Page 2 of An Unexpected Claim

But Sam and Linette had somehow wormed their way into my life, deeper than anyone ever had.

I’d worked at The Spot while putting myself through college at NYU. I’d left immediately after but kept in touch with them. After roaming around the world for the last ten years, I’d felt the desire to return to New York, though I didn’t know why. It was particularly odd because I’d realized during college that I didn’t enjoy city life for more than a short period of time.

When Linette called to tell me about the pregnancy, she asked me to come stay until the baby was born. At first, I’d assumed that had been the reason for my odd urge to return, but it hadn’t sat well with me and I was still trying to figure it out.

Since I’d returned, I’d spent enough time with Linette and Sam to see why she needed a break. Seeing him behind the bar suddenly made much more sense. “Oh?” I asked innocently.

He narrowed his gaze on me, and I smiled brightly. After a second, he huffed and grabbed two shot glasses from under the bar. “Anyway, she kicked me out for a while, so I figured I’d come in.” He turned around and pulled a bottle of expensive tequila off a shelf, then did an about face. He poured two jiggers and pushed one toward me before lifting the other.

“Welcome home, kid,” he toasted before tossing back the shot. I laughed and brought the glass to my lips, but I paused in confusion when a strange burn raced through my body. My eyes were drawn to the stranger once again, but this time, his expression had a dark edge as he looked back and forth between Sam and me.

Is he jealous?I wondered. No, we don’t even know each other.

I tore my gaze away and threw back my drink, wishing the alcohol would dim some of the pulsing need inside me, since I still had a couple of hours left on my shift. It wouldn’t happen though because it took a hell of a lot of alcohol to get a shifter drunk, and the buzz didn’t last long. Our bodies spit out toxins and healed much faster than humans. We also felt emotions deeper, our physical reactions were stronger, we were harder to kill, and some of us were immortal (depending on heritage and breed).

Sam raised a brow along with the tequila bottle, and I shook my head. “I need to get back to work.”

He scoffed but didn’t say anything else as he returned the bottle to its place and washed the glasses.

Yeah, yeah,I thought. We both knew I didn’t need the money. I’d accumulated a very nice nest egg over the last decade. I’d been into computers in high school, and it had quickly become apparent that I could tackle just about anything involved with them. My degree had opened the doors for me to establish myself as a freelance ethical hacker or white hat hacker, although I occasionally slipped on hats of another color.

So, no, I didn’t need to waitress at The Spot, but I was in between jobs and it passed the time.

I glanced at the sexy giant once more and knew without doubt that I would be spending the night with him. Now I had a whole new appreciation for my current employment.

Leila, another waitress, hurried up to the bar, cutting into my line of sight and bringing me back to the present. “Another round for table three,” she told Sam as she handed him a few receipts. My ears perked up at the sound of the stranger’s table number.

“I’ll take it over,” I announced.

Leila frowned and I mentally rolled my eyes. “You’ll still get the tip.”

She considered me for a minute, then shrugged. “Okay.” She put in another drink order and Sam waved over the other bartender to help an approaching customer. Once I had a tray laden with three shots and three beers, I weaved my way over to table three.

As I moved closer, I gained a better view of the men sitting around it, and the amount of gorgeous packed around one table stunned me. They looked nothing alike, but each of them could grace the cover of a magazine, particularly the ones with “World’s Sexiest…” lists.

Their conversation halted when I walked up to the table and set their drinks in front of them. Their scent broke through all of the others mixed together in the club and I frowned.

Shit. They were wolves.

As a rule, I avoided wolves whenever possible and normally I would have shot in the opposite direction like my ass was on fire. But damn this sexy-as-fuck wolf! I’d never been so hot and needy for someone in my entire life. And I couldn’t see any other option for dealing with it than to give in and get it out of my system.

Three sets of eyes peered at me, but after a second, a low growl rumbled from the wolf currently making my panther beg for a good, hard fucking. At the sound, the other two men dropped their gazes and their necks tilted minutely to the side.

The breath in my lungs stalled as memories I kept buried flashed to the surface for a second. I’d seen that reaction before, the automatic acquiescence and show of submission.

Hive mind.

This wolf was clearly their alpha.

I knew there were other shifters in the world whose packs, leaps, prides, colonies—whatever their family was called—shared a “hive mind” with their leader. But I’d only ever experienced it with one pack and that had been enough. Just another reason why I enjoyed being a lone shifter. Ultimate freedom.

Alpha females did not give up control easily, even more so for a solitary animal like me. It was something I could only ever see a mate earning from me. But a mate would be like a chain around my neck, so I intended to take a hard pass on that.

My instincts told me this alpha would demand it. He’d be in for a shock when I refused, and I could definitely picture him limping off without one of his testicles. I hadn’t been a fan of the possessive growl, essentially his way of stating “dibs.” My panther snorted at my lie.Okay, so it was kind of hot.

“I’m Nathan King,” the wolf introduced himself, his expression unreadable, though his eyes—a melted silver color—were still dark and intense. Alpha vibes were pulsing from him, cloaking me in a shroud of desire that I felt over every inch of my body.

Still, the evidence of his hold on his pack made me hesitant. I debated for a beat, then mentally shrugged. A night of hot sex didn’t mean I’d be joining, so what did I care how this alpha ruled?

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