Page 23 of Ember's Claim

My wolf paces my mind, and her anxiety and restlessness spill directly into me. A barrage of images plays through my head, and every single one of them is from times we’ve snuck onto the edge of the North American Pack Lands.

“You look like you’re thinking about something pretty hard.” His hands fall to his knees, and he pulls his jeans up just a bit before squatting down in front of the chair I ended up in. “Want to tell me about it?”

“I was just thinking about how hot your dad is,” I lie.

“Nice try,” he says, bringing a palm up to brush my cheek. “Tell me the truth this time.”

“The case we’re working on might have ties to the North American Pack. The full moon is coming up, and…” I shrug, glancing away.

“And she’s making her wants known,” Veryn fills in for me. “Wolves are social creatures. It has to be hard for her. Do you want me to take the night off?”

My head shakes. “No, I can handle her. I’ve also got to meet Rogue and Gemma at a human club to follow a lead.”

He studies my face carefully and finally nods. “Gotcha.” Something about the way he says the word makes my skin prickle with unease.

We aren’t bonded. There’s no way he can read my mind to know I just lied to him. More than that, it wasn’t even a straight-up lie.

It was a fib.

A small stretch of the truth.

“I’m supposed to be in early tonight.” Veryn leans close, nuzzling his cheek to mine. “But that also means I’ll be off early if you need me.” He winks, standing to his full height. “Or even if you just want to stop by once you’re done.” He rolls his shoulders back, strides over to the counter, and pulls open one of the drawers. Spinning around, he tosses a set of keys at me.

I snatch them out of the air, looking at them dangling from my palm.

“What’s this?” I ask, even though I have a feeling I know.

“My spare set of keys.” He smiles dangerously. “That way, you can pop in when I’m not around. Feel free to stretch out in bed naked, that would be the perfect gift to find after a long night of work.”

I snort, shaking my head.

“Goddamn, please do. That’s the kind of shit my dreams are made of.” He steps over, offering me his hand.

I let him pull me up and wrap my arms around his lower back as the keys jingle.

I wanted him so badly for so long that it’s a little hard to believe how perfect he’s being this time around. Nah, this is who he’s always been. He was coerced by our families when we were younger, but we’re both adults now.

He bends down, kissing the top of my head and making my heart race.

He really is a delicious dragon.

Chapter Nine

Ember

Imake a quick stop by my house, where my mother and little brother corner me for details about my date. Chaos is lucky he’s an incubus and can siphon at will. The urge to rip his throat out is strong, especially when he makes a point of mentioning I smell like Veryn. Kicking them out of my room is anything but swift, but I finally manage.

A shower and change of clothes does wonders for my messy hair, but it does nothing for the general run-down feeling I haven’t been able to shake.

It doesn’t matter. I have work to do.

It takes way too long to get back out of my house, including a conversation with all four of my dads as I try to sneak to my car.

“The universe has it out for me today,” I grumble to myself, waving at my fathers as I back out of the driveway.

I’m more than halfway through the hour-long drive to the human club and singing along with the radio when my phonerings. The console alerts me that it’s Rogue, and I push the button on my steering wheel to answer.

“Are you already on your way?” Rogue asks.

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