Page 66 of An Unending Claim

“You knew she was pregnant with me?”

He nodded.

Peyton didn’t say anything as she closed her fist around the jewelry and studied the papers in her other hand. “How did you get all of this?”

I didn’t see all of it, but I caught sight of her birth certificate with a sonogram photo attached, a receipt for a plane ticket, and an application for dual citizenship.

“I have more to tell you about the situation with Xavier, but after I do that, why don’t we go somewhere and talk?”

It took all of my energy to keep from saying no, but Peyton deserved to know about her history and why her father had abandoned her with a monster like Xavier.

Peyton nodded as she handed everything back to her father. “But Nathan will come with.”

I gave her a squeeze, letting her know I appreciated her gesture, if for nothing more than to keep me from losing my fucking mind wondering if she was safe. But I was also warmed by the fact that she wanted me with her.

When Peyton leaned back against me tiredly, I scooped her into my arms and took her previous seat, settling her in my lap. She gave me a disgruntled glare before snuggling into me and relaxing.

“Your uncle contacted me when you turned eleven. He’d found it increasingly difficult to protect you from Xavier, and eventually he accepted that if you stayed much longer he wouldn’t be able to stop your grandfather from selling you to the highest bidder or letting the men of the pack pass you around.”

My whole body was shaking with rage as I absorbed what he’d said. I thought about the things Peyton would have endured if Owen hadn’t finally stepped up and got Peyton out of there.

“How…?” Peyton shook her head.

“I’ll tell you all of that later, I promise.” Léo’s expression was soft.

Even knowing he was her father, it still aggravated me, but Peyton stroked my arm and it helped to calm me.

“After we made you disappear, Owen asked me to let him know you were okay from time to time. I’m not in your world often, but if I wasn’t here to check on you, I had someone else do it.”

Shit.

There were a few flabbergasted faces when I glanced around the room after Léo announced that he wasn’t from this world. Luckily, there were only a handful of my enforcers who would need an explanation. If it got out to the whole pack, or, worse, beyond the pack, it could be disastrous.

“My world… holy shit,” Peyton gasped. “How did I not put that together? You work for Jude.”

Savannah gasped and stumbled backward, tripping over a rug. I hadn’t noticed, but at some point, Asher had moved to stand near her, so when she began to fall, he caught her and lifted her into his arms.

“Put me down,” she snapped. But her gaze darted back to Léo and for the first time since I brought her to this universe, I saw the broken, desolate woman she’d been when we met.

Asher looked at me and I lifted my chin, giving him permission to leave. Savannah tried to jump out of his arms, so he swatted her ass and when she gasped again, he threw her over his shoulder and stomped out of the cabin.

Peyton was staring after them with her mouth open, but she didn’t make a move to follow them or ask me to interfere. After a minute, she shrugged and glanced up at me. “I hope she doesn’t hate me for letting them work it out on their own.”

I kissed her temple and let her feel how proud I was of her. “She’ll respect your choice as her Alpha female not to interfere unless you have to.”

Peyton didn’t seem entirely certain, but she turned back to face Léo. “Continue.”

Léo seemed a little confused, but did as Peyton had instructed. “I also kept tabs on Xavier, making sure he never discovered you were alive. The last time I spoke with Owen, he told me about Xavier’s plans to kill off key members of powerful packs and upend the Councils so he could grow his territory and gain more power.”

“What the fuck?” I snarled. “And you just sat on that information?”

“Are you kidding me?” Peyton shouted at the same time.

Léo held up his hands and rushed to explain. “Hear me out. At first, I had no proof. I was working on it, but as you said, his security is tight. So I went to Jude for advice and explained what I’d learned.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Peyton growled, low and menacing, as she straightened up. She turned incredulous eyes on me. “All this time he knew and he didn’t tell you?”

“Mon ange, you must let me finish.” Léo sighed with exasperation and I shot him a warning glance, both my wolf and I unhappy with his tone. He inclined his head in acknowledgement, but didn’t shrink back from my wrath the way most people did.

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