Claimed by the Pack

His eyes sparkled fearlessly as they locked onto mine. For a half-second I flashed back to our night together. To the feeling of his hands closing over mine. To the sensation of him entering me as I gripped the headboard. The feeling of fullness…

“It was every bit as hot as you can imagine,” Damien said. He didn’t look down, or away. In fact, his eyes held mine captive. “We did things to Karessa that only two men can do to a woman. Incredible things. Wondrous things.”

I felt myself going wet at the description. As much as I wanted him to continue, I almost wanted him to stop.

“And she satisfied us in every possible way...”

I gulped hard. I could smell them, breathe them both in. Each of them had a unique and distinct scent that reminded me exactly of what we’d done together. Trying to ignore it was only making it worse.

“Do you want more in the way of details?” teased Damien. “Or—”

“No, I’m good,” I breathed. Underneath the table I squeezed my legs together, hoping they wouldn’t notice. But they were wolves. If their senses were anywhere near as heightened as mine, they already knew.

Broderick called for the check, and I was grateful for the distraction. Yet at the same time, there was a new knot in my stomach. And for once, it was one entirely unrelated to sex.

Jealousy.

I didn’t know why, but all of a sudden I was fiercely jealous. Jealous of Karessa — a woman I’d never even met, and someone I barely even knew about. Yet it was my own fault, really. I’d gone fishing for answers I really didn’t want. It shouldn’t have been any surprise that I found exactly what I was looking for.

You’re being stupid, Serena. This whole thing is—

I looked up again and they standing beside the table, both staring down at me. They were breathtakingly handsome. I saw Damien’s flowing hair, his bright smile. Broderick’s big arm, swinging down to offer me one strong, masculine hand.

“Come with us,” he said. “We’ve got something to show you.”

24

SERENA

I’d never been one for museums… at least not until I met Alex.

Alex had shown me the intrinsic beauty of history. He’d taken me places and shown me things I wouldn’t normally have given half a shit about. But he cared about them, and that was enough for me. Enough for me to eventually appreciate some of the places we went, especially when we were assigned to Europe.

At one time, Europe had been magical for me. A place where the lore behind every piece of architecture could date back millennia instead of a mere handful of centuries. As a member of the Hallowed Order, I was often required to know about the past. But I’d never really immersed myself in it. Not until Alex.

For this reason I was a little choked up standing in the cour Napoléon, looking down at the Louvre. By night the pyramid of glass and crystal was especially beautiful, lit up by spotlights and a warm interior glow.

It was a place Alex had always wanted to take me. A place we just never got around to…

“C’mon, we need to hurry,” Broderick said, dragging me along. “They’re going to close soon.”

Once inside the museum my heart caught in my throat. The whole place was dazzlingly beautiful. Everywhere I looked I was impressed by the sheer scope of it all; the artistry, the sculptures, the decorations that flowed seamlessly from exhibit to exhibit.

The museum was mostly empty, and we were able to move through it with ease. Still clasping hands I followed them below ground, to where the oldest and more medieval portions still existed. We passed by marble statues, colorful tapestries. Frescoes, faded from years of sunlight and brought here to preserve them in the more dimly lit areas.

Finally we stopped. Broderick pointed, and before us was a small series of paintings, all of a similar subject.

Werewolves.

“This is our history,” he said almost proudly. “Not that full moon, silver bullet, crosses and holy water shit from Hollywood. The real thing.”

“I thought crosses and holy water were vampires?” I said distractedly.

“Whatever.”

I examined one of the pieces. In it, a witch-turned-werewolf was devouring villagers, tearing them to shreds with their teeth. It was brutal and savage.

“Seems unnecessarily violent,” I said.