Filed To Story: A Claim of Fortune Book PDF Free by Jaymin Eve
“We felt your pain,” he whispered when he pulled away, still cupping the back of my neck. He looked exhausted, and I’d bet good money that none of them had properly slept since I was taken. “Hours after you were stolen away, there was a rush of pain, and then you faded from our bond. We knew you weren’t dead, but our connection was being blocked.”
I nodded harshly. “Yeah, they teamed up with the Termaine witches to block us.” And break our quintet. Fletcher had revealed his continued involvement with that coven right after my forced bonding, to really drive home that there was no hope in waiting for my pack to rescue me.
Hunter gaze narrowed on me. “Termaine… you mean the ones from?-“
“Yep, that powerful line who were front and center of the last war. Apparently, they weren’t all killed off, and they’ve been planning this for a long time. They’re involved in my kidnapping, the death of my mother, and a lot of other shit.”
The confusion remained on all their faces as Hunter asked, “What are they trying to achieve? Last time they had an alpha at the helm, but are you saying they’re working alone now?”
Swallowing roughly, I wished I didn’t have to reveal this part, though I doubted he’d be surprised. “Yeah, they still have an alpha, and he wants the same result as last time. The end of quintets and cities, and the return of packs with a single alpha.”
“I will fucking kill Blaine, that piece of shit,” Kellan burst out, grinding his boots into the dirt.
Squeezing my eyes briefly closed, I shook my head. “It’s not just Blaine. He’s involved, but there’s a stronger alpha at the helm.” Hunter met my gaze, and I saw the resignation on his expression right before I said, “It’s Fletcher Davenport.”
Hunter nodded, having guessed it in the seconds before my reveal. “There’s more too. Blaine called him… Father.”
There was a flicker of gold in the darkest recesses of Hunter’s storm cloud eyes as he said, “I don’t know or care about that part, but I wished I was surprised about Fletcher’s involvement. That fuck has always been obsessed with omegas, which was why I was determined to never allow him near you.”
Swallowing hard, I whispered, “I think he’s killed omegas in the past. I believe he’s been taking them for years, secretly, and experimenting on them. He implied that there weren’t enough to experiment on, but in the same breath told me that my mom’s death was his doing. If we investigated his life, I bet we’d find others.”
There was a surge of Hunter’s rage through our bond. “Did he touch you?”
“No,” I hurriedly said. “Not really. He has others to take care of his dirty work.”
Unintentionally, my gaze lifted to Talon, and as I stretched, the neckline of my sweatshirt slipped, and Kellan’s howl was my first indication that he’d caught sight of my new bite.
As his broken, furious cry filled the air, it caught even the dragon’s attentions, and Slade dropped into a dive, heading straight for us.
Talon right behind him.
I didn’t see what happened next as Kellan wrapped his hands around my biceps and lifted me off the ground. I focused on his paler-than-usual face, hoping this wasn’t the moment my pack was destroyed beyond repair. “Emme,” he choked out. “Baby. What did they do to you?”
I brushed my hand down his cheek in an attempt to calm his raging beast, as Hunter pressed in closer to my side, no doubt wondering what he’d missed.
Finley’s expression was sad as he met mine, and he nodded as if to say he had my back.
“Fletcher has had that dragon under his control for years,” I said, as calmy as I could. “When they first took me, he forced the dragon to bite me, and since I was being controlled by magic, I had no choice but to bite him back.” As their devastated expressions wavered before my tear-filled gaze, I pushed on. “We’re bonded. Me and Talon. Which means you can’t kill him, at least not until we figure out if the bond can be broken.”
Hunter’s expression shattered as he reached out, as if to tear me from Kellan’s shaky hold, only he never got the chance. The thump of Slade’s dragon slamming into the ground distracted us all, as he raced on all fours in our direction. Talon right on his tail.
“Put me down,” I whispered, wriggling against Kellan. “Come on, Golden Boy, you need to pull it together. We’re all still here and able to fight. Don’t give up yet.”
That snapped him out of his daze, and when my feet touched the ground, I turned to run for Slade, only to have Hunter stepping in my path. I ducked to avoid his hold, which was impossible when the damn alpha had arms longer than my body.
“We can’t let them kill each other,” I shouted, fighting his hold. “I’m the only one who can stop it.”
“Not a fucking chance!” Finley snarled, taking both of us by surprise-Hunter’s eyebrows drew together as he attempted to process the bear protecting me. “You will not risk yourself by getting between two fire-breathing dragons. They can take care of themselves. You cannot.”
Goddess, I needed proper fight training so they’d stop seeing me as this vulnerable little cupcake. “You saw Talon in the bunker,” I said with a snap. “He’s protective. He considers me to be part of his clan, or his possession… whatever concept dragons use. He’s not going to kill me, especially not when we’re newly bonded, which would possibly kill him as well.”
Finley’s stubborn expression didn’t soften, and Hunter’s hold only tightened.
Yeah, we were all shocked.
“Baby,” Kellan breathed, still sounding so devastated, it felt like that word stabbed through my heart. “We can’t lose you. Not even to save Slade.”
I couldn’t see him around Hunter’s hold, but he’d hear me just fine. “It’s going to be okay, Golden. After living through almost losing you, I’m not willing to accept any of us not surviving and having our happily-ever-afters. There’s a way to fix this, I’m sure of it, and if not… well, we’ll be the first sextet or whatever the hell you call a pack of six. Even if Talon has to stay locked in the basement for the rest of eternity. He was raised in isolation by Fletcher Davenport, so I have no idea if he’s redeemable or not, but for now he’s part of our pack.”
There was a choked growl from Hunter, reminding me he was raised by the same male. “You’re one of the best alphas I’ve ever known,” I said, meaning every word. “Slade too. Which means there’s a chance for Talon, and I’m willing to bet on that chance.” I shot him my most pleading stare. “Now I just need you to bet on me. Please, Alpha.”
As Hunter contemplated my request, his breaths even and deep, Finley pushed closer to me. “They’re heading right for us.” His body swelled like he wanted to shift, though he didn’t make the final change. “What do you want to do?”
Even though I was angry at him, I wanted to assure him that if he shifted and couldn’t get back, I wouldn’t leave him to deal with it alone.
We would always be a pack, even if that was all we ever had.
EMME
“You can shift,” I said softly, and though I wasn’t looking at him, he knew that statement was for him.
“It’s too big of a risk,” he said. “The bear is useful in a physical fight but not against dragons. To win this, we’ll need words and negotiations.”