Page 40 of An Uncertain Claim

He had a point. I hadn’t exactly realized he’d done it at the time. But, somewhere in the back of my mind, I’d known what was happening. Our emotions wouldn’t be open to each other if I hadn’t accepted the claim. My panther was doing a fucking happy dance about it.Chill,I told her.Just because we aren’t opposed to it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be pissed that he did it without consulting me. Again.

“I understand why you’re angry, baby,” he said in a soothing tone.

“Really?” I fumed as I snatched up the sheet from where he’d kicked it to the foot of the bed. I wrapped it around me and accused, “Because it feels like there’s not much room for empathy in the midst of all that ego.” My fury was made all the worse by the fact that my panther seemed to have no problem whatsoever that Nathan had just shoved us forward in the mating process.

“I didn’t mean to do it, but I’m not going to pretend I’m unhappy about it.” He cocked his head and studied me for a moment before adding, “Don’t forget, baby, it wouldn’t have snapped into place if you hadn’t accepted it.”

I narrowed my eyes in warning. “Don’t turn this back on me, Nathan. It doesn’t matter how I reacted in the moment; the issue is that you did it without even asking me. When are you going to stop trying to control me?”

“I’m not trying to take over your life, Peyton.”

I tossed him a look of disbelief.

“I’m trying not to,” he conceded. “It was a fucking instinct, baby. It had nothing to do with controlling you and everything to do with being selfish. My wolf and I both want you and he pushed me hard to tie you to us with an even stronger bond.” Nathan sighed and ran his hands through his hair. Desire sizzled in my core and my stomach flipped, making me want to flop down on the bed and hide under the covers. My panther purred in invitation, but I ignored her. Maybe if I didn’t look at him?After an orgasm that basically shook the world and gave me a quick trip to heaven, how the fuck can I possibly have any arousal left? There must be a recovery time….like when a man...My eyes strayed to Nathan’s lap, and I gave in to my urge, crawling on the bed and flopping onto my back before pulling the sheet up over my head.How? How is that man hard already?

“I’m never totally flaccid when you’re around, or when I think about you, or smell you, or…anything to do with you, baby,” he responded. “But it’s bound to be worse now that we’ve progressed in the mating stages.”

I yanked down the sheet and turned my head, piercing him with a suspicious stare. We were only in stage two; he shouldn’t be able to read my…holy shit!I jackknifed up in bed and tried to scramble to my knees, only to slip on the sheets and land in a heap of tangled hair and blankets on the floor. “Shit. Ouch,” I muttered. I huffed as I untwisted the sheets, then shoved my hair back from my face, blowing a particularly stubborn strand when it fell back down.

Nathan stayed silent through my little ordeal, but his amusement was plenty loud in my head. “I can’t hear your thoughts, Peyton,” he informed me before I could ask.

I climbed to my feet and jammed my hands onto my hips. “Then how did you know what I was thinking?”

He scooted to the edge of the mattress and swung his legs over, but stayed seated, crossing his arms over his chest. “You are exceptionally talented at keeping people out, but I’ve always had an easier time seeing beyond your mask. Like before, when I saw your expression after you checked out my erection and felt your emotions—not to mention the scent of your arousal, I surmised your questions. With the proverbial gate open between us, it wasn’t as difficult to figure it out this time.”

Relief flooded my system at the realization that he couldn’t read my mind, he only had access to my emotional well. However, I remained confused because there was no way to be in the second stage of mating and remain out of the pack, right? The thought terrified me. Nathan had proven himself over and over to be a fair and honest leader, but old scars were extremely hard to remove and the fear I felt at the thought of being under an Alpha’s rule still cut me with a jagged blade. My cat was just as opposed to the idea of a pack. She wanted Nathan and his wolf, loved that they were so dominant, but she shrank at the idea of them having the control that came with being her Alpha.

“Peyton.” Nathan’s tone was conciliatory, and an odd sense of calm pushed into my mind. I realized he was projecting the emotion to try to keep me from flipping out even more.Interesting. “You became a part of the pack the second that the emotional walls between us fell and the mating stage snapped into place.”

My heart rate accelerated, and I wanted to run and hide, but I’d never been a coward and I wasn’t about to become one. I stood my ground, sick and tired of letting Xavier hold any power over me. My panther’s agitation eased as my courage fed her emotions. Taking a deep breath, I grasped at the rational, logical part of my brain with a death grip. “Okay,” I said as I worked through what I knew piece by piece. “You feel me in the pack web?”

Nathan nodded. “Normally, when someone joins the pack, I’m immediately flooded with their thoughts because their mind is unfamiliar to me. It takes me a couple of minutes to acclimate to their psyche so that I can quiet them. But, while I feel your presence, I can’t find your voice.” His eyebrows were furrowed, and his mouth was curved down as he also thought through our new circumstances.

“Is it like this for other mated Alphas?”

“I don’t know—” He cut off as something occurred to him and his mind went somewhere else for a minute. Then he stood and padded across the carpet to the bathroom, stopping to glance back at me before entering. “I know someone who should be able to answer our questions,” he informed me as he held his hand out. “Let’s get cleaned up. They’re expecting us in half an hour.”

I stared at it, torn between wanting to spend more time with a naked Nathan and the part of me that was warning me not to get in any deeper with him. After a few seconds, he narrowed his eyes and stalked over to sweep me up into his arms. “So damn stubborn,” he muttered.

He stalked into the bathroom and set me on the counter, then stood between my legs and looked into my eyes, his countenance serious. “Be honest with me, Peyton.”

I nodded hesitantly.

“No deflecting or dancing around the answer,” he demanded.

I sighed and gestured for him to continue. “Ask.”

“How does your panther feel about me, about the claiming?”

My brow knitted and my eyes dropped to stare at his muscular chest. A million answers formed in my mind, but none of them were straightforward and…I’d promised, damn it. “She’s not happy about being part of a pack. However, she likes the pull we feel toward you and your wolf. She pushed me hard to accept the claiming bite.” I scrunched my nose in annoyance and returned my gaze to his face. “She’s a bit obsessed with you two, actually. It’s rather obnoxious.”

Wisely, Nathan fought a cocky smile and murmured, “Thank you,” before brushing his lips over mine. Then he walked to the shower to turn on the water and I was reminded of the last time he’d set me on this counter. The desire sizzling quickly became a slow burn. My panther practically licked her lips in anticipation.

“Baby, if you ever want to leave this bedroom again before we are fully mated, you’re going to need to learn to rein in your sex drive.”

I scowled at him and quipped, “Says the man with the steel pipe between his legs. And I don’t exactly feel any restraint coming from you.”

Nathan chuckled and moved to stand between my legs. “Who says I have any interest in leaving the bedroom until we’re fully bonded?”

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