Page 48 of An Unending Claim
My wolf had been resting comfortably, but the sound of that word on Peyton’s lips never failed to drive him wild. With his lust filling my mind, along with my own, I had to grip the steering wheel so hard the skin on my knuckles was thin and bleached white.
Peyton was silent for so long, I thought perhaps she’d mistaken my tone and been insulted, but then I took a quick look in her direction. She had a hand over her mouth and was staring out her window, but the angle of the setting sun gave me a clear view of her reflection. Her emerald gems swirled with gold flecks, dancing with laughter as she muffled any sound with her hand.
“Baby,” I sighed. “Need I remind you that turnabout is fair play?”
She spun around, her mouth open in an O and her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t do it on purpose, dog.”
“That may be true, but then I don’t really need any provocation to drive you wild and make you beg for satisfaction,” I practically purred, knowing my tone would melt her panther.
My wolf and I were both of the opinion that this was exactly how we should spend the rest of the evening. Peyton stared at me for a long while, then hissed at me before turning to face forward. I could only see her in my peripheral vision, but I didn’t miss the shiver that wracked her body, or the way she was playing with the ends of her hair to distract herself.
As I approached the house, I punched in the key code on my watch to open the garage so I could pull the SUV inside. Once the door was shut and the security system armed again, I shut off the engine and exited the vehicle and went around to help Peyton. She’d already climbed out, but let me grab her things from the back seat.
“So… Silver Lake,” Peyton said as we entered the house.
“Go put on something comfortable, then come sit with me while I make dinner and I’ll explain everything.”
She shrugged and strolled to the hallway and out of sight. I was just beginning to chop vegetables when she slid onto one of the high chairs at the island.
I jumped straight into the explanation, rather than easing into it like I might have with other people, and she took it in stride as I’d expected.
“Okay, let’s see if I have this right,” she said when I finished, just as dinner was ready.
I gestured for her to go on as I set a plate of food in front of her, then took mine and sat next to her.
“There are multiple universes, not like Faery or the Underworld, or Olympus, but alternates to our everyday world.”
I nodded, knowing she wasn’t looking for a verbal answer. She was working through everything out loud.
“There’s one where there is a Silver Lake Pack that is eerily familiar to ours. That could be really cool to see,” she inserted with a grin before going back to her thoughtful expression. “And if you have a special stone that’s been enchanted by a specific witch, you can traverse them. Stones that you and your friend Jude both possess. And Jude runs an organization that hunts bad vampires and one of his slayers, Alaric, is the Alpha of the ‘other’”—she curled her fingers into air quotes—“Silver Lake. And Asher’s sister, Makayla, is mated to this Alaric dude?”
I nodded again, then pointed my fork at her plate. “You can keep talking, but I know you and the baby are hungry, so eat or I’ll feed you.”
Peyton rolled her eyes, but put a forkful of her meal in her mouth, then continued with her musings. “And, as if that weren’t complicated enough, Jax is mated to one of his other slayers? Rowan. Except she’s actually from this world… and Emerald is also a slayer by birth, and I knew she and Rowan went way back… they are both from Russia, right?” She paused and shook her head. “Holy shit, Nate. How do you keep all of this straight without an eidetic memory or superpowers?”
I tilted my head and my lips curled up. “I’m two thousand years old, baby. If my brain were going to fail me from being overloaded with information, it would have happened long before now.”
Peyton chuckled and ate a few more bites, clearly having picked up my intention to start putting food in her mouth for her. “So you and Jude help each other out from time to time.”
“Correct. Although”—my tone turned wry—“Jude isn’t as altruistic as he seems at times. He always has an angle and KBO trade secrets are often at the top of his list.”
Peyton raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t think you’d give those up for anything.”
I shrugged. “It’s a mutually beneficial situation. And he only gets what I’m willing to give. And we’re both too fucking stubborn and Alpha to ask for help without calling in a favor unless it’s the only choice. Especially in situations like Makayla’s, with someone intent on taking the Silver Lake Pack down. In the end, the pack needed a small army to fight off the group of bastards. So Jude called me and I brought a few of my enforcers to join the fight. And that’s when the asshole swiped one of our new helmets.”
My tone was annoyed, but really, I respected his desire to protect his people. And KBO tech was the best and most cutting edge out there.
She bobbed her head, then took a bite and, after chewing and swallowing, continued the conversation. “So helping him out with his Silver Lake situation… that’s when you met Savannah, right?”
“Yes. The group I mentioned was also doing experiments on supernats. Especially with silver and shifters. Savannah had already been taken and they’d done a few experiments on her before I arrived. We managed to revive her, but… well, you know her story.”
Peyton murmured her agreement, looking sad.
“She instinctively drifted toward me and left her own pack for mine. It’s rare for it to happen unconsciously like that, but seeing as how I was the Alpha of the Silver Lake Pack here, it was probably a little more natural.”
“And it had nothing to do with the fact that she and Asher are true mates?” Peyton asked dryly.
“I’m sure that factored into it. But even with that, in most cases, couples have to enter the second stage for one or the other to switch packs without permission from both Alphas.”