Page 84 of An Unending Claim

I’d squeezed my eyes shut to keep the light from aggravating my head any more, but when the pain receded enough, I hesitantly reopened them. Bane lay supine on the ground with a little round hole between his eyes. Deep red blood trickled from the wound, along with a silvery substance that I assumed was exactly what it looked like. A shot between the eyes like that would usually kill a shifter, but there was always a chance they’d recover, so Xavier had obviously covered his bases with silver bullets.

“The sound of his voice has been grating on my nerves lately,” Xavier complained as he placed the gun on a small table. “The little shit never stopped talking.” Grabbing the back of a chair, he dragged it over to the bed where I’d remained still.

I felt sluggish and in so much pain, but I gauged my situation, taking in my surroundings so my brain could begin to work through my options. I wanted Xavier to assume I had no strength and keep his guard down.

However, my mind was clouded with worry for my cub. It took herculean effort, but I moved the hand resting on my hip down to my stomach. I opened my mind, trying to connect with my child, something I hadn’t attempted before. However, as Alpha female, I had an elevated sense of the members of our pack. And I had to believe that the bond between mother and daughter counted for something, too.

My panther melded her mind with mine, boosting the bond between the three of us. After a few heavy beats of my heart, I picked up her fast, fluttering pulse, and I held in a sigh of relief. It didn’t mean she was unharmed, but at least she was still alive.

“Hopefully, my great-grandchild is unharmed,” Xavier grunted as he eyed my hand splayed protectively over my tummy. “Bane couldn’t even follow that simple direction. I specifically told him to avoid injuring you as much as possible. So what does the idiot do? He smashes into the other side of the car, forgetting that it would throw your SUV straight into the trees.”

His words shocked me, but the skills I’d acquired over the years that allowed me to hide behind a mask came in handy. I didn’t know him anymore, nor did I know his plan, so I kept my expression neutral. “Why would you care?”

“I didn’t at first. I was going to let Bane do whatever he wanted as long as you were punished for killing my daughter. You don’t deserve to live. It should have been you who died. I still intend to correct that, but I need you first.”

When I’d opened my mind to connect with my daughter, I’d also reached out to Nathan, but he still hadn’t taken down the wall between us. As Xavier talked, I silently berated Nathan for being a stubborn ass and tried to connect with him via the pack web. However, it was a long shot considering he couldn’t access my mind like the others in the pack. Still, I tried. I even tried connecting to the enforcers, but it was if my arms weren’t long enough to grab their minds. I could actually feel them, but it was faint and without looking for it, I doubted any of them would pick up on it. For just a moment, I thought perhaps I’d reached Tanner, but when no one reacted to my mental presence, I knew my panther and I were on our own. Like we’d always been.

“Nathan has always been a thorn in my side,” Xavier spat, regaining my attention. “So high and mighty. And people just bow to him as if he were their god. Well, I have no intention of submitting to someone so far beneath me.”

As if.

“Now he’s screwed up my plans again. So I’m going to leverage you for what I want.” His satisfied smirk was dipped in evil and it sent a creepy shiver through me. “He’ll make sure the Councils sway in my direction and all mediation is weighted in my favor. Then, when I’ve amassed enough power and wealth, I’ll kill you slowly, right in front of him.”

My stomach rolled and my panther brushed her fur under my skin, sensing that now wasn’t the time to fight me for control. What horrified me the most was that his plan had the potential to work. Despite him being an asshole today, I knew Nathan would do anything to protect us.Anything.

I needed to figure out a way to heal faster and get the fuck out of there.

Unfortunately, Xavier came to the same conclusion. “I may not be able to kill you yet, but I can make sure you’re too broken to escape.”

A wince escaped my mask and he smiled at the knowledge that I feared him. It wasn’t fear though, just dread at enduring more pain. But Bane hadn’t been able to take me down, and neither would Xavier. I didn’t care about myself, but I refused to let him take my daughter’s life. I’d fight until my last breath.

My panther latched onto my thoughts and went on the defensive, ready to pounce when the time came.

Xavier leaned down, keeping his eyes on me, and withdrew a knife from his boot. The blade glinted in a stream of light coming through a crack in the shutters.

Silver. Perfect.

Maybe I should have been scared at the sight of it, but my fight-or-flight was squarely in the ‘fight’ column. I just had to get the knife from him, then I could plunge it straight into his black heart.Like father, like daughter, I thought to myself when I remembered my dad’s profession as a vampire slayer. Which then reminded me about the limited time I’d had with him.

There were more reasons to escape than I could count, but wanting my dad to meet my baby girl was one that stayed in the forefront of my mind. Along with telling Nathan, the sexy, giant idiot, that I loved him, and watching our daughter grow up.

I refused to let Xavier take anything else from me.

His eyes scanned my body while he tapped the sharp tip against his mouth, and I visualized shoving it down his throat. Finally, he stood from his chair and bent over me. He dragged the point of the blade down my cheek and I felt the sting of a very tiny cut and the trickle of liquid. If it weren’t for the fact that the blade was silver, it would have healed before a single drop of blood beaded on the surface.

“You look so much like my Marissa. But I can’t help noticing your differences, which only remind me of the bastard who took her and left her with a disgusting, feline spawn.”

“Or you’re deranged and refuse to see that my mother loved my father,” I said in a pleasant voice.

“I see why Bane was fond of removing the tongue,” he snapped. “For now, I think I’ll disfigure your face so I don’t have to look at you and be reminded of my Marissa.”

He sliced shallowly through my bottom lip, then contemplated as he stared at it. “I’ll have to be careful not to kill you because these cuts will need to be deep enough to leave scars, right? But then, that’s why I bought this knife.”

“It won’t change who I am, or what happened,” I taunted. I wanted him to lose his cool and come a little closer. “I’ll still be the halfbreed granddaughter who lived and she’ll still be dead.” I mentally winced at speaking so callously of my mother.

Xavier growled and backhanded me before digging the tip of the blade into my cheek as he leaned over to get right in my face.

I grasped on my adrenaline in order to ignore my pain and my hand flew up, jamming the heel straight into his solar plexus, stealing his air and causing him to stumble back, giving me the opportunity to grab the knife.

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