Filed To Story: Claimed by the Alpha I Hate Book Read Free
The patrol teams scented them far beyond the pack’s borders, so it was common knowledge to be wary venturing too far out the way. Since the grand announcement that landed me with a bullet in my chest, they had yet to launch a second a****k…which was relieving as it was concerning.
It was Zeke who last week posed the question we had all been thinking. Were the vampire’s still clinging to my father’s rule in league with the witches?
“Last, I want to pick the time and place. We’ll meet in the new territory Nolan acquired. It’s not officially part of the pack, so it’s neutral ground. It’ll give me the chance to show them our plans, so we can prove vampire’s do have a place in our future.” I sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. It was a plan, one that might sway a few of them.
“Let them know they’re free to bring what protection they deem necessary, and that we’ll do exactly the same.” Nolan tacked on, his voice low and shoulders tense.
“I can’t promise this will stay quiet, but I’ll do all that I can. Any updates and I’ll find you or have
Breyona relay them.” Giovanni responded, but I still had the feeling there was something he wanted to say.
My eyes darted between my best friend and her mate, “…is there something you wanted to tell me?”
“My family, they’ve been…more understanding than Tristan’s, but they still have questions. My father is stubborn, but my mother and sister are leaning towards your side. If they choose to follow you as their
Queen, my father will too.” Giovanni replied, but there was a hesitance I’d never heard in his voice before. Always calm and reserved, stone-faced unless Breyona was around, this was the most emotion
I’ve heard in his voice without him mentioning his long-legged mate. “It’s not you they want to meet…
it’s Breyona and I.”
“They don’t believe a werewolf and a vampire can be mates.” Breyona said with a huff, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. Anger was the one emotion that made Breyona’s voice raise a good octave or two, so I knew she was fuming when she squeaked, “…that father of his called me a mutt, and said I was seducing him since none of our males are up to ‘breeding standard’.”
“Your family wants to meet the two of you?” I grimaced, trying hard not to let my guilt show as I looked
Breyona’s way. “…do you want to meet them?”
“II think I do, yeah.” She nodded, her hazel eyes hopeful and sincere. I could practically feel her excitement. Her smile wavered, but she pieced it together before it fell apart. “There’s a chance proving the bond between Gio, and I could get his family on your side. I can’t shift…so, there’s not much else I can do to help you…and I want to help, Daisy. He’ll make sure I’m safe the entire time, I promise. We’re best-friends, but you’re also my Luna, and I can’t leave without your permission.”
There was so much I wanted to say to Breyona, but words wouldn’t give back what the shadows had taken. Instead, I placed all my trust in her and in the vampire that hovered protectively at her side.
“When do you plan on leaving?” I asked.
Excitement filled her face, which she held back since I hadn’t yet given her permission.
“Not until after your powers are unbound, that’s for sure.” She replied, and just a hint of relief washed over me.
“You have my permission to leave the pack.”‘ I told her, feeling my heart both ache and soar at the ear-
splitting grin that formed on her face.
My eyes settled on Giovanni, who gave me his attention unflinchingly. There was no doubt in my mind that he would protect her till his last breath, but the words left my lips regardless.
“Don’t come back here without her.” I said in a voice that belonged to both his Queen and Luna of this pack.
While Breyona finished getting ready, Giovanni pulled me aside. The leatherbound book sat on the table between us. On its cover was a triangle with a circle inside. Inside the circle were different symbols, none of which I knew the names to.
I couldn’t detect a trace of suspicion in his voice, only his usual amount of severity. “Your father deemed this important enough to have it locked in a vault. He wasn’t the kind person who passed up power, so if he kept it from the witches then it might be a good idea if you did the same.”
Before heading to Cordelia’s for the séance, the three of us stopped by the hotel we had dropped Clara off at. Since it was on the way, it gave us the perfect opportunity to ask about the nightclub, which was now nothing more than a pile of rubble.
I wasn’t surprised to find that Brandon had vanished early in the morning, never to return. Mason looked a bit disgruntled, his hair a mess and his face twisted into a scowl. Clara on the other hand was draped over a chaise lounge, an arm behind her head as she smirked and looked at her manicured nails. Her bouncy curls were twisted into a quick updo, but some strands were already falling from the clip.
She looked smug and cat-like, which ended the moment I pulled out Holly’s drawing and told her what it meant. I locked eyes with Mason and nodded towards the door, letting him know he was free to go.
Without glancing at Clara, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.
“Am I no longer important enough for a guard?” Clara pouted, but it didn’t cover up the fear I heard bleeding into her voice.
Nolan’s voice was flat and unimpressed, “we’re assigning you a new guard.”
“You weren’t surprised when I showed you the picture.” I stated the obvious, holding her stare long enough to make her squirm. “If anything you look like you want to throw up.”
“It’s obvious what it means…the witches are covering their tracks. The fact that they don’t want you to find out what they’re doing more than they want to get their hands on you is terrifying…” Her smug exterior dropped, revealing the girl I had met just last night. The confident and sensual dancer turned magical fugitive, afraid of what lurked in the night. “A lot of witches worked at that club, and I’ll bet anything that none of them made it home last night…”
Once a replacement showed up, we were able to leave. We gave Mason a ride back to the house, but the entire drive I couldn’t get his grimace out of my head. He sat in the back seat, his cheek against the window and his warm eyes halfway closed. His light brown hair was sun bleached from how much time he spent training or on patrol and was beginning to grow past his jawline.
“Mason?” I called out and heard him grunt in response.
Breyona snickered, “he’s been hanging around Tristan too much.”
“Funny.” Mason said sarcastically, cracking an eye open just to narrow it at her.
“Are you alright?” I asked Mason, turning to look at the two of them. “You look a little worse for wear.”
“You can thank Nolan’s brother for that.” Mason grumbled, “…real stand-up guy.”
“This is the second complaint about your brother.” I said to Nolan, pressing my lips together to keep from laughing.
My forced trip with Brandon hadn’t softened me to him in the slightest. If anything, I found it both sad and amusing how often he got into trouble. Claire and Killian didn’t appear to favor one of their sons over the other, so I wasn’t sure why Brandon felt the need to constantly raise h**l.
Against my better judgement, I asked Mason what happened.
“Mm, did you know there was a bar in that hotel?” Mason asked, and when I shook my head he let out a dry laugh. “Well, you will when she checks out. I’d have to sell my tail on the black-market to pay that tab. The little witch isn’t any better…” His voice dropped into a low grumble, “…went to the bar with him, made me play babysitter. Your brother doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut. I had to drag him from the bar before he got us all thrown out, which pissed him off enough to start throwing punches. I managed to get him into the parking lot before he tore down the hotel. Luckily, he’s got p**s-poor fighting skills when he’s drunk.”
“That doesn’t explain why you look like you’ve been hit by a car.” Breyona added helpfully. At times I didn’t understand the strange relationship between my two best-friends, but I was slowly learning that insults were their love language.
“No, it doesn’t.” Mason smirked, his mood already lightening even though his eyes held traces of exhaustion. “Brandon got me to the ground, and we were going back and forth. Clara was shouting and waving her hands, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying in between taking your brother’s punches. Turns out she was warning us to stop before she used her magic on us.”
“She didn’t.” Breyona gasped, a hand over her mouth. “…wait, what did she do to you?”
“She’s like a witchy stun-gun…for the most part, anyway.” I told her, “I’m sure there’s more she can do that she hasn’t mentioned.”
“Yeah, she also sucks at descriptions.” Mason’s voice was dry and a little bit pained. “It’s not like any stun-gun I’ve ever felt, that’s for d**n sure. Felt like I got struck by lightning, then I was out cold…
Brandon too.”
“She knocked you both out in the middle of the parking lot?” It was my turn to stare open mouthed.
“She dragged us back inside and spent the better half of the morning complaining about how long it took her, and how she broke a nail. Of course your brother woke up early and ran.” His grimace returned the more we talked about Clara. “All I know is I won’t complain if I never have to see her again. I’d say the same for your brother, but I know that’s too much to ask for.”