Page 2 of Ember's Claim

She shrugs. “I’m just saying, you might want to find him soon. Your mom only smells sweet like that right before she goes into heat.”

I jab my beer bottle at her chest and frown. “For the love of God, don’t talk about that.”

I do my best not to think about it…ever.

My mom nearly died while she was pregnant with my brothers, and one of my dads turned her. She’s now a vampire, but over the years, the tiny bit of witch blood she had started to do its thing, and now she’s practically at the level of the omegas of old.

Omegas can be found in any supernatural species, but they all have one thing in common. They were hunted out of existence several hundred years ago because of how powerful they made their mates.

Apparently, nature didn’t like monsterkind messing with fate, because omegas started to make a resurgence about twenty years ago. They’re still extremely rare, but they are no longer considered extinct.

Female shifters experience a period of hyperfertility called going into heat. However, that doesn’t normally start until close to one hundred years old, due to our extended lifespans. The exception to that is omegas who experience heats way earlier, according to the lore I’ve heard.

I’d really like to hold off on having a heat for as long as possible. So, hopefully, I didn’t inherit the omega side of my mom’s genetics.

“You’re going to want him around to fight off all the guys who are going to try their luck with you smelling like that.” Greer smiles and shrugs. “That’s all I’m saying.”

Veryn and I have a very complicated situationship. After being best friends for our entire childhood, he got weird when we were teenagers. He ignored me from the time I was almost sixteen until I turned eighteen.

It wasn’t particularly hard to figure out why, but my feelings were hurt… So, I spitefully spent the next three years telling him we would never be a thing. Especially after learning he andmy brothers had long been running a secret campaign to keep anyone with a dick away from me.

Only, I got exceptionally drunk on my twenty-first birthday and woke up in his bed. He made it very clear he wouldn’t fuck me while I was wasted, but his stubble and dimples were right there in the early dawn hours. I was no longer intoxicated and things happened.

Then they happened again.

And again.

And he’s so very good at those things that it got really hard to force myself to stop showing up at his apartment.

Dammit.

My wolf is in agreement that he’s our mate, and that’s why it messed me up so badly when he completely pulled away. It’s not like I can’t rationally explain the logic, but seriously, a four-year-age difference isnothingin the supernatural world.

My mom and one of my dads arefour hundredyears apart. Everyone in this town was being overly dramatic, and I’m still angry about how it all went down.

“Ugh, my feet hurt,” Greer says, drawing me out of my thoughts. “Two more hours until I’m free.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “How’s the new boyfriend? What’s his name?”

“Cole,” she says in a dreamy tone that kinda makes me feel like I might puke. “He’s so hot.”

“All supernatural creatures are,” I remind her.

“Yeah, but he’s like extra, seriously, smoking hot,” she says with a laugh.

Someone down the bar calls out for a refill. My best friend rolls her gray eyes, like she’s not on shift at her jobin a bar.

“I better go,” she says, grinning. “Call me sometime and remind me. I’ll send you some pictures of us.”

Chapter Two

Ember

Itug at the sleeve of my leather jacket as I step out of the employee exit of The Den.

My wolf is antsy.

There’s a full moon coming up, and she wants to run and hunt.

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