Page 30 of Claimed By the Damned

He considered her carefully. “We don’t have to kill him. We can take you and go somewhere he can’t find you.”

“And give up the life you guys built for yourselves here? Not a chance! I’m not . . . I’m not worth all that trouble.”

Tucking a hair behind her ear, he asked, “Is that what your father tells you? That you’re worth nothing?”

“That I am nothing,” she corrected in a soft whisper, averting her eyes once more. She may not be ready to tell him the whole story, but he already knew a lot of it. There was no point in hiding the fact that her father hated her.

She could tell that he was angry, but he was holding himself in check. “You’re our mate. You’re worth more to us than our own life.”

Because of the honesty in his tone, she looked back at him to witness the sincerity of his words etched all over his expression. It was just hard to believe that when she had been told something different for so long. “Maybe to you and Knox,” she replied. “But Drake gets it. Being with me is going to cause you so much trouble, and while I do want this, I can’t be the reason your lives are turned upside down. I don’t see any scenario where this could work out the way we want it to.”

He gave her a small smile. “We’re mates. We’re fated to be together, and therefore, it’ll work out how it’s supposed to work out. And as for Drake . . .” He paused to sigh. “He’s fighting his own demons when it comes to you. I know it’s a big ask, but try not to take it personally. He’s going through some stuff from his past.”

She pressed her lips together. “It’s kind of hard not to take it personally when he treated me like a fuck doll.”

He brought her into another hug, tilted her head back, and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “That’ll work itself out too. You’ll see.”

Her lips lifted into a small smile. “You seem to be so confident and positive that this is going to work out. You make it hard to fight you on this.”

The grin he shone down on her was brilliant. “You’re my mate. It’s my job to make sure you know I’m there for you.” He rubbed small circles at the curve of her back. The simple act gave her goosebumps.

He looked around at the books. “I have a confession to make,” he added.

“Don’t tell me you’re gay,” she teased.

His laugh warmed her soul. “I think we both know that I’m not. No, I came here to see you, and to see if you had a book I’m looking for. I’ve been meaning to stop over for a while now, but now that I know my mate owns the store, it gave me a perfect excuse.”

Her brows creased. “You read?”

He nodded. “Every chance I get, but I haven’t been able to find the last book in the series I’m reading in any of the bookstores in town. I thought maybe you might have it.”

She reached over, picked up her notebook off the counter, and ripped off the pros and cons list. After sliding the note into her purse under the counter, she handed him the notebook and pen. “Write it down. If I don’t have it, I have ways of getting it. I can have it to you by the end of the week.”

Chapter Thirteen

Zeke

With the name of the book plus the series it belonged to written on the pad of paper, Zeke handed it back to her. Despite the rustle of paper being passed from one hand to another, he could hear the rumbling of her stomach. He raised his eyebrows in response. “Did you eat lunch?”

She scrunched her nose, and he could tell right then and there what her answer was going to be. “Um, no. I didn’t have time to pack a lunch this morning with Knox being at my place and my dad showing up. But it’s okay. I’m used to not eating much during the day.”

His raised eyebrows lowered into a frown. She should be taking care of herself, especially if she was going to be keeping up with two guys. Well, three if Drake ever pulled his head out of his ass.

“You should eat something,” Zeke said. He glanced around as if there might be something she could snack on, but he found nothing.

“I’m fine, Zeke. Really.”

Bullshit, he thought to himself. He grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” she asked as he led her toward the front door, locked it, and steered her to the back of the store.

“Lunch,” was his only answer. Like hell was he going to let his mate go hungry. Not when he could do something about it. And it just so happened that he knew how to cook.

“In the alley?” she asked with little humor.

He chuckled and shook his head. Briefly looking over his shoulder at her, he took in her pulled-down eyebrows and decided to clarify. “I happen to be a good cook.”

That had her halting in her tracks and trying to pull him to a stop as well. “You read and you cook? Damn, I think I won the mate lottery.”

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