Page 2 of Fierce Claim
“You worked for Erika?” Riley’s warm rose scent fills with surprise.
Caleb nods. “For quite a long time. I think I was one of the first people she asked to help them after she married her pack. I worked for them until I met Vera and we had to go on the run. It’s a bit complicated to help people return to society when we didn’t even have a stable place to stay ourselves.”
“You were on the run?” Riley frowns, eyeing Caleb and then me, her body tense. “You met Vera while dealing with the Syndicate? How are you still alive?”
“No. We weren’t running from the Syndicate.” I let out a soft laugh at her incredulous look. “We were running from the Alpha my parents’ pack married me off to.” I glance up at Caleb and give him a kiss on his jaw, grinning. “This one here stole me out of the wedding car.”
That makes Riley blink, her confusion deepening, which makes me smile. “Because he was ordered to by Erika?” She looks at Caleb, who smiles sheepishly.
“No. I was driving past her parents’ pack’s place on my way to pick up some parts for a car I was working on. I smelled her distressed pheromones, parked the car and grabbed her. It was instinct more than anything else.” He kisses the top of my head. “I didn’t really realise what I’d done until we were far away and had both calmed down.”
Riley reaches out, carefully touching my knee, worry still in her gaze. “But you’re no longer in danger? You’re safe now?”
I nod. Though I’m not sure how she’s going to take the next part of our story. “Mathew killed the Alpha. He’s no longer a problem.”
“Ah.” She relaxes as she nods. “And that’s how you met. When you hired him to kill the Alpha. That’s a pretty extreme way to deal with things, but it makes sense.”
“Nope.” I can’t hide my grin. “The Alpha I was supposed to marry hired Mathew to kidnap us. Which Mathew’s team succeeded in.”
“Then how did the Alpha end up dead?” Her confusion is interesting to watch, makes her look more human, less in control.
To be fair, there are a lot of moving parts to our past…
“Because they are my scent matches.” Mathew’s voice reaches us from the door, sounding amused. “The bastard was trying to renegotiate the pricing and pissed me off. It was easier to get rid of him and keep them for myself.”
I narrow my eyes at Mathew, now he’s simplifying things way too much. “I’m pretty sure there was more involved than ‘keeping us for yourself’. I remember a contract and you making us choose between becoming ‘yours’ or paying you a million quid or something ridiculous like that.”
He grins as he reaches out, sliding his fingers along my neck, his touch tender. “Did I ever make you sign anything?”
“Not really... But still, you did make us choose.”
“It wasn’t really a choice.” His voice is filled with warmth and pride. “I knew you wouldn’t choose the second option. You were too smart and practical for that.”
He looks almost awkward as he drops his hand, staring out into the garden. “I didn’t know how else to make sure you wouldn’t immediately run away after what you’d just been through. Binding you to me like that seemed like the only way.”
“I would have killed you, or at least kicked your ass.” Riley’s growling words and angry pheromones make it very clear what she thinks of his actions. She doesn’t have a good impression of Mathew and stories like this don’t make it any better.
“I know.” Mathew flashes her a grin, his awkwardness and vulnerability gone. “And if Caleb hadn’t been hurt, and if they hadn’t been lifted from their beds in the middle of the night by my men, they would have kicked my ass too. Or, at least, would have attempted it.”
That makes Riley stare at Caleb, her anger growing. “You were hurt?!”
He nods, which makes Riley glare at Mathew even more. “You don’t hurt your targets. You should know that. What kind of crap team are you running here?”
Caleb holds up his hand, stopping the rest of her words. “It wasn’t their fault. I was barefoot and stepped in some broken glass. It was an accident.” He lets out a soft laugh as he pulls me against him more. “This one here was ready to fight the whole time, but didn’t because I was hurt and wouldn’t have been able to escape with her. She wouldn’t leave me behind.”
Riley’s eyes soften as she looks at me. “I believe that immediately. The way she handled herself tonight was magnificent.”
“She definitely knows how to handle herself, she basically castrated one of my men.” Mathew laughs, pride in his eyes. “The two of them nearly took out half of the team before they were caught. And Vera had as much of a hand in that as Caleb did. With a knife, she might be more dangerous than me. Do not let her cuteness fool you.”
My cheeks heat up and I glance down to my hands, my heart racing. “I’m not that impressive. I only applied what Caleb taught me. It’s just basic fighting skills.”
Riley reaches out, touching my hand, her pheromones filled with joy. “In this world, being able to protect yourself, especially as an Omega, is a big advantage. And what I saw you do tonight, how controlled you moved and how aware of your surroundings you were, you’ve got great instincts and skills. I’d happily have you at my side when I’m on a mission.”
“Those are some mighty compliments.” Jorge saunters over, dressed in boxer briefs and a t-shirt, his arm wrapped in clean bandages. “Riley won’t even let me near her when she’s on a mission. She claims it’s ‘too dangerous’.”
I glance between Riley, Jorge and Mathew, and the soft way Riley smiles makes my face heat up even more and my pheromones flare.
I’m not used to getting compliments. Especially from people who I know are much more skilled than me.
