Claiming Shayla, Book 6

by Zena Wynn

  “Come get your bitch of a cousin. I no longer want her,” he snarled into the receiver and slammed the phone down before she could respond.

  His beast let out a mournful howl that Rory refused to give voice to. He forced himself to walk out the door, shifted to wolf, and took off running into the woods surrounding the house, trying to exhaust himself enough to forget that he’d just sent away the best thing that ever happened to him.

  * * * *

  Shayla rested her flaming cheeks on the cold tile of the shower while hot water poured over her. She, who didn’t embarrass easily, was mortified. She’d had sex—in front of witnesses!—and she’d never been so turned on in her life.

  She groaned and brought her hands up to cover her face.

  For all her bold speaking and thinking, she knew she really wasn’t the sexual libertine she pretended to herself and everyone else to be. Despite how brazenly she acted, this was over the top, even for her. Her sexually free attitude was simply a facade to keep men away. Most guys were intimidated by a more sexually experienced woman, afraid they couldn’t measure up and not willing to take the risk. The ones who were attracted to the challenge Shay managed to scare off in other ways.

  With the exception of Rory, the guys she’d previously allowed into her bed were major geeks and nerds like herself. Maybe they were a bit immature, but they didn’t think her weird or strange because they were weird themselves. They’d have never considered turning sex into a spectator sport. Well, they might have considered it but definitely wouldn’t have the balls to do it.

  Shay didn’t know which embarrassed her most: the way she’d literally preened under the lustful gaze of those two guys seeing her naked, or her reaction to Rory spurting his seed all over her body. She shuddered, but not in revulsion. He’d scent marked her to show his possession of her—something she’d read about in her study of werewolves—and she’d reveled in it. Almost turned and begged him to do it again.

  Shay shook her head. And to think at the wedding reception they’d said that stuff she’d found on the Internet was pure fiction.

  Kiesha had explained that as a result of her mating with Alex, she was slowly becoming a shifter. Hell, Conor had explained the process to Shay long before Kiesha knew who Alex was, back when she’d thought Conor was an amusing older gentleman who told the most fascinating stories. While Shay knew to expect the change in her DNA, no one had warned her that her very personality might change. That’s the only explanation she could find for her odd behavior.

  She’d been acting like a bitch in heat ever since Rory first laid his hands on her.

  Even now she didn’t want to wash his scent off, choosing instead to rinse the semen off. She reluctantly left the shower, knowing she couldn’t hide in here forever. She would have to face the man at some point. Once again it was time to put her game face on. It wouldn’t do to let Rory know the effect he had on her. The braggart would never let her live it down.

  Shay wrapped a towel around her body and exited the bathroom, expecting to find Rory waiting for her. Instead the bedroom was empty and her cell phone was ringing. She lifted it off the bedside table and glanced at the display. Shannon. “Hey! Are you calling to see if your brother and I managed to kill each other yet?”

  “What the hell is going on there?” Kee blasted, almost piercing her eardrum. “Pack your bags. We’re on our way.”

  “Kee? Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon? And why are you calling from Shannon’s phone?” Shay asked, confused.

  “We’re not going anywhere until we find out what’s happening,” she heard Alex say.

  Alex was on the phone too?

  “I’ll be there as soon as someone tells me how the hell to get there. If you won’t go with me, Alex Wolfe, I’ll take some of the guys,” Kiesha snarled.

  “Kiesha, before you go running off, let’s find out what the situation is,” Shannon stated calmly.

  “Kiesha, I can’t allow you to do that. You’ll start a pack war if you do,” Alex reasoned.

  Situation? Pack war? Huh?

  “Fuck that! This is my cousin we’re talking about. If you and Shannon won’t tell me how to get to her, I’ll find someone who will. Someone has to know where that fucker lives,” Kee said.

  “Hey, watch it! That ‘fucker’ is my brother,” Shannon protested.

  “Kee, be reasonable,” Alex cautioned.

  “That’s easy for you to say. She’s not your kin,” Kiesha shouted.

  “No, but Rory’s mine and I know he wouldn’t hurt Shayla,” Shannon argued. “Especially not when she’s carrying his cub.”

  “Guys, what—” Shay said.

  “Oh, but he has no problems doing it when she’s not?” Kee sarcastically questioned.

  “Ladies, we still don’t know—” Alex began.

  “I can’t believe you said that,” Shannon said on a growl.

  “I should have followed my first instinct and castrated the bastard when I found out Shay was pregnant,” Kiesha snarled.

  Okay, this was rapidly getting out of hand. Shay put her fingers between her lips and let out a shrill whistle into the phone. Her action gained immediate silence. Before anyone could say something else, she asked in a calm voice, “Would someone care to tell me what this is all about?”

  When both Kiesha and Shannon began to make a heated response, she cut them off. “Alex, you tell me since you seem to be the only reasonable one at the moment.”

  “Rory called Kiesha and told her to come and get you,” was his reply.

  “No, he didn’t. First he called her a bitch, and then he told me to come get her. That he didn’t want her,’” Kiesha snarled.

  “He said what?” Shay asked, her voice faint with shock.

  “You heard me. He doesn’t want you there. I told these two…two…”

  She heard Alex growl a warning.

  “I told them what he said. However, neither one of them will tell me how to get to you, and they refuse to come and get you themselves,” Kiesha finished angrily.

  Someone took a deep breath; then Shannon said, “Shayla, why would Rory tell Kiesha such a lie? I know he wants you. The man mourned the whole time you were gone. I’ve never seen him as content as when he’s with you. What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out,” Shay said as bewilderment gave way to anger.

  “Who cares why he said it? The fact is he did, and I don’t want her there,” Kiesha said.

  “Kiesha, I keep telling you, we can’t interfere with the bonding process,” Alex reminded.

  “When it comes to the Raven pack, I’ll stay out of it, but when it’s my cousin, there’s no way in hell I’m sitting back and letting her get hurt,” Kiesha stated firmly.

  “Kee, I got this,” Shayla inserted in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

  “But—”

  “No, Kee. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll handle it,” Shay said.

  “But Shay—”

  Alex cut her off. “Kiesha, she said she’d handle it.”

  “Fine!” Kiesha slammed down her receiver, and Shayla flinched and jerked the phone away from her abused eardrum. Hell, she’d really have to do some fence mending with her cousin later.

  “Let us know if you need anything, Shayla. Despite what I said, if your safety depended on it, I’d start as many wars as necessary,” Alex said before he too disconnected.

  “None of this makes sense. My brother loves you,” Shannon stated when it was just the two of them.

  Shay sank onto the side of the bed. “He does?”

  She knew he was possessive of her, or rather the baby, but love?

  “Yes, told me so himself. I’ve never seen him like he was while you were gone. He was grieving. Rory…and his beast,” Shannon said with great certainty. “Did anything happen?”

  “He…we…I…” She broke off, her face hot like it was on fire. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to continue. “He might have lost con
trol, a bit.”

  “Oh. Shay, are you sure you’re all right? Because the only reason I can think of that would cause a male shifter to send his mate away is fear—for her safety.”

  “Shannon, you know Rory wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “I know he wouldn’t, but does he?” Shannon paused to let that sink in before continuing, “Call me if you need me.”

  Shannon’s question gave Shayla something to consider while dressing before going downstairs to find her mate, who had some serious explaining to do. She wasn’t sure at what point she’d switched from merely tolerating this relationship for the sake of their baby to actively wanting it, but she wasn’t letting go, especially not if he loved her. She’d seen—first with Alex, then with Hugh—how shifter males were with the women they loved. She’d never thought to experience it for herself, with any man, but if what Conor and now Shannon said was true…

  She thought about how tender and caring he’d been with her since her return. He was still as possessive and sex-crazed as ever, but there was a new element in his touch. She’d thought it was because she was pregnant, but maybe it wasn’t. Shannon knew him best. If she said Rory loved her, it must be true.

  So what’s this all about?

  The man knew exactly what he’d been doing. He’d called Kee and got her all riled up, knowing with her protective nature, she was the one most likely to take exception to his words and come to the rescue. Then he’d run like the coward he was. She couldn’t find him anywhere in the house, and she’d looked everywhere—with the exception of the double-bolted door she assumed led to the basement and its mysterious contents.

  Shay wasn’t going chasing all over the countryside after him. One, it was a good way to get lost, and two, the man had to come home sometime. Right now she had more important matters to attend to, like her empty, growling stomach.

  * * * *

  Rory silently padded toward the house. He was weary, his coat filthy, covered with dried blood from the brambles and thickets he’d run through. His paws were sore and tender. He’d deliberately run through the roughest terrain he could find, making trails where there were none. He hadn’t eaten all day, barely drank any water, and even now the thought of food held little appeal.

  At least his mate and unborn cub were safe.

  It was his only solace. The hope he’d clung to as day slowly faded to night. For that small comfort, he could live with the pain. Deal with his beast that howled with grief and snarled in fury every time he thought of the mate he’d sent away or got a whiff of her scent, still on his body.

  He shifted at the back door and paused, gathering himself to enter his once more empty house. As he opened the door, Shay’s scent hit his nose like a hammer. Altogether she’d been here less than twenty-four hours, and yet her sweet fragrance saturated the building. Shay and… He sniffed the air. Popcorn?

  Then he heard it. The television was on. Quietly closing the door, he crept into the den, unable to believe what his senses were telling him. Stunned, he stopped in the arched entry and stared. Shay sat, leaned back in his favorite black leather rocker-recliner, a bowl of popcorn in her lap, eyes glued to the screen. She was completely and totally oblivious to his presence.

  Why was she still here?

  He’d planned it perfectly. Kiesha should have swooped in and snatched her up. Once she finished telling Shay what he’d said—and probably a few things he hadn’t—Shay should have left in a fit of fury, especially after his earlier treatment of her. He didn’t understand.

  What went wrong?

  “We need satellite. The reception here sucks.” Shay’s voice broke into his musings.

  “What are you doing here?” he snarled, trying to ignore the way his beast almost quivered with joy at her presence.

  “I live here.” She tossed another handful of popcorn into her mouth and noisily munched on it.

  “I don’t want you here.” He choked out the lie.

  “Tough.” She didn’t even give him the courtesy of looking at him as she made her pronouncement.

  Frustrated and angry, he stalked into the room until he towered over her, blocking her view of the television. She leaned to the right, and he moved with her. Then she leaned to the left, and he did the same. Finally she huffed and glared at him. “Do you mind?” she barked.

  “Yes, I do. For the love of God, woman, have you no sense of self-preservation? Leave now before I hurt you worse than I already have,” he snapped.

  Shay looked him dead in the eye and…laughed. In his face, and no light chuckle either. This was a “slap your leg, bend over at the waist, laugh till you cry while gasping for breath” type of laughter.

  He stood there feeling foolish and more than a bit perturbed. Putting on his fiercest, cruelest expression—the one that sent grown male shifters running for safety—he planted his hands on his hips and glared her into submission.

  Or that was the plan.

  Shay took one look at his face, and the laughter that was tapering off exploded into life again. He growled, breathing heavily through his nostrils, and resisted the almost overwhelming urge to shake her silly. He was Rory McFelan. Alpha of the Sparrowhawks. Son of the most feared wolf-shifter in the tristate area, and she dared to laugh at him?

  Shay snorted while drying her cheeks with her palms, smearing butter on one as she panted, trying to catch her breath. She laid one hand on her chest and held the other out beseechingly. “Sorry,” she gasped. “Give me…a moment…to compose…myself.”

  She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply a few times before finally seeming to calm. When her gaze once more fell on him, she snickered briefly before firmly clamping her lips together. He could still see the merriment in her eyes, though.

  “You mind telling me what the hell is so amusing?” he snarled, left eye twitching, so furious that he was dangerously close to shifting.

  “The idea of you…hurting me.” She chortled again, as though she found the very thought of it absolutely hilarious.

  Her amusement and the certainty behind it confused him and had the effect of defusing his anger. Head tilted to the side and eyes narrowed, he waited until she quieted. “I hurt you. You whimpered.” Of this he had no doubt. He’d thought of little else all day.

  “I screamed too.” She paused and seemed to consider. “Maybe it was more a howl than a scream.” She thought a bit more, then shook her head. “Either way, it had nothing to do with pain,” she assured him.

  Floored, he could do nothing but stare—again. “What are you saying?”

  Her face turned red. Was Shay…blushing? He didn’t think she knew how.

  Turning her head, she gazed over his shoulder and mumbled something.

  “What did you say? I didn’t catch that.”

  She huffed and drilled her gaze into his. “I said I liked it, okay? And if you dare laugh, you’d better learn to sleep with one eye open for the foreseeable future.”

  It took a minute for the meaning of her words to sink in. Then another minute or two for his perception of his world to readjust. She wasn’t hurt? She’d actually liked the brutal way he’d claimed her in front of his men? Enjoyed it even?

  Slowly a cocky grin spread across his face.

  Shay slapped the arm of the recliner. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you!”

  “What? I didn’t laugh,” he protested, still grinning with delight.

  She glared at him. “No, you’re smirking. It’s annoying as hell.”

  As she set the nearly empty bowl on the nearby side table and lowered the foot of the chair, the realization struck that his mate, the woman he loved, wasn’t leaving. She wanted to stay—with him. He’d given her a prime opportunity to escape, and she hadn’t taken it. Never mind the contract. Shay had to know he wouldn’t have held her to it if he was the one forcing her to leave. She hadn’t even mentioned it, and as in demand as her services were, he knew she didn’t need the money from him. No, she was here because she wanted to be.

  The
wonder of it all astonished him, and a surge of lust hit him so hard he almost fell to his knees under the force of it.

  Shay rose regally from the chair and sauntered up to him. When she was inches away, she smiled, an evil and malicious grin. That was the only warning he got before her booted foot slammed down on top of his bare toes.

  “O-o-o-w! What the hell was that for?” he roared as he hopped on one leg, cradling his abused and crushed foot in his hands, the other hand instinctively leaping to protect the family jewels in case the crazy woman decided to knee his dangling balls.

  “For involving my cousin in our business, asshole.” She kicked the shin of his standing leg with what felt like steel in the toe of her boots and shoved, upsetting his already tenuous balance. “And that’s for calling me a bitch.”

  As he crashed to the wood floor, she stepped around him, pausing as she reached the archway to call out, “Take a bath; you stink.”

  She walked out of the room humming a happy tune, leaving him on the floor cursing. And to think, mere seconds ago he’d been happy to see the little she-devil. He must have lost his mind.

  Much later, after showering—damn, he had been a bit odorous—and eating the food Shay had so considerately—considering the way she’d attacked him earlier—cooked and left in the microwave for him, he climbed naked into the bed beside his mate as she read some information technology magazine.

  “You stayed,” he marveled again, now that his toes and shin were no longer throbbing with pain.

  “Yeah…well…” She floundered. “I’m not that easy to be rid of.” She set the publication aside and turned off the lamp.

  They lay silently in the dark, two almost-strangers connected by the child growing in her womb and the fragile bond getting stronger between them.

  Shay’s voice broke the silence. “Who were those two guys?”

  Instantly jealousy arose. “Why?”

  “Considering you fucked me silly in front of them, I think it only fair that I know their names.”

  He grunted, knowing she had a valid point. Grudgingly he responded, “The one with the dreads is Caleb, my second. The big, burly guy is MacDougal, my third.” At the thought of Mac, Rory remembered his borderline defiance. The man hadn’t outright challenged him. He was too savvy for that, but his small displays of disrespect could be just as much, if not more, detrimental to his position as alpha.