Claimed by the Pack

“So if you’ve been gone for a year,” she said, “what were you guys doing there twice in the last two weeks? Why do you keep going back there?”

I glanced at my wolf-brother. He nodded.

“We were looking for something,” I said.

Serena raised an eyebrow. I responded with a wink.

“And that’s where you come in…”

13

BRODERICK

She had fire. That was the best way to put it. Of all the things I sensed coming from this strange girl who sat in my kitchen, it was her inner fire that made her fearless And in all the ways I loved most, too.

“So you need help dealing with your old clan,” Serena said. “Is that it?”

“Not clan,” Damien explained. “Pack. But yes. That.”

The combination was rare. She had infallible confidence, plus the courage to back it up. And skill, too. I could sense that most of all. Damien had already hinted she had abilities that made her beyond special. I had only to concentrate in order to feel them, thrumming inside her, just beneath the surface.

But looking at her? It was so hard to concentrate…

“What were you there for again?” Serena asked.

“We were trying to retrieve something,” I said. “Something valuable and important.” I glanced at Damien. “Something that belongs to us.”

Serena grinned. “So you were sneaking in. Stealing something.”

“If by that you mean stealing it back, then yes.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment. It was a good look on her.

“Well whatever it is, why don’t you just ask your ex to get it for you? What’s her name again… Karessa?”

The word was still a knife to the back, even after all this time. I saw Damien look my way, expecting a reaction. My jaw flexed, but that was all I was giving.

“Karessa is… with them now,” I said tersely. In retrospect, I should’ve probably unclenched my teeth first.

Serena blinked once, then recognition dawned. “Oh, you mean with with? As in—”

“Yes,” Damien interjected, trying to be merciful. “Like that.”

In truth it hurt him too. I knew that. We’d both loved her, and we’d both suffered the same loss. Only he got over things much more quickly than I did. Probably because he hadn’t fallen as hard.

And she didn’t make him, I reminded myself silently. He was made before he came here, before he joined the pack. When it came to Karessa, they would never share that special bond…

“What about these guys who jumped me?” Serena asked. “Your ex brothers? Couldn’t they—”

“They’re the ones with Karessa now,” I said coldly. I thought saying it like that — laying it all out there — might feel somehow cathartic. It didn’t.

“They were like our brothers,” said Damien, stepping back into the conversation. “But not anymore. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

No, definitely not anymore.

Serena talked some more, asking more questions, demanding even more answers. I couldn’t blame her. She was at a grave disadvantage, and I could tell her superiors hadn’t briefed her properly. Either they were holding back to protect her, or they expected us to fill in the gaps. Whichever it was, it was lazy and annoying.

And then I’d look at her, and realize most of the problem was on my end. My heart raced just from the scent of her. My vision was almost blurred.