Page 36 of An Unexpected Claim

This was all new territory for me though. The off-the-charts chemistry between Peyton and I, and now a baby… It had been more centuries than I could count since I’d last felt such uneven ground beneath my feet. But until I figured out how to level it, I didn’t think discussing it would lead to anything except angry words and no solutions.

But I was determined to get answers to my questions very soon. Not only did I want to know why she’d kept it from me for so long, I wanted to know what she thought her plans were. Once I knew that, then I would figure out how we were going to proceed. One thing I knew for sure, she certainly wouldn’t be keeping me from my pup or cub’s life.

All the while, my wolf was pissed as fuck at me for the lack of time we’d spent with Peyton. I began to wonder if he would get over his obsession with her. I hated to think about dealing with his crap for the rest of eternity if he didn’t. Especially since our lives were forever intertwined through our child.

I had considered asking her to mate with me—a solution my wolf kept shoving at me, his desire to claim her constantly filtering through my mind—but the thought of answering to someone else just added to the pounding headache plaguing me. I served enough masters with all of my responsibilities. And with the level of desire already between us, and my glimpses of jealousy and possessiveness, I didn’t want to think about how that would all multiply by leaps and bounds with every stage of the claiming that we completed. However, it wasn’t as if we were true mates and had a soul deep connection, so the inferno of desire between us would eventually fade. And the thought of coming home to Peyton in my bed appealed to me. We could essentially go about our lives with the benefit of incredibly hot sex and a two-parent home for our child.

Fatigue suddenly caught up with me and I plodded toward the door, ignoring my wolf’s howling and growling in protest at leaving Peyton alone.Relax,I snapped at him.She and the cub need rest, damn it.

He grumbled, then ultimately gave up the fight for the night so that when I climbed into bed, I could fall asleep in peace.

My phone woke me at a little before seven in the morning and I swore a blue streak as I blindly reached for it on the nightstand. Finally locating it, I peeled open my eyes and read the name of the caller through bleary eyes. Usually, when something woke me, I was instantly awake and alert, but after the last couple of weeks, I was so fucking tired. Which put my temper on edge and grated at my patience.

Sighing, I swiped the screen and put the phone to my ear. “What?” I barked.

“The SC wants to call an emergency meeting,” Willa informed me in her most professional voice, ignoring my bitter mood.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I grunted as I flopped an arm over my face.

“Apparently, Xavier is stirring up trouble and it’s making the humans in his area suspicious.”

“I swear to all that is holy, one of these days I’m going to put that son of a bitch in the ground.”

“I doubt you’d hear any complaints.”

“No doubt,” I agreed. “But it would set a precedent and we’d never be able to put that genie back in the bottle.”

“Also, Sam called here asking for you. He wanted you to look into the disappearance of an employee. Peyton, I presume.”

Willa had been briefed on the situation a few days before, minus the fact that Peyton’s baby was also mine.

“I’ll call him after I speak to the SC.” I wanted to reassure him of Peyton’s safety and gauge his relationship with her because jealousy had reared its ugly head again.

“Should I tell them you’ll come in?”

“No.” I rolled my torso up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. “I don’t want to be that far away from Peyton while someone is after her. I promised to protect her.”

Silver Lake was well guarded. We had inauspicious security booths on all four sides of our land and enforcers made perimeter runs several times a day.

However, it was as much of a fortress as other packs’ lands. Mainly because other packs weren’t stupid enough to tangle with me or my pack. I had a reputation as a deadly motherfucker, and it had been earned honestly.

But I didn’t know what the attacker’s story was, what he knew, who he was, anything that would give me a clue as to the best way to keep Peyton safe.

As the alpha, my home often had a revolving door, especially since I worked from home often. There was a security system, but it was rarely engaged. I’d have to show Peyton how to use it and put in some upgrades.

Willa reclaimed my attention when she replied, “Of course. I’ll set up a teleconference.”

“Fine. Set up the call with Sam for right after. But we’ll do them at KBO. I don’t want Peyton stressing over this bullshit.” She’d have enough to handle once I came home because I’d decided not to wait any longer before confronting her.

She was so full of fire and so damn stubborn that I knew I would be in for a fight with her. She’d made it clear she wanted to be involved in the search and takedown of her attacker, but that was the last thing she should be worrying about while pregnant. I needed to lay down the law so she understood what would happen from now on and I was sure she’d agree to stay out of it once I pointed out that she needed to rest and avoid stress.

“Set it for ten,” I told Willa. I wanted to shower and make breakfast for Peyton before I left.

Willa confirmed and we hung up.

I tossed my phone onto the bed beside me and stood up. I stretched for a couple of minutes, trying to relieve some of the tension in my muscles. My wolf had been feeling cooped up and honestly, we both needed exercise. I promised him we’d take time before the chat with Peyton this afternoon.I’m sure I’ll need it.

Chapter Eighteen

---