Theirs to Claim Read online

  “Jezzie, yes, I am Rion. We met under some . . . delightful circumstances,” he finished, winking over at Zelina with a satisfied smile on his face. She returned that smile with a raspberry.

  “I’ll be sure to put that to good use later,” he returned, laughing in her head. She chose not to respond to that.

  “As you are someone that means more to Zelina than I think you even know, we will tell you the absolute truth. Please.” He directed her away from the bedroom and down the hall. Jezzie hesitated for a second, looking to Z for confirmation, before she turned and strolled where he directed.

  Her heels clicked in the silence in rhythm, her black business suit and white silk blouse looking smart on her thicker form. Of the two, Jezzie was the earthier. She didn’t see it that way, of course. To her, she was fat, further away from the generally accepted stick-thin figure. Zelina wasn’t near that either in a size twelve, but Jezzie took her size sixteen to heart. Most days Zelina ignored her whining about it and moved on. One day she’d find someone who would worship those curves she had, Zelina just knew it. That brought an idea to her head, one she’d have to talk to her mates about later.

  The door they stopped in front of interrupted her thoughts. The sitting room was all mahogany and white, from white carpet, to accent walls, to even the cushions on the couch. The wood pieces, though, added warmth and life to the place. If she didn’t believe before her clan made money, she did now.

  “Sit,” Rion invited her.

  Jezzie sat, watching him carefully and looking over at Zelina from time to time. Rion let her sit in between him and Quin, curling up her legs under her. Quin grabbed a blanket off the seat next to him and draped it over her legs. The move was done with ease, never interrupting the surrounding events, and Jezzie lifted a brow at that. It was too smooth to have been done to impress her, and she knew it.

  “Can we trust you?” Rion asked her finally.

  “I should be asking you that. It’s my friend you have sitting there beside you. My friend whose life you’ve suddenly entered.”

  “I understand. The concession we are about to make to you is because of that friendship and the fact that Zelina holds you close to her heart. Still, my job is to protect. So, I must ask you again. Can we trust you?”

  “That’s why you spoke first. To protect Quin from a threat.”

  “It is my job, inaestimabilis. It is what I am supposed to do. Do not worry. We will bring your friend into our fold. I think you would kill us if we hurt her.”

  “Most likely. Inae-stema-whata?”

  “It means ‘priceless,’ Zelina.”

  Quin chuckled over their connection, but stayed silent outwardly as Jezzie looked at them. Finally she folded her hands over her lap and nodded her head. “You can trust me.”

  “This is the Alpha of the South Texas clan, Tarquin Vespillo. I am his Beta and brother, Centurion. You know the short forms of our names.”

  “Brothers? Damn, nice, Z . . . Wait, Alpha and Beta. As in shifters?”

  Chapter Twenty

  The brothers sat frozen, looking at her in open confusion. If Zelina hadn’t been so surprised herself, she would have her ass off. She was positive neither brother had ever been stumped in his life.

  “So I am guessing she is your mate, so you couldn’t exactly fight your need for her. As your kind is not a large population, siblings mate to one person. She is now your mate, and that would explain the disappearing act and . . . dominance show Rion put on when I was on the phone.”

  “You heard that!” Zelina screeched, turning red.

  “You were on the phone, and I wasn’t on mute, girl. I was just so worried at the time. I was just trying to find out where you were. Anyway, this is why trust was so important?”

  “Why are you not freaking out?” Zelina finally asked. Statue One and Statue Two were still deciding not to talk yet.

  “Gentlemen, let me tell you what my job is. I am an editor for my company. My genre is fiction, specifically looking at the subgenres of romance, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance.”

  “Paranormal,” Quin started.

  “Romance?” Rion finished, finally coming out of the fish-out-of-water stare.

  “Books about beings like you. You know, shifters, vampyres, witches, mages, or wizards, you name it. The possibilities are endless. I find myself in awe more so than fear knowing that you all really do exist.” She sat back then, hand over her heart. “You are real,” she whispered.

  “Then I can tell you the rest,” Zelina said quietly. “I almost died, J.” She got up at Jezzie’s cry, pulling her friend into her arms. “Brian was not human. He was a vampyre, and nothing like the books. He tried to kill me, almost did.” She rubbed the spot on her neck where he had torn through.

  “I found her and was able to destroy the fiend. When I smelled her, I knew what she was to us, and I brought her home. At the time, she wasn’t conscious, and when she did come to, we weren’t ready for her to bring in the outside world yet.”

  “We had to make sure she chose us before we opened up. Her fear alone after the attack would have had her running from us. We needed the time,” Rion finished.

  Zelina liked how they did that, blended and molded until all of them were on the same thought at the same time. Outside of J, she had never had anyone so in tune with her. It was a humbling experience.

  “I am so happy you are safe, Z. I wouldn’t know what to do without you.” Tears falling down her face like diamonds, Jezzie pulled Zelina tighter to her chest. Zelina didn’t fight her. She understood the fear coursing through her heart and the thoughts she most likely was thinking. She let her friend hold her until the tears faded and her heart finally slowed down.

  “I’m okay, Jezzie. Really I am. With my mates, I’ll never fear again. I’m not lost or gone away from you. I have to admit it is much nicer knowing that you know the truth. I wasn’t sure if I could hide from you all that was going on.”

  “Sister from another mister, huh?”

  “Always, girl. Always.”

  “Alpha, the humans have—”

  The shifter who’d barged into the room stopped, nose to the air, sniffing. His cold gray eyes rested on Jezzie for a moment before sliding away to look at a spot over his Alpha’s right shoulder. Black hair, cut military short, exposed a hard face. It couldn’t be considered handsome. One long scar from the left of his forehead down to his chin on the right side marred what might have been an attractive face. Where it came down closer to the left eye, it pulled the flesh taut so that his left eye had a deeper slant compared to its counterpart. His gaze swung back to Jezzie for a heart-stopping minute before returning to his Alpha’s shoulder.

  “The two men have cleared our territory grounds. We are secure once more.”

  “Thank you, Socha.”

  “Socha? Really, no better name than that?” Zelina asked.

  “Not his name. It’s a nickname,” Rion responded.

  “What? That’s a woman’s name.”

  “Tell you later.”

  “Socha, this is your Lunar’s sister, Jezzie.”

  Jezzie smiled softly to Quin’s explanation of her before standing and extending her hand. “It is nice to meet you, Socha.”

  “Andrzej,” he responded to her.

  “What?”

  “My name is Andrzej. You may not call me Socha.”

  “What the hell is his problem?”

  “Again, I’ll tell you later,” Rion sighed.

  “You are going to let him talk to her like that?”

  “Is everyone allowed to call you Z?” Quin cut in.

  “Of course not.”

  “Then he has the right.”

  “I am sorry. I was simply trying to be polite.”

  Socha didn’t respond to her.

  “I see the name fits, though. Unbending and unmoving,” she muttered to herself and went back to her seat. Socha’s gaze swung back to her, surprised, before she smiled at him. He then stiffened and lo
oked away.

  “By your leave,” he said then, bowing before leaving the room.

  “I bet you water freezes on his ass.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Jezzie!”

  “What? It’s true. He didn’t have to be rude. I was trying to be polite.”

  “He doesn’t care much for humans.”

  “I didn’t do anything to him. He could have been nicer to me,” Jezzie returned, unconvinced.

  “Having your parents killed and then skinned by humans in front of you will do that to a person,” Rion finished.

  Jezzie didn’t say another word. Sinking into her seat, she twisted her fingers together. “Oh my God, that’s terrible. ‘Open mouth, insert foot’ moment, I guess. Were they taken by hunters?”

  “Yes, but these hunters knew what they were killing. It was a very long time ago, when we tried to live more openly among humans. It is not my story to tell, so I won’t go further than that, but I wanted you to know his actions are in no way personal. All humans, as far as he’s concerned, are enemies.”

  “Who can blame him? We know what it’s like, don’t we, Z?”

  “Do we ever,” Zelina responded, shaking her head. “Either way, now you know everything that is going on. You know where I am, so we will be able to still see each other and hang out. Nothing has changed, just my location.”

  “Yeah, you’re just in the next town over, so it won’t matter much.”

  “Next town over! That’s thirty minutes!”

  “No biggie, Z, really.”

  “Not you, Jezzie. I’m talking to you,” Zelina said, turning toward Quin. “I was over, what, thirty-five miles away, and you smelled me and ran that far to save me?”

  “I have a good nose?” Quin replied sheepishly. A red streak showed up on his cheeks, and Zelina laughed.

  “He is the Alpha, inaestimabilis. His senses are better than all of ours. Take into account that you are also his mate, you have the end result.”

  “Are you telling me I stink?”

  “Okay, I suppose that’s my cue to leave. So, um, you guys have a good night. Z, call me later, whenever you are free, and we’ll catch lunch, my treat.”

  Jezzie left the room amid the arguing back and forth, closing the door firmly behind her. Knowing her friend was okay, was loved, and would still be with her washed over the tension that was settling in her shoulders. She just couldn’t sit there as if it wasn’t breaking her heart too. Zelina would have more than just her to be with now. She would be surrounded by her mates and clan. She truly wasn’t alone now. Not like Jezzie.

  Alone, she let the fear of what she had been told leak through. Sure, she wasn’t ready to run away screaming, but to know that what she read about every day walked the earth was both fascinating and terrifying. As a mate, Zelina would have their protection, love, and lifelong devotion. Other humans were not that lucky. If Brian was any indication, there were some out there who harmed unsuspecting humans.

  Biting her lip against the thought that she almost got her friend killed, and the fear in the base of her stomach, she let the chill rush over her and turned. She ran into a solid wall that hadn’t been there when she’d opened the door. He disappeared as if he’d never been there, a blur of movement the only sign she wasn’t seeing things, and came up behind her. Her screech was stopped by his powerful hand covering her mouth. The ribbed flesh on the palm felt like scars against her lips. The scents of deep earth and fresh rainfall covered her, and she inhaled it over the hand holding her.

  “Be calm,” a voice said, one that had made her knees grow weak moments before in the room.

  Socha was holding her. His body pressed against the back of her, heat engulfing her, his other hand resting on her side, thumb softly circling. He leaned forward, inhaling her scent before his teeth scraped her pulse. Her pussy grew wet, and she clenched her thighs together to hold in the smell. When his nostrils flared again, she knew she’d failed.

  “I could break you like a twig,” he whispered, hands clenching on her body. “Destroy you and toss you away where no one will ever find you.” He nipped her neck harder, a metallic scent wafting from the bite, telling her he drew blood. Fear spiked where desire had been before. “I could crush you under my body, take everything you don’t want to give, and there would be nothing you could do about it. You are weak, so very weak, compared to my strength.”

  He pushed her into the wall, his body caging her in between a rock and a hard place. Gripping her chin and twisting her face to look at him, anger clouded his gaze. There was no softness there to find. She saw his parents’ death waiting there, crouching to strike her down if she so much as spoke. He growled low in his throat, the sound deadly and dark. She was terrified, the blood draining from her face, her pulse stuttering as she struggled to breathe. She felt the wheeze before it escaped her throat, felt the tightness in her chest. Fear, anxiety, loss, they always activated her asthma. She’d be on the floor in a minute. She clawed at her captor’s hand as she struggled to get the room to breathe.

  “Jezzie?” he asked, his look turning to confusion. He canted his head sideways, listening, before his eyes widened and his mouth descended on hers. Sweet, hot, blissful air powered into her lungs from his mouth. She clung to him, her hands now shackling his wrists to her body. She swallowed his air until the wheezing stopped, the pain eased, and her heart slowed. Socha stepped back, tossing her away.

  “Run,” was all he said before he growled at her again.

  She didn’t wait, but turned on her heels and ran from the compound as fast as she could. She knew that Zelina was safe, that no one would dare to touch the Alpha, Beta, or the Lunar. She, however, was not that safe, and she would be damned if she ever stepped foot in that compound again.

  Her heart was still racing when she pulled up to her home, stripped off her clothes, and climbed into the shower. It wasn’t until she was out of the water, drying her body with a big terry-cloth towel, that she realized the bite on her shoulder hadn’t gone away.

  The End

  About the Author

  LeTeisha Newton is the author of three novels, Baile, Stolen Warrior, and Assassin's Call, one anthology, Shifter Made, and three novellas, Caged Heart, Aphrodite's Chosen, and Melt Me. She began writing long before she ever thought about publishing. Thanks to an amazing teacher that kept telling her to STOP reading in class, she decided to go farther than she ever thought possible with her writing. Baile, her premier novel, is the only one written in first-person, and, at times, her go to novel for inspiration. As a mother, LeTeisha truly felt the way Yfel did about doing anything for one’s children, go to any lengths, and smile at the end. She’s extended that love and perseverance to her other works.

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  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

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  About the Author