Page 99 of His to Claim

I studied the woman who stepped from the shadows, her face almost exactly the same as my wonderful mate’s, only kissed by the years of strife. Then I turned my attention once again to the woman I loved. And I knew she’d hear every word I said.

“Your father was an honorable man,”I stated as I locked eyes with Vanessa, able to see into her very soul.

“How do you know?”she asked.

“Max. Your father was a police detective. He’d gone undercover for the FBI. He was never a criminal. Your mother fell in love with a man named Lucas. His real name was Anthony Drago. Their love was real and likely the reason he lost his life. He tried to protect her, the woman he called his beautiful flower. Angelic.”

“Anthony Drago,” she repeated before exhaling, a haunting look crossing her face. “You see, Mother, my father had integrity.” Her lilting voice rang clear in the night.

“You have no idea what kind of monster your father was. He was a murderer,” Angelic spat as she walked closer, completely unafraid of the pack. “He took my innocence. He stole everything from me, leaving me with some… freak!”

I hissed given the harsh words, moving closer, shocked as Vanessa’s face remained serene at learning the truth.

The wolf inched forward, snarling, his communication just as clear. “Stay away from her, Wolfen, or she will die.”

“A woman you consider your mate? You’re willing to kill her?”

He bared his teeth, issuing a deep-throated growl.“You have no right to her.”

“Because you do? As one of her kind? You long desperately for your own mate, the calling turning you into a monster.”

“We are far superior to the Wolfen,”he shot back.

“You are dying as a breed. Only with a successful mating will you begin to turn the cycle, except that’s not possible.”Max had found information belonging to his father. Even though a female had been born, a half breed, Vanessa would never produce a child with another LaRue wolf. The cycle of their curse could never be altered.

I shifted my attention once again to Vanessa to see if she fully understood what she was.

Half LaRue wolf.

I hadn’t been able to detect her scent because she hadn’t come into her abilities yet, no one able to teach her how to handle the wolf living inside. Yet she’d remained masked, awaiting an awakening. She’d never understood fully, though dreams had driven her close to madness. The call of her father.

She shifted, pulling against her bindings.

“No. No! She belongs to me,”the wolf snarled.“I am Beast, king of our people.”

Angelic hissed, pulling a weapon from her pocket. “You are nothing but a monster,” she told him. “You were simply a hired thug.”

“You had him kill those people. I may be a freak, Mother, a half breed. Part wolf, a creature you so desperately feared your entire life. However, I am much more human than you are. You are the true monster, Mother. Why? Why did you so desperately want to erase anything having to do with my father, a man you said you loved?” Vanessa threw out, her eyes wild with anger. “Why did you never care for me?”

“Because you’re a freak of nature,” Angelic yelled, her body swaying from grief as well as the obvious madness she’d surrendered to.

I could only imagine the horror of realizing her daughter was part wolf, the fear crippling her more and more every year. Instead of asking for help, she’d decided to eliminate anyone who could point fingers or identify her daughter as a half breed.

“Your father never loved me. He used me,” she snapped, even as tears slipped from her eyes.

“I read the love letters, Mother. I know better. He was an undercover agent working with the FBI.” The words seemed to hang in the air.

“That’s not true! He was a criminal,” Angelic said, faltering.

“Your mother was also FBI,”I told Vanessa.

Vanessa tipped her head, nodding in my direction. “I know. My mother invented the very compound that was used to cover the bullets. She was such a brilliant scientist, her work celebrated by the military and law enforcement.”

I wasn’t surprised at her admiration of her mother. Angelic’s work had been highly revered; the project she’d been working on when she’d met ‘Lucas’ had been touted as of great importance to the military.

“Until my work was shut down. I lost everything. The love of my life and my project. I was only left with… at least I perfected my compound over the years. Now, you ugly fucking beasts can be killed. Trust me, there will be others coming for you. They will hunt you. They will… kill you and then…” Angelic couldn’t seem to finish, her shoulders slumping, but I could still feel her anger as well as her volatility. She swung the weapon toward the wolf, taking gasping breaths. “If you think you can have my daughter, you’re sorely mistaken.”

The two popping noises were startling, even more so than the action her mother had taken. As the LaRue beast realized his fate, he reached out for Vanessa, his agonizing howl chilling. In the next several seconds, I was drawn into Vanessa’s world as she struggled with her true identity.

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