and I was frustrated that I even had to explain myself. It was going on a couple of days that she had been gone, and I had to know where she was. I hated to think about what her and Daxton were doing.

  The real truth of the matter was that I was afraid something was going to happen between the two of them. For her to be in mine, truly be mine and the way that I wanted, she's going to have to stay innocent. I knew Daxton had quite a reputation, so it didn't leave me much in the way of wondering what was going to happen. I knew exactly what was going to happen if they stayed together for too long and that was why I was so crazy to get her back. I couldn’t let that happen. I wasn’t going to lose her to Daxton.

  Arlo left out of the room and I told him to take Gary with him. It was bad enough to have people underneath my feet and if more people didn’t leave my office, I was going to lose it. I didn't want to look at anybody. I wanted everybody out of here, finding her and getting me the answers that I wanted. Whoever did so, was going to be very thankful, because I was going to reward them in a way that they couldn't even understand or think possible.

  The only one that was left in the office was Alex. He was my right hand man come on my enforcer and he was about the only one in the clan that had the balls to tell me what he really thought. at times it was hard to hear, but at the end of the day Alex was invaluable for that very reason. but everybody else was telling me what I wanted to hear, Alex was telling me what I needed to know, even if I didn't want to hear it.

  Today I really didn't want to hear the why nots and I knew there was a reason that Alex was still here. I didn't have to even guess what it was he was going to say, I knew. I had made some bad choices and the fact of the matter was that he was about to push it in my face, the last place that I wanted it to be.

  “Are you sure you really want to do this over a girl?”

  “You know damn well she's more than a girl. She is to be my mate.”

  Alex didn't agree and I could tell by the way he was shaking his head. It didn't take long for him to come out with the why.

  “If she is to be your mate Greg, then it would happen. Fate itself cannot change. You are no different. You have to think at some point that maybe she isn't supposed to be with you. You have been waiting a long time for her to come to his senses, but she isn't. She doesn't even know what you are yet and she still has denied you. She is going to deny you as a human, how is she going to accept you for what you are?”

  If it was anybody else, anybody else, I would’ve ripped their throat out. The last thing that I wanted to hear about was how we weren't meant to be together, even if it was true, even if there is a shred of truth to the sentence. I didn't want to hear it. but, it was Alex and I had to. He made me see things that I refused to see, although it was right in front of me.

  “I know that it looks like everything is keeping us apart from the outside but anything worth doing and having, is worth working for. This is what I am doing and I know for sure in my heart that she is one for me. I don't know why, and I don't know how it’s all going to work out, but I know that I am supposed to be with Bree. I just know it. Alex and I can’t refute the point. I know how it looks on the outside.”

  It was the nicest way that I was going to tell him to fuck off. The point was that I didn't care if it was fated for us to be together, I really didn't. I was going to have her and I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that she was mine. I wasn't going to let a man like Daxton take her.

  “Then we must think of the inevitable. She is with Daxton now. I was there when she got on his back and went with him. She knows what he is and she still went with him. I don't think that is something that we can just let go and forget about. There is a reason that she went with him.”

  Now he was getting into territory that I really didn't want to get into. Last thing I wanted to think about was her with that man. The very idea of his hands on her was enough to make me go crazy. I couldn't even think about it.

  “We will have to see what happens.”

  While I appreciated the honesty and it was invaluable to me most of the time, this was not one of those times. This is one of those times that he just needed to shut up and leave before I went off.

  “I have to see.”

  “You are right, we will have to see.”

  Alex didn't say anymore as he left and he really didn't have to. He’d planted the seed, that was already sprouting in my mind and I didn't want to think about it. And to think about the fact that she wasn't mine yet, made it harder to think about her being someone else's. Bree was marked to be a shifter’s mate and I really wanted it to be for me.

  I had tried to figure out what it was that drew me to her, but I really never did. I know that it had something to do with the way she looked at me and the way she looked at the world, but things had changed. I had shown my other side too much and she wasn't ready for it. That had ended things between us fairly quickly and ever since I’d been trying to get her back. I don't know how it was going to work out, but I wouldn't be able to do anything if she wasn’t in the front of me.

  The more I thought about it, the more I paced the room and eventually it became too small for me. I wanted to take a ride and get out of this place, but there was a lot keeping me here. One way or another I was going to find Bree, even if I had to search the ends of the world. I knew her smell and I would track her down wherever she went. She wasn’t going to get away from me.

  Getting outside, I could feel the sun on my face and it reminded me that the world kept on turning. It wasn't going to stop because I was having a bad day and I always got what I wanted in the end. Nothing changed. It felt like it should, but that's not the way it was. The moment made me feel insignificant, before I pushed it back and went to my bike with the assurance that my good luck streak was going to continue.

  The sun was beating down on me and I started the engine, listening to the noise that was as soothing to me as Mozart was to another. This was my music and it started to calm me just by listening to it. It made me think that everything was going to be fine.

  “Hey boss!”

  I turned to see Alex behind me and by the expression on his face, I knew that it was going to be good.

  “What's up?”

  “I think we found her.”

  “Don't play with me Alex, either you have or you haven't. Don’t think, know.”

  “We aren't for sure yet, but I figured that you would want to be there when I found out. I don't want to send a couple people in and spook them. It is out of the way and going to be hard to get to on bikes. We're going to have to run in.”

  “Run in?”

  I didn't like the idea of shifting in the middle of the day. It wasn’t something that I usually did and I tried to hide my true self as much as possible. Made sense that Daxton would be in a place like that.

  “Yeah, it looks that way. There are a lot of tracks around the cabin. A lot.”

  He was making it clear what he was worried about, but I wasn’t worried about it at all. Daxton used to be somebody a long time ago, but he left, things change and we had more than enough people here to take them. How many people could he actually get together in such a short amount of time?

  “I don't care how many people there are. If Bree is there and she is with him, we cannot wait. We need to go get her back now.”

  Alex wanted to say something, but he knew better. While he knew that he could say what was on his mind, there were sometimes, times like this, that I didn't want to hear it from him. All I wanted to do was go with it and make my life easier. That was his job is my second.

  “We are all ready when you are.”

  I smiled. That’s all I wanted to hear.

  Chapter 21

  Bree

  I was back in Daxton’s bedroom and feeling better. He hadn’t been joking about me going out there and meeting everyone, even tho
ugh I’d hoped that he had been. There had been at least twenty rough looking men sitting around in the living room and there I was, standing in a T shirt that was Daxton’s. To say that I was a little embarrassed would have been an understatement. I would have been mortified if Daxton hadn’t been next to me, telling me that everything was going to be okay, just by smiling at me in the way he did.

  Now I was able to get dressed and clean up a little bit. Daxton had said something about me not getting dressed, but it was the last thing I wanted to do was sit around in a T shirt, waiting for him to come in, knowing that there were so many other people out in the other room.

  I heard a commotion out in the hallway and now that I was dressed, I was less inclined to stay where I was. I wanted to see what was going on, even though the conversation that I had heard was more than I could take.

  I learned the history of the two clans, and the start of both motorcycle gangs. It all started because he wanted all new shifters to have a place to call home. It was nothing like I thought it would be. Because I was like most other people, thinking that gangs were only there to do the whole crime thing. It didn't seem to be that way at all, but more like a brotherhood than anything else.

  “We have to get out of here right now!”

  It was Sandra talking and she looked scared for a moment. She was still talking to the rest of the room, but she was looking at me when she did it.

  “Greg knows where we are and they are coming right now with everything they got. We’re not ready yet.”

  Just to hear his name put a hollow hole in the pit of my stomach and I wanted to get out of there right now. I just wanted to be safe and it felt like I was never going to be safe with Greg around. Ever since we had broken up, there had been a dark cloud around me, but this was getting ridiculous. He just wasn't getting the hint. I didn't want to be with him and I knew that Greg and Daxton had a past together, but it was hard not to feel like this was all my fault.