Page 134 of Short, Lethal & Claimed

“Mommy?” Caleb mumbled weakly as Jill looked at Gray and-

“Trust me,” he said, reaching over to take Caleb’s hand in his.

After a slight hesitation, Jill forced herself to let Caleb go, knowing that she really didn’t have a choice right now. She had to trust him. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” Jill said, forcing a smile asshe watched Gray pick him up and place him in the cell with Shane.

“Do you really think that’s going to save him?” Elizabeth asked, sounding amused as she watched her mate close the cell door before pulling the key out of the lock and tossed it in the cell with the boys.

“For now,” Gray said as Shane reached up with a trembling hand and grabbed hold of Caleb’s small hand and pulled him closer.

When Elizabeth opened her mouth, most likely to threaten them, Gray cut her off. “She bought me from my Master when I was twelve years old and brought me to New York, where they placed me in a cell a little smaller than this one in the basement of a small bakery. Since she couldn’t risk one of the other shifters stealing my blood, she paid the local baker to hide me and keep my existence a secret. They had their daughter, who was a few years older than, watch over me and make sure that I was well-fed and taken care of to ensure that I survived my first transition.”

“I had to take care of my investment,” Elizabeth murmured absently as her gaze flickered to the stairs.

“Her name was Rory and she was a pain in my ass,” Gray said with a hint of a fond smile as he leaned back against the bars. “Every time she brought me food, she talked my ear off, uncaring that I refused to speak and every night, she snuck into the basement with a candle to keep me company and when her father punished me with a whip, she was there to hold my hand while I struggled not to lose my fucking mind.”

“One night, she came downstairs to keep me company only to realize that I was going through my first transition. Instead of alerting her parents like she was supposed to, Rory snuck back upstairs and stole the key along with a sack of food and half the pennies from her father’s coffers. Before she had a chance toremove my chains, Elizabeth was there with a dagger, ready to drain my blood only to discover that I was her mate as soon as she wrapped her hand around my throat.”

“It was an unpleasant surprise,” Elizabeth murmured, sounding thoughtful as she kept her gaze locked on the stairs. “Since I couldn’t drain him, I punished him by injecting him with silver, hoping that nature would do the rest only to learn the full extent of the mating mark.”

“When I realized that I couldn’t punish him without being left in excruciating pain, I did the next best thing and turned the bitch and killed her parents. I left her chained up just out of reach so that he was forced to watch her suffer. I really didn’t expect her to survive her transition, but when she did, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised since it meant that I now had a way to keep my unwanted mate in line,” Elizabeth said as everything began to make sense.

“You threatened to hurt her if he didn’t do what you wanted,” Jill guessed as she risked a glance back to find Shane watching her through silver eyes as he struggled against the urge to shift.

“And for the past three hundred years, it worked, until now,” Elizabeth said, drawing her attention to find the shifter sending her mate a curious look. “Why is that?”

“Magnus,” Gray bit out coldly, making Elizabeth’s lips twitch.

“I thought I’d have a little more time before you found out about that,” she said with a heartfelt sigh. “That would explain a few things.”

“The moment you sold her, it was all over,” Gray said, making Jill frown in confusion.

“When did you sell her?” Jill asked as she thought about everything that happened since she was taken from the Sentinel compound.

“Right before the auction,” Elizabeth admitted with a shrug.

“So, my transition…” Jill began, letting her words trail off as she waited for them to fill in the blanks.

“He was supposed to let my men kill you, but he stopped them after they broke your arm.”

“He shocked me,” Jill snapped.

Shaking her head, Elizabeth said, “He got them to release you and once they realized that someone put silver in the blood they forced down your throat, they had no choice but to let you live. I thought Logan did it to protect his newest project from the shifters he hired to watch over you, but now I know better.”

“And the blood you fed me afterwards?” Jill asked, remembering just how sick she felt after her time in the closet.

“Was enough to flush the silver out of your system and heal you from the hell she put you through in the closet,” Gray said, making her realize that the glares and the shock that he gave her that day before she was dragged inside the closet had been a warning.

“You knew that she was watching,” Jill said, watching as he slowly nodded.

“Always,” Elizabeth said with a smirk.

“And the junk food you fed the kids?” she asked, watching him frown in confusion.

“They were hungry,” he said defensively.

“I see,” Jill murmured, having absolutely no doubt in her mind that he thought devouring that much junk food was normal for a six-year-old, which was honestly terrifying, but that was a problem for another time.

“As much as I’m enjoying this Hallmark moment, I hate to admit this, but I don’t think Kale is coming,” Elizabeth said with a disappointed sigh.

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