Claimed by Love

by Skye Jones

  “Did you sleep at all last night?”

  “Some…I dreamed again.” Luke’s voice lowered as he reached behind with one long arm to pull the patio door closed.

  “What do you think it means?” Sean’s stomach flipped. He knew Luke meant he’d dreamed of their other mate, a female the alpha had sensed for many years. Sean could sense her too once they’d bonded. “Why would you be dreaming about her so much recently, after so long without anything? At the very least I think we can take it as a good sign. Right?”

  Luke hitched one shoulder in a cautious shrug. “Who knows what my so-called gift is telling me.”

  “It is a gift, Luke.” It irritated Sean how easily Luke dismissed his Shaman heritage and the foresight it gave him. Most shifters would kill for the extra power.

  “It’s unpredictable at best for a supposed gift.” Luke turned an annoyed glare on Sean; they were on familiar but touchy ground and Sean knew pushing it might lead to an argument, so he bit off his words and turned his gaze back to the sea.

  The door behind them clicked open, and Will stepped onto the balcony. “I spoke with Kayley a little while ago. She’ll be here soon.” He paused and bounced on the balls of his feet, tapping his fingers on the edge of the railing. “She gets kind of nervous in new social situations, you know, because of Dane. What he did…it’s left her with anxiety, and she doesn’t like getting crowded. If you guys don’t mind, when she gets here I’d like to talk to her alone.”

  “We’ll say hi, then get out of your way.” Luke gave a relaxed smile.

  Sean admired how he used his calm energy to try and soothe the excitable young man in front of them.

  “Thanks, man.” Will bounced some more. “I’m going to make some coffee.” He turned abruptly and headed back into the cool condo, Sean and Luke on his tail.

  Sean watched the young shifter rattle around the kitchen, thinking the last thing he needed was caffeine. Will continued to bounce as he set things out on the counter. Once he’d poured the coffee he added two sugars and some creamer, before stirring it exactly four times, as always.

  He turned to them and his face fell. “The thing is, I want to see her. I couldn’t afford to before, and she wouldn’t leave Miami, but I’m scared. What if I…change…in front of her?”

  “Try to stay as calm as possible, and if you do get emotional, make some excuse, go to your room, and lock the door. It’s not as if it occurs out the blue, we always get the warning rush,” Sean said with a glance at Luke, who nodded his agreement.

  “I guess. I can’t control it like you guys, though, and I’m not the same person she knew.” Will turned to face Sean. “It’s fine keeping it from everyone else, but we’ve never had secrets. And even if I could tell her, I wouldn’t know where to begin. The main thing is to tell her about Dane’s murder. That alone is enough to shock her into next Sunday.”

  When he’d made his coffee, Will paced up and down, taking sips and jabbing a hand through his hair. Luke reached out and touched Will briefly on his arm, and Sean saw the exact moment his alpha’s touch soothed the young shifter. Will stopped bobbing on his feet and took a slow, deep breath.

  The door chime rang out making Will jump in response. He all but dropped the coffee mug on the counter and flashed them both an excited look, eyes bright, before he ran to the door and flung it open.

  Will stepped out into the sun, his arms wide, and Sean heard his voice and that of a female, but switched off to give them privacy.

  After a few moments of muffled conversation, Will and a dark-haired young woman stepped into the cool, air-conditioned living space. She resembled Will from what Sean could see, with the same lean build and dark hair. He’d bet she possessed the same blue eyes, too. They hugged as soon as they were over the doorstep, laughing and lurching around in a tangle of limbs. As Sean continued to watch them, the oddest sensation crept over him.

  His skin began to tingle. Seconds later the tingle morphed into odd warmth, which quickly turned into burning pain. He patted at the skin of one arm, starting to worry, when an odd, low noise, almost a growl, made him whip his head around. Luke stared at the young woman, a fierce, hungry expression etched on his face.

  Sean looked from his mate to the female and back again. His heart sped up as his instincts screamed a message he couldn’t quite decipher.

  “Guys, this is Kayley.” Will pulled his cousin into the room; her small hand gripped his tight as she neared them, and Sean smelled her fear.

  “Hi, Kayley, I’m Sean. Pleased to meet you.” He forced down the uncomfortable bodily sensations still assaulting him and took her hand. He bit back a gasp as lightning sharp pain hit where their skin met. She pulled her hand away, as if she experienced it too. Her skin paled to a sickly shade.

  Kayley didn’t speak. Her deep blue gaze flickered from Sean to Luke and back again, over and over, as her breathing became rapid and shallow. Something about the whole situation was incredibly off.

  Luke moved forward, commanding Sean’s attention, and the expression on his mate’s face stunned him. He appeared one step away from taking Kayley to the floor and ravishing her. Luke never noticed other males or females; his whole world narrowed down to Sean. Well, Sean and his dreams of their other mate…oh God! Sean clapped a hand over his mouth. The jigsaw of information began to fit together and the picture shocked him to the core. Mate. She’s our mate?

  Another low rumble from Luke kicked his brain into gear, and Sean moved nearer to the alpha. He forced himself to give Kayley another friendly smile, trying to divert her attention from Luke, who positively vibrated with need next to him. Her fear unfurled in the space between them, a living thing, sharp and acrid, and he needed to get Luke out of there before she turned tail and ran.

  He cleared his throat and started to speak. “We’ll get out of your hair, Will, and let you two catch up for a while. Later we’ll all get properly acquainted, I hope.” He gave one more smile and moved toward the stairs, dragging Luke with him.

  The alpha still hadn’t spoken, but he followed Sean up the stairs obediently enough. Once they reached the bedroom, Luke yanked away from Sean’s grasp and pushed the bedroom door open with enough force to nearly break it.

  Sean’s heart stuttered. Luke never pulled away from him. No matter how serious their arguments, he always relished Sean’s touch.

  God, but he was riled up to hell! Sean followed Luke into the bathroom where his mate splashed water on his face, over and over. When Luke lifted his head, he met Sean’s gaze in the mirror. An odd sliver of gold created a halo of sunlight around the stormy gray of troubled eyes. The hint of Luke’s wolf had Sean taking a step back. Luke never lost control of his wolf.

  “Luke?” He reached out. “What is it?” He knew, damn it he knew, but he needed to hear Luke say it before he could even remotely allow the possibility in.

  Luke’s big body visibly shook as he turned to face Sean. “It’s her. Kayley…Will’s cousin…it’s her.”

  “Are you sure?” Sean argued despite himself. It wasn’t merely Luke’s reaction. He’d sensed it too, hadn’t he? The odd tingle and burn, the zap when they touched. “Will’s cousin? I mean—she’s human, Luke. Does that sound like our long lost mate? Shifters and humans, it doesn’t happen often.”

  “I don’t care what she is. Kayley is our mate.” Luke’s expression darkened further, but at least his eyes were fully gray once more. “It’s her, Sean. I felt her—here.” He slammed a hand over his heart.

  “Luke, look at me.” Sean paused until Luke focused on him, panic rearing in his chest at the fucked up situation. It seemed such an odd coincidence. But Luke’s visions were never wrong, and he’d been seeing her in his dreams for years. No way would he fail to recognize her in the flesh. “We could be wrong, must be wrong. Something’s so off about all this.”

  “We might be wrong, I suppose.” Luke prowled toward him. “But if so, how do you explain the fact that she’s been dreaming about us for months now.”
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  “What?” Sean’s mouth dropped open.

  “When she looked at me, I could see everything running through her mind as clear as if she’d printed it out on a sheet for me. She’s freaking out down there because for the last few months she’s dreamed about us, repeatedly.”

  “Fuck!” Sean struggled to get the air into his lungs as he processed Luke’s words.

  “So is she gifted, too? Do you and she share the ability?” Sean didn’t like the idea. An emotion he’d not expected reared its ugly head, and jealousy pricked at his skin.

  He’d known Luke believed himself destined to have two mates because of his dreams and visions. He’d been told about them before he’d bonded with the alpha. He’d gone into this eyes wide open and could hardly back down now. At the time, he’d wanted Luke so badly he’d have accepted fifty others to have him. Alphas could take more than one mate, and even in modern shifter society, some still did, despite many frowning upon the practice.

  At first, Sean accepted the idea because of his need for Luke, but once they were bonded, Sean began to share snatches of Luke’s visions. Images and dreams of a young, dark-haired woman came to him, but he never saw her clearly, or felt her as strongly as Luke did. To Sean she’d been nothing more than an echo, an idea, a vague reality. Now she stood in their home, her presence as solid and real as the carpet he walked on.

  Sean had truly believed they were meant to be three, and that he’d be fine with it, but now doubts surfaced. And fear. Fear he might be sidelined if the female possessed the same gifts Luke did.

  Luke said, “No. She doesn’t share my ability. Or at least, if she does she isn’t aware of it and can’t direct it. She couldn’t read us down there, or pick up on our emotions. She’s completely unguarded, in a way someone with any knowledge would never be. But somehow, for reasons I cannot explain, she’s spent the last few months dreaming about us.” He flushed then, his skin reddening under his tan. “Her dreams have been of us—the two of us—fucking.”

  Sean’s dick filled at Luke’s words. On some primal level, his body responded to the idea of her watching them, despite the other emotions swirling around within him.

  He tried to think clearly. “Let’s say we proceed from the standpoint of her being our mate. You can’t say anything. Not yet. We’ve already acted pretty damn strange, and she’s an anxious young woman who Will says has been through hell. So we’ve got to go back down there and put on an Oscar-worthy performance of normality. She can’t know what we are, and she can’t know what she means to us. At least not yet, it’s too soon. Hell, she doesn’t even know what her cousin is.”

  A low, impatient growl forced its way out of Luke’s chest. “She’s ours.”

  “No, not yet she isn’t.” Sean’s fingers rubbed a soothing pattern on Luke’s forearm. “Remember how you were with me? I’d sworn off alpha males for life after my first experience being mated, but you dragged me in. You gentled me Luke, like a fucking horse whisperer or something. You understood how scared I was, and you slowly reeled me in until I begged you to claim me. She’s like me.” Sean moved his hand up to trail his thumb over Luke’s jaw, needing to touch his mate anywhere and everywhere. “She’s been so badly hurt. Will and I talked some today, and he told me how seriously injured Dane left her. Think about how deeply affected she must have been by it. She ran the length of the country, left her home and family, and never went back. You go in all hot and heavy, you’ll scare her off. Maybe forever. You can take it slow. I’m the proof.”

  Luke breathed out in a rush. “Slow.” He spoke as if he tested the word, tasted it.

  Sean studied his mate as he struggled with his alpha nature. “I know how hard this is for you because it’s going to be hard for me. My mating link with you means I’ve yearned for her as well. But if we go in guns blazing, we lose her for good. Please, give it a little time.”

  “I’ll try. Tonight, I’ll be the perfect gentleman.”

  Sean wondered if Luke would be able to hold it together.

  Chapter 2

  Kayley couldn’t breathe. Her lungs simply wouldn’t work. She gasped, desperately trying to get enough air into her body. Images from her nocturnal adventures flashed through her mind. There could be no doubt that the two men she’d just met were the men from her dreams. How could it be? Christ, she really was losing it. One man looking like one of her dream lovers might be a trick of her imagination, but the two of them? Together in the same room! Such things weren’t possible.

  When the blond had touched her, she’d felt the most incredible zing of connection as if she could see inside his very soul. It shocked her so much she’d rudely pulled her hand from his.

  “You okay?” Will looked at her, brows drawn down.

  She mentally shook herself and plastered on a smile, not wanting to worry Will. “I’m fine.”

  Part of her, a really big part, wanted to call Adam’s cell. Beg for him to come pick her up. But she couldn’t leave, not yet. She needed to speak to Will first.

  She turned to her cousin. She trusted him and had to hold onto that. He’d always been there for her. Even living so far apart, they’d kept in touch via phone and e-mail and yet…something was so very different about him, and she couldn’t figure out what.

  “God, Kayley!” His voice broke as he pulled her in tight. “Four years. Four years! I’ve missed you so fucking much.”

  When they moved apart this time, both their cheeks were wet.

  “Listen, Kiki, I need you to sit down. I need to talk to you. I don’t want it to wait any longer. I asked the guys to give us some privacy when you first got here so we can talk.”

  So that’s why the two men had taken off so abruptly, and here she’d been thinking maybe they’d felt the odd connection, too. Will took hold of her hand and led her into the huge living space, toward the large white couch where she sat beside him.

  “It’s Dane.” Will spoke and confirmed all her worst fears. Still not recovered from the shock of seeing her dream lovers in the flesh, her heart started a new galloping beat, robbing her of breath all over again. Will licked his lips. “He’s, ah…he’s dead.”

  “He’s what?” She couldn’t take it in, couldn’t comprehend. She wiped clammy hands on her jeans. “Dead?”

  “Yes. I didn’t want to call or write. This is too big, too important. I needed to be here to tell you in person. It’s over, Kayley.” He grabbed hold of her hands, sheltered them both in his larger ones. “You’re safe.”

  She blinked rapidly, mind racing to catch up. Dead? Dane?

  “Seems like his lifestyle caught up with him. Someone stabbed him outside of a bar. The police think it was a rival gang and the murder may have been linked to the drugs trade.” Will rubbed her hands as he spoke. “I found out from a buddy of mine who is on the local police force. He spilled a bit too much over beers one night. It turns out, Dane had been involved in all sorts of criminal activity. Since his death, his gang has pretty much dispersed. Some joined rival outfits, but many fled the area altogether. The police think they might have been in danger, too.”

  Kayley had been young when she’d met Dane, known his reputation as a bad boy, but never understood the depths of it until he’d viciously attacked her. The memories hit hard and fast as they always did when she thought of Dane, and she physically shook herself to throw them off. It couldn’t be true. He couldn’t be dead, gone. She’d be free. It held such vast promise it scared her. Free from the night terrors and the fear of leaving the little safe zone she’d carved out in the world. Maybe even free to return home?

  Will carried on stroking her hands as he looked at her, love in his eyes. “I want you to come back with me. Come back to Alaska.” He held a hand up at her sharp intake of breath. “I don’t mean forever, Kiki. I know you have a life here now. But for a while at least. See Grams, my mom. Your friends!”

  The reality of his invite hit hard. The nebulous idea of returning home became too terrifying in the stark reality of Will�
�s words. “Dane’s gang, or what’s left of it…his family…they could still be out for my blood. He told me…he told me he’d come for me. His friends too.” Her hands reflexively squeezed his larger one. The scar on her belly tingled as if in warning, and its presence reminded her why she needed to be so very careful.

  Will gave a short, sharp laugh, more like a bark. “You don’t need to worry. With Dane gone, the head’s been cut off the snake.” He smiled at her, a full on beam of happiness. “I’d planned to come see you anyway in the next couple of months. Then I got the call about Dane and knew it couldn’t wait. You see, the people I work with? The guys you met today? They’re family to me now and no one messes with them. For the first time, I know I can protect you. The team I’m with, they’d eat Dane’s crew for breakfast, even if they hadn’t scattered.” His voice took on a dark edge, and once again she marveled at the changes in him.

  “I’m not sure I can come back.” She lifted her head to meet his eyes. “I haven’t left Miami in four years. I get a panic attack if I have to take the bus, and I don’t do well in crowds, or with people I don’t know. I’m not sure I can travel all the way to Alaska even though I want to. I can’t tell you how much. I’m just not sure I can.” She paused and licked her dry lips. “Plus, I’m so ashamed.”

  “Ashamed?” He pulled back, eyebrows raised.

  “I gave in. I panicked and didn’t believe the police could help me because Dane got to me first, got into my hospital room, and threatened our family. I lied, told them I didn’t know who did it. But they knew, Will. Everyone did. And then…I ran.”

  His face hardened. “You are not to blame in any of this. And know this, nobody thinks ill of you. Dane was the piece of shit for attacking you, and his actions since have won him few friends.

  “Anyway, I don’t live in the old area anymore. I live with the guys. We have a base near Coldfoot. You could come stay with us. Spend some time and think about what you want for the future. I think a visit home might provide the closure you need, sorry for the shrink speak and all, but it’s true. Just think it over.”