Claimed by the Pack

Worst of all, they’d be back soon. Christophe. Lionel. Boone too, if he ever got done chasing Damien. Chasing being the operative word there, because as fast as Boone was, I knew he’d never catch him. Not in a million years.

When they came back, I wanted to be long gone. Especially since there was a good chance they’d bring her too.

Karessa, now queen of the pack.

The one who’d made me. The woman who’d loved me… and Damien as well. We’d shared time with her here, in this very spot… doing things with and to each other that would live in my memory always. Yet still the image of our ex-mate stung savagely, whenever it floated to mind.

I pushed her away quicker than normal as I entered the forest. Somehow, since Serena showed up? The whole Karessa thing had gotten easier to deal with.

Better hurry.

I thought about the woman pinned tightly against my shoulder as I made my way through the forest. I was no longer angry at Damien for having mated her the way he did. In some ways, I couldn’t blame him. And in others…

Truthfully, she’d probably just saved my life. I wasn’t exactly sure what she’d done to stop Lionel, but when I’d looked up he was already blooded and running away.

Once again the wind took a bad turn. The pack would pick up our scent quickly us as long as we remained out here, and sniff us out long before we made it back to the truck. Leaving the forest tonight was no longer an option.

Besides, I had a better plan. A plan that would allow us to rest safely while giving us time to find Damien again, all at once. Or even better, let Damien find us.

“Broderick, I’m okay,” Serena said groggily. “You can put me down now.”

I kept moving, stepping even faster. “Not yet.”

“But where are you—”

“Just hold tight. We’re almost there.”

With my human eyes I barely follow the unmarked path. If Damien and I hadn’t already taken it a thousand times, I’d already be thoroughly lost.

“Do you know what—”

“Shhh!”

I finally crested the slight rise. Just ahead was another one, an

d between that, my destination.

He’ll get away. He always does.

The little voice in the back of my mind was more worried for Damien than I was. The little bastard was slippery, he knew the area well. Besides, I’d seen him run into the cathedral. No one knew the inside of that place better than he did.

“Okay. We’re here.”

I set Serena down, holding her by her hips until I was sure she could stand on her own. Instantly every one of my senses came alive. The tips of my fingers felt warm as they lingered on her body, identifying her — on the most primal and animalistic of levels — as mine.

“Where’s here?” Serena asked, looking around. “All I see are—”

Seven large stones lay here, half-buried in the ground. At first glance they meant nothing more than a natural formation. But I knew what they were. A rough semi-circle, with a secret in the middle.

Beneath the center stone was a patch of darkness — a small, black hollow. I slipped through feet first, then reached back for Serena. With only my wrists protruding from the ground, she looked absolutely horrified.

“I’m not going down there!”

I shook my hands at her. “It’s either this, or you stay here and they find you.”

She glanced over one shoulder, then swallowed dryly. “What’s down there?”

“Come and see.”