Page 8 of An Uncertain Claim

“That’s what I thought.” Tanner laughed, his tone becoming smug. “Figured you could use the reminder.”

The jackass had been messing with me. “Tanner,” I snapped.

“Yes, Alpha?” he replied, picking up on my authoritative tone.

“Shut up. I’ll be there in the morning unless there’s an emergency. Have you looked into how they found her yet?”

I could feel his grimace and hesitancy through our connection. “As a matter of fact, Phillipé called this morning. Pretty much the second I arrived back at KBO—I really want to know how the fuck he does that.”

“What did he say?” I had a theory about Phillipé’s “abilities,” but we could get into it after we caught the sadistic man trying to kill my mate.

“Apparently, he put his cousin, Bastien, on Peyton’s apartment. Bastien spotted someone suspicious and thought the guy recognized Asher and Ephraim. He managed to get close enough to scent that the guy was a shifter, but he said something else seemed familiar. By the time he figured out the scent matched the one Melinda had carried when he found her, the mysterious shifter had disappeared. Phillipé thinks it’s highly likely this was how Peyton’s attacker found her.”

“He followed a trail I left for him,” I muttered as that heavy feeling of guilt returned to my shoulders. My wolf didn’t like it and he pushed at me, wanting to be set free so he could go to our mate.

I didn’t know what to do. Before I could decide, my phone rang, and I glanced down to see that the OBGYN calling.

Chapter Six

Peyton

My jaw ached something fierce and I’d begun to think that waking up in pain was my new normal.

I patted the parts of my jaw that had been broken and found them only slightly tender, so I unwrapped the bandage, eager to be rid of it. Anything that restricted my freedom—even something that small—made me incredibly uncomfortable, as if walls were closing in on me. Thoughts of B’s tight grip on my arm flashed through my mind and my stomach turned.Yeah, that would do it too.

Trying not to think about the events that had led to my injury, I focused on gauging how much I’d healed while asleep. Not that it had been particularly restful. After that little one-sided showdown with Nathan, I’d been in a fit of rage. The asshole had chosen that moment specifically because I couldn’t speak to tell him that he could take his demands and shove them up his ass.

Slowly, I sat up in bed and started with tiny movements to test my jaw. When I didn’t feel much more than an ache, I tried saying a few words out loud.

I winced at the sharp pains that throbbed in my face, but they quickly subsided back to a dull ache.Definitely bearable.Now that I could speak, I would finally unleash the full force of my wrath at Nathan. Although it would have to be without yelling so I wouldn’t put myself in more pain. Not an easy task, but I wouldn’t wait any longer. He had a hell of a lot of explaining to do, and I didn’t care what it took, I’d drag an apology out of him for being such an asshole right after saving me from a deranged killer.

I’d recognized Nathan’s short comings when it came to emotions—like me—but it still surprised me that he hadn’t stopped to think maybe he should let me recover from a broken jaw and being kidnapped before he lit into me about my alleged carelessness. It also rankled a little that he thought I would outright break my word. Sure, I’d been known to find loopholes and workarounds, but I’d never broken a promise.

Just as I finished dressing in a pair of comfy sweats, I heard a knock on my door. “Yeah?” I called softly.

Nathan opened the door and though his expression remained blank, I found it interesting that I didn’t see a hint of animosity or anger in his silver eyes. “The doctor is here.”

Well, that took the wind out of my rage-filled sails. I’d been all worked up and now I had to wait until after the doctor looked me over. I was more anxious to make sure that my cub hadn’t been harmed than to shout at Nathan, so I nodded and gestured for him to lead the way.

As I followed him down the hall, I couldn’t help admiring the way his muscles moved under his snug shirt and how awesome his jeans made his butt look. Ugh.Why does he have to be so hot?

My attention was diverted when we reached the living room and I saw the doctor waiting for us at the kitchen island. Myka, a tall, curvy blonde with spectacular blue eyes and pornstar lips, had a sweet and genuine smile. I didn’t have body issues, so her appearance didn’t give me pause. However, satisfaction slithered through me when I noticed Nathan’s heated silver orbs immediately cooled when they were directed at Myka.

I started to admonish my panther for being so jealous and possessive of Nathan, except it suddenly hit me that the emotion had been mine as much as hers. I didn’t understand where it came from. I’d never felt that way about anyone before, not even Nathan until now. My cat snuffed and I frowned at her.What?She thought back over our time with Nathan and I realized that in all the time we’d spent with him, we’d never been around a woman who’d registered as a threat to my relationship with Nathan.Relationship? Is that what we have?

I wanted to slap myself upside the head. Was this one of those “I don’t want him, but I don’t want anyone else to have him” things?Seriously?No, I abhorred games and had always been a very direct person. So what did—

Stop. I brought my thoughts to a screaming halt. Now wasn’t the time to be doing any soul-searching, and I didn’t know if I really wanted the answers. My panther’s attachment to Nathan was complicated enough.

“Hello, Peyton. I’m Dr. Stanley, but please, call me Myka.”

I focused on her friendly, open personality, and the fact that she’d come here to help me protect my baby. It made it much easier to shove away my initial negative responses to her.

“Hi.” I returned her smile and walked over to shake her hand.

“Brooks mentioned that you’ve had some physical trauma recently?”

“You could say that,” I hedged.

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