Page 45 of Ember's Claim

“And now the rightful heir has claimed her title as alpha,” I say firmly. “Ember is Carson’s biological daughter.”

The warlock doesn’t blink, but both Bryant and the other man have violent reactions.

“That’s why you killed him?” Bryant sputters.

“We killed Carson to prevent him from trying to sell his daughter off as a broodmare.” My teeth grind together at the thought. “He had it coming for other transgressions, but that was the final nail in his coffin.” My face twists into a grimace as I remember… “My mate is unaware of my participation in that particular activity. Don’t mention it before I have the chance.”

I will tell her. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us that, if they came out later on, we might struggle to come back from. I’m just beginning to earn my way back into her good graces, and I’m not sure how this will impact that.

I will tell her, though. Likely sooner than I ever planned.

Chapter Sixteen

Ember

My head throbs with a painful pulse that makes me feel very certain I’m going to vomit. Using my forearms, I shove up and glance around but do a double take when I spot the massive lion. He slowly pulls his tongue into his mouth, looking strangely sheepish. Bringing a hand to my hair, I grimace when I feel the dampness.

There’s barely any time to contemplate that as bile rises in my throat.

“Bathroom?” I choke out.

The lion’s head tilts, and he raises a paw.

His amber eyes are awe-inspiring, but my stomach rolls, making this an emergency.

Tumbling off the bed, I hit my feet and dart past the open door.

My ass bumps against it until it clicks closed as I flip on the lights.

Luckily, the bathroom is clean.

Cupping a handful of water from the sink, I rinse and spit before grabbing the bottle of mouthwash and repeating the process all over again. That tea was awful, but my side is no longer an open wound. If it was, vomiting would have been a whole different world of hell.

The low growling that comes from the bedroom has me flipping off the water and tugging the door open.

My eyes widen as I hiss, “Oh, shit.”

The lion, who has to be Anders, stands on the bed, staring at the open doorway.

My eyes follow his line of sight, and…

Oh yeah, Veryn looks super pissed.

Glancing down at the T-shirt and basketball shorts I’m wearing that aren’t mine…

Well, this probably isn’t going to help anything.

My wolf is no help. She thinks it would be interesting to watch the two beasts fight it out to see who’s stronger.

Dominance fights are hot…

No.

Dammit.

That’s not happening.

She’s a bad influence.

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