Page 9 of Their Shared Mate
“You need to at least consider him,” Heather said softly.
“I’m not looking for a mate,” Claire stressed. “Victor is destined to be disappointed.”
Heather’s delicate features tensed. “Being courted by an eagle is a hell of a lot better than what happened to Dawn.”
“I don’t want to talk about Dawn,” Claire insisted as she fought back the unwanted memories.
“The raptors are approaching this with less aggression than the lions,” Heather digressed, “but the message is the same. We each need to choose a protector, or they won’t let us stay.”
Claire knew Heather was right, but the thought of submitting to an aggressive male made her intensely uncomfortable. The only reason she’d been outside the village walls when the wolves attacked was because she was sneaking food to Dawn. Dawn had been one of her original tent-mates and she was struggling harder than most with Rydarian expectations. She was shy and socially awkward, so she seemed young for her twenty years. Unfortunately, she’d caught the attention of one of the wolf leaders during their captivity. He had ruthlessly seduced Dawn, finally claiming her with the help of his beta in full view of the other females.
The sight had been traumatizing for Claire. Well, traumatizing and stimulating. She felt protective of Dawn and had done her best to shelter her from the harsher realities of their captivity. All of Claire’s efforts hadn’t mattered in the end. Dawn hadn’t been forced, but her will had been systematically eroded until she surrendered completely to the males. All Claire had to do was close her eyes and she could see Dawn’s writhing body and hear her cries of pleasure as the two wolves ruthlessly claimed their mate.
“Are you thinking about Dawn or Joel?” Heather asked, her navy blue eyes filled with compassion.
“Dawn,” Claire admitted. “I can’t help worrying about her. She was so afraid, so unprepared for any of this.”
“The wolves didn’t hurt her,” Heather stressed. “It was obvious to all of us that she was enjoying what happened.”
Claire allowed her impatience to show. “You didn’t know Dawn, not like I did. It might have been the best sex she ever had in her life, but as soon as they finished with her, I’m sure she was horrified. Who wouldn’t have been horrified to be taken like that, in front of everyone.”
Heather just nodded and shifted the focus back onto the present situation. “If you refuse to choose one of the guys up here, then you’ll have to go back to the feline village. If you don’t really want one mate, how do you feel about three or four?”
“What do you think kept me up all night?” She pushed her plate aside and picked up her coffee mug. That was all she’d really wanted anyway. “I would much rather bond with one male than three or four, but the lions can only bond with a compatible mate. I attended several of the gatherings and pretended that I was looking for a mate. No one was triggered by my scent. There are around fifteen hundred lion shifters. It could take months for me to encounter a compatible mate. There is even a possibility that I’m not compatible with any of them. As long as I go through the motions, I’m allowed to stay inside the village.”
“You don’t find that deceitful and cruel?” Raphael challenged from behind Claire.
She gasped and twisted around, saying the first thing that popped into her mind. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
He ignored her comment and closed the distance between them. “I’ll make sure Zion learns of the game you’ve been playing.” His eyes narrowed to gleaming slits and his tense features emphasized his disapproval. “You have no idea how hard it was for him to compromise enough to allow your kind into his village.”
“Mykind? I didn’t participate in the experiments,” she stressed, tired of hearing the subtle slur. She glanced at Heather and watched the color drain from her face. Claire had been accepted into the feline village, but Heather had chosen not to participate. Afraid Raphael would pick up on the subtle distinction, Claire continued to lecture him. “How many times do I have to say it before it sinks in? I did nothing wrong.” She was being a bitch, but she couldn’t seem to stop. She was tired of biting her tongue, tired of being afraid that she’d break one of their ridiculous rules. Raphael insisted that they were guests, not prisoners. The worst he was likely to do was take her back to the feline village. She turned sideways on the chair so she could see him without twisting her neck. “Honesty isn’t an option for us. If we’re honest we freeze to death or starve.”
His expression continued to condemn her. “I can’t speak for the feline village, but the economic engine of our community is trade. Everyone contributes something or they don’t eat. The rules apply to males and females alike.”
“I’m willing to contribute,” she argued. “I have skills. Give me a job and I’ll work hard. I just don’t want a mate.”
His jaw clenched and his nostrils flared before he composed himself enough to speak. “For numerous reasons, every female must have a mate. They must be protected, and?—”
Tired of the debate, she abruptly stood and looked at Heather. “I’ll talk to you later. When others won’t rudely butt into our conversation.” She spun on the ball of her foot, intending to make a dramatic exit.
Raphael grabbed her upper arm. “What do you intend to do if your scent triggers bonding fever in one of the lions?”
“It’s none of your business,” she sneered, trying to jerk her arm out of his grasp. “Let go of me!”
Everyone was watching them now. She hadn’t meant to make a scene, but he was the one who wouldn’t let her walk away.
“Answer my question and I will.” His strange orange gaze drilled into hers, demanding her cooperation.
“Why do you care?” she continued, unwilling to give in to his bullying. “You’re not a lion hybrid.”
His fingers tightened for a moment then eased without letting go. “Someone in this village has focused his attention on you. Will you take him seriously as he courts you, or will you simply ‘go through the motions’ so I’ll allow you to eat our food and sleep within the shelter of these walls?”
She swallowed past the lump forming in her throat. He meant Victor and they both knew it. Victor’s interest had seemed genuine. She’d enjoyed what little time they’d spent together, and he was certainly easy on the eyes. He’d done nothing to deserve her resentment. “Victor seems like a really nice guy, but I’m not… I’m not in the right headspace for any sort of courtship.”
“The wolves ripped out her brother’s throat right in front of her,” Heather told him. “They were really close until she talked him into working at Nuevo Biotech.”
Unable to believe what she’d just heard, Claire glared at Heather. Yesterday she blabbed about Bianca getting pneumonia, and now she blurted out information Claire had no intention of sharing. “You had no right to tell him that,” she insisted as tears flooded her eyes. She felt betrayed and humiliated.
