Filed to story: A Claim of Fortune Book PDF Free by Jaymin Eve
Talon’s eyes darted briefly between me and the other dragon in the room, and I could feel his confusion. “All I know is that when the egg hatched, there were two of us. Dragon lore calls that?-
“Salatrina.”
I swung my gaze to Slade, only to find him staring at Talon.
“You… you’ve heard of this before?” I asked, looking between them both. “You both came from the same egg?”
Slade nodded, looking like he’d seen a ghost. “Yes. It’s a rare phenomenon that was mentioned maybe three times in the books and lore I’ve managed to procure about my kind. It depicts twin souls born to a single egg, who are connected in a way that defies the normal. That’s all I really know, and to be honest, I assumed it was a myth.”
Talon resumed his stroke on my hand, sending unwanted butterflies through my stomach. “Alpha said there are none left alive who truly know about our abilities, but that he believes we’re joined in a connection that goes beyond normal quintets.”
I thought over the implications of this and came to only one conclusion “This has to be the reason you’re my scent match too. You and Slade were literally born in the same egg, as if you’re two sides of a single coin. A yin and yang.”
Slade, who had finally recovered from his shock, scoffed like he’d rather get run over by a truck than claim Talon as the other half of his soul. Talon, on the other hand, sent his brother a stare that was filled with longing, before it was just as quickly masked. “This pack life is not for me,” he finally said, the life fading in his eyes. “I have a duty. I’ve been well trained to complete my duty. Alpha Fletcher will come for us soon, and then he’ll return the packs to their former glory. He’ll stand as the true alpha of the American shifters, and you all can either get in line or die under his rule.”
That was the moment we lost him again, just when I felt like we were close to getting through to him. His unwavering loyalty to an alpha who most certainly didn’t deserve it was frustrating as hell, but I forced myself to understand. Fletcher was all Talon had ever known.
Maybe with time we could show him what a true family looked like.
The battle ahead of us had exhaustion pressing on me, and I hoped tonight I’d actually sleep. “What was your normal day with Fletcher like?” I asked, shifting closer until our scents mingled. “If you weren’t out fighting or killing for him, what did you do? Did he treat you well? Did you have family dinners? Family games nights? Watch television together?”
He blinked, his brows bunching. “I sat in my room until I was called for a mission. I had a gym to work out, and food was delivered once a day for me to consume in my beast form.”
Slade’s scent washed in from behind me, as he moved closer, and I wondered if he was feeling a draw to Talon too.
“That’s not how you treat a shifter you care about. Or one who is family,” I said, needing him to understand the truth. “In this pack, they spend quality time together. They joke and tease and have each others’ back. They eat meals together, work together, race their cars, and show up to support their sports teams. They protect each other. You don’t have to be alone all the time, sitting and waiting for your next mission to get attention.”
I lifted my free hand and placed it against Talon’s chest, and his expression shuttered until I had no idea what he was thinking.
Despite everything he’d put me through, I wasn’t immune to this shifter, but for either of us to ever move past the forced bonding, we both had to face up to the reality: Fletcher was an evil fuck, and we were true mates.
There was also the fact that I wasn’t the only victim here, which Slade and the rest of our pack needed to accept, so we could claim our only possible future.
Forming a sextet.
HUNTER
The entire time Emme was in our containment rooms with Slade and that other fucker,
I paced the front entrance. Paced and yelled at whoever I could get on the phone.
Reeves Industries didn’t exactly fall apart when I wasn’t in office, but it always had more snags. If it weren’t for the thousands of jobs that’d be lost across all of our facilities, I’d shut the whole fucking thing down. For now, my senior staff were handling the day-to-day, but when I returned, there’d be more than a few incompetent assholes on the chopping block.
I already knew I’d have to make an appearance tomorrow to ensure the launch of our new product wasn’t a complete disaster. The magic-resistant, armored chest plates were about to ship out to the general population, and would change the face of the impending war.
These plates could be stitched into any shirt or worn over the top, with nothing more than a few easy-to-manipulate bands. It’d been in the works for a number of years, but I’d pushed up production. With all the magical attacks on our pack, I knew there was a battle on the horizon, and I wanted to create easily accessible and relatively cost-effective protection for shifters.
The full armored vests took longer to manufacture, and worked best when sized correctly to the purchaser. Custom-made didn’t come cheap or easy, and while this new product wouldn’t be quite as effective, it would still give us an edge during a magic war.
A war brought on by Fletcher. I should have killed that bastard years ago and dealt with whatever mental fallout resulted when you murdered your sperm donor. I’d have taken that fallout ten times over if it meant Emme never had to go through the last few weeks.
I had no fucking idea how I’d even missed all the signs that Fletcher was connected to our issues with the Rogers pack, but I should have known. It was a huge oversight, and it cost my pack too much.
By the time Emme and Slade slogged up the stairs, looking exhausted and emotionally shattered, I was ready to murder every fucking shifter who’d ever bothered either of them, including that rogue doppelganger in the containment room.
“Did you learn anything?” I asked, and neither of them showed any surprise to see me standing where they’d left me earlier.
When Emme stumbled into my arms, allowing me to support her as a mate should, a strong wave of satisfaction hit my wolf. Through our bond, she released a pulse of relief at being in my arms, and fuck, if I could bottle this feeling… I’d have many more billions.
Slade remained stiff, and I knew my brother well enough to see him trying to rearrange all his broken pieces. “We learned a little. He’s much more receptive when Emme is close by. The main points are that Talon is a scent match for Emme, and that we were born in the same egg. Fletcher separated us at birth, but we’re most definitely salatrina.”
Fuck.
That word was immediately familiar, and swallowing roughly, I met my brother’s wide-eyed gaze. Slade had gone through a ten-year period where he’d attempted to uncover every piece of information about his species of shifter, and I had helped out.
Salatrina meant… twin souls.
“Fletcher separated you at birth?” I huffed, unsurprised that the bastard had stolen that bond from them. “And kept you apart for decades…”
Emme snuggled closer, and I slid my palms down the back of her thighs to lift her up into me. When her long legs wrapped around my waist, securing her firmly against me, relief filtered through my essence.
“Your sperm donor is a real piece of shit,” she mumbled against my neck, breathing deeply as she took in my scent, soothing her beast. “Not only did he make your lives hell growing up, he stole Slade’s brother-his fucking twin soul-and kept him all but locked in a cage, trained to fight and obey. Talon has never been treated like a living being worthy of love or care. We have to help him.”