Lawful Claim
Page 16
A muscle flexed in the commander’s jaw as he made a beeline to one wall, spun, and headed to the opposite wall; repeat. “Something’s different. Something’s not right.”
E’s concern started to smolder. He already felt cut off from the female who had been his only friend and family for the past ten years, having never been away from her that long. He felt like a guilty loser, too. Forming alliances and new friendships with the Guardians, going to sleep every night next to his mate after giving his son a hug good night and telling him to shut off the electronics, all this while X paid for his transgressions.
“Tell me what you know. I’ll do anything to free her from Sigma and destroy Madame G. As long as Ana and Julio are safe, I’m in, man. I’m in.”
The commander nodded absently, as if E wanting to help destroy Sigma was old news. It was, just not news a lot of people knew, and it humbled E to know the Guardians had embraced him and his family. Not only that, but kept him protected from their Lycan Council that wanted E’s head on a stake. Commander Fitzsimmons had them mollified for now. Solemnly informing them that they were gathering all the information they could from the former Agent, and that it was imperative to have him close by when things with Sigma came to a boiling point.
The commander neglected to inform the council that E’s mate was now enhanced like an Agent, and so was his son. The council didn’t even know that Agents could mate. Instead, the clever bastard broached the topic as a hypothetical by saying, “We need to plan what we’re going to do with subjects who were tested on and may no longer be completely human.” And he did it in a way that gave the impression that killing innocent subjects would not be tolerated by the Guardians, no matter what the council’s orders were.
The shifters had their hands full with the council, finding out if they were laced with corruption, possibly aiding Sigma or destroying their own to prevent them being used by Sigma. E did not envy the commander his position, but he would devoutly follow the male’s authority, even though he would never be allowed to become a Guardian. As always, he would protect and serve.
“She’s not there anymore.” Commander Fitzsimmons’ brows were drawn, he studied the floor. Even though E had a ton of questions about where the hell X would be, he kept his mouth shut, waiting. He didn’t have to wait long. “I have an odd ability. I dream walk.”
E’s brows shot up. How handy would that be? What was the enemy planning? I don’t know, let me peek in on him in his sleep, get him to gloat about his nefarious dealings.
“I don’t use it much anymore. I can’t get shit on Madame G and Agent’s minds aren’t normal.” The commander looked at E and tapped his forehead. “Something’s different up here, like you don’t have normal dreams anymore and I can’t get in. But once I found X, I started…” the male drifted off, his pacing speed increased until it took only a few strides before he had to turn again. “visiting her. Just, ya know, to check her out, see why I got paired with an Agent for a mate after all these years.”
Just, ya know, to check her out. Riiiight. E suspected the male was as enraptured by X as his partner had been by him. And he didn’t doubt the commander hid it as well as X had, until E finally confronted her about why she got all weird and girly after a confrontation with him. Or talked incessantly about when they’d face off again.
“She never mentioned anything.” E didn’t think they kept secrets from each other, but this one X never mentioned.
Commander Fitzsimmons shook his head. Pace and turn. Pace and turn. “I didn’t even know if she knew it was me for years. We never talked, she never saw me. Just once and that was recently. I protected her sleep, so she could actually rest. The nightmares I walked into those first few times…” Again he drifted off. From his profile, the memories still distressed him.
“So she’s not sleeping?” If she was dead, the commander would know. E would know. Right?
“She’s not dead; I would know.”
E blew a sigh of relief. Hearing the words meant more than he could imagine.
“But she’s not sleeping. I can’t mind-speak with her. So the only other reason would be she’s injured so badly she can’t function.”
“It’s been two weeks. It’s not unheard of for punishment to last that long.” E’s mind raced. Did Madame G decide X wasn’t worth keeping on the payroll?
“If she’s been gone this long without her Agent X, it won’t be much longer before Madame G elects to do without her permanently.” The commander stopped dead center in front of E. The pain and angst in the male’s eyes for his mate made E’s emotions only a faint echo in comparison.
“The seer says X is destined to destroy Madame G.” E offered, repeating what the commander had informed him earlier. “There’s nothing to say that she has to be an Agent to do it. We need to get her out of there.”
Sure, it would make getting back into the compound difficult, and getting close to Madame G impossible, but at least X would still be alive to try.
“Fuck Madame G and fuck X’s destiny,” the commander spit out. “She’s my mate.” Spoken like a shifter’s mate and a vampire’s true mate, since the male was a little of both. E knew exactly how the guy felt. The whole world could destroy itself, as long as he and Ana and Julio had a nice little corner to be left the hell alone.
But life didn’t work out that way. The world threatened their loved ones, and once their mates were safe, then they could work on their quiet little corner. E’s family was safe—for now. The commander’s mate wasn’t.
“I’ll tell you everything I know about where she could be in the compound, what kind of torture she could be going through.”
The commander cut his head to the left to glare at the wall, as if hearing his suspicions confirmed would be too much right now. E fell silent. “I can get that information. I have an inside source and I might even be able to trust him.” The male’s lip curled with the last statement, suggesting he despised the source and wanted a reason to distrust him.
E didn’t bother asking who. If the commander wanted him to know, he would’ve said the name. “When do we go?”
Thank you for reading. I’d love to know what you thought. Please consider leaving a review at the retailor the book was purchased from.
Marie
PURE CLAIM
Book 5, The Sigma Menace
Alexandria King’s life had been ripped away, destroyed by the evil organization Sigma, and one of its vilest leaders, Madame G. Alexandria was imprisoned, tortured, conditioned, and trained to become one of Sigma’s finest Agents—Agent X. Except, despite what Sigma ordered, Agent X’s only mission became keeping the secret of her bloodline, and using it to destroy Madame G. She’s willing to sacrifice everything to carry it out, even her own chance at happiness with her destined mate.
Guardian Commander Rhys Fitzsimmons isn’t willing to let the vivacious, frustrating female, who is supposed to be his mate, throw her life away, even for such a noble cause. When her single-minded mission almost destroys her before she can carry out her destiny, he breaks all the rules to save her. But her destiny is not as they were led to believe, and the real threat to their relationship is bigger than either of them could have known.
About the Author
Marie Johnston lives in the upper-Midwest with her husband, four kids, and an old cat. Deciding to trade in her lab coat for a laptop, she’s writing down all the tales she’s been making up in her head for years. An avid reader of paranormal romance, these are the stories hanging out and waiting to be told, between the demands of work, home, and the endless chauffeuring that comes with children.
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Also by Marie Johnston
The Sigma Menace:
Fever Claim (Book 1)
Primal Claim (Book 2)
True Claim (Book 3)
Reclaim (Book 3.5)
Lawful Claim
(Book 4)
Pure Claim (Book 5)
New Vampire Disorder:
Demetrius (Book1)
Rourke (Book 2)
Pale Moonlight:
Birthright (Book 1)
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
About the Author