Claimed by Love

by Skye Jones

  Julie and Luke had only been back half an hour, and Luke seemed itching to get going. His jaw was tight and his folded arms across his chest bulged at the biceps. Every now and then a muscle ticked along his clenched jaw, and he moved his weight continuously from one foot to the other. His body language screamed of barely controlled violence.

  Luke continued, “I’ve got four sentries from the local shifter pack sitting on the building, and they’ll let us know if McFarlane and his idiots make any sort of move.”

  “Told you sitting on that throne and sucking up to the local pack leader would be worth it, boss.” Taylor grinned at Luke.

  Kayley smiled. She remembered Luke telling her all about his trip to see the local pack, and the hours of sitting on a hard throne, like some ancient king, ‘til his butt ached. Worry and anxiety still churned her up inside, but relief at knowing they’d found Sean tempered it somewhat. She’d been beside herself while Luke and Julie were gone, and the arrival of the other shifters had only ramped up the tension as they waited for their return.

  “How many does McFarlane have with him?” The deep rumble belonged to the man named Dylan, the shifter who’d lost his mate.

  Every time he spoke, his deep, strangely accented voice resonated around the room.

  Kayley tried not to stare, but she’d never seen such a huge man before. He must be at least six four and broad as hell. Unlike Taylor with his air-bag biceps lovingly honed in the gym, this man looked like he’d been hewn out of the very rock itself. His forearms were as thick as her upper arms, and his hands were large and scarred. He couldn’t be called classically handsome, but his striking looks and air of authority and charisma drew her in.

  “Four enforcers and another five minions,” said Luke, drawing her gaze back to him. Despite the severity of the situation, her heart still flip-flopped every time she looked his way.

  “Easy.” Hawk rubbed his hands together with a chuckle. “They’ve fucked with the wrong guys.”

  Unlike Luke, Taylor, and Dylan, Hawk’s build leaned toward the slim and wiry. With his rangy body and astonishing good looks, he might as well have dropped from the cover of a magazine. God, were all shifters gorgeous? So far, the ones she’d met were.

  Hawk’s men and women milled around the other end of the room, drinking water and eating raw meat. The smell turned Kayley’s stomach, but they’d explained they needed to get their strength up before they went into battle. Outside of shifting form and making a fresh kill, eating raw steak provided them with the protein needed.

  “How long has he been gone?” Hawk asked.

  “Just over seven hours.” Luke didn’t even glance at his watch.

  Kayley ached to reach out and touch him, smooth out the deep lines bracketing his mouth, but she helped the most by staying out the way.

  “What’s the plan? Other than to rescue our damsel in distress, of course.” Hawk flashed a shit-eating grin at Luke.

  Kayley held her breath for a moment, but instead of snapping at his colleague, Luke smiled back.

  “That is the plan. Rescue Sean. Oh,” Luke added, as if in afterthought. “And kill James McFarlane.”

  “And all his men.” Dylan’s forearms bunched into long ropes of muscle as he leaned forward, fists on the table. “They come to take another’s mate, they pay.”

  The whole room fell silent. Each and every shifter nodded in respect.

  “Let’s check we’ve got everything and head out,” Luke commanded.

  As they went about checking equipment and maps, Kayley nibbled her lip and tried not to feel sick with worry.

  “We’ll get him back. I promise you.” The deep rumble made her jump.

  Dylan stood a foot away, looking down at her. From this angle he towered over her.

  “You’re huge.” She clapped her hand over her mouth as soon as the words were out. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” He gave a crooked smile.

  It looked good on him, and it saddened her he didn’t have much reason to do it these days.

  “I’m so sorry about your mate.” She wasn’t sure if she should talk about it or not, but the sentiment overwhelmed her, and the need to reach out to him in some way took over.

  “Thank you.” He moved next to her and slid down the wall until they sat side by side. “You’re going to be bonded to Luke and Sean, right?”

  “I think so. We said if things went well in Alaska, we’d take the final step.” Would he disapprove of their unorthodox set up?

  “Good. I think you’re exactly what they both need. Luke’s pretty…full on. Alphas generally are, but Luke’s in a league of his own. You and Sean, you can work together and pull that one back when he needs it.” He pointed over at Luke with his huge paw of a hand.

  “You think it could work?”

  “Yes. Yes, I do. I’ve seen the way Luke keeps glancing over at you. I imagine you think you’re not doing anything to help, but in reality you’re helping lots. Your presence is calming him, grounding him, so he can focus and concentrate.”

  His words meant a lot. The idea she somehow soothed Luke, in whatever small way, warmed her heart. Ever since Will’s outburst she’d been blaming herself, despite knowing she really couldn’t have prevented what happened. She’d also been worried Luke might change his opinion of her, but knowing she meant enough to him to help simply by being near soothed her fears.

  She studied Dylan’s face, and found herself wanting to ask about the scar that slashed across his lips and down his jaw. She’d understood shifters didn’t mark long term.

  “You want to ask about it?” He ran a finger over the raised skin, and she flushed with shame at getting caught staring. “It’s okay. Really.”

  “I thought shifters were always supposed to heal?” She’d worried that her own scars might mark her out.

  “We do, generally. This happened a long time ago. I nearly died. They used a pure silver blade, and I couldn’t shift to help the healing process. By the time I received help, the damage had been done.”

  “I’ve got a scar, too.” She blurted out.

  With shaky fingers, she lifted the edge of her T-shirt up, revealing the deep line running over her hip, and down her back.

  Dylan reached out, paused, then without quite touching her, ran his finger along the path of red. “You’ll still have this after you change. You and me? We’ve something in common. Some of our kind might treat you differently if they see this. But not the ones who matter. They won’t care.”

  “Thank you.”

  He nudged her with his huge shoulder. “You ever need anything, Kayley, you call me.”

  “Okay. Are we ready?” Julie clapped her hands, breaking their moment.

  Dylan gave a small smile. “Time to go. Pleasure meeting you, Kayley. I hope we can meet again, under better circumstances.”

  On pure instinct she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a hug. “Be careful, Dylan.”

  He blushed faintly, then stood and tipped an imaginary hat at her.

  Crikey, if she weren’t head over heels with Luke and Sean, she might lose herself in a heartbeat to the guy. With a wink, he turned and joined the others.

  The group filed out the room until only Luke remained. In two strides he was by her side. He pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing so tight she could barely breathe.

  “I love you. I love you so much,” he murmured in her ear. “I’ll bring him home for us. I promise.”

  Tears blurred her vision, and she blinked them back. “I know you will. Look after yourself, too.” She pulled back and looked at his face as she tried to memorize every line. “I need you to come back. I love you. So much.” She didn’t want to hold back on the words any longer.

  With a low rumble in the back of his throat, he brushed his lips over hers, before he strode to the door and exited without turning back.

  Kayley sank to the floor and openly sobbed. She’d finally allowed herself to get close, to fall aga
in, but both men could be taken from her in the next few hours. Worse, she was helpless to do anything other than wait until they came home.

  * * * *

  “Take his clothes off.” The words rang in Sean’s ears and sent dread spiraling around his system.

  Dalton grabbed him and unbuttoned his shirt. He pulled it roughly from Sean’s body. He tackled Sean’s jeans next. When he couldn’t manage the zipper, he unleashed his claws and slashed the material to ribbons instead. Tiny drops of blood appeared wherever those claws scratched at Sean’s skin.

  “Be careful of the merchandise.” James slammed a hand down on the battered metal desk in front of him.

  Sean stood in only his boxer briefs, cold in the dank room, as four sets of eyes stared at him, taking him in. Humiliation burned hot and acidic in his gut, but he kept his stare blank. If they realized how much he hated this it would only egg them on.

  “Nice!” James gave Sean a long, appraising stare. “I forgot just how lovely you are. You know, Seany? I’ve been thinking. Maybe you ran because you got bored of only having me in your bed? We can change things up this time around. You could become our little whore. Our pretty, golden whore.”

  Determined not to give James the satisfaction, Sean locked his fear deep down and kept his face calm. But inside he died a little more at every word out of McFarlane’s mouth. It had been hours and hours since he’d been taken. Hope dripped out of him as surely as if he bled it. No sense of connection with Luke remained. Maybe they’d never find him? But he knew one thing—if Luke didn’t find him, McFarlane wouldn’t have him. Sean would die making sure of it.

  “Do you remember this?” James walked over and shoved a riding crop under Sean’s chin, pushing up into the tender muscle. “We used to have fun with this didn’t we? I’m going to be kind and start you out gently.”

  McFarlane walked behind Sean and with a deep breath in, brought the crop down hard against the skin of his back. A sickening thwack accompanied the searing pain, and he bit down on his lip to keep from crying out. His fear and pain would only feed McFarlane’s lust, so he’d keep it locked down tight. Anyway, despite the blood, he’d heal. Shifters always did, unless really damaged, or marked with silver. It made things so much more exciting for a sadist such as James because it allowed him to push boundaries he might not cross with a more delicate subject.

  Five more strokes rained down across Sean’s back in quick succession before the crop moved lower. This time James merely stroked it across his skin, tracing random patterns over the thin cotton of his briefs. The sensation of the man so close, his breath on Sean’s back, made Sean’s skin crawl. He wanted to scream and shout and twist out of the way, but held as still as a statue, determined not to give in.

  Something crashed above them, loud enough to shake the ceiling. The men in the room looked to one another, their faces alert.

  The door slammed open and a young male ran in, his face grim. “Shifters, sir. Not ours, I can scent them.”

  Sean sagged in relief. They came. He opened his mind and let go of his fear, and finally felt the connection with Luke, strong and alive.

  “How many?” James snapped.

  “Hard to say. They’ve somehow messed with their scents so I can’t really get a handle on them.”

  “If it’s your pissant little army of four, I’m hardly scared.” He sneered at Sean, spittle coating his thin lips. “What are you waiting for?” he demanded of the men in the room. “Go stop them.”

  Sean smiled as the men ran out into the corridor. He doubted they’d be back.

  James growled deep in his throat. Moving to stand in front of Sean, he grabbed him by the hair and tipped his head back. Cold, wet lips pressed against Sean as McFarlane fused their mouths together. As James kissed him violently, he also rubbed himself against Sean.

  James scented him, covered him with his odor, clearly wanting Luke to think Sean had been taken. Revulsion slithered over Sean, a cloying blanket of disgust, forcing him to swallow down bile as he twisted and turned.

  “Dalton, come here and kiss him.” James grinned manically at the enforcer stood guarding the door. “Your alpha might be here, Seany, but he won’t want you when he smells us all over you. I’ll have that satisfaction at least before I kill him. When you come back with me, you’ll know, deep down where it matters, how Luke rejected you.”

  Dalton looked uneasy as he walked over. “Sir? Shouldn’t I be watching the—”

  James snarled. “Do as I say. Kiss the lad and scent him up good.”

  Dalton glanced at him, and Sean swore shame flickered in those brown eyes as he bent his head and did as his alpha commanded. As Dalton attacked his mouth, James licked over the side of his face and through his hair. They both rubbed themselves against him, and his skin turned to ice under their touch. Fingers roamed over his thighs and started to move higher. Frozen, Sean couldn’t even breathe. Were they going to take him now? Let Luke find him violated? No fucking way.

  The fingers ghosted over his boxers, and Sean wrenched his mouth away from Dalton, whipped around, and bit down deep and hard on James’ neck.

  “Shit!” James reared back, blood gushing out the gaping wound.

  Loud noise filtered into Sean’s brain, and he realized it was people at the door. The kicking reached a crescendo. The door splintered open and a large man burst into the room. Dylan? Sean wanted to weep with relief.

  Seconds later, Luke walked into the room and everything stilled. All the action around Sean ceased to exist as he stared at his mate. He’d fucking come! Sean had almost lost hope there for a while, and the sight of Luke was like an oasis to a man dying of thirst in the desert.

  Luke and Dylan turned to look at Sean as one. Luke’s eyes instantly turned golden when his gaze connected with Sean’s. Movement at the periphery of the room had both Dylan and Luke glancing away as they turned their attention to the two shifters stood either side of the cell. Sean flicked his attention between Luke and Dylan, and James and Dalton. For a long beat no one moved, like some diorama arranged just so, but in the next instant chaos sparked.

  Luke changed first, his metamorphosis from human to wolf so quick it barely registered. His huge, dark wolf-headed straight for McFarlane, as Dylan turned and faced Dalton.

  McFarlane didn’t shift in time, and Luke took him down in his human form, biting down on the man’s vulnerable shoulder. James screamed and bellowed in rage as he twisted and turned. He pulled himself free and in a flash changed too.

  Hawk rushed into the room, alongside Julie. He shifted immediately and ran to aid Dylan, who rolled around in furry deadlock with Dalton. Julie glanced at Luke. Presumably happy with how things progressed between her alpha and McFarlane, she ran over to Sean.

  She pulled her shirt off and wrapped it around him. All the while, she sobbed into his hair. Once Sean was covered, Julie held on for a long moment.

  “Go help Luke.” He pulled away. Happy to see them all, he nevertheless didn’t want pity. Luke might need help. McFarlane played dirty, as Sean remembered only too well.

  Julie turned and watched the action for a beat. “Don’t think he needs the help, and you know this kill is his.”

  Hawk and Dylan flashed back to their human form. Both panting heavily they stood over a prone wolf at their feet.

  Hair began to recede from the animal’s body, the muscles and sinew cracking and splitting as they reformed themselves. Until only Dalton’s naked, and very dead, human form remained. His throat gaped open, his body utterly lifeless.

  Dylan shrugged as if nothing of import had occurred. Ambling into the hallway, he returned a moment later and placed a cavernous black bag on the floor. Hawk and Dylan rummaged in it and pulled out bundles of clothing, some of which they used to cover their nudity.

  They swept up the piles of torn clothes littering the room from the many changes and put them in a pocket of the bag. Dylan slipped his fingers into Dalton’s pockets and threw Julie the key he pulled out. Hawk threw a
spare pair of sweatpants their way.

  Julie undid the cuffs on Sean’s wrists and helped him dress, averting her eyes when he took the shirt from his waist and pulled the pants up. They weren’t shy with one another normally, and he feared she viewed him differently now. He hoped it wasn’t the stench of other wolves crawling over his skin causing her to look away. Sean really wouldn’t be able to bear the pack treating him differently, or isolating him in some way. He’d lived his whole life on the periphery, until Luke, and he wouldn’t go back there.

  Grunts and groans snagged him out of his worry, catching his attention. The fight between the two alphas ramped up further. James and Luke rolled around, both such powerful wolves they moved too quickly for anyone to follow the action clearly.

  Sean understood why the others didn’t join in. Luke owned the right to take McFarlane down, but Sean hated all the macho rules of their society, and he wanted someone to help his partner. About to move in himself, an explosion of light shone out, blinding him. When he could see clearly, Luke stood panting, hand wrapped around the limp wolf’s throat.

  “Is he dead?” Sean asked.

  “Unconscious,” Luke answered. “I want him to know it’s coming. Get the chains.” He motioned to Hawk, who reached into the bag and pulled out gleaming silver chains. Luke grabbed them and waited.

  “No point trussing him up until he changes back to human form. Shouldn’t take long.” Not a moment after Luke spoke, a weak shaft of light glowed around McFarlane, and the wolf form slowly receded to be replaced by the man.

  Luke brought McFarlane’s arms and legs together, before wrapping them tightly. The monster that had haunted Sean’s nightmares for so long was totally bound. Helpless and at their mercy.

  With a quick pull on the chains, Luke left McFarlane and strolled over to the bag. He took out a pair of black cargo pants and hoisted them up, leaving his chest bare. Then he pulled the decorated, silver knife from the bag and placed it in his back pocket. Not looking at the others in the room, Luke turned and moved toward Sean.