Page 57 of Claimed By the Damned

“No,” Knox began, drawing out the word while twirling the key around his finger. “But we can drive to the service road and around the back of the property to sneak in from there.”

Zeke snatched his keys. “Over my dead body.”

The narrowing of Knox’s eyes wasn’t as threatening as it usually was. “That can be arranged.”

“We’ll walk and shift,” Drake chimed in.

As he stuffed the keys into his pocket, Zeke turned to him. “I thought you didn’t think any of this was a good idea.”

“No, but we’re clearly not going to stop him.” He shrugged a little. “And I want to see her too.”

“I miss her too,” Zeke agreed. “But you guys are drunk and not thinking as clearly as I am. What if we’re caught? Then what? What do you think her father would do to us? Or to her, for that matter?”

“All the more reason to kill him,” Knox growled.

He sighed in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was outnumbered here. While he didn’t condone killing Amara’s father, at least, not until she agreed to it, even he had to admit that he wanted to be with her. He had gotten used to having her around, and without her, he felt empty.

“Fine,” he relented. “But we go there on foot. None of us is dying on the way there because we’re too drunk to drive.”

Knox held out his hand with a mischievous grin. “Do you want to hold hands with me while we skip down the yellow brick road?”

“Fuck off,” Zeke mumbled, and the three of them headed into the trees.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Amara

In her wolf form, Amara was enjoying the solitude of a night run. The breeze was a little humid, but the night was cooler.

Trees hugged beaten paths, their large leaves dotting out the bright moon, but that didn’t stop her from tracking down small prey and chasing them back to their homes. She never killed though. She’d never found pleasure in taking a life, even if it was a small animal.

The rest of the pack was asleep and tucked away in their cabins. She had been grateful that she hadn’t had to see her father that day too. After work, she had gone straight home and into her cabin. She quickly showered until she was sure the scent of her men was off of her and then washed her clothes immediately after.

She knew she was going to have to tell her father about them sooner rather than later. Especially now that Drake had marked her too. And while she had every intention of doing so, she wanted to ask the guys to be with her when she did so she wouldn’t have to face her father’s wrath alone.

As she stomped through a small puddle, she pondered how things had changed, how she had changed. It hadn’t been that long since she’d met them, and already she decided to leave the pack for them. She leaped over a small branch and grumbled to herself about how long it had taken her to figure out what she truly wanted. But now that all three of them had marked her, her path had become clear. She just needed to find the strength and courage to take that first step.

She ran as fast as her four legs would allow. It had been a while since she had been able to shift because she’d been too focused on making sure Knox was clean to stick to her regular shifting schedule. Besides, it wasn’t like there were many places to shift in town.

She was doing laps around the outer perimeter of the property. Her lungs burned, the wind ruffled her fur, and her paws pushed against the forest bed. But when she smelled three familiar scents, she came to a skidding halt. Eyes narrowed, she scanned the area and perked her ears, trying to figure out where the scents were coming from and hoping like hell she was wrong.

When she didn’t see them, she followed her nose, both with fear and excitement churning her gut. They shouldn’t be here, yet she was excited that they were.

She finally spotted them a few yards away. All three of them were in wolf form. It was the first time she had seen their wolves, and she took them in. Drake was black – that she was sure of. Zeke was brown, and Knox was silver. They were all walking funny, however, as though they were drunk.

She laughed internally and shook her head before getting an idea. They hadn’t spotted her yet.

Crouching down low, she began to stalk toward them. She ducked behind a bush and then, at just the right moment, she lept out with a growl and tackled Knox. They tumbled around for a minute, Knox growling deeply. But when he pinned her to the ground, he blinked, having caught her scent.

Both of them shifted back, naked, and once they were no longer wolves, he took her mouth. He tasted like alcohol, but she didn’t care. She kissed him back.

“Hi,” she said as soon as he broke the kiss.

“Little bunny,” he murmured. “I almost ripped out your throat.”

She squirmed beneath him. “Kinky,” she teased as the other two shifted back and made their way over to them. “In all seriousness though, what are you guys doing here? If my father catches you here, there will be hell to pay.”

Knox stood up and held out a hand. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet before he grabbed her ass. “What do you think we’re doing here?”

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