Mate Claimed

“The Goddess go with them,” Iona said, repeating what she’d heard the other Shifters say.

Graham looked surprised at the blessing then gave her another nod. “Thanks,” he said, and then he went.

CHAPTER TWENTY

In the darkness of the night, Eric sat at the foot of his bed and touched the match to the last candle on the small table in front of him. The glow of candles surrounded the framed photograph of Kirsten, Eric’s mate.

The photo had been taken more than thirty years ago, before digital cameras. The image was slightly yellowed, the paper shiny and stiff.

Eric and Kirsten had been walking along a loch on a rare sunny day in northern Scotland. She’d turned, laughing, and Eric had snapped her picture. Not long after that, Kirsten had discovered she was carrying her first cub, Jace.

In the photo, the wind and sun played in Kirsten’s golden hair, her smile as warm as when Eric had first seen it. They’d both been excited and eager for life—by the time the photo had been taken, they’d started giving up on ever having young. The weekend by the loch had been a magical time.

The other thing on the table was a tiny stuffed leopard, black and gold, like Kirsten.

Eric dropped the spent match into an ashtray, rested his hands on his knees, and drew a long breath. Meditation and prayer were supposed to calm him, but Eric searched in vain for calmness.

He’d spent the bulk of the afternoon and evening helping Graham settle the new wolves. The ones that had been kidnapped had woken groggy, scared, and cranky. They hadn’t wanted to see Eric, a Feline, in their midst, but he’d waded in, with Cassidy and Jace, and tried to soothe their fears.

Graham, Eric had seen, was a good leader. He knew how to get his Shifters to do what was needed without bullying them. He had crude strength but common sense, and his wolves followed him willingly. They didn’t mindlessly obey but looked to him for guidance.

Eric wasn’t about to bow out and relinquish Shiftertown to him, but he admitted that Graham knew what he was doing. Leading wasn’t just about dominating everything in your path, and Graham appeared to know that.

At least the Lupines were settling down in their temporary quarters together, unpacking, beginning the adjustment. Eric had sent all his Felines home, gulped down a meal Diego and Jace put together, and retreated here.

To think.

His thoughts roiled and spun, the hunger in him uncontrollable.

He knew Iona had rejected his mate-claim only to stay ahead of Graham in the Shifter game—she hadn’t seen it as an emotional decision, but one to expedite things. Hell, Eric had told her that the mate-claim was a convenience, to protect her from other Shifters while Eric decided what to do.

What a liar he was.

But Iona’s rejection had kicked the Shifter in him in the gut. The beast wanted Eric to go after Iona and carry her home by the scruff of her neck, or roar in an onslaught of pain. The big, bad Shifter leader had been brought down by a half-human Shifter with eyes the color of a deep Scottish loch.

He traced the outline of Kirsten’s face. “I miss you.”

Eric knew what he had to do, and he wanted Kirsten, somehow, to know.

She smiled, understanding.

The door opened so softly Eric barely heard it. Cassidy sat down next to him on the foot of the bed, her warm weight rolling against him. She looked at the photo of Kirsten, touched the little stuffed leopard, and breathed a prayer of her own.

“She would have liked Iona,” Cassidy said.

Eric nodded and didn’t answer.

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” Cass went on.

Eric let out a faint laugh. “I told Iona that I wanted to bring her in for her own protection, to keep her safe until she learned how to be Shifter. That’s total bullshit, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” His sister nodded. “You saw her, you said, Goddess, she’s hot, and you tried to figure out how to get her into your bed.”

Eric flicked his fingers over the nape of his neck. “Somewhere in the back of my brain.”

“I’d say it was pretty much in the front of your brain. You haven’t consummated anything yet though, no matter that she’s spent the night in here a couple times. I’d know. No wonder you’re twitchy.”

“Mmph. Shifters don’t understand the meaning of privacy, do they?”

“Not in this family.” Cassidy ran her fingers through Eric’s short hair and kissed him above his ear. “Go, Eric. You deserve a little happiness. Goddess knows you’ve given up so much of it for the rest of us. Jace thinks so too.” She smiled. “Well, what he said was: When is Dad going to bring Iona home for good and get this done? He’s driving us all crazy.”

“Sounds like Jace.” Eric rested his hand on Cassidy’s knee. “I didn’t want to go without saying good-bye.”

Cassidy knew he didn’t mean to her or Jace. “It’s never good-bye when you had the mate bond. She’ll still always be a part of us.”

She would. Eric touched Kirsten’s face again, then he and Cassidy blew out the candles.

The hunger was controlling her now. Iona paced the downstairs rooms of her house, shaking, sweating, and hoping like hell she could hold herself together.

She’d done pretty well at the office while her mother demanded Iona tell her everything that had happened over the last few days. Her mother had listened, both alarmed and angry.

“So what are you going to do?” Penny had asked.

“I don’t know.” Iona’s hunger had started to flare, and she’d known she needed to get out of that office and home where she wouldn’t hurt anyone. “I can’t keep it secret that I’m Shifter forever. Eric says he can fix the records to show I’ve always been Shifter, always been part of Shiftertown. I didn’t believe him before, but now that I’ve been there, and I’ve seen…”