Pure Claim

by Marie Johnston

  Squinting even more, now that she was clear of the trees, X wished she thought to bring a pair of sunglasses for her sensitive hybrid eyes. She didn’t turn to ash like full-blooded vampires, but she would require a little extra blood from the sun damage. Rhys would willingly give it; it would be an erotic experience. And X didn’t really want to revisit that anytime soon.

  Why not?

  Good question. Erotic was an understatement. Being in that male’s arms was…earth-shattering. And they’d both been fully clothed. The thought of doing it again should make her feel heady, powerful, but it made her feel panicked.

  X eyed her niece. “How do you stand it, working out in the sun all day?”

  They were polar opposites. Sarah was much shorter, with sun-bleached honey-brown hair. X could see a lot of her brother in Sarah’s features.

  “Well,” Sarah gestured up to her wide-brimmed straw hat, “this helps. I used to keep a couple of cows around to feed from, but now that I have Bennett…” Another smile plastered her face. “We keep Bessie and Tulip around for Ronnie. He bitches about it, but I know he’d rather bite through leather than have to risk finding a human vein.”

  “How is Ron?” X had kept tabs on him after he had come to Freemont. Madame G hunted him, trying to get to Sarah, but he was a crafty bastard and got himself committed to a psyche ward to keep out of her clutches. After Bennett found Sarah, they busted Ron out of the mental hospital, and X had breathed a sigh of relief.

  “He’s in the house if you want to see him.” Sarah pointed to the newly-built house on the property. The original structure had burned to the ground when Sigma had tried to capture Sarah. “He’s pickling peppers and canning salsa to sell at the market.”

  As X searched for her nephew, she decided she might go for a run afterward. She wanted to say hey to Ron, but she also wanted to get the hell out of there and go somewhere else. Somewhere with no people.

  She entered the kitchen in time to hear a male voice say, “Pop my little pretties. Pop!”

  Ron stood at the counter with his arms raised over some mason jars filled with salsa. They had just been taken out of their canning bath. He spun around when he heard the door shut. A giant German shepherd charged her, barking ferociously.

  “Apollo, stop.” The mighty dog skidded to a halt at Ron’s command, studying X warily.

  She eyed him back before turning her attention to her nephew. He was a man, but he had such boyish features, it was easy to remember the fun little boy he used to be.

  “Aunt Allie…Agent…uh, X?” He finally gave up.

  “Whatevs. Except for the Agent bit. We can leave that off.”

  He nodded and they stood—wait for it—awkwardly, only the pops of the jars sealing themselves made any sound.

  X finally filled in the silence. “Just came to say he-eeey.”

  “Hey,” Ron said back, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Do Mom and Dad know you’re alive yet?”

  Shit. Did they? “I haven’t talked to them. Maybe it’d be better coming from you or Sarah.” And fuck. If the meet and greets today were nearly unbearable to get through, then what would reuniting with her brother and his wife be like?

  And these were the people who used to love her. Maybe they still did, but in all fairness, they didn’t really know her any more. What would coming across the Guardians be like? Or worse, the son of the seer who was killed?

  Time to go.

  “Nice to see you again, Ron.”

  He bobbed his shaggy yellow-blond mop of hair. “You too, X.”

  She almost sighed. Not even two minutes together and he used her letter, too. He associated that with her, more than the aunt who had twirled him around when he was a toddler.

  Maybe a run in the woods would clear her head.

  *****

  “He’s served us well. He’s proven his allegiance.” Rhys addressed the council on the computer monitor. For being such a crusty, old-fashioned lot, they certainly didn’t mind using technology to rag on his ass.

  “And who does Agent E hold allegiance to?” Councilman Seether asked silkily.

  All five council members were glaring through the monitor at Rhys.

  “Me. And he’s no longer an Agent.”

  Murmurs erupted and a few of the members sat back.

  Councilmen Wallace, the father of the twins in Rhys’ pack, spoke next. “I don’t know that it’s a good idea to have one such as this former Agent at your disposal. He’s committed atrocities against our people.”

  Rhys expected that argument. “The alleged crimes committed against our kind were reported to be in regards to rogue or feral shifters, or those working as spies for the Sigma Network. There have been no reports of E killing an innocent shifter.” Hurting maybe, but X and her partner had ridden a fine line.

  “That may be so,” Councilman Seether replied, “but only Guardians are allowed to deal with those transgressions. He is neither shifter, nor Guardian. In fact, he is an abomination created by a mad, deranged vampire.”

  The councilman’s tone suggested that he, and the rest of the council, thought that an abomination should be eradicated.

  “Julio Esposito Senior is an altered human who worked diligently for over a decade to overthrow Madame G. He and his family have become part of this pack.”

  Sharp inhales hissed through the monitor. Only human mates were allowed to become part of a pack. It was unheard of to adopt an entire human family into a shifter pack. What the council didn’t know was that Ana and Julio were also no longer entirely human.

  “Unmated humans can’t belong to a pack,” Councilman Seether spit out.

  Was he disgusted because of the unmated part or the human part? Rhys and his pack more than suspected that the council was behind certain acts that would keep the shifter species pure and free from human interbreeding to keep shifter blood strong.

  “E has been shown to carry shifter genetics. I would prefer to honor the shifters who died in Madame G’s captivity by not throwing away E’s life.”

  “Honor?” Councilman Wallace snorted. Like Seether, he was a distinguished-looking male, graying around the temples, with fierce eyes. “To honor them would be throw Agent E behind bars for the rest of his life, at the very least.”

  Before Rhys could reply, another member of the council spoke up. A quiet male, but very shrewd from the way he narrowed in on Rhys. “Agent E carries both shifter and vampire genes. A hybrid of sorts. That brings up an interesting rumor we heard.”

  Ice crystals settled into Rhys’ veins. How did they find out about X so soon? Was it the vampires, or one of the shifter captives they released? He didn’t think Demetrius would sink so low as to use X to get the Lycan Council off his back while he battled his own vampire leadership. But the vampire was a self-serving ass, so maybe…

  “A pure hybrid of a vampire and shifter mating,” Councilman Hargrath continued, “one who was at Madame G’s disposal?”

  The council sure didn’t seem surprised that there was a real hybrid running around. All his long life, Rhys had been taught it was genetically impossible. Vampires and shifters hated each other. Yet the council’s lack of surprise, and the way X’s family had lived in secrecy, made Rhys think that there were no hybrids because they were either prevented or destroyed.

  He knew it would come to this; he couldn’t hide her existence forever.

  “The former Agent X has displayed abilities of both vampire and shifter. She is still recovering from the final battle. Until she’s healed, I won’t know more.” He had pre-chosen his words, extremely grateful the council couldn’t smell his deceit in a video conference.

  “She’s extremely dangerous,” Councilman Seether hissed.

  “Like E, she was also working against Sigma. According to the seer before she died, X was targeted because she signaled the downfall of Madame G.”

  “You will interrogate the female?” Councilman Hargrath sat forward, glaring into the monitor.

  Stark rel
ief draped over Rhys. The council didn’t know, yet, that X was his mate. Shit would hit the fan when the council discovered it. Then, Rhys’ credibility regarding X and her partner would be shredded, and they would want to deal with the former Agents themselves. For now, he could act as a buffer and stall for time.

  “We will find out everything when she recovers.” And they would find out nothing. X’s brother was still living in hiding with his wife. Sarah and Ronnie would be highly sought after by the council, even with hybrid blood diluted by their human mother.

  “Learn her familial origins,” Councilman Hargrath ordered. “Find out if she has any siblings, children. Sweet Mother only knows how that madwoman must’ve tried to breed her.”

  Rhys ground down so hard his teeth should’ve cracked. Madame G didn’t know X carried shifter and vampire blood, but she would’ve watched X for any sign of pregnancy. She most definitely would’ve provided enough partners, consensual or not. Thankfully, young born outside of a mating bond were extremely rare and female shifters’ fertile cycles were years apart. That had both saved and condemned many female shifters in the madam’s clutches. Once deemed useless, they were fed to the vampires.

  “I’ll notify you when I have information,” Rhys replied dutifully, hoping he could just delay them and sign-off.

  “And about Agent E?” Councilman Seether prompted.

  “E remains my responsibility.”

  “He should face a tribunal.” The other council members nodded their agreement.

  As if E would get a fair trial.

  “Esteemed council,” Rhys wasn’t above kissing ass for the safety of his pack, “I ask that you give me time to gather the history and information on the hybrid, before we discuss what will be decided with E.”

  “It’s too dangerous to have those two within close proximity of each other. Their reputation together was formidable.”

  “They worked extremely well together as a pair,” Rhys agreed. “Yet in the years I’ve fought them, we all avoided mortally wounding one another. I believe it would be ill-advised to apprehend E and treat him like a threat while trying to gain cooperation from his partner.”

  Ill-advised was an understatement. X’s status as his destined mate would mean nothing if E’s life was threatened. She would assume all the danger to protect E’s family as she methodically incapacitated the council until E was free.

  A moment of tense silence passed before Councilman Seether finally acquiesced. “Very well. We expect a full report of what you have, and a proposal of how you plan to proceed, in two days’ time.”

  Rhys’ hit the exit button and breathed a sigh of relief. Two days to figure out what the hell to do.

  *****

  X wandered through the woods. She roamed around, soaking in the quiet beauty, but didn’t transition to her wolf form like she had planned. The thought of running through the woods on four legs made her almost as agitated as the first round of visits had done.

  Yes, she had run as a wolf since she was captured. But it was only out of necessity and always where Madame G couldn’t see. The more it slipped the mad bitch’s mind that X could shift, the better. After those first couple of years when the madam forced transitions for her study, X always felt unease at the thought of shifting. Anticipation of what bad things would follow a shift diminished, but never left her.

  So here she was, walking barefoot through the trees, letting her mind wander. She thought about everything and nothing at all.

  A delightful scent tickled her nose.

  He was close.

  She waited for him to get closer before stopping and facing his direction. An extremely large, red-tinted wolf stood in the trees, as if awaiting her permission to come closer.

  Rhys was magnificent, even covered in fur. She hoped he stayed in wolf form almost as much as she hoped he’d shift so she could get a full view of his powerful body.

  He stared at her as if to ask if she was all right; he didn’t have to mind-speak.

  “I’m fine. Wanna walk back with me?”

  Rhys blinked his answer and waited for her to turn and head back. He padded through the trees next to her.

  Did you meet with anyone?

  “Yeah.” She didn’t bother with mentally speaking to him. She could sense that it was only the two of them and they were miles from his cabin.

  He didn’t ask how it went, noticing the unease in X. She could see him out of the corner of her eye, filtering through the leaves and branches as he kept pace with her. Maybe she’d run her wolf tomorrow.

  Maybe not.

  She was really tired. It occurred to her that she woke up from healing, but hadn’t had any real rest in weeks. Years.

  “When we get back, I’m gonna bunk down for a nap.” X didn’t know why she announced it. Just felt like he should know.

  His concern emanated off him, but she didn’t explain any further. She could go find Dani, do another hey-how-are-ya, maybe chance a meeting with one of the Guardians in her new role as their leader’s soon-to-be-mate. Yet, she didn’t because she didn’t want to.

  The well of disquiet rose again. She should be jumping for joy. She was free of Sigma, free to mate the most magnificent male she’d ever met, free to do a whole lotta shit. And it all made her stomach turn. Why? She’d been in a lot of stomach-turning situations, why was the good stuff bothering her?

  Like before, no answers were coming to her, so she just kept walking, aiming for Rhys’ cabin and that bed.

  Chapter Six

  The cabin was empty when X rose the next day. Her nap turned into a solid fifteen hours of sleep. She hadn’t even stirred when Rhys had climbed into bed with her. Being accustomed to his presence in her dreams kept her from jolting awake, shoving a blade deep into his belly. Which he’d probably take in stride, understanding her reaction and what had honed her reflexes.

  X sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Like usual, Rhys did nothing but protect her dreams until he had to go to work in the morning. They hadn’t said a word to each other since their walk in the woods.

  After cleaning up and changing into a fresh pair of pants and a new shirt that read, If you can read this, quit looking at my boobs, X wandered into the small kitchen. She found a pot of coffee waiting for her and a few breakfast items to choose from. Rhys either ate most of his food at the lodge or in his office, because it certainly wasn’t in the cabin. It appeared he did a quick stock for her and that was it.

  X wrinkled her nose and poured herself some coffee. The idea of going to the lodge to eat with everyone else was akin to peeling skin off her forearms. So she grabbed pretty much everything and ate it all, slowly draining the entire pot of brew.

  With caffeinated veins and a belly full of processed crap, she charged out the door, sans shoes again. Her skin brushing against leaves and branches centered her. Growing up, shifting had been severely limited. She and her brother had run barefoot to stay linked to nature.

  Steeling herself, she hiked toward Dani’s cabin. The question of whether anyone was home or not was answered by a crash from inside. Frowning, X trotted up the porch and listened briefly before knocking on the door.

  It swung open to reveal a flustered Dani. Her eyes brightened when they landed on her guest. “X!” Another thud. Alarm crossed over Dani’s face as she spun away, leaving the door open for X.

  Dani rushed into a main seating area and picked up a smiley bundle of baby. She propped him on her hip and bounced side to side. Books fallen off the bookshelves were strewn across the floor.

  “This is Dante,” Dani said, rhythmically swaying left and right while the little boy with bronze highlights in his brown hair fisted a handful of Dani’s dark locks. “He’s a little…he’s gifted.”

  X examined the books and clutter around the rest of the cabin. If by gifted, she meant Dante was already displaying telekinetic power like his daddy and loved throwing things off shelves, the evidence was easy to see.

  “He’s displaying his powers
early, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Dani sounded flustered, exasperated, and extremely proud. “Mercury can help calm him, but he’s still learning how to use his own abilities. Mostly we end up being damage control.”

  X nodded. She had heard and seen the evidence of how the Guardians’ powers had been failing them. When they began finding their mates, they regained control and strength. Mercury’s abilities were much more powerful than most shifters, and from the looks of the cabin, so were little Dante’s.

  Dani waved her to a chair. “Have a seat. I can’t promise nothing will fly into you.”

  X’s mouth quirked up. Dante must make the days exciting. He wasn’t even a year old yet. Most supernaturals didn’t gain use of their abilities until after puberty, when there was some hope they could control them. X wondered how full Dani’s and Mercury’s hands must be trying to raise a gifted baby.

  “So, uh, how’s it going?” Dani set the boy back down to crawl around on the floor. He instantly crawled to X.

  “It’s going.” It was all X said, watching the baby inspect her toes and then use her pants to gain footing so he could try to stand. She smiled inwardly. Babies were so cute and innocent.

  “I’m grateful for everything you taught me. I don’t hold any grudges, you know, for capturing Mercury,” Dani said reassuringly.

  “Good to know.” X’s awkwardness returned. She’d rather roll around on the floor with Dante making choo-choo noises than have this discussion.

  When she and E had been in charge of Dani’s training in Sigma, the girl had been so full of questions, so willing to learn. It had been obvious Dani was wrong for Sigma, and X respected the hell out of her for getting away. She just didn’t know what to sit and talk about.

  “How’s it going with you?” X asked, before the silence stretched on for too long.

  A cloud crossed the young woman’s face. “Good.”

  She was lying. “You sure?”

  Dani blinked. “No. It’s wonderful, it really is. It’s just…” She took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant again.”