Page 6 of An Unending Claim

Lincoln and Sabrina filled in some of the blanks with their observations and questions to Peyton. She looked exhausted, her long, black hair tangled and wild. Her emerald green eyes were dulled of their normal vibrancy, and had dark shadows beneath them. Then she shifted her weight, and I realized she’d been standing on one foot, which likely meant she was injured.Damn it. She’d better have a really fucking good explanation for why she was there.

My attention shifted when Ephraim’s mind exploded with all the thoughts he’d been trying to contain. He thought she would make a run for it and started to call out, taking a step toward her. But it wasn’t his disobedience that snapped my self-control. It was the litany of thoughts about how Peyton should be punished, hanged like the traitors from centuries ago, put in front of a firing squad, dropped in the middle of the desert, and others. But the straw that broke the camel’s back was when he thought about handing her over to the killer chasing her.

I immediately took control of him with the power of the hive mind and dropped him to his knees, bowing his head so he could no longer look at my mate. I kept him frozen in that position but otherwise withdrew from his mind as we approached the spot where I smelled blood, honey, and cloves.

The only reason Ephraim didn’t die right that moment was because he’d felt honest remorse after his despicable thoughts. Plus, I was more concerned about Peyton, which gave me a little time to calm down. And Tanner reminded me that I didn’t think clearly when it involved my mate and cub.

My wolf headed right to her and looked her over, searching for signs of other injuries. When we spotted her torn-up foot, a growl rumbled in his chest, and he looked at the nearest human with suspicion. I was a little concerned that he might attack Sabrina because he was close to his limit, and if I didn’t pull him back, he’d become feral. I ordered him to let me out, and he fought me for a second. Then he considered what could happen to Peyton if she got in the way while he was feral, and backed off after nudging her hand in a gesture of comfort.

After confronting Ephraim and sending him away, I focused on my mate, checking over her injury. It was already healing, but the sight still put me on edge. I’d gathered what had happened, that Peyton had come upon Geoff, injured and rogue. There had been no hope, nothing to do but put him out of his misery and make sure he wasn’t a danger to anyone else. But it didn’t explain what the hell Peyton had been doing there. Why she’d run off without protection, putting herself in another dangerous situation. Still, I tried to tamp down the desire to shout and accuse—not an easy fucking feat.

Later, when I had a moment, I would mourn my friend. He’d been an operative with KBO for nearly fifteen years, specializing in hostage negotiation. Within the pack, he’d been a solid voice of reason, and with his silver tongue, he’d managed to stop a great deal of conflicts before they escalated to me. I’d almost chosen him as my Beta, but I would never have the level of trust with anyone that I had with Tanner. And I needed to have absolute faith in my Beta, absolute trust.

But both Tanner and I had treated him almost like the Beta’s Beta. His loss would be deeply felt throughout the pack, and it would be painful to recover. Which was another reason I had to make sure Ephraim kept his mouth shut. If it got out that Peyton had been the one to pull the final trigger, people like Ephraim—who jumped to the most negative conclusion without waiting for the facts—would make her life very difficult. Feeling uncomfortable here would hammer the last nail in the coffin that held any hope of convincing her to stay.

Tanner and Allison had gone to Lincoln’s side, and they were speaking in hushed tones. Then Lincoln stood and walked over to me. He held out his hand, and when I opened my palm, he dropped bullet fragments into them.

“They are custom-made. I won’t know one hundred percent until I get a better look, but I’m confident that those are the same batch of bullets we’ve been finding in the other murdered shifters.”

Lincoln had been a police officer before he’d decided to go back to school to become a forensic specialist. He was in high demand and worked with several police departments in and around Silver Lake. His access to multiple police forces had been a considerable asset in the investigation into the fake hunting accidents.

My fingers closed around the metal shards so tight they bit into my flesh. The pain helped me focus on something other than the rage building inside me, helped me think rationally. I returned the fragments to Lincoln and jerked my chin in the general direction of town. He bent his head in acknowledgment of my silent order, then ran in the direction I’d indicated.

Tanner said something to Allison, and she replied before shifting and running off.

Then he met my gaze. “I’m going to head to KBO in case things with Aubrey escalate and I need to talk him down so he’ll agree to the meeting.”

“Go,” I grunted, grateful that he was thinking about the big picture because, at the moment, I couldn’t see much beyond what was happening right in front of me. He shifted and went the way of the others.

When I looked at Geoff’s body, there wasn’t much to be done about his situation that couldn’t be dealt with after I took Peyton home and cared for her. My eyes swung in my mate’s direction, and I frowned when I saw Sabrina and Mason trying to help Peyton stand. A wave of possessiveness flooded my system, and my wolf snarled, the sound rumbling in my chest along with the growl I emitted. Both enforcers’ spines straightened and their heads whipped in my direction.

Mason moved away from Peyton, but Sabrina looked between my mate and me with indecision. She was supporting Peyton’s weight and didn’t want to abruptly let go because Peyton would likely go tumbling to the ground. I silenced my wolf as I stalked over to her and scooped her into my arms.

“I’m going to take Peyton home,” I told my remaining enforcers. “Once she’s cleaned up and settled, I’ll call Geoff’s family. Take the body to the morgue, but keep it quiet. I don’t want them to hear about it from anyone but me.” My stare turned hard, and Alpha vibes emanated from me as I gave my next order. “Even after they’ve been contacted, I expect you to keep silent about what happened here. Is that clear? Not a word.”

Each of them murmured their agreement, and through our mental connection, each assured me of the sincerity of their promise.

Peyton clung to me, her head tucked under my chin and her arms locked around my torso. She’d been so strong and calm as the situation had unfolded with Ephraim, but I could sense the dam cracking, and I knew she wouldn’t want anyone to see her looking vulnerable. If I weren’t so concerned for her, I would have reveled in the fact that Peyton was letting down her guard with me. My wolf brushed his fur under my skin, and I sensed the gesture was more for Peyton, even though she couldn’t feel it.

Holding her tightly to my body, I jogged through the woods and back to our house.

Allison’s wolf waited for us on the porch, and she shifted as we approached. “I did a sweep of the house,” she informed me.

“Thank you.”

She punched in the code for the security system, then placed her thumb on the pad, taking it offline before we walked inside.

I paused as I walked through the house, turning to face my packmate. “I have too much going on to worry about Ephraim at the moment. I want your honest opinion. Does he need a guard stationed on him?”

Allison considered my inquiry and shook her head. “He was genuinely devastated when we left him. I don’t think he expected you to be as angry as you were or to demote him from enforcer. Even temporarily. I doubt he’ll risk making things worse for himself by doing something stupid.”

“Fine. But keep an eye on him. When I’ve calmed down enough to be reasonable, I’ll handle his punishment.”

“Of course, Alpha. Is there anything else you need?”

“Not at the moment.”

She bowed her head briefly, then strode toward the front door. I didn’t wait to see her leave before carrying Peyton to the master bath, but I did listen for the security system to be reengaged.

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