Claimed: A Paranormal Shifter Romance Novel (Crescent City Wolves Series Book 1)

by Bella Night

  “Come on in,” Peter purred. “We can keep you occupied.”

  “Yeah, we’re waiting, too,” Jaxon added. “How about we get acquainted in the mean time?” he quipped, boldly pushing passed the dark-haired girl and stroking his hand down one of the blonde’s voluptuous sides.

  The blonde flushed. She gave her friend a glance and proclaimed, “We’ll wait!”

  She and her near identically dim-witted friend were practically panting by the time they joined the rest of the shifters on the squeaky leather couch in the lobby.

  Grey took the opportunity to grab the dark-haired artist’s arm again and drag her from the lobby. “I’d like a tattoo,” he said loud enough for the others to hear. “Right now,” he added sternly when she hesitated. She glared back at him through bold dark eyes, but she seemed to read the warning in Grey’s own eyes and led him back to her booth.

  7

  Etti

  Etti’s heart pounded as the gray-eyed shifter followed her to her booth. It wasn’t the fact that he was a shifter that made her nervous. She dealt with them often thanks to the growing popularity of Immortal Ink. Hell, she’d spent hours straddling them while they were half-clothed to ink the perfect piece of art on their skin. But something about this particular pack of shifters put her on edge from the moment they’d walked in. They were aggressive and had a wildness about them—like their wolves were too close to the surface, making them more beast than man.

  “What do you want me to work on?” Etti asked when they’d reached her room.

  “I don’t care,” the shifter said, closing the door.

  He started to pull his shirt off and she didn’t waste a second. The taser she kept fully charged in her booth for just this type of client was in her hand and pressed to his side before his shirt hit the floor.

  “Shit!” he barked as he fell.

  Etti was on him in a flash. She pinned him to the floor, her knees digging into his thighs while wielding the taser against his throat in a threating manner. “That was just a taste, mutt. I don’t know what the hell you’ve heard, but we are not that kind of place. Put your clothes on and take your pack the hell out of here,” she hissed in his ear.

  “It’s not what you think,” the shifter said, words rushing out of him. “I don’t want any trouble, but my pack does. I swear I want to help you. I know you have no reason to trust me, but please, just do as I say and I promise I’ll get you out of this unharmed.”

  Etti registered the genuine fear in his strange silver-gray eyes and knew it was from more than the taser she had pointed at his throat. “What—” she began, but the door to her booth creaked open.

  The shifter beneath her was fast. Before Etti knew what was happening he pulled her down on top of him, shoving one hand up the back of her black tank top and the other fisted in her dark hair that had come undone. It fell like a curtain over them as his mouth met hers, hard. She gasped and he let their lips part only long enough to whisper, “Please.”

  Etti didn’t know why she did it, but she complied. Maybe it was because the man beneath her was drop dead gorgeous and she hadn’t had any action in entirely too long. Or maybe it was because of the fear and conviction in his eyes as he’d begged her to trust him. Whatever the reason, she found herself straddling a god. Hard muscles rippled under his golden inked skin as he crushed her body into his. The groans that escaped her were genuine as his practiced tongue crashed against hers and his rough hands stroked her body in all the right places. If he didn’t stop soon she was sure she would combust from the fire he was stoking inside her panties.

  Dammit, Etti! Get a grip! You still have your clothes on!

  The clarity she’d begged for came in the sound of her booth door being shut again. The shifter beneath her stilled and they both held their breath, listening to the footsteps and laughter trail away from her door. “All clear,” a male voice called from the lobby. “Grey’s just having a bit of fun. Finally.”

  8

  Greyson

  Grey gazed up at the black-haired beauty that straddled him, her long limbs still entwined with his. She stared back at him, their hearts slamming against each other. Their breathing had synced. It was as if they shared the same breath, as they held it—listening, waiting, praying they were safe.

  Grey sighed in relief when his wolf’s hearing picked up Peter’s voice chatting easily with the others in the lobby. He let the tension ease from his body, giving the girl a nod. It must have been the sign she was waiting for because she quickly scrambled away from him. She picked up the taser with one hand while agilely twisting to her feet. She surprised him by offering him her other hand. Grey took it and let her think she was assisting him. And maybe she was because he was still stunned by what had just happened. He’d never felt that electric spark, that passion, when he’d kissed someone before. Was she an incredible actress or had she felt it, too?

  Her keen dark eyes bore into his gray ones. She kept hold of his hand with her firm slender one even though they were both steadily on their feet. “I’m Etti,” she said softly.

  “Greyson West,” he answered, still clutching her warm hand, not wanting to sever their connection. “But please, call me Grey.”

  “Well, Grey, let’s get you some ink and me some answers.”

  She gestured to the chair, finally breaking the trance he seemed to be under. He slid into it, the coolness of the leather shocking to the heat still pulsing beneath his skin from their romp on the floor.

  Grey watched Etti with predatory focus as she adjusted her shirt and pulled her long black hair back into a messy ponytail. That act alone made his wolf push at his skin as he imagined fisting her silken black mane again. Grey’s wolf wanted this woman, too. Grey took a deep breath trying to get control of himself—and his wolf.

  Etti didn’t make it easy on him. She sat on a wheeled stool and glided close to him, tilting the chair back until her thigh grazed his shoulder. He watched her gaze at the mural of death that was tattooed to his skin.

  “Interesting,” she murmured as she appreciated his art. Not the reaction usually provoked by his morbid tattoos. She brought her face closer to examine it further. With her close proximity came her intoxicating scent, a faint mixture of lilac and water. There was something else, too—arousal?

  So she hadn’t been faking it.

  Grey’s wolf growled proudly. But Etti was too lost in the twisting map of death that Grey had inked across his body to notice.

  Since joining the hunt, Grey had painstakingly inked their journey across his entire upper body. Carrion birds adorned his skin as a reminder of each kill, whether by Grey’s own hands or one of his pack. Crows with roses in their beaks signified each woman they killed, vultures carrying skulls in their claws marked each man.

  If Grey had known the names of his victims he had it added to a single falling feather. But most of the feathers were blank. He didn’t know if he was thankful or not for that small grace. Knowing the names of his victims certainly made each kill harder, but something about not knowing was almost worse. Like the life had become meaningless—a light simply winked from existence.

  Grey shivered when Etti’s fingers traced his oldest tattoo, a band of pine trees that spanned his chest. She frowned, seeming to wonder why it was so different than the morbid map of death that covered the rest of his torso.

  “This one is beautiful,” she murmured.

  It was his favorite, too.

  “It reminds me of home,” Grey admitted before realizing he shouldn’t be sharing so much with her—he shouldn’t get attached. He could bring nothing but danger and death to this beautiful woman.

  “So tell me, Grey, were you really ‘just having a bit of fun’ or was there any truth to your pleas for me to trust you?”

  Grey cursed Peter under his breath for his damning comment when he’d left them alone on the floor of Etti’s booth moments ago. “I swear I meant every word of it,” Grey whispered.

  “Well, then you’d be
tter start talking, mutt.”

  9

  Etti

  Etti was busy inking another crow in the center of the strange map on Grey’s abdomen. He’d seemed sad when he requested it, but Etti was used to the strange requests for tattoos she’d gotten over the years. She agreed to ink the bird on one condition—“You need to tell me what the hell is going on.”

  “Basically, you really don’t want us in your shop,” Grey replied.

  “I gathered that the moment your pack walked through the door.”

  Grey paused. “How did you know we’re shifters?”

  “Did you even bother to read the name of my shop before you barged in here? We’re called the Painted Wolf for a reason. We cater to shifters.”

  “Is that a good idea?” Grey asked, sounding shocked.

  Etti stopped working on the tattoo and stared into the strange gray eyes of the shifter only inches from her face. “Not all shifters are horny assholes, ya know? You’re in charge of the company you keep.”

  “I wish that were true,” Grey admitted.

  Etti studied him. Each time he offered her something that seemed truthful, regret seized his handsome features. “If you need some kind of help . . .” she started.

  “No!” Grey hissed his words swiftly. “Don’t say anything like that again. You’re already in enough danger.”

  “Danger? How?” Etti asked. “Shifters don’t kill humans. That’s against your codes or something, isn’t it?”

  Grey stayed silent and fear sliced through Etti’s veins as she put the pieces together. The news reports—animal attacks, missing people—the pack of unfamiliar shifters in her shop. Grey’s silence slid the final piece into the mental puzzle she’d been fitting together since she saw the pack enter her shop. “You’re rogues, aren’t you?” she whispered.

  He gave a slow, remorseful nod.

  “Get the fuck out of my shop. Right now,” Etti muttered, not trying to hide the anger in her voice.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” Grey said, slowly raising his hands in surrender.

  “Really? Then why are you here?”

  “I’m not in charge. Derik, the one with the red-head, he’s the Alpha.”

  “And what, he just had a hankering for a tattoo during his murder spree?”

  “No. We were supposed to be moving on but Derik ran into Rose at a bar and she invited us here.”

  Etti scoffed. “I knew I should have fired her weeks ago.” She shook her head and got to her feet. “So now what? We all die because my stupid artist was hot for your Alpha?”

  “Not all of you.”

  Etti swallowed hard. Disappointment coursed through her. Could she really blame Rose for this? She sure as hell wanted to, but she’d been just as blinded by lust a few moments ago when she’d been straddling the sexy shifter in her own booth. She glared at Grey. He was on his feet now too, countering her movements as she tried to get to the door. Etti’s fear quickly turned to rage when she reached for her taser only to have Grey beat her to it. He disabled it with little effort and wrapped his arms around her, pinning her to him. Etti could feel the tension coiled tightly in his rippling muscles as he crushed her arms to her sides.

  Her temper flared. “Who the hell do you think you are to decide who dies?”

  “Keep your voice down,” Grey growled. “I told you, I’m not in charge.”

  “That’s right. You can murder anyone you want and blame your Alpha.”

  “That’s not how it works. We only do what he says.”

  “And you just follow his orders blindly?”

  Hurt flashed in Grey’s eyes. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Try me.”

  “We’re oath bound to do as he says.”

  “Oath?”

  “Yes, I took a blood oath . . . it’s a long story.”

  “And seeing how I don’t have long to live . . .” Etti closed her eyes trying to muster courage. She saw her mother’s face and heard her years of warnings against mingling with shifters. Suddenly, Etti felt young and foolish. “What if your Alpha asked you to kill your family or someone you loved?” Etti asked, thinking of her own family.

  Grey’s eyes glowed with an animal-like rage, but he said nothing to deny that he wouldn’t follow his Alpha’s orders.

  Etti scoffed at him. “Then you’re an idiot.”

  She squirmed and sucked in a breath, preparing to scream for help that she knew would never come in time. But Grey seemed to be able to anticipate her every move. He pressed his hand over her mouth and hissed into her ear. “Please don’t do anything stupid. I meant what I said. I want to help you. You just have to trust me.”

  Etti spat when Grey removed his hand from her mouth. “How many of the women you’ve said that to are still alive?”

  He ignored her question. “Let me get you out of here. You’ve gotta have a back door to this place, right?”

  She nodded and her voice broke as dread painfully tightened her throat. “What about my employees? I can’t just leave them.”

  She wouldn’t leave her friends here to die.

  Grey seemed to sense her fears. But he only shook his head. “Getting you out alive will be hard enough.”

  “I can’t leave them. They’re my responsibility.”

  Grey let out a frustrated sigh. “I’ll do my best for them. But first let’s worry about you.”

  Etti felt like a complete coward. She didn’t want to leave her friends, but she didn’t want to die. All she could do was silently nod to the shifter that was offering her a chance to live.

  10

  Greyson

  Grey’s heart was pounding as he took Etti’s hand. Something about being so close to her made it hard for him to think. And he needed to think. He took a deep breath trying to get his animal’s urges under control. It made no sense to him why he instantly felt such intense attraction and protection for a woman he’d just met. Yes, she was beautiful and intriguing, but still . . .

  Perhaps it was the way she’d bravely stood up to him even though she knew that they weren’t equals. Or the way her keen dark eyes seemed to see into his soul and tear the truth from him. Whatever it was unnerved Grey and he couldn’t stop thinking about the feel of her smooth skin under her shirt or just how delicious her lips had tasted.

  Grey shook himself trying to get a grip. He had no idea how he was going to get Etti out of the tattoo shop safely but he knew visualizing her naked wasn’t going to help. He could feel his wolf pacing under his skin, wanting to come out and shred anyone who threatened her. He barely knew her, but already he knew if it came down to it, he’d die if it meant saving her from the wrath of the hunt.

  “Are you alright?” Etti asked, sensing his unease.

  Grey nodded and held a finger up to his lips. He listened at the door again. It sounded like his pack was preoccupied flirting with the girls in the lobby. Perhaps Etti could sneak past them. Or maybe come up with a reason to go into the back room and escape. A dozen scenarios whirled through Grey’s mind. He turned to Etti and took her face in his hands. “I’m going to do everything in my power to protect you. Whatever happens, follow my lead.”

  Her dark eyes drank him in, their depths almost swallowing him up before she finally nodded.

  Grey pulled open the door and led Etti back toward the lobby. The attention of his pack turned immediately to them. So much for sneaking out.

  “Took ya long enough,” Peter jeered from where he sat between the two blonde girls on the couch, one arm slung over each of their shoulders, grazing their breasts.

  “Have fun?” Jaxon asked with a wicked grin.

  Grey felt Etti’s grip tighten nervously on his hand. He ignored the comments from his pack and kept pulling Etti toward the counter. He could see the door behind it. It must lead to the back room—to safety.

  “I’m next,” Kellan called, getting to his feet.

  “Get in line,” Jaxon barked, shoving Kellan as they jostled to get closer to Etti.r />
  “We’re not finished,” Grey snarled, blocking Etti from his quarreling pack.

  “I say you are,” Peter argued, now on his feet.

  Grey’s wolf bristled inside him as Peter approached. He let go of Etti and clenched his fists readying himself for a fight.

  But Etti cleared her throat, her confident voice startling the shifters. “You’ll all get your turn. But I didn’t get the reputation for being the best shifter artist around by leaving half finished tattoos. He’s done when I say he’s done.” She grabbed Grey seductively by the waistband of his low-slung jeans and tugged him away from Peter and toward the counter. “Come with me, handsome. I just need to replenish my ink,” she said taking another step, tugging Grey again.

  It was working! Grey stared into Etti’s dark eyes in disbelief as she led him away from the crowded lobby toward the door behind the counter. They were almost there when Derik’s voice boomed behind them. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

  Grey saw Etti’s eyes first. Her pupils were blown wide with panic, the black blotting out the warm brown tones that he’d already memorized. For a moment he was too startled to turn around. He tried to push Etti toward the door—toward safety, but she was frozen in fear. Grey turned when he heard screaming behind him. It was coming from the blonde women in the lobby.

  Derik stalked into the center of the room with blood dripping from his face. Grey’s eyes traveled the path of blood trailing from Derik’s jaw to the limp body he was dragging behind him—Rose. Her red hair was barely discernable among the blood dripping from her ravaged body. Derik let her corpse thump to the floor with a sickening thud which only made the blondes shriek louder.

  “Will someone shut them up?” Derik roared.

  Jaxon was the closest, and he snapped the neck of the first blonde, causing the other to pass out.