Page 55 of An Unending Claim

Peyton had relaxed against me, but at Tanner’s words, she shot straight up. “Xavier’s wife? His new mate?”

Tanner nodded.

“Oh, shit. This is so bad,” Peyton breathed. “He’s going to go on a fucking rampage.” Her head spun in my direction, her green eyes wild and scared. “He’ll hurt people, Nathan. It’s how he copes.”

“How do you—” Jase began to ask, but Tanner gave him a meaningful look and shook his head. Tanner was the only one with whom I’d shared Peyton’s genetic backgr—

“He’s my grandfather,” Peyton blurted.

Okay, that’s one way to tell people.

“Whoa, seriously?” Jase looked horrified and I was about to step in when he added, “I’m so sorry. That sucks.”

Peyton stared at him for a full minute before she burst out laughing. “Yes, it does. Thanks, Jase.”

He still looked shocked, but he gave her a lopsided smile and a chin lift. Then he sat up straight and met my gaze. “Wait. Does this mean we have an inside man—er—woman?”

Tanner shot him a warning glance, but Jase either didn’t see it or ignored it. I waited to make sure I’d understood him correctly before reacting. “Excuse me?”

“Well, if Peyton could go there and find out—ouch!” Jase rubbed his arm where Tanner had punched him.

“You want me to send my mate—mypregnantmate— into what is essentially enemy territory as a spy?” My voice was hard, but I wasn’t angry. Jase meant well, but he was young and spoke without thinking at times.

My question hung in the air as Jase absorbed it, then he cringed and looked at Peyton apologetically before dropping his head and tilting it to bare his neck. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s not a bad idea, Jase,” Peyton said, shocking the fuck out of all three of us.

“What the fuck?” I shouted, startling my wolf and causing him to ram into me as he tried to surface. Fortunately, I had two millennia of practice keeping him at bay.

Peyton twisted around and glared at me. “Don’t bellow at me, you giant. It’s fucking loud!” Then she flipped back around, ignoring my outrage. “Except my grandfather would probably kill me the second he found out I was alive. I wouldn’t make it anywhere near his land.”

“Oh.” Jase’s shoulders slumped. “Damn. You could have been our Trojan horse.”

“Damn, that would have been a great move,” Peyton said. “Smart thinking, Jase. I could have snuck you—”

“Are you really having this conversation?” I snapped, interrupting their insane discussion.

“What?” Peyton looked over her shoulder at me, her expression annoyed. “It would have been a good plan.”

I sucked in a deep calming breath and tried not to think about my pregnant mate walking into a fucking lion’s den. The images in my head were angering my wolf, so I tried to shut them out.

I hadn’t realized I’d muttered part of that out loud until Peyton snorted, “I’m a fucking jaguar, Nate. You think I couldn’t take down a lion? Ridiculous.”

My eyes rolled skyward and I counted to ten, trying to find the patience that I lost whenever Peyton was involved. Giggling from the phone reminded me that Willa was listening to all of this.

“You’re all fired,” I grunted.

Peyton tried to scoot off my lap, but I curled my hand around her neck and gently, but firmly, guided her back to lean against me again. She gave me a little resistance, but ultimately did it without verbal protest. I wondered if she sensed that I needed it, needed her close, to feel her against me and know she was really there in my arms. Safe.

“Except you,” I murmured, then brushed a kiss over her lips.

“Gee, thanks,” she drawled sarcastically, but her lips curved up in amusement. Then she pushed her fingers through my hair and my wolf practically purred.

“Why do you think there is something I would know about Xavier Castile’s mate being murdered, Tanner?” Willa asked, returning to the topic.

“Not you, exactly. It’s more than I wanted to put our heads together over all of the information. Castile’s mate was healthy, middle-aged, and blonde. Her tongue had been cut out—”

“I knew it,” Peyton fumed. “He couldn’t keep from sticking to schedule, could he?”

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