Claimed (The Lair of the Wolven 1)

“Will I ever be free of what was done to me?” she whispered.

The entity reached out its glowing hand, stopping just short of stroking Xhex’s face—and yet she felt the contact, a soft, compassionate brush of her skin.

There is a path before you, my child. It will be long and dangerous, and the resolution of your quest is not clear at this time. But if you do not start … you will never, ever finish.

Xhex thought of all the days she had woken up in terror, clawing at her mate, screaming inside her skin, her soul.

“It’s supposed to all be behind me,” she choked out. “It was years ago. The scars are all healed, I’ve dealt with it.”

The energy is trapped just beneath your flesh. Unless it is released, once and for all, you will never be at peace.

Abruptly, she thought of the things in her life she was in the middle of: Setting up the new club. Working with Trez on the others. Her relationship with John Matthew. Her place at that dining table with her … family.

And then there was her mahmen, precious Autumn.

“I don’t have the time to deal with this right now, okay?” She pictured Mary, the household’s therapist. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll talk to someone. I’ll just—you know, sit down and have a little chat. All right? It’ll be—”

You have a disease of the soul. If you do not cure it now, it will destroy you.

“I don’t want to do this.”

You must, child. Or you will die by inches … and take all you love down with you.

“You said you don’t know the ending.” Why in the hell was she talking like this? Like this … thing … knew anything about her? “You said—”

To start is to have a chance. To stay where you are is a death sentence.

With that, the entity disappeared from in front of her. But it didn’t completely leave. Up ahead on the trail, it re-formed.

It was no longer an old woman.

It was a majestic silver wolf.

The entity turned away, loped away.

Xhex stood where she was, unable to move. It was as if she had become suspended in a pocket of existence that was neither here nor there, a gap in the space/time continuum. And shit, she couldn’t feel her body, didn’t know whether she was warm or cold, standing or lying down—

John Matthew materialized right in front of her. As his presence registered, she jumped back with a shout.

Xhex? Xhex are you okay? he signed.

Forcing herself to come back from … wherever the hell she’d been … she focused on her mate’s eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” She rubbed her face. “How are you?”

He gave her a strange look. I’m fine.

“Okay. Good. So, yeah.”

Are you going to keep going? Or do you think nobody’s coming?

She frowned. “What are you talking about? Didn’t you see the …”

As he just stared at her with worried inquiry, she cleared her throat. “No,” she said. “I don’t think anybody’s coming. This was just a wild goose chase. My brother, true to his symphath roots, was toying with me.”

John Matthew shook his head. What an asshole.

“Yeah, he’s that in a nutshell.”

As she turned away, her beloved hellren put his arm around her, and she did the same to his tight waist. Blay, meanwhile, had waited at a discreet distance, and when they came up to him, he nodded as if to say, Just respecting your privacy over here.

Together, the three of them walked back to where she had come from, back to her bike, back to their lives.

Just as the trail took a turn, Xhex looked over her shoulder.

But there was nothing behind her. Only pine trees … and the darkness of the still, silent mountain.

And yet she was being stalked.

Sure as if the events that had stained her past had formed arms and legs, they were following her—and closing the distance to kill her.

AS DAWN ARRIVED, Lydia woke up to a banked fire pressed tight against the back of her. Sometime during the night, she and Daniel had turned on their sides, and with his arm around her waist and his hand entwined in hers, it was as if they had done this for years, the soft snoring above her head a peaceful, familiar sound.

But he was wide awake in one part of his body.

It was impossible not to feel that hard ridge, and it wasn’t far from where she found herself desperately wanting it—

With a snuffle, Daniel jerked—and then there was no more snoring.

Lydia stared over at the open doorway and wondered what she should do. Did she slip out, all time-to-go-to-work, I’m-not-sexually-frustrated, no-really-I’m-fine? Or did she do what she wanted?

Which involved rolling over in his arms, and bringing him even closer.

As well as other things, of the no-clothes variety.

Daniel solved the issue by easing away from her, and then there was movement on the mattress as he stretched—and okay, wow, a lot of popping and crackling in his joints.