Mate Claimed

by Jennifer Ashley

  Eric smiled at the driver, letting his teeth get a little pointed, and his fingers sprout a claw or two. “See? You do what we say, and everything will be just fine.”

  Iona didn’t have any trouble getting Frank Kellerman to agree to come to her office.

  Kellerman said that, yes, it would be a good idea to go over some details, and he’d make the trip to her construction company to talk to her and her mother that afternoon. Iona was surprised he didn’t ask her to come to his office, but Kellerman half explained by saying he wanted to see their setup, their construction company in action.

  Iona spent the rest of the morning trying to get work done and giving up. Eric was out running around the desert with Graham McNeil, going to that compound that she knew was dangerous. She wished he’d call and tell her all was well, but her phones remained silent.

  She felt strange wearing her office clothes—dressy pants, sleeveless knit top, blazer, and high-heeled pumps. In the two short days she’d been in Shiftertown, she’d gotten used to casual jeans and T-shirts, or Cassidy’s loose skirt and top—clothes that could be quickly removed for shifting.

  It was also strange for Iona to have to rein in her Shifter side again, to be careful not to growl or make sure her eyes weren’t changing. She couldn’t stop using her scent ability now, and smells came to her nonstop—her mother’s soap, the foreman’s habitual cloying cologne, the sweat and dirt on guys who’d come in for paychecks. Iona had to stop herself closing her eyes to sort out all the scents as they flooded past her.

  Her hunger was driving her nuts as well. She’d downed two and a half cheeseburgers at her desk at lunch before she realized that her mother and the foreman were giving her strange looks.

  Damn it, Eric. Call.

  Kellerman showed up at two, a little early—Iona had set the appointment for two thirty. Nothing yet from Eric.

  Iona pasted on her best customer service smile when she greeted Mr. Kellerman. Kellerman was on the tall side for a human, and looked like any successful businessman—he kept himself in shape but not buff, wore a suit of lightweight cashmere, and had neatly trimmed dark hair going gray but didn’t try to hide his bald spot. He smiled back at Iona when she shook his hand, but the smile never reached his eyes.

  Kellerman’s position on the Shifter liaison council was voluntary, a successful man trying to look like he cared about the community. He’d made his money in retail, not hotels and casinos, and by owning land that he sold at the right time to hungry developers.

  Iona had looked all this up about him, knowing she might have to carry the conversation before Eric arrived—if Eric arrived at all.

  Penny put on a more genuine smile as she came around her desk to say hello. As far as Iona’s mother was concerned, Kellerman, cold and calculating or not, was giving them a lot of business.

  “So good to see what you ladies have going here,” Kellerman said.

  Instead of bristling, Penny smiled at him. She’d gotten used to the condescending attitudes of men who found themselves dealing with a woman-run business, especially a traditionally masculine business like construction.

  “The surveys are going well,” Penny said. “I don’t think there will be much trouble. Ground breaking will start soon.”

  The Shifter council expected Duncan Construction to build the houses almost overnight, but there were permissions, inspections, and the involvement of the county and city, plus the power and water companies to slow things down. Because this was about Shifters, state and federal segments had to sign off on things too.

  At least Penny and Kellerman had plenty to talk about while Iona sat at her desk and fidgeted.

  “Why don’t we take a trip out to Shiftertown?” Kellerman suggested. “Walk over the site? A couple of reporters are following the story—maybe they can join us.”

  A photo op. Iona nearly snapped her pen in half. He’s turning this into a photo op.

  “Mr. Warden was hoping to join us here,” Iona said quickly. “He wants to discuss a few things. Can’t think what’s keeping him.”

  Was it her imagination, or did Kellerman look alarmed? “We can speak to him in Shiftertown,” he said. “Where else would we find him?”

  His words were too slick, too glib. Iona fell silent. If Kellerman and her mother went to Shiftertown, she couldn’t go with them. There’d be too much danger a Shifter might spill to Kellerman—accidentally or on purpose—that she was only half-human.

  Her mother, thankfully, understood that. “Not sure we can spare the time for the trip today,” she said.

  “Ah, well. Oh.” Kellerman glanced out the window at the same time Iona heard the throb of Eric’s motorcycle. “Here he is.”

  Iona went weak with relief. And then wound up with worry again. Had Eric found the missing Shifters? Or was he here to beat their whereabouts out of Kellerman?

  Not one Harley pulled up, she saw as she rose from her desk, but two. The second Shifter was Graham.

  The two Shifters removed helmets and walked to the office side by side. Not in comradeship, but each not wanting to let the other lead.

  Iona went to the door and opened it herself to prevent a power struggle over who got to knock. Eric gave her a warm look, then masked it as he climbed the steps to the office.

  The Shifters seemed to fill up the space in the small office and left little room for Iona, Kellerman, and Penny. Iona smelled the rage on Graham, and the same rage, more controlled, but maybe even greater, on Eric.

  “We were just talking about coming out to the site,” Kellerman said, extending a hand to Eric. “To look around, perhaps let a few of the local rags get a photo or two…”

  Eric looked at Kellerman’s hand, then back up into his eyes. “Small problem today,” he said. “Twenty of the Elko Shifters came in on a bus they didn’t get on in Elko. They were missing for twelve hours. Know anything about that?”

  Penny gasped. Iona clutched the lip of the desk she leaned on. They’d found them. Thank God, they’d found them.

  “Missing?” Kellerman looked concerned. “What do you mean, missing?”

  “He’s lying,” Graham said to Eric. “He stinks of lies.”

  Kellerman raised his hands. “Boys.”

  “What happened to them?” Eric asked. “Where were they taken? What was done to them?”

  “I swear to you, Mr. Warden, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Then find out.” Eric didn’t move, didn’t approach, but he might as well have picked up Kellerman by the lapels and slammed him into the nearest wall. “I want to know who did it, what was done, and why.”

  “Don’t give me ultimatums, Mr. Warden. You’re Shiftertown leader by our sufferance.”

  Eric’s eyes narrowed. “The deal is, we put on Collars and follow your rules. In return, you let our kids grow up safe, and you don’t mess with them.”

  Kellerman met Eric’s stare with one of his own. The man wasn’t afraid, but not because he was brave, Iona decided. She guessed he’d lived so long without anyone challenging him that he considered himself invulnerable. Not very smart.

  “Fine, I’ll find out,” Kellerman said. “But it was probably nothing. The bus must have broken down.”

  “Broken down, my ass,” Graham said. “Moving here wasn’t my choice, but you and your little council promised me safe passage for the females and cubs. Anything happens to them, and you’ll find out how pissed off I can truly get.”

  Kellerman reddened. “Are you threatening me, McNeil?”

  “Sounds like a threat, doesn’t it?”

  “I can have you arrested for even speaking to me like that.”

  “Humans. When you have to call on your warriors every time you’re in the least bit of danger, you know what happens?” Graham leaned to Kellerman. “You get weak.”

  Kellerman at last showed uneasiness, but he didn’t step back. Graham grinned in his face, then turned his back on him.

  Eric remained where he was, like a solid pil
lar, unmoving. Her hunger for him flared.

  I need him…

  “I’m sorry you’re taking this stance, Mr. Warden,” Kellerman said with the air of someone unjustly insulted. “I will look into the matter, but I can guarantee it was nothing dangerous. You’ve wasted a very good opportunity today to show the world that Shifters and humans are working together. You need a lot of good PR on your side if you want to be fully accepted into human society.”

  Graham turned around at this and opened his mouth, but Iona glared at him. The Lupine actually gave her an acknowledging nod and kept quiet.

  “Catch you next time,” Eric said to Kellerman.

  “There might not be a next time.” Kellerman turned his attention to Penny and Iona. “I’m sorry that you had to witness this, ladies. Why don’t we go, gentlemen, and leave them in peace?”

  So, Kellerman saw himself as protecting Iona and her mother from the Shifters. That was rich.

  “Agreed,” Eric said. He gestured at the door. “After you.”

  Graham looked meanly delighted. Cassidy had explained to Iona that Shifters considered having the strongest Shifter going first through a door the right thing to do—the Shifter made sure all was safe on the other side for the weaker members of the party. A dominant Shifter sending someone else out first was an insult, implying that the Shifter didn’t think the person worth protecting. Kellerman would assume Eric was deferring to him, when in reality, Eric was spitting in Kellerman’s face.

  Kellerman gave Eric a gracious nod. “Warden.”

  Eric walked out right after him, not saying good-bye to Iona or Penny. He wasn’t being rude, Iona knew, but keeping Kellerman from knowing that Iona and her mother were important to him.

  Graham, on the other hand, faced both of them full-on as the door closed behind Eric.

  “So you’re her mum,” he said to Penny. “The human lady who couldn’t resist a Shifter. I get that.”

  Penny flushed, and Iona made an exasperated noise. “Your ego is the size of a city, did you know that?” Iona said

  Graham gave her a grin that wasn’t friendly. “That’s not the only thing super-sized, sweetheart. You should have found that out when you had the chance.”

  “Are you talking about your ass or your head?”

  Graham growled. “I was right—you are a mouthy bitch. Warden can have the joy of you. See you in Shiftertown, babe.”

  He started to leave again, but Iona said, “Wait. Are they safe? The missing Shifters. They’re back?”

  Graham’s sarcasm left him. “All of them. They’d been tranqed. I think they’ll be all right, but we won’t really know until they wake up.”

  “The Goddess go with them,” Iona said, repeating what she’d heard the other Shifters say.

  Graham looked surprised at the blessing then gave her another nod. “Thanks,” he said, and then he went.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  In the darkness of the night, Eric sat at the foot of his bed and touched the match to the last candle on the small table in front of him. The glow of candles surrounded the framed photograph of Kirsten, Eric’s mate.

  The photo had been taken more than thirty years ago, before digital cameras. The image was slightly yellowed, the paper shiny and stiff.

  Eric and Kirsten had been walking along a loch on a rare sunny day in northern Scotland. She’d turned, laughing, and Eric had snapped her picture. Not long after that, Kirsten had discovered she was carrying her first cub, Jace.

  In the photo, the wind and sun played in Kirsten’s golden hair, her smile as warm as when Eric had first seen it. They’d both been excited and eager for life—by the time the photo had been taken, they’d started giving up on ever having young. The weekend by the loch had been a magical time.

  The other thing on the table was a tiny stuffed leopard, black and gold, like Kirsten.

  Eric dropped the spent match into an ashtray, rested his hands on his knees, and drew a long breath. Meditation and prayer were supposed to calm him, but Eric searched in vain for calmness.

  He’d spent the bulk of the afternoon and evening helping Graham settle the new wolves. The ones that had been kidnapped had woken groggy, scared, and cranky. They hadn’t wanted to see Eric, a Feline, in their midst, but he’d waded in, with Cassidy and Jace, and tried to soothe their fears.

  Graham, Eric had seen, was a good leader. He knew how to get his Shifters to do what was needed without bullying them. He had crude strength but common sense, and his wolves followed him willingly. They didn’t mindlessly obey but looked to him for guidance.

  Eric wasn’t about to bow out and relinquish Shiftertown to him, but he admitted that Graham knew what he was doing. Leading wasn’t just about dominating everything in your path, and Graham appeared to know that.

  At least the Lupines were settling down in their temporary quarters together, unpacking, beginning the adjustment. Eric had sent all his Felines home, gulped down a meal Diego and Jace put together, and retreated here.

  To think.

  His thoughts roiled and spun, the hunger in him uncontrollable.

  He knew Iona had rejected his mate-claim only to stay ahead of Graham in the Shifter game—she hadn’t seen it as an emotional decision, but one to expedite things. Hell, Eric had told her that the mate-claim was a convenience, to protect her from other Shifters while Eric decided what to do.

  What a liar he was.

  But Iona’s rejection had kicked the Shifter in him in the gut. The beast wanted Eric to go after Iona and carry her home by the scruff of her neck, or roar in an onslaught of pain. The big, bad Shifter leader had been brought down by a half-human Shifter with eyes the color of a deep Scottish loch.

  He traced the outline of Kirsten’s face. “I miss you.”

  Eric knew what he had to do, and he wanted Kirsten, somehow, to know.

  She smiled, understanding.

  The door opened so softly Eric barely heard it. Cassidy sat down next to him on the foot of the bed, her warm weight rolling against him. She looked at the photo of Kirsten, touched the little stuffed leopard, and breathed a prayer of her own.

  “She would have liked Iona,” Cassidy said.

  Eric nodded and didn’t answer.

  “I think it’s the right thing to do,” Cass went on.

  Eric let out a faint laugh. “I told Iona that I wanted to bring her in for her own protection, to keep her safe until she learned how to be Shifter. That’s total bullshit, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.” His sister nodded. “You saw her, you said, Goddess, she’s hot, and you tried to figure out how to get her into your bed.”

  Eric flicked his fingers over the nape of his neck. “Somewhere in the back of my brain.”

  “I’d say it was pretty much in the front of your brain. You haven’t consummated anything yet though, no matter that she’s spent the night in here a couple times. I’d know. No wonder you’re twitchy.”

  “Mmph. Shifters don’t understand the meaning of privacy, do they?”

  “Not in this family.” Cassidy ran her fingers through Eric’s short hair and kissed him above his ear. “Go, Eric. You deserve a little happiness. Goddess knows you’ve given up so much of it for the rest of us. Jace thinks so too.” She smiled. “Well, what he said was: When is Dad going to bring Iona home for good and get this done? He’s driving us all crazy.”

  “Sounds like Jace.” Eric rested his hand on Cassidy’s knee. “I didn’t want to go without saying good-bye.”

  Cassidy knew he didn’t mean to her or Jace. “It’s never good-bye when you had the mate bond. She’ll still always be a part of us.”

  She would. Eric touched Kirsten’s face again, then he and Cassidy blew out the candles.

  The hunger was controlling her now. Iona paced the downstairs rooms of her house, shaking, sweating, and hoping like hell she could hold herself together.

  She’d done pretty well at the office while her mother demanded Iona tell her everything that had happened over the la
st few days. Her mother had listened, both alarmed and angry.

  “So what are you going to do?” Penny had asked.

  “I don’t know.” Iona’s hunger had started to flare, and she’d known she needed to get out of that office and home where she wouldn’t hurt anyone. “I can’t keep it secret that I’m Shifter forever. Eric says he can fix the records to show I’ve always been Shifter, always been part of Shiftertown. I didn’t believe him before, but now that I’ve been there, and I’ve seen…”

  She’d closed her mouth, knowing she couldn’t betray the Shifters’ secret places under their houses and what they kept there, not even to her mother. Not yet.

  “I think they can do it,” Iona finished.

  Penny’s eyes filled. “I just don’t want to lose you.”

  “You won’t.” Iona put her arms around the smaller woman. “No matter what, you won’t.”

  Penny’s hugs had always been able to comfort her. Not today. Iona was restless and worried, feeling trapped. She hadn’t been this way in Shiftertown—her hungers had been somewhat abated there.

  What had Eric done to her? Addicted her to Shifters?

  But, no, this restlessness had begun before she’d met Eric, starting with what she now knew was called her Transition. She’d survived that only to have her frenzies flare again with mating hunger. If Eric hadn’t found her that night in Coolers, she’d by now either be a puddle of quivering goo, or else out in the woods as a panther, unable to remember how to be human.

  Iona had gone home after that, eaten everything in her refrigerator, and started on what was in the freezer. She stared at the low-calorie frozen meals she’d bought a few weeks ago, thinking herself virtuous. She couldn’t believe her stupidity.

  Snarling, Iona hauled all the boxes out of the freezer and threw them into the garbage.

  No, wait. The spaghetti ones were pretty good. She grabbed all the spaghetti and tomato sauce dinner boxes back out of the trash, ripped them open, scraped them all into a bowl, and popped the bowl in the microwave. She waited impatiently for the stuff to heat up, then she gulped down the entire bowl of pasta, the red sauce sliding down to ruin her pristine white shirt.