Page 25 of An Unexpected Claim

Irritated at the prospect of her leaving, a growl formed in my chest.Because she is in danger, I lied to myself. I could feel my wolf’s disgust with my attitude, and he snarled at me before ignoring me.

“Nonsense,” my mother announced. “You’ll stay until Nathan helps to take care of whatever is plaguing you, my dear.”

“I can take care of myself,” Peyton grumbled, though there was no bite in her tone—I assumed because she didn’t want to offend my mother.

“Of course, you can. But it never hurts to have a little brute strength on your side. And since he has brains and isn’t all brawn, you might as well use him.”

I rolled my eyes to the ceiling and took a deep breath.What a ringing endorsement.

Peyton placed her hand on my mother’s arm, her expression earnest. “I’ll pay you back for all of this when I get a chance.”

My mother tisked and shook her head. “Nonsense,” she stated with finality as she began to unpack one of the bags. Peyton started to say something else, but my mother cut her a look and, like the rest of us would, Peyton shut right up. Mother drew out what looked to be several pieces of clothing, a hairbrush, and some other female things that I recognized, but couldn’t name.

Mother chattered about the things she’d brought for Peyton, who listened intently as she played with the soft fabric of a light blue sweater. I decided to sit back and wait until they were finished, and my mother had left to continue our argument.

I gathered up the bags left by the front door and took them to the guest room. After dumping them on the bed, I went to my room and took a shower, leaving my hair down to dry. I exchanged my sleep pants for jeans and a long-sleeved thermal with the three buttons at the top open, then retreated to my office to work.

“I’m off,moy malysh,” my mother said later as she popped into my office. I glanced at the clock to see that it had been over three hours since she arrived. What the hell had they been doing?

“Do svidaniya, Mamen’ka,” I murmured as she kissed my cheek. “Thank you for your help with Peyton.”

My mother straightened and appraised me with a speculative eye for several moments. “I’m assuming the cub she’s carrying is not yours?”

I shook my head, my brows slashing across my eyes as anger burned in my gut.

“I figured you would have told me because I raised you to be a good man,” she said with a pat on my back.

I wondered if she would still think that if she knew about all that I’d done in my life. She’d definitely instilled values in me and I lived by a code of conduct. But that code didn’t prohibit me from torture or cold-blooded murder if the situation warranted it.

Mother turned but had only taken a single step when she glanced back at me over her shoulder. “Have you considered making that cub yours, Nathan?”

“Pardon?” I asked, taken aback by her question.

“I don’t know why her pregnancy makes you angry, but my assumption is that it’s born of jealousy. So why don’t you mate that sweet girl and give me grandchildren?”

“Mate?” I coughed, choking on the word. “Grandchildren—Mother, what have you been smoking?”

She rolled her eyes and started for the door again. “There is so much darkness in you sometimes, Nathan. You’ve managed to exclude emotion from your life and it’s not healthy.” At the door, she halted once more. “I saw something ignite in you when you looked at Peyton. It was the first time in a very long time that I saw a spark of something besides your wolf in your eyes.” I started to say something, but she cut me off. “Yelling at sporting events doesn’t count.” Then she smiled brightly and blew a kiss in my direction. “Just my two cents.”

I didn’t know what else to say and she didn’t seem to expect a response. “Come to dinner next week. You and your father can yell at the sports people together.” I chuckled at the mention of my father and his habit of shouting at the television whenever he was watching a game, one I’d picked up when I was a kid.My mother shook her head as she walked out of my office muttering, “Of all the traits to pass down…”

I turned back to my computer and I sent off one last email before shutting it down and going in search of Peyton. It was long past time to get the truth out of her. I would have liked to be more patient with her, to give her more time to come around. But my gut was telling me that the danger chasing her would catch up too fast and I needed to be prepared.

I found her out back, sitting in my favorite rocking chair—a birthday gift from Jax several years ago. She pushed the chair into motion with a foot propped up on the railing that surrounded the large porch. Her eyes were on the river, but they were unfocused, as though she wasn’t really seeing what was right in front of her.

My wolf huffed at that thought.What? I see her.He pushed against my skin, trying to surface, clearly unhappy with how his human part was handling Peyton. I growled at him to bugger off and he gnashed his teeth, but stopped trying to take over.

Much to my disappointment, she’d exchanged the towel for a maroon, oversized sweatshirt and a pair of black leggings. Although the stretchy material left little to the imagination, which I appreciated, but she’d have to change if we left the house.

I leaned against the railing, facing her and bracing my hands on either side of me. I watched her for a bit, not bothering to hide my probing gaze, as I considered whether sharing some of my past would urge her to open up a little.

Perhaps that, and maybe telling her about KBO, would give her more faith in my ability to protect her.

“I hope my mother wasn’t too much for you.”

Peyton flashed me a tiny smile and shook her head. “She’s adorable. I loved her energy.”

A smile tugged at my own lips. “She’s always been that way. But it wasn’t until we left Russia that she felt truly free enough to be herself. I don’t think my father, or I, realized how much of herself she’d been holding back until she set it free.”

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