Huntress Claimed

by Eva Brandt

  But I had faith in Xander and he didn’t disappoint. As Ulysses squeezed my hand, Xander pulled away slightly from Imogen and said, “My beautiful mate, today, I claim you.”

  “Today, I claim you,” Imogen repeated. It wasn’t really necessary, but the words still vibrated with the weight of her certainty. And Xander struck. He thrust one last time inside Imogen, so hard her teeth rattled. At the same time, he buried his fangs into her throat.

  Imogen screamed. Her pain and pleasure rushed over us in an almost angry crescendo of need, fear, and lust. But Xander didn’t let go. He held on, willing her soul to surrender to his.

  Energy swelled in the room, crackling between our bodies like a live thing. For a few seconds, we thought Daimon Rossi would come back to haunt us again, just like he had the last time we’d tried this. But he didn’t, and the strange magic subsided into something more calming. It was just as intense as before, but welcoming, instead of fearful. And Imogen came all over again, pulling Xander along with her. As they climaxed together, the sexual energy of their release solidified the budding connection between them.

  That was our cue to move in. A few seconds later, Xander released his hold on her throat, but didn’t lick the wound. He pulled out of her and she slumped into my arms, almost unconscious with pleasure. I pressed my fangs into the exact spot Xander had bitten. It was important to not miss it even by a fraction of an inch. The mark was physical, but it was also a symbol of our entwined destinies. The bites needed to be together on her body.

  At the same time, I thrust into her cunt from behind. She was slick and stretched from Xander’s earlier pounding, but her pussy still tightened around me like a vise. Her heat threatened to burn me from the inside out and, distantly, I wondered how we’d ever been able to hold back for as long as we had. It seemed impossible now. If I managed to not start thrusting into her like an animal, it was only because I still needed to give Ulysses a little time to join me.

  Xander quickly gave Ulysses the room and I lay down on my back slightly, all the while forcing Imogen’s legs as wide as they could go. She was very flexible, so it wasn’t a problem. When Ulysses slid his dick inside her pussy right next to mine, her delicious cunt stretched to accommodate us both. It would have been maddening even without the weight of the incipient connection pulsing at the back of my mind.

  But like Xander, I held on, and my powers didn’t fail me. I might not have been the official Alpha of this union and I might not have developed an Alpha voice, but I’d trained my mind in other ways. I closed my eyes, seeking out the distinctive light of Imogen and Xander’s souls.

  I’d never done this before. Xander, Ulysses, and I were mates, but we hadn’t claimed each other like this. It wasn’t trust that we’d lacked. Something had simply held us back, and I now knew it had to be Imogen’s absence. Now that we were finally going through with it, I found it both incredibly complicated and as easy as breathing.

  Oh, the path was as treacherous as I’d expected. Shadowy hands tried to stop me, to keep me from advancing. I felt the echoes of Imogen’s sorrow and doubts. The demon’s attack had left painful scars on her heart and that wound would probably never disappear. In turn, Xander’s emotions were clouded by the weight of his guilt and responsibilities. I’d always known he carried a difficult burden. I’d felt it instinctively, even before we’d reached to each other like this. But it had never been a direct connection, as if his feelings weren’t just his, but my own.

  And yet, none of it stopped me. Instead, it encouraged me to go forward. It made them glow brighter, like stars. When I reached them, I wasn’t afraid that I would get burned, because I knew they would reach back.

  I fed every part of me into the bond Xander had built and the lair started to become clearer in my mindscape. The walls were like marble, flickering between different colors. My determination, my recklessness, my bloodlust, my anger, my love, and my hatred—everything came together, connecting to Xander’s foundations.

  When I was satisfied with my progress, I allowed myself to fade back into my own body. I released my hold on Imogen’s throat, allowing Ulysses to take my place. He bit down, and as the heat of Ulysses’s distinctive magic came forth, I felt our link, our lair, solidify into an impenetrable fortress.

  By the time Ulysses let go, I was content with the knowledge that Imogen’s soul would be safe, protected by ours. And when Ulysses and I came inside our beautiful mate, her climax echoed into us, deeper than it ever had before.

  Xander wasn’t inside her, but he didn’t have to be. He felt it anyway, and he slumped against Ulysses’s back, burying his fangs into his shoulder. His body shuddered as he followed us over the edge, and it fed my own pleasure, amplifying it tenfold.

  Imogen was the center of it all. She’d long ago lost the ability to speak, but our connection allowed her to say what she wanted to.

  “Be mine. Stay with me forever. Don’t ever let go.”

  The strength of her desperation gave me back some focus, enough that I could make myself answer. “You’re our mate, Genny. We’ve claimed you now. We’ll never leave you. Never.”

  Imogen let out a sob, and there was so much love and relief in that simple sound that it almost crushed me. Our new bond vibrated with it, with the weight of her emotions. And I felt so connected to my lovers that I didn’t know where one of us ended and the other began.

  Words and images floated through our shared consciousness. The lair became both stronger and more fluid. I could hear Xander and Ulysses in my mind too, echoing me, reassuring Imogen just like I had.

  “There’s nothing more important than this, than you.”

  “You’re ours. You’re safe now. Don’t be afraid. Just believe in us.”

  It was beautiful, and I’d have like the moment to last forever. But our minds and bodies did have their limits, and before long, Ulysses and I were forced to pull out of Imogen. Our connection became a little more indistinct, our thoughts melting back into our own minds. We collapsed onto the bed, spent, and we sandwiched her between our bodies, making sure to never stop touching her.

  We’d still be able to talk to one another through our minds, but for the moment, that wasn’t necessary. The claiming process had said everything that needed to be said.

  I dared to kiss Imogen one more time and she shot me a tiny, beatific smile. And even if I knew this wasn’t a perfect or permanent solution, my heart felt light with relief and love.

  Finally, we were one. Finally, we were safe. That blasted demon would never touch Imogen again, and that was the only thing that mattered.

  Chapter Eleven

  Xander

  “Thank you for coming to this meeting, Alpha Cantrell. We truly appreciate your feedback and assistance in this matter.”

  I offered the old Alpha my hand and he squeezed it with a strength that belied his many years. “How could I not come? This is so important for all shifters, but werewolves in particular. We were forced out into the open at a time when we weren’t completely prepared and we’ve made progress with the humans since then. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore our roots.”

  Everyone who’d come to the meeting nodded. I was gratified to note that no one looked at Alpha Cantrell with resentment. The Cantrell pack had suffered some backlash after the Alpha’s own son, Zachary, had revealed the truth about the paranormal world while saving Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s wife, Sophie. Many years had passed since then, but some people still remembered those days and begrudged the werewolf who’d betrayed us.

  I never had. If Sophie had been Zachary Cantrell’s mate, as his father had later stated, his actions made complete sense. I would have done the same for Imogen.

  That brought us to today. I might have claimed I was doing this for werewolves as a whole, but that wasn’t true. Everything I’d planned was for Imogen’s sake.

  I hadn’t forgotten Daimon Rossi’s interest in her, and now, Roman Popovic was after her too. It grated on me to admit it, but I couldn’t pr
otect her on my own, not even with Byron and Ulysses’s help. If the other packs agreed to help me, she’d be far safer.

  I had met the others in a grove on the edge of our pack lands. Byron, Trent, and a few more pack members were with me. I’d left Ulysses back at the lair, with Imogen. They would have liked to come too, but this was primarily an Alpha meeting. Besides, this way, Ulysses could protect her and our home. It wasn’t a foolproof plan, but it would have to do, for now.

  Other than Garrick Cantrell and me, Carlyle had come, as well as two more Alphas. It was a much better showing than I’d expected for the first meeting of this little initiative.

  “I’m told that the main issue right now is an attack from the East European vampires,” Alpha Oldman said. He was a younger Alpha, but he’d had his fair share of conflicts with demons and rogue undead. “Do you expect them to show up again anytime soon?”

  I let out a deep sigh. “I honestly thought they would have attacked by now. Vladimir Popovic’s brother, Roman, was very attached to his sibling and craved revenge. The hunters did shoot him, but that injury couldn’t have destroyed him.”

  “He must have some other plan up his sleeve,” Carlyle mused. “Vampires are cunning and if they discovered one of our weaknesses during the battle, they might want to use it against us.”

  Behind me, I felt Byron go rigid. At the back of my mind, our connection with our mate stirred to life. “Xander?” Imogen whispered, her voice soft and gentle, like the touch of a feather. “Is everything all right?”

  “Fine, Genny,” I replied. “It’s just a tense meeting. You know how it is. It’s not pleasant to discuss these things, but it needs to be done.”

  “If anyone can do this, it’s you,” Ulysses offered, effortlessly sliding into conversation. “It was never going to be easy, but just the fact that you managed to get them there is significant.”

  “He knows,” Byron answered in my stead. “We’re more concerned about the possibility of them bringing you up, Genny. But if it does happen, we’ll handle it.”

  I’d have liked to keep this unfortunate truth from Imogen, but the strength of our connection prevented that. Fortunately, our relationship had given Imogen enough confidence that she didn’t immediately blame herself for our troubles. “Okay,’’ she replied. “If you need any help, I’m here.”

  As she spoke, her presence and magic invaded our bond. I relaxed, reassured by her mental touch. “Nobody is perfect,” I said out loud, to the waiting Alphas. “Yes, we made some mistakes. Part of it was related to the hunters, but I’m not going to ignore my share of the blame. We should have done better. But that’s why we’re all here.”

  “You did your best with what you had, Alpha Brooks,” Carlyle replied. “Some things are simply unavoidable. As much as we might value the strength of our individual packs, the power of the undead is in their numbers. That’s not something we can always overcome.”

  “But we will, as long as we team up,” Alpha West offered. Other than Cantrell, he was the oldest of the group. His dark eyes held a silent sorrow, one I’d seen before in some of my pack members.

  He’d lost his mate to an undead attack and he’d never recovered. If he was here, it was for revenge and not the desire for togetherness. I had no problems with that.

  “I think the main issue is that even before, packs never really trusted one another,” I said. “And that’s fine, because in the end, we all want to protect our unions first. And it’s not like pack wars aren’t still a thing, on occasion. But if we want this to work, we’ll have to share some resources.”

  That wasn’t something everyone here would be happy about. Even if we could all agree on cooperation, some packs were more powerful than others. My biggest concern was the possibility of one of the other Alphas wanting to claim authority over the rest of us. That was never going to work and it was why we’d never managed to figure out a way to organize ourselves before.

  But maybe we’d all learned our lesson, at least a little, because no one pushed. Instead, we all agreed on setting aside small teams within our own packs that would specialize in reinforcement interventions. To go beyond that, we’d have to discuss things in more detail with our elders and do elaborate audits of our long-term supplies, but overall, I was happy with what we’d accomplished.

  It was a small step, but we were headed in the right direction. We hadn’t tried to attack one another either, which was a definite plus.

  As the meeting started winding down, we all shifted into our wolf forms. I was going to accompany the others to their respective cars, so they could go back to their pack lands.

  Byron was on my right and Carlyle on my left. I howled, careful to not put too much authority into my Alpha voice. The last thing I wanted was to step on anyone’s paws. They weren’t all as powerful as I was, but I still respected their positions as rightful Alphas of their packs.

  The other Alphas howled back, and after that, it was our companions’ turn. Byron joined in, then everyone else. It was nice, comforting, even if three-quarters of the people here weren’t part of my pack at all.

  The pleasant sensation didn’t last long. Out of nowhere, the sound became distorted, like a banshee screech. My head began to spin and I stumbled back, away from the others.

  For a few seconds, my vision dulled, swallowed up by a strange fog. I blinked and shook my head, trying to control my panicking wolf.

  It worked—sort of. My senses cleared and I could once again see everything around me. But by the time that happened, everyone else was gone.

  Horrible, twisted demons had replaced my fellow shifters. All of them had different shapes, some serpentine, others undefined, like blobs of flesh and shadow. To make matters worse, a large white monster was right where Byron had been. It looked like a cross between a feline and a ram, with horns sprouting out of its white fur and retractable claws attached to its hooves.

  I howled in fury and dread. Where was Byron? What had the demons done to him?

  I tried to reach into my mind, searching for my connection with my mates. But when I searched for the lair we’d built together, I was hit by a devastating wall of fire. I couldn’t hear them at all. Their voices, their magic, their presence—everything was missing.

  I couldn’t think straight. My mates! What had happened? Where was I? How had I ended up in this place? My mates! They’d taken my mates. They had to pay. They had to die. I would kill them. I would tear them all apart for this.

  With a snarl, I lunged forward, straight at the white creature. Much to my frustration, it ducked, avoiding my attack. Another of the creatures came at me, preventing me from trying to reach the impostor again. A loud screech echoed through the air, as if it was trying to deafen me. I refused to let it get to me. I refused to lose this battle. No matter what I had to do, no matter what pain I needed to endure, I would avenge my mates.

  The second creature was slower than the white demon, to the point that it seemed to be moving in slow motion. Even if it caught me off guard at first, it was very easy to dodge and retaliate. Our bodies collided and I forced it down with my bulk. It fell to the ground and I pounced on top of it, ready to tear its throat out.

  Before I could finish the job, the white demon attacked me, shoving me off its friend. This time, I was ready. When it tried to move back again, just like it had before, I shifted into my humanoid form. For a single moment, the creature faltered. The air around it blurred, its shape changing as well. It was another mockery of Byron and everything we’d had together. I threw myself at the demon and buried my claws in its chest.

  The creature let out a single sound of surprise. The fire at the back of my mind flared, as if in protest. My vision cleared. And that was when I saw it—saw him.

  The white demon wasn’t a demon at all. It was Byron, in human form, and I was very close to ripping his heart out.

  No. What had I done? How had I been capable of this? Why had I attacked my own mate? This was monstrous. This didn’t make any sense.


  “Xander!” a voice shouted in my head. “Snap out of it!”

  “Xander!” another voice cried out, and the fog threatened to take over again.

  Beneath me, Byron stirred. His form rippled once again and his body started to shift. Instead of turning back into a wolf, he stopped changing mid-way. The end result was a hybrid, our third shape. It was something we rarely used in battle. The transformation itself wasn’t difficult, but sustaining it often took its toll. The mental processes of the third shape were entirely different from normal ones. It made no sense that he’d choose to shift, now of all times. What could have possessed him to do this?

  Possessed… Could it be? Was he trying to tell me something?

  Imogen had been possessed by a demon once. Back then, we’d painstakingly brought her back to herself, with Ulysses’s help. But Ulysses wasn’t here now. If something was trying to reach into my mind, I had to snap out of it on my own. Yes, the shift was the only solution. I had to trust my mate. I couldn’t trust myself, but Byron had never failed me.

  The scent of his blood still filled my nostrils, too sharp, too familiar. His wounds were healing, but too slowly. Other demons were closing in on us. My head was pounding and every muscle in my body hurt.

  Shift. Come on. Shift. You can do it.

  With a roar, I forced myself to go through the transformation. Something inside me snapped. The fog over my brain lifted. But my success didn’t bring me any freedom. It only brought me pain.

  My bones splintered. My nerve endings were ablaze. The fire was consuming me from the inside out. Help me. Help me. Please. Stop this.

  Byron was the only one there to hear my desperate cry, but he was still badly hurt and clutching his chest. Despite my agony, I knew I couldn’t turn to him. If I did, if I dared to go any further, I could kill him.

  That was when the other creatures showed up. For the first time, I recognized them as what they truly were—the other Alphas who’d been at the meeting.