Claiming Kristen

by Jenny Penn

  “Do you just love digging our grave deeper and deeper?” Jakob asked in the tense silence that followed her departure.

  Kort sighed, letting the exaggerated sound be his answer. Jakob matched it with his own, but he had more to say.

  “Put your damn clothes back on and I’ll go convince our mate we’re the best company she’s likely to have tonight.”Kristen could smell her mate coming the second he passed through the door. A glance confirmed Jakob came bearing a smile and, no doubt, an apology as well. Well, she didn’t have any interest in hearing it. Turning back to her papers, she tried to ignore the shadow growing across her desk.

  It would be hard to ignore a man his size looming over her shoulder, impossible given the rotten smell permeating the air. The toxic scent really did make her kind of sick, but Kristen preferred the nausea to the lust their natural odor inspired. Lust didn’t begin to describe the wanton need that musk inspired.

  But it wasn’t all the musk. She could probably roll them in shit and it wouldn’t disguise the lethal grace of their bodies or the intent hunger in their eyes. Nor would the worst stench in the world stop her from quivering with anticipation every time they came near. Even if she did manage to undo the mating, Kristen had no doubt that some part of her would always desire them. Knowing what they could do when unleashed, how could she not?

  “Kristen—”

  “I’m not going to dinner with you.” Not bothering to look up fromher notes, Kristen cut him off with a dismissal before he could ask his question.

  “You have to be hungry,” Jakob argued, not so easily dissuaded.

  It was on the tip of her lips to tell him she was just fine when her stomach lodged its agreement with Jakob’s assessment. The very loud grumble reminded Kristen she’d missed lunch. Something her tummy did not intend to allow her to do with dinner.

  “I’m sure there is something to eat in this house,” Kristen told her stomach, not about to sacrifice herself to her mates for a little bit of food.

  “There is normally.” Jakob paused to sigh heavily. “Will you please look at me?”

  Kristen didn’t want to because it made everything that much harder. Conscious, though, of not looking weak, she braced herself and turned her head. No amount of preparation would probably ever help against the power of Jakob’s hypnotic gaze.

  Instantly she found herself captured by the swirling shards of blue and green. The constant whirl and clash of crystalline colors made his eyes appear brilliantly alive, almost seething with emotion. Kristen didn’t need a translator to explain their message. He hungered and for only one thing, her.

  It would be so easy to give in to that need, to submit to the promise of raw, hot sex his gaze made. His body could live up to the vow. Hard, large, and capable of an endurance that had left Kristen feeling stiff and sore that morning, every muscle that rippled over his broad frame teased her with the memory of how good it felt to give in to the wanton lust Jakob inspired in her.

  Quickly, before the last of her willpower crumbled, Kristen cut her gaze to the wall over his shoulder and forced herself to remember that just because something felt good didn’t make it good.

  “It’s my first night here, and it would be rude of me not to pay my respects to my hosts.” That sounded good, logical, and rational. If only her voice hadn’t strained over the words, making them come out weak and desperate sounding

  “They probably would be more pissed if you did.” Snorting off her comment, Jakob irritated her anew with the return of his arrogant tone. “I can assure you that they’re not in the mood for company.”

  “And why would I believe you?” Kristen didn’t trust him in the slightest.

  “Because Samantha pissed both JD and Caleb off when she gave you sanctuary. Trust me, it’s going to be days before they’re done disc…discussing the matter.”

  Jakob blurted out the first part instantly and with enough emotion to assure Kristen it was an honest response. The way he faltered, though, to round out his comment, sounding uncertain, gave away the fact that the end was a lie. Kristen considered what word he’d really meant to use while Jakob babbled on in an obvious rush to get past his slip.

  “So they aren’t going to be showing up for dinner. Actually, there is no dinner unless you want to eat the chili that Cal’s making, which, trust me, you don’t.”

  Kristen narrowed her eyes on him for telling her what she did and didn’t want to do. Still, he might be right. It all depended on one thing. “Who’s Cal?”

  “Tex’s twin.” Jakob smiled, probably sensing her tension at the mention of that Covenanter. “Tex is in the kitchen helping him out, which gives you a choice. Tex and Cal or me and Kort?”

  “I think I’ll just choose myself.” Kristen didn’t like ultimatums, tended to respond rashly to them.

  “Fine,” Jakob agreed too quickly. “Then why don’t we go down to the kitchen and you can grab yourself something to eat?”

  Kristen sensed a trap and had a suspicion that she’d run into that ultimatum after all because she had absolutely no choice but to do as he suggested. Giving Jakob a hard look to let him know she didn’t fear going into the kitchen, Kristen stood up and let him lead her out into the enormous house.

  It had been built on a curve in the marsh, angled so that both the back and front of the house had impressive views of the long-fingered sea grass and the royal-blue waters beyond. As they descended the stairs from the loft all the bedrooms stemmed off of, Kristen couldn’t help but be struck again by the opulence of the great room.

  The Covenanters might be a smaller pack than the Narins, but apparently they lived better. It made her wonder where exactly her mates lived and if they lived so lavishly. She kind of hoped not. As nice as the McBanes’ house was, it felt a little overwhelming to Kristen.

  So did walking into the kitchen and finding just what Jakob had warned, Tex and somebody who looked a hell of a lot like him.

  “Oh, hey!” Kristen had really begun to hate the sound of that voice. “Check it out, Cal. That’s Kristen, the one I was just telling you about.”

  Cal must have been the big blond standing by a stew pot that bubbled and popped, releasing an aroma that already had her stomach cringing in fear. Looking at the steam rising out of the massive caldron, Kristen only glanced up when Cal spoke, catching his gaze in time to see his eyes narrow with a sudden realization.

  “Huh.”

  “What?” Kristen snapped at him, bristling for some reason she couldn’t name. Not that she needed a reason beyond the fact that Cal was Tex’s twin, identical or not.

  “Nothing.” Cal shrugged, turning his attention back to stirring his creation. “Just Tex’s story left a different impression than you do.”

  “Tex is intentionally an ass. Cal comes by it naturally,” Jakob explained, making it quite clear that Kristen should take insult at the man’s somewhat cryptic comment.

  “Hey, I come by it naturally,” Tex shot back with a smile. “Cal doesn’t mean to be one. He doesn’t even realize he is one. So you guys joining us for dinner?”

  “Not in this lifetime.” Kristen let that honest answer roll out of her without any hesitation. If Tex and his brother didn’t feel the need to be polite, there seemed no point in wasting her time with the effort. “Why aren’t they identical? I thought all Covenanters twins came out looking the same?”

  “They’re only half Covenanter,” Jakob replied, leaving it at that and giving Kristen a perfect opening.

  “What’s the other half? Dog?” Kristen snickered, enjoying being directly insulting for a change. It had a kind of liberating effect that Cal ruined with his serious-toned response.

  “We prefer the term ‘feral,’ darling.” He flashed her a toothy, white grin. “It sounds less civilized.”

  That wiped Kristen’s grin away and brought the tension back to her shoulders. Ferals were dangerous, untrustworthy creatures that almost always had to be put down for the greater safety of society. They tended to be v
iolent, packless monsters that were looked on as a disease rather than a breed.

  “So?” Kort strutted into the kitchen, breaking the sudden silence with his booming voice. He didn’t even spare a glance in Tex or Cal’s direction before he cast a hopeful look in Jakob then her direction. “You two ready to go to dinner?”

  Chapter 13Jakob’s pleasure at having Kristen agree to go to dinner with them didn’t last beyond the second the truck doors slammed closed and the stench of the cologne she forced them to wear started fogging up his lungs. The stink made the fifteen-minute drive to The Firehouse a nauseating trip.

  Kort rolled his window all the way down and spent the whole ride over-obviously trying to breathe out of it. Jakob did the same, leaving Kristen to sit, tense and silent with her knuckles going white as her hands clenched each other in a tight fist. He couldn’t tell if she felt sick or was just flat-out pissed. With the cologne blocking any scent Kristen gave off, Jakob could only guess.

  She wouldn’t have to guess how he felt if she’d just glance in his direction. It didn’t matter how sick the cologne made him feel, Jakob’s dick still hadn’t lain down. Neither had his beast. Just the opposite, the wolf had started to stir to life, annoyed at being so close to its mate and not being allowed to touch.

  That she also denied him even the soothing scent of her body left the damn beast ready for a fight, one preferably where he shredded that god-awful suit she wore. Once he had her naked, he would shove his face right between her soft thighs and drown in her scent. It took a lot of concentration to keep those urges from manifesting into action as he helped Kristen down to the ground.

  Not daring to risk touching more of her than his willpower could stand, he offered her only his hand, which she rejected. Hopping out of the truck, she paused to straighten her jacket and look around before casting a doubtful look in Jakob’s direction.

  before he gave in to the desire to kiss the concern from her lips. “They always have room for one more.”

  “It looks packed. You sure we’re going to get a table?” “Don’t worry.” Jakob turned his attention to closing the truck door“Especially us,” Kort added. He’d come to a stop at the end of the bed, waiting on the two of them. “The Firehouse is pack.”

  * * * *

  “Is pack?” Kristen scowled, obviously perplexed because she let Jakob settle a hand on her back and didn’t object when he guided her toward Kort. “Is that just bad grammar or are you making a different point?”

  “It’s pack,” Kort repeated as if he couldn’t understand her confusion. “It’s owned by the pack, operated by us, and one of our hangouts.”

  “Oh,” Kristen nodded, “you mean it’s owned by one of your packmates. I get it.”

  “No.” Kort laughed. “I mean what I said, honey. It’s owned by the pack.”

  “The Covenanter pack is incorporated,” Jakob interceded, elaborating on Kort’s short, cryptic comments before his brother ruined their dinner by annoying their mate more than necessary. “Everybody in the pack owns a certain amount of shares, which is somewhat based on their ranking.”

  “You’re incorporated?” That bit of information had Kristen stalling out at the edge of the drive. “How the hell does that work?”

  “Way any corporation works.” Jakob shrugged and tried to get her moving again. “The corporation owns almost every business in this town.”

  “And quite a few outside of it,” Kort tacked on helpfully.

  Kristen glanced between the two of them, making a face that clearly expressed her amazement. At least her surprise didn’t stop her from moving forward even if it did leave her muttering. “I still don’t get how that works. Do you all work for the company? I mean the whole pack.”

  “Most of us.” Jakob nodded, holding the door open for her. “In one way or another.”

  The loud rumble of conversations being conducted across the diner roared out the door, bringing their conversation to a temporary stop as Kristen took in The Firehouse. Jakob hoped she could look past its homey and worn appearance to see what he’d brought her here to see, the pack itself.

  The Covenanter pack was small and tight-knit. They looked after each other and saw that none of their own lacked or suffered. Unfortunately, all Kristen appeared to know of their kind came from their rather rough reputation.

  Jakob knew last night hadn’t helped that impression, but he hoped tonight would show her something she didn’t expect. Clearly he’d succeeded because Kristen stayed quiet as they moved through the diner, stopping at nearly every table to introduce her to another couple sets of twins.

  By the time they’d reached their customary table in back they’d introduced her to nearly fifty of their pack, and all had greeted her with the polite familiarity that spoke of acceptance. Kristen had responded with silence, a condition Jakob assumed to be a sign of thoughtful contemplation.

  Not wanting to disturb her from coming to the obvious conclusion that she might be wrong about them, Jakob settled her into her seat and left her to study the crowd. Pretending to busy himself with the menu, he kicked Kort when he opened his mouth and threatened to disturb Kristen’s thinking.

  They needed to give her time. She’d come around. So would Kort, though right then he felt the need to kick Jakob back hard enough to make the table rattle. That had Kristen’s attention snapping back to them and leaving Jakob with no reason not to smash his brother’s foot.

  “Ow! Damnit!” Kort’s ass started to pull away from his seat in an obvious oncoming lunge when Kristen’s comment stopped him cold.

  “First you take me to a restaurant packed with women you have so clearly fucked. Then you parade me past them, forcing me to meet each one and giving them more than enough time to leer at you. Now, you’re going to start a fight?” Kristen asked, glancing at them as if they were a science experiment gone wrong. “I would have been better off with those feral bastards.”

  “No. What?” Jakob’s gaze swept over the other tables as he tried to make sense of her accusations. What he saw had him coming up short. “Well, damn.”

  “Was this your way of showing me how grateful I should be to have you two as mates?” Kristen packed enough disgust into her tone to make sure they understood how ungrateful she felt. “That you two could have any woman you wanted? And I should be overjoyed to be that woman?”

  “Crap.” Kort’s ass hit the seat. “We might as well have gone to Wiley’s because I could have used that beer right about now.”

  “So you’re not going to deny it?”

  “That we slept with all these women?” Kort snorted. “No, but you’d be accusing us of the same thing no matter where we took you.”

  “That’s reassuring.”

  “You can’t be mad at us about this,” Kort shot back, clearly heating with the argument. “We never said we were monks before we met you, and you can’t be complaining about the experience that had you climaxing all damn night long. Honey, you should be thanking those women.”

  Jakob caught Kristen by the arm before she could fully shoot out of her seat. Despite her resistance, it took him little effort to jerk her back down. “Now don’t be running off in a huff. Kort might be an ass, but he’s not completely wrong. We all have pasts.”

  “Yeah?” Kristen cocked a brow at that. “Well, mine wasn’t as town whore.”

  Kort snorted at that insult, but Jakob chose to ignore it altogether and focus on the main point. “Are you saying we’d have no reason to be…distressed over anything in your past?”

  “No.” Kristen jerked her arm free, clearly affronted by his question. “Certainly not. Unlike you two depraved perverts, I didn’t feel a need to screw everything that moves.”

  “We scented a man in your bedroom last night,” Kort retorted with ill patience. “You must have screwed something.”

  That accusation had Kristen puckering up with full indignation as she narrowed her sights on Kort. “Peter is not something. I think that title belongs to you.”


  Kort didn’t take the least bit of offense, too concerned with the same part of her statement Jakob was. “Peter who?”

  “Jakob!”

  In a flash, his night went from nightmare status all the way to night terror as Jakob’s vision blurred on the sight of a massive bosom rubbing right into his face. Slender arms wrapped around his head and snuggled him into a scent he was all too familiar with.

  It didn’t shock him at all when Gina leaned back to plant a kiss right on his lips. No, it horrified Jakob, as did her words when she lifted her mouth barely a breath above his.

  “I was so disappointed when you didn’t call me last night like you promised. I stayed up all night aching, but then—”

  Right when Jakob’s rattled brain finally fired a command to chunk the woman off his lap, Gina bolted, launching herself into Kort’s limp arms. In that second, Jakob realized dinner had gone deathly silent, making Gina’s words ring out louder than they should have.

  “This bad boy called me up today and promised me the most wicked delight.” Gina nuzzled her head into Kort’s neck and licked him from his shoulder to his ear, following him when Kort tried to twist away. “I’m going to lock all my windows and doors tonight and make it a challenge for you to break in and have your dirty way with me.”

  Jakob’s jaw dropped. Kort froze. Something under the table shifted, whipping past his jeans fast enough to leave a breeze. Then suddenly, Gina was tumbling backward. Before the entire shocked audience crowding into the diner, Gina twirled, slipped, and smacked down hard on her ass, her head cracking into the floor a second later. Of the sixty or seventy people present, Kristen was the only one to react instantly. Shooting out of her chair with a gasp, she rushed around the table to see to the fallen woman.

  “Oh, my God! Are you all right?”

  In a move that might have looked like fussy concern to everybody else, Kristen assisted Gina to her feet. Jakob knew the truth. He sat close enough to see Gina wince at the grip Kristen had on her arm, and could hear the harsh whisper his mate hissed at the other woman.