Forbidden Claim Read online

  DID BRAM FIND me?

  She’d told herself that he would never come here, looking for her, especially if Damien put her under his protection and the protection of the sentinels, but she didn’t believe it one hundred percent.

  She was pretty sure Bram was a sociopath. He’d been charming and every woman’s dream when she met him. But, after a while, she’d begun to see the person underneath, and she wasn’t sure if his pride would allow him to stay away. Bram hated to lose anything that was his. And he’d made it very clear that he saw her as belonging to him.

  She shuddered as Quentin came up behind her. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped.

  “Hey, hey, it’s just Damien,” he said, his voice low and gentle.

  Isabelle’s shoulders sagged with relief, and she finally went and took a seat on the couch.

  She heard the back door open, and someone said something to Damien before he came around the corner.

  “Isabelle?”

  She jumped up and rushed over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and began to cry. She didn’t know what it was about seeing Damien, but it was as if, suddenly, all her strength was gone.

  It was only when she saw Damien’s mate, Payton, standing behind him with her eyes open wide did Isabelle let go and take a step back.

  “Sorry about that,” she said to Damien and Payton.

  Damien grasped her biceps. “Hey, it’s okay. Why don’t we sit down, and then you can tell me what’s wrong?”

  Isabelle nodded in agreement. “It’s probably best that you get everyone.”

  “I’ll do it,” Payton said.

  Damien smiled at his mate. “Thanks.”

  Payton started back for the kitchen.

  “Payton?” Damien said.

  She turned. “Yeah?”

  “For now, maybe we should leave the two new guys out of it.”

  She nodded. “Right.”

  Payton turned again, and Isabelle looked at Damien. “New guys?”

  “Yeah. I’ll tell you about it later. First, I need to know why you are here, why you are so upset, and why you smell like a Varg.”

  Isabelle winced. Of course Damien would know who the Vargs were.

  The wolf sentinels filed into the room and took seats around Damien and Isabelle. She noticed they were two short. Kendall and Bowden weren’t there.

  Payton was the last to come in the room, and Damien held out his hand to her. She took it and sat on his lap.

  Isabelle had hoped Payton would stay in the other room while she told her story. Not because she didn’t like the female shifter, but because her story was embarrassing enough. The only reason she was telling Damien and the sentinels was because she needed their help and protection.

  But Damien had made it clear that Payton was staying. He might be her friend, but he was still her alpha, and his word was law.

  “Okay, Isabelle, we’re all here.”

  She took a deep breath. “I need your protection.”

  “From whom?” Damien said as his spine straightened.

  “My boyfriend. Well, now ex-boyfriend.”

  Damien clenched his jaw. “Why?”

  “Because he’s either going to force me to mate against my will or he’ll kill me.”

  Damien swore.

  Isabelle hung her head. “I know.”

  “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

  “About six months ago, I met a guy, a wolf-shifter, name Bram Varg.” She watched as everyone exchanged knowing looks. “He asked me out, and we started seeing each other. He was nice, respectful, and a gentleman.” Until he wasn’t. “I don’t even know how it happened, but all of a sudden, I realized we were practically living together, which was fine, until he talked about getting mated. I told him I wasn’t ready.”

  She paused to take another breath.

  “He also started hinting about me quitting my job. I knew something wasn’t right, so when he was out of town, I told him I needed some time apart from him and moved back home. At the time, I knew it was a cowardly move, and I told myself I had all sorts of reasons for doing it when he was gone. But, now, I admit I did it because I was scared of him. Turned out, I was right to be.”

  Damien closed his eyes. “What happened?”

  “He broke into my apartment and dragged me out by my hair. Literally. He beat me so badly that, if I were human, I would have had to go to the hospital.”

  Damien moved Payton off his lap and jumped up from his seat. “Goddamn it, Isabelle.”

  “I know,” she agreed.

  She knew he was mad at the situation or at Bram, probably both, but she felt like crying again.

  “Then, what happened?”

  “I played along while I planned my escape.” She rubbed her palms on her jeans. “It was embarrassing, but I asked my coworkers for help. Every day, I would sneak in an article or two of clothing, and one of my coworkers would take it home. I did this until I had at least a suitcase full of clothes. They helped me get a cheap car to drive here. They also got me a burner phone.”

  She looked down at her watch.

  “He won’t know something’s wrong until he comes to pick me up from work, and I won’t be there. Then, he’ll really know I’m gone when he gets home. He’ll find the note I left him.”

  “Did you tell him where you were going?” Damien asked.

  “No, but he knows that I am friends with you.”

  Bram also knew that she and Damien used to date. He’d forbidden Isabelle from seeing or speaking to Damien ever again.

  “Is this why you blocked my number?”

  She hung her head. “Yes. I’m sorry.”

  “Isabelle.”

  She looked up.

  “Don’t be sorry. He’s the asshole in this scenario, not you.”

  She nodded.

  “You know we’ll protect you, right?”

  She nodded again.

  Damien gave her a pointed look. “But you have to tell us everything. You said he’s either going to mate you against your will or kill you. What are we missing?”

  She lowered her head again and stared at the carpet. “He made a vow to take me as his mate.”

  There was a collective intake of breaths.

  “Were you alone?” Damien asked.

  Isabelle shook her head. “It was at a wolf-shifter-only event.”

  “We’re screwed,” the sentinel named Ranulf said.

  They hadn’t even heard the worst of it.

  She swallowed hard. “He was also up onstage, making a speech.”

  Bram had everyone fooled. They all thought he was a good guy who wanted to give back to their community.

  “That’s where he made the announcement.”

  “Forget screwed. We’re royally fucked,” another sentinel called Chase said.

  Isabelle looked up as Damien sighed and ran a hand down his face.

  “How did you manage to stay unmated until now?” he asked her.

  “My parents are out of state, visiting my sister in California. I convinced him they would want to be around when he made it official.”

  Isabelle had never liked that her sister moved so far away, but she was grateful it was keeping her parents away.

  “You know that Bram Varg is the son of the Illinois alpha, right?” Damien asked.

  Isabelle nodded.

  “And you know that he lives in Minnesota because he got kicked out of Illinois, right?”

  She nodded again. “I didn’t at first, but I overheard him talking to someone else about it.”

  He’d almost found her in the hall, eavesdropping, and she shuddered at the thought of what he would have done if he had caught her.

  “He’s not a stable wolf,” Damien said.

  He didn’t have to tell Isabelle twice.

  “What are we going to do?” Raven, one of the female sentinels, asked.

  Damien shook his head. “The only way we’re going to really stop Bram from backing off on his vow
is if someone else claims Isabelle.”

  “What?” Isabelle yelled.

  Damien met her eyes, his gaze friendly and sympathetic but also stern. “It is the only way, Isabelle. From what you’ve said of Bram and from what I know about him, he’s not going to just forget about you. The only way he can’t claim you is if you’re already someone else’s mate.”

  The group of sentinels glanced around, exchanging looks and shifting in their seats.

  “Sir, you do realize that, despite Bram’s status with the Illinois wolves, we could be starting a war,” Raven said.

  Damien sighed. “I know.”

  “See, she gets it,” Isabelle pointed out.

  Damien narrowed his eyes at her. This look was from her alpha, not her friend, and she lowered her eyes.

  “When he finds you—when, not if. When he finds you, we cannot stop him from claiming you. He took a vow in front of a room full of shifters, and shifter law says we cannot stand in his way.”

  “Even if I don’t want it?” Isabelle asked.

  “Did you say that?”

  She sighed. “No.” At the time, she hadn’t wanted to start a fight. Now, she admitted to herself that she had been afraid of what he would do to her later.

  “Then, everyone assumed you’d agreed. If Bram comes here and you don’t go with him, he could say that we brainwashed you, that we changed your mind. He could challenge me for the right of alpha. I don’t plan on losing. To anyone. But let’s play what-if. Do you want Bram to be your alpha? Do you want him to be the alpha of your fellow wolf-shifters?”

  This was why Damien was alpha. She hadn’t even considered all the consequences.

  “No. Of course not.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay then. I know it’s not what you want, but being mated to anyone else has to be better than being mated to him. Or him killing you.”

  “It is.”

  “So, boss, who is it going to be? It can’t be you. You’re already mated. Do you want it to be one of us?” Chase asked with a grimace. He looked at Ranulf, who returned his look.

  “I honestly don’t know,” Damien said. “If we do this, we might have to be prepared to go to war.”

  There was a rustling over by the stairs, and then a voice that froze her to her seat said, “I’ll do it.”

  QUENTIN RAWLING WATCHED Isabelle freeze as Zane came into the room and offered to be the one to mate with her.

  The tension surrounding these two was so thick; a knife could cut through it.

  Quentin didn’t know all the details about what had happened at the end of Dwyer’s reign, but he did know that Isabelle had helped Damien out by going to the cat-shifters. It made sense that she knew who Zane was. But the unease between them didn’t make sense.

  “No, no. That won’t do,” Isabelle finally said, jumping from her seat.

  This clearly raised Zane’s hackles. “And why not?”

  “Because…”

  Zane raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to finish. When she didn’t say anything, he said, “Would you rather mate with a wolf?”

  “I don’t want to mate with anybody.”

  “Well, Isa, that ship has sailed. It looks like you either mate with someone or move to Europe.”

  “You know, mating with a cat is probably a better option,” Damien said.

  “Oh, yeah? How so?” Isabelle asked incredulously.

  “Several reasons. The worst-case scenario if you mate with a wolf is that Bram could challenge me for alpha.”

  This made the hairs on Quentin’s neck stand on end. Bram Varg as their alpha would be terrible. He could see by the looks on everyone else’s faces that they agreed with him, and Payton looked scared.

  “If he challenges me for alpha and wins, he could void any wolf-mating you have.”

  “But that’s not allowed.”

  “Isabelle,” Damien said, “we are talking about someone who doesn’t care what the rules are. However, he can’t challenge Vance for his position. No matter what, a wolf cannot be the cat-shifter alpha. Also, when he comes after you, you will have the protection of the wolves and the cats. Bram is not going to win this thing.”

  Isabelle chewed on her lip and rubbed her temples with her fingers and thumbs. “This sucks.”

  Zane’s face hardened. “I’m sorry the idea of mating with me repulses you, but this might be the best option.”

  Isabelle dropped her hands. “I never said you repulsed me. You’re acting like a child.”

  Zane took two visible breaths but didn’t say another word.

  “You know, if I were going to be backed into a corner like this, I would want it to be with someone I at least liked,” Raven said.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Isabelle said. “And I thought you were on my side?”

  “I’m on the side that keeps everyone safe. Besides, it’s obvious you two have history. A blind man could see it.”

  Isabelle blushed, and Zane smiled.

  “She’s right, Isa,” Zane told her.

  She scowled back at him.

  “Okay, everyone, let’s take a break,” Damien said, holding up his hands. “Isabelle has had a stressful morning. Let’s give her time to process all of this. Ultimately, the choice is hers. We can’t force anyone to mate with anyone else, and we’ll do what we have to in order to protect her.”

  Lachlan stood. “I’ll get on the computer and see what I can find out about Bram that we don’t already know.”

  Damien nodded. “Thanks.”

  Lachlan left the room, and Ranulf got up as well. “I understand we took an oath to protect our citizens, but they should be protecting themselves as well.”

  He narrowed his blue-green eyes at Isabelle and stalked from the room. Chase got up and followed him.

  Damien smiled at Isabelle. “Don’t worry about him. He’ll do what needs to be done.”

  Quentin wasn’t as vocal as Ranulf, but it would be nice if Isabelle went along with this idea. It wasn’t fair, but life wasn’t fair. He looked up the stairs. He knew all about life being unfair, and sometimes, one just had to do what one had to do in order to survive.

  “I’m not going to pressure you into anything,” Damien told Isabelle. “But I would really like for you to think about the situation and the options we have available.”

  Isabelle looked down at her hands and nodded.

  Payton got up from the couch. “Isabelle, we don’t have any more bedrooms because Zane and Hunter are staying with us. Why don’t you go lie down in our bedroom?”

  Isabelle’s eyes widened, and she waved her hands in front of her face. “Oh no, I can’t do that.”

  Payton chuckled. “No, it’s fine. Damien and I have a room, but we rarely stay here. The sheets are clean, and we’ll be going home tonight.”

  Isabelle clasped her hands together. “Are you sure?”

  The female looked beat and was obviously barely hanging on.

  “Of course.” She elbowed Damien in the side.

  “Oh, oh. Yeah, Isabelle, it’s fine.”

  Isabelle grabbed her purse and practically ran from the room.

  “Okay, let’s call the meeting for now,” Damien said. “We’ll give Isabelle some time to sort things out.”

  The unofficial meeting broke up, and Quentin got up from his chair. Payton went over to Zane as Quentin left the room. He padded slowly up the stairs and turned down the hall. He told himself to keep going, to walk past the open door as fast as he could, but instead, he stood outside it with his back to the wall.

  Quentin took a deep breath in and closed his eyes.

  The vampire’s scent was both wonderful and devastating at the same time. He reminded Quentin of black licorice. It wasn’t the same, but it was close.

  Images of the two of them kissing flashed in his mind.

  Quentin had known he was gay his whole life, but Hunter hadn’t. Quentin was the first man the vampire had kissed. The chemistry between them was explos
ive, but in the end, it hadn’t mattered. Hunter had been too afraid of other vampires finding out and delivered his Dear John message in person.

  How ironic that Hunter would be living with the wolves just months later.

  “I can smell you, you know,” Hunter said from the bedroom.

  Quentin sighed. He opened his eyes and swung around the corner. “I’m sorry.”

  Despite the fact that they lived together now, they hardly ever spoke to one another. It was torture for Quentin.

  “What’s going on downstairs?” Hunter asked—maybe because he was curious or maybe because he didn’t want to talk about the obvious tension between them.

  Isabelle and Zane had nothing on Hunter and Quentin.

  “One of our wolf-shifters got herself into a difficult situation with a bad male. Everyone’s trying to keep her safe, but the best solution isn’t ideal for her.”

  Hunter put a hand behind his blond head. “Oh, what is that?”

  “They think she should mate with Zane.”

  Hunter lifted his head, his blue-greens wide. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  Hunter dropped his head back down. “Wow. It’s been weeks of nothing, and now, it’s like a soap opera.”

  Quentin laughed. “I suppose.” He cleared his throat. “Who are you going out with tonight?”

  So far, Quentin and Hunter hadn’t been paired to go out on patrol at all.

  Hunter shrugged. “I don’t know. You?”

  Quentin shook his head. “Damien hasn’t said anything yet.”

  The silence stretched on between them, getting more awkward by the second.

  Quentin rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I’d better go.”

  “Yeah.”

  “It was nice talking to you.”

  “You, too.”

  Quentin kept moving and walked to his room. Once there, he flopped down on his bed. That had been super uncomfortable. It was hard to imagine that he’d had Hunter’s dick in his mouth and vice versa. It was like they barely knew each other.

  It was almost worse than when they’d first met.

  At the time, Quentin had thought Hunter had a problem with him being a wolf, gay, or both. It’d turned out that Hunter hadn’t known what to make of his attraction to Quentin.

  Quentin rolled on his side.