Page 27 of An Unexpected Claim

“Suppressing?”

Hmmm… out of all that I’d said, she’d latched onto the suppression of the people. “Have you heard of the Decembrist Revolt?”

Peyton nodded and I raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I like to read, and I have a knack for remembering things.”

“You have an eidetic memory?”

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Yes. So how were you involved? Is that why you had to flee?”

Her avoidance didn’t go unnoticed, but I went on as requested. “I was an officer in the Russian army when we went to Europe and marched to Paris to take care of Napoleon. It was a wakeup call to many of us.” I ran a hand through my hair and stroked my beard. “We were ages behind them in so many ways. The treatment of our peasant class was…” I gripped the railing tight, containing my anger. “We needed radical changes to the structure of government, to the rights of the people, and so many other things. So we formed…I guess today’s best description would be coalitions. All covert, of course. We wanted to limit sovereign power, abolish serfdom, and other deep reforms. We were planning a revolt, but I had gone to help out a friend, intending to be back by the time we executed the plan. Unfortunately, some of the more fanatical members pushed for an earlier date and somehow convinced the others to go with it.”

“It wasn’t supposed to happen when it did?”

“No. I had a polished, well-thought-out plan that would have all but guaranteed victory. By revolting early, it was poorly planned and many of the Decembrists—as people refer to them now—were hesitant because they wanted to wait until I returned.”

“Why didn’t they?”

“Someone convinced them that their identities were about to be leaked and if they didn’t do it then, they would never have the chance.”

“Was it true?”

“In a manner of speaking. The man who led the group pushing to move up the plan, he was the one leaking the names.”

“So they would have been betrayed either way.” Peyton’s tone was flat, and her expression wiped clean. “Had you been there or not, the outcome would have been the same.”

I shook my head, and she cocked her head to the side in silent question. “My friend received word of the traitor’s name and actions. If they had just waited until I returned, I’d already set up a trap for him and a way to discredit anything he might have shared.”

Peyton slouched back in her chair and scowled. “Instead, he won, and people were executed or exiled. And you and your parents had to leave your home, your family, everything behind to save yourself from a firing squad.”

I nodded and watched her thoughtfully. “I made sure he faced a fate much worse than a firing squad.” I murmured darkly. She looked at me suspiciously and I smoothed out my expression and shrugged. “Right doesn’t always win.” A subtle tightening around her mouth told me what I wanted to know. “I’ve certainly learned that after years of revolts, rebellions, wars, and police actions. How did you learn it?”

Peyton immediately closed in on herself.Fuck.

I’d learned a little, but if my play to know more about her wasn’t working, then it was time to move on to what had brought her here. And I wasn’t going to budge or be gentle on this end. Everything came to a halt at one conclusion. I needed to know what I was up against before I could prove to her that she was safe with me and my pack.

She was silent for a long time and I was just about to push her when she murmured, “I still don’t understand why you all want to help me.”

“Because you need help, and I can provide it.” How many times would I have to say this before she understood it?

“Just because you’re a giant, and a powerful alpha doesn’t mean you can assume that.”

I didn’t reply at first. I pulled a deck chair over next to hers and took a seat, then unfolded my body into a relaxed position before twisting my hair up and securing it with an elastic band. “Tell me, and we’ll see if I’m right.” I attempted to soften my tone so it didn’t come out as an order, which was my natural instinct. I was used to saying “jump” and having the answer be “how high?” But that wouldn’t work with Peyton, which was incredibly aggravating.

Peyton’s emerald gaze swirled with flecks of gold as she chewed over my request. After a few minutes, she returned to observing the river and rubbed her temples in gentle circles.

I prepared another argument, assuming this had been her way of dismissing me, but instead, she began to talk.

“About a week ago, I left work late one night. When I went into the alley behind The Spot, I smelled blood…a lot of blood.” Her breath hitched and gold flashed in her eyes. The reliving of this story wouldn’t be easy, and I wasn’t surprised to see her panther trying to surface, her instincts to protect Peyton even though the danger was only a memory.

Peyton continued on, telling me that she’d caught a male attacking a woman—both shifters—and that she’d fought him off in an effort to save his victim.A tear streaked down her cheek when she told me the woman had died anyway, but not before calling the authorities, which had saved Peyton’s life.

I felt a rush of gratitude for the incredibly brave, nameless woman and decided to do some digging to see if I could find out who she was and make sure she’d been properly laid to rest.

There was something else about her tale that poked at the back of my mind. As if it were familiar.

“He ran off when the police showed up and…” Peyton hesitated and glanced at me furtively. My eyes narrowed in suspicion; she was holding out on me again. “Um, I went back to my apartment—”

“From where?”

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