Page 7 of An Unexpected Claim

No.No, no, no. It’s not a full moon!

But there was no mistaking it.

I smelled pregnant.

It can’t be. Right?

My panther was effervescing with joy at the idea while I sucked in lungfuls of air and tried not to panic.

The nausea had passed, so I carefully stood and made my way into the single bedroom in my compact apartment. I went straight to the nightstand and grabbed my phone. After opening a web browser, I searched for the exact time the full moon had risen. People always assumed it happened at night, but in reality, the moon rose at different times every month, even in the morning. The sun just kept us from seeing it until night. And somehow, I’d forgotten all about it the night before.

6:52 AM.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit!

How could I be so damn stupid?

I groaned and collapsed onto the bed, immediately rolling over and burying my face in my pillow. I usually kicked guys out after we burned up the sheets—mainly because I liked to sleep like a starfish and take up the whole bed.

But I’d forgotten all about it with Nathan and had even indulged morning sex before he left.

And look where that’s landed me.

Knocked up by a random, sexy stranger I’d probably never see again.

Chapter Four

Nathan

Though my wolf hadn’t been very happy to leave a gorgeous, naked Peyton behind, I was unusually relaxed as I strode into my office at the Council headquarters and went straight to the large desk on the opposite wall from the entrance. The room was full of glossy oak from the desk to the chairs and bookshelves. It had all been handcrafted by a packman, and friend, Jax, and he’d given each piece the kind of character that made it seem older. It gave the room a rustic feel and reminded me of my cabin in Silver Lake. I hated the city, so this little pocket of home helped me focus on the work that needed to be done whenever I was required to be here in person.

After dropping into my brown, leather chair, I rifled through the messages my assistant, Willa, had left for me. One in particular made me smile, though this one was on a different stationery with someone else’s handwriting.

It contained a chess move. Chuckling, I stood and walked to a small table set between two chairs. A beautiful, wooden chess set sat on top. Each piece had been meticulously carved, and the edge of the board had wolves running in packs carved all around it. It was the second chess set that Jax had made for me, as the first had disappeared one day, with the exception of a single pawn. The next time I’d arrived at HQ after Jax had delivered the replacement set, I’d found one of my new pawns missing and a note with a chess move.

I adjusted the board, the opponent’s bishop displacing one of my pawns, and deliberated as I stared at the board. Before I could make a decision, a knock on my door drew my attention.

“Enter.”

Willa pushed open one of the double doors and came inside carrying a stack of folders. “Still playing with your ghost?” she asked, her golden eyes twinkling. They stood out against her dark complexion and jet-black hair. Willa was only half shifter since her mother was a witch, but she’d inherited traits from both of her parents. She also had a great sense of humor, which boded well for her since her animal was a black cat. She’d heard no shortage of jokes about the witch who shifted into a black cat.

“Always,” I replied. Only Tanner, my Beta, Asher, my head enforcer, and I knew the identity of my otherworldly opponent, but Willa liked to refer to him as a ghost since the notes seemed to just appear out of nowhere. He’d even made the moves himself from time to time, always when no-one was here to see him.

I moved one of my knights into position, then returned to my desk just in time for her to drop the pile right in front of me.

“These are the ones you asked for,” she informed me before leaving me to my work.

Grunting, I flipped through them and the aftereffects of morning sex quickly wore off, causing my mood to go to shit. Sensing the change, my wolf perked up, looking for danger. When he didn’t find anything except Willa, he flopped back down and went to sleep.

The packets contained the information for possible packs, covens, and other supernatural groups that might be responsible for the disappearance of a Council member. Beau, a tiger shifter from a streak in Chile—who sat on the SCA and ISC—reportedly hadn’t arrived home after our last meeting.

He’d been an unbiased, level-headed voice and while there were other options, my gut told me he’d been snatched or killed to keep his voice out of Council decisions.

Unlike vampires and fae, witches and shifters didn’t have royalty. The SC consisted entirely of shifters that oversaw all packs within a designated territory—the term “pack” was used to encompass all shifter breeds for the sake of expediency. Our main purpose was advising on pack business and mediating situations to avoid escalations. However, even if the packs chose to go to war, we didn’t step in unless rules were violated.

The ISC however, was a group of representatives from most supernatural races, and a few humans. It was created to keep the peace between the different species, and to protect the secret of our existence.

Trouble had been brewing a little hotter lately, both within the packs—who’d been squabbling like spoiled children—and within the other species’ ranks. And there’d been more discord than usual among the members of the SCA and ISC.

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