Page 65 of An Unending Claim

Peyton shifted positions, looking a little uncomfortable. I imagined she had the same questions turning in my head. Everything Léo was saying sounded a lot like Peyton’s situation.

“However, even those who are truly talented at being invisible can’t control everything. Like being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and causing a series of events that would eventually expose them.”

Peyton jumped to her feet, too fast for me to catch her, but she didn’t move any closer to him, so I didn’t interfere. If it were any other animal, I might not have been quite as ready to step in, but Léo would be able to match Peyton in speed and ability, though my mate was much more creative and agile than most felines I’d met. Still, I wouldn’t take the chance.

She put her hands on her hips and snarled at Léo. “Stop. Just stop. It’s obvious you know who I am, and I wasn’t as successful at erasing myself as I thought. So cut through the bullshit and just tell us what the fuck you want. Are you the one who told Xavier I was alive?”

Her accusation had every wolf in the room alert and ready to pounce. I’d been wondering the same thing, but I’d been studying the options before I chose how to act on it.

Léo reared back, his expression shocked and… hurt.

What the fuck?

“I would never,mon ange. That’s why—”

I’d had enough and my wolf was going ballistic over the tone of Léo’s voice when he spoke to our mate. In two strides, I was in front of Léo and had him pressed against the wall with my hand around his throat and my claws poised to rip into his stomach. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Léo Dyer.”

I didn’t register his name because I didn’t really care. I was going to kill him for the way he was acting toward Peyton. “You should know that calling another man’s mate ‘my angel’ could get you killed.”

“Nathan!” Peyton’s voice cut through my fury, but not enough for me to take my attention off my target.

“I’ve”—he coughed—“called her that”—a gasping breath—“since she was born.”

“Nathan, let him go.” Peyton’s hand on my arm and her pleading tone drew my attention and I looked down at her. My wolf grunted, too focused on his prey to notice her, making it difficult for me to—

“I think he’s my father.”

My head swiveled back to examine Léo. The features that had seemed familiar, a panther, his knowledge of Peyton’s life…

Léo Dyer. Well, fuck.

I couldn’t kill him and that pissed me off. My wolf hadn’t put it together yet so when I mentally backed off, he gnashed his teeth and growled at me.

I brought my face inches from Léo’s and pressed the sharp tips of my claws a little harder into his gut. “You are on very thin ice. If I suspect for one second that you are lying about who you are, I will not hesitate to rip out your throat. Is that clear?”

Before I knew what was happening, Léo was behind me, his arm wrapped around my throat, and the sharp end of a wooden stake scraped the skin over my jugular. “As long as you understand that if you hurt her, I will put a wooden stake in your heart—just to see you in pain—before I put a silver bullet in your brain. Is that clear?”

“Boys, put your dicks away and go to your separate corners,” Peyton yelled. “And to be ‘clear,’ if either one of you pisses me off, I’ll do the killing and the chopping you into bits all by my little self. So back the fuck off and act like rational adults.”

Léo held his hands up in a surrender pose and walked back to his previous spot. I clenched my hands into fists and sucked in a deep breath. The smell of honey and cloves, along with the soft touch of my mate’s hand on my back, calmed both me and my wolf. My muscles slowly unbunched and I backed up to my previous spot, but drew Peyton into a protective embrace.

“Prove it,” Peyton rasped, her jaw tight, and though no one else would know, I could feel her body trembling.

Léo released the stake and dropped his hands. I stiffened when he reached into his pocket, but he simply pulled out a sheaf of papers. Then he removed a gold ring that looked exactly like Peyton’s from his right ring finger. He placed the band on the papers and held them out.

I lifted my chin at Asher, who was closest to Léo. Asher collected the items and brought them over to me, but I shook my head and Asher’s expression turned to chagrin as he handed the stack to Peyton.

“Seriously?” Peyton sighed. “That misogynistic attitude isn’t going to win you any favors with Savannah. Just saying.”

I heard a snort from someone in the room and assumed it was Savannah, which was confirmed by the scathing look Asher tossed in the direction of the sound. Those two needed to work out their issues before I was so fed up I threw them in a locked room until they figured out how to play nice.

I dismissed thoughts of anyone else when Peyton held up the ring.

“But…” She trailed off as she removed her matching band from her thumb.

“The one you wear belonged to your mother,” Léo explained. “I had them made for both of us when we discovered she was pregnant.”

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