Page 27 of An Unending Claim

My gaze didn’t waver when I said, “He met the devil inside us.” Then it dropped to Peyton’s growing stomach. “He suffered for turning his back on his little girl. For that, he deserved to spend eternity in the fires of Hell.”

Peyton slowly climbed to her feet and padded across the carpet to stand in front of me, her head tipped back so she was looking up into my face. “If the choice had only been between you and Violette?”

“I would have given my life for hers,” I said honestly.

She was quiet for a full minute, her emerald orbs studying my features with an unreadable expression. The way she was spinning her ring around her thumb was the only tell that she was working through everything in her mind, still uncertain.

Finally, she nodded. “I knew it before I asked, but I wanted to hear it, anyway. I know you well enough to know you always put the wellbeing of others before yourself. And if it had been our daughter, you would have destroyed the city to save her.”

“I would have,” I agreed, surprisingly relieved and humbled at Peyton’s faith in me.

She turned and meandered over to the glass back doors. “Not too long ago, I would have told you that I’d never make the same decision. Now…”

My wolf growled, pissed that Peyton was unhappy. I stalked to her and grasped her arm, spun her around. “Don’t compare what happened with Geoff to my situation, Peyton. That was a fucking mercy killing. I have always admired your logical mind, your courage, and determination. But you also have a soft heart.” She opened her mouth but I stayed her with a finger on her lips. “You know you do, baby. You just protect it behind a wall that often seems impenetrable, but even after the fact, I saw how much it hurt you to pull that trigger. Your compassion is what makes you such a good fit for me. I view the world with eyes that are always assessing the facts, and without the connection I have to my pack, I would probably be oblivious to their emotional cues. You’re soft where I’m hard.”

Peyton snorted a laugh and it brightened her countenance.

“Are you a child?” I asked dryly, although I was amused because her humor indicated that her mood was lifting.

She raised an eyebrow and swept her hand down her body. “I think you know the answer to that.”

One corner of my mouth lifted. I loved her ability to absorb things and move forward.

Peyton’s eyes roamed my face for a few beats, then she smiled and quipped, “So, now that we’ve sufficiently brought the mood down, what were you saying about a date?”

I chuckled, but as she strolled over to the kitchen, I mentally groaned.

Right. The date thing.

While thinking it over for a minute, I stared across my yard to the lake. Despite Peyton’s overt sarcasm when she asked about dinner and a movie, I wondered if that was something she would enjoy. However, it wasn’t the kind of bonding I felt we needed right now, so I filed it away for another time. My wolf nudged at me, and I felt his longing for Peyton. We hadn’t given our animals much time together that didn’t involve killers or runaway mates.

“How about we let our animals go for a run and spend some time together,” I suggested.

I turned to see her digging through the refrigerator, her sexy ass on display. It never failed to amaze me that my mate was so fucking sexy, and my wolf rumbled his agreement. Although, instead of pushing me to take advantage of her position and fuck her from behind, he pushed against my skin, emphasizing his longing for Peyton’s panther.

At my question, she popped up and twisted her torso so she could beam happily at me. “I think it’s a brilliant idea. My girl needs some time out, and she’s been harassing me to let her play with your wolf whenever you’re near. We’ve hardly ever run together, have we? No wonder she’s been such a pain in the ass about it.”

I gave her a crooked smile and gestured between us. “Same. The mating instinct is just as strong for them as it is for us.”

“Maybe letting them do their thing will take the edge off,” she said as she resumed her search through the refrigerator.

I almost snorted at her naive comment. She really didn’t have much knowledge of packs and mating. The sexual drive between us would only continue to grow until we’d fully mated. Even then, it would always be stronger than anything humans felt. We were highly sexual creatures, mated or not, especially during a full moon. I attributed the full moon frenzy to the fact that it was the only time shifters could breed and it was a male’s natural instinct to procreate. Not that all shifters wanted offspring, but that didn’t mean that base instinct—however subconscious it was—didn’t fuel their libido. The more I’d thought over the night I met Peyton, the more it solidified my assumption that we hadn’t picked up on our connection as mates because we’d assumed the overwhelming desire for each other was due to the effects of the full moon.

However, sharing these facts with Peyton could elicit many reactions, and I didn’t want to risk disappointing my wolf. So I changed the subject.

“Baby, what are you looking for?” I asked as I sauntered over to her, smiling when she huffed in annoyance.

“I put some ice cream in here. Where the hell is it? The baby is seriously craving it.”

Stifling a laugh, I wrapped my hands around her waist and lifted her onto the counter next to me, then grabbed a plastic bowl before shutting the door. “Your licorice-and cream-flavored soup is in a container because it was melting through the carton.”

I’d noticed that Peyton didn’t eat her ice cream until it was almost fully melted, but this had been the first time I’d found it in the refrigerator. Her quirky food habits amused me to no end, and I enjoyed the smartass comments that she often made when I teased her about it.

Peyton laughed. “Sorry about that, I meant to eat it yesterday. I prefer it mostly melted, but I’ll take it this way, too.”

“Where did you ever find licorice-flavored ice cream?” I asked as I fetched a spoon from the utensil drawer.

My distaste must have bled into my voice because she scrunched her nose and snatched the container, cradling it in her arms as if I was going to steal it back. “Don’t diss my treat. It’s not my fault that your palate isn’t refined enough to know when something is delicious.”

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