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

by Bella Night

  “I’m going to kill her,” Etti hissed.

  “Etti . . .” Grey warned, but she was already marching up the steps to the front porch. “Etti,” he called again, catching up to her. “I think we should give them some time.”

  “No! I’m sick of giving them time to decide if they want to love me despite the gigantic disappointment I am to them. Besides, no one shoots my man and gets away with it.”

  29

  Greyson

  Grey didn’t even have a moment to take in the quaint surroundings of the little farmhouse before Etti lunged for her mother.

  “You tried to kill him!” Etti screamed.

  Her mother was instantly in Etti’s face, equally engaged. Thankfully, Etti’s father was there to restrain his wife. Grey could see where Etti got her feistiness as the steel-haired woman kicked and thrashed against her husband’s hold.

  “Get out of my house!” her mother bellowed.

  “It’s my house too, or have you forgotten I live here?” Etti shouted.

  Etti’s mother lunged. A loud slap rang through the air and Grey watched Etti recoil from her mother’s hand. He felt the sting of her strike on his own cheek. Their bond was strengthening and it took every ounce of restraint he had not to retaliate against the woman who had just laid hands on his mate.

  Her mother’s voice was calm now despite how she strained against her husband’s grasp. “How dare you bring that monster here? To my home. How dare you, Etu? This is not your home anymore. Get out!”

  Etti looked more wounded by her mother’s words than she had from her assault. She lowered her voice, the anger vanishing. “Mother, we came here for help.”

  Grey watched Etti’s mother’s eyes turn cold. “You’ve lain with that monster. There is no help for you.”

  “Mother . . .”

  “No, Etu. I tried to help you. That bullet was meant for you and it’s the only kindness I can offer.”

  The words were worse than the slap. Grey felt each one like a blow to his own heart. He caught Etti as she stumbled back from her mother’s insult.

  Etti’s father spoke. “That’s enough, Ama.” He looked pleadingly at Grey. “Please, I need a moment with my wife. Wait for me outside.”

  Grey nodded and gently guided a stunned Etti out of the house and down the steps. The sun was setting. Beautiful pinks and blues glowed in the sky above the tree line, reflecting none of the ugliness he’d just witnessed inside the farmhouse. Grey didn’t know where he was going, but he wanted to put distance between Etti and her mother. He’d told Etti’s father he’d wait and he meant to, but just not within shooting range.

  He ushered Etti through the open doors of the large gray barn and sat her down on a hay bale. He knelt in front of her and took her hands in his, turning them over and stroking her beautiful, long fingers. He loved her hands. She had artist’s hands.

  Grey loved that they still had so much to discover about each other. Etti’s hands were just the tip of the iceberg—one of the many things he already loved about his mate. A shudder rumbled through him as he remembered the feel of her fingers tangled in his clothes, his hair . . . He pushed the thoughts away, attempting to tame the primal urges of his wolf. Another roll in the hay wasn’t what Etti needed right now. She needed to know he was there for her. After what he’d just witnessed with her parents, so much was starting to make sense.

  Grey struggled to find the right words to comfort her. “Etti,” he started. “I’ll do whatever you think is best, but I don’t think we should stay here.”

  She looked up, her dark eyes hurting. “I know. I thought we’d be safe here. At least long enough to come up with a plan . . .”

  Grey pushed a strand of hair from her face tucking it behind her ear and kissed her forehead. She felt hot. “Do you feel alright?” he asked.

  “Considering my mother just tried to kill me? No. I feel pretty fucking awful.”

  “I know . . . I’m so sorry, babe. But I meant physically. Do you feel any . . . different?”

  “No, why?”

  “You still need to shift for the claiming to be complete,” he said, fighting to hide the worry in his voice. “It’s not pleasant the first time. We need to find somewhere safe where you can wait for the shift to happen.”

  “How long before the first shift occurs?”

  “It usually happens quickly.”

  “Like how quickly?” she asked, fear edging her voice.

  Grey joined her on the hay bale and pulled her close. “Don’t worry. It’ll happen. I can already feel a deeper connection to you. Besides, it’s only been a few hours since we . . . made things official,” he said, unable to contain his smirk. “You should start to feel it soon, too. And in a few hours when the shift comes—”

  “Wait. What? This shift is going to happen today? I thought you said it takes a little while?”

  “Yeah, usually about twenty-four hours.”

  “A day!” Etti exclaimed getting to her feet. “So in a few hours I’m going to turn into a wolf?”

  Grey was on his feet now, too. “It’s okay. I’m not going to leave your side. I’ll walk you through every second of it.”

  Etti was pacing, but she stopped suddenly, an expression of terror on her face. “Derik thinks you claimed me at the Painted Wolf. If he finds us and I haven’t shifted . . .”

  “I won’t let that happen,” Grey pledged, taking Etti in his arms and kissing her. “We just need to lay low for a day or so.”

  “Well, we can’t stay here.”

  “Maybe we can go back to Wes’s?” Grey suggested.

  A dark silhouette filled the doorframe of the barn as Etti’s father interrupted them. “I’d like you to give me a moment to explain some things before you make any decisions about where to stay,” he said.

  He carried a basket of what smelled like a delicious meal in one hand and a first aid kit in the other. He held them out to Etti like a peace offing. Grey’s stomach growled. He hadn’t had a meal since breakfast and he was used to eating a lot to fill the demands shifting required. But he wasn’t going to pressure Etti to take anything from the people who treated her so poorly. She had enough stress on her as it was.

  Thankfully, Etti accepted the supplies. She set the basket down on the hay and opened the first aid kit. She nodded her chin toward the hay bale, silently ordering Grey to sit so she could look at his wound. He obliged and let her skilled fingers quickly disinfect and bandage his wound. Luckily, it’d only been a graze and his shifter nature had already started healing the injury.

  Etti closed the first aid kit and washed her hands before striding over to her father to return it. He’d been watching her from a distance the entire time.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  He nodded.

  “What do you need to explain?” she asked, her voice still edged with anger.

  He gestured toward the hay bale and the basket of food. “Sit. You eat and I’ll talk.”

  30

  Etti

  Etti dug through the basket of food while her father watched. The scent that wafted out while she’d been tending to Grey’s wounds made her mouth water. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. But then again, she’d exerted herself more than usual today. Her face flushed when Grey let out a tiny moan as he bit into the still warm bread she passed him. The last time he’d made that sound it had been because she’d had him in her mouth. She raised her eyebrows at him and he flushed a bit, too.

  “I guess I need to feed you more often,” she said, stifling a grin.

  He reddened further. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize. It’s compliments to the chef,” her father said proudly. “But you’ll have to excuse the chicken. It wasn’t meant to be extra crispy. I was just about to take it off the grill when I heard a gun shot.”

  The sudden reminder of her mother’s fury made Etti lose her appetite. “You said you were going to explain some things. Is one of them why my mother tried to shoot me?” Etti
asked with more venom in her voice than she meant toward her father. He wasn’t the problem, but his complacency didn’t help.

  He swallowed hard, but nodded. “Yes, my darling daughter. There is much you have to learn about your mother.”

  “If all you have to tell me is that she hates shifters because of some stupid curse you can save it. I already know that much and it’s not going to change my mind about Grey.”

  “I didn’t come here to change your mind.”

  Grey picked up Etti’s trembling hand and squeezed it. He inched closer to her, his soft gray eyes begging Etti to give her father a chance to speak.

  “Etti, I only want you to know the truth, for your own protection,” her father pleaded.

  “Fine.”

  Her father sighed and rubbed his face in his large worn hands trying to decide where to begin. “This information may be challenging to believe, and Etti you may have already heard some of it, but I want my account to be thorough so that both you and Grey understand.”

  Etti nodded and moved even closer to Grey. She didn’t like the anguish on her father’s face. He’d always been the most peaceful man she knew—remaining neutral during the years of fighting between Etti and her mother.

  “Ama, my wife, comes from the a ni wa ya clan. They were said to be decedents of the wolf and protectors of all people. In the beginning, all of their people shared a soul with their spirit animal—the white wolf. This wolf was the symbol of peace. The a ni wa ya could shift freely whenever necessary to protect their people.”

  “Mother is a descendant of shifters?” Etti asked in astonishment.

  Her father smiled sadly. “Yes.”

  “How can she hate her own people so much?” Etti asked.

  “The a ni wa ya believed that all their people were born with twin souls—two wolves warring within them. The white wolf of peace and the black wolf of hatred. The legend said that whatever wolf is fed is the wolf that will win the person’s soul. If the black wolf won and showed its face the a ni wa ya were sworn to kill it.”

  Etti shivered at her father’s words. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

  “That’s what your great grandfather thought.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Every wolf in your mother’s clan was a white wolf . . . until your grandmother was born. When she first shifted at the age of eight her coat was the darkest shade of night. And everyone in the tribe wanted to kill her. Including her own mother. But her father begged for her life, saying she should be given a chance to show which wolf would win her soul—peace or hatred. After much deliberation it was decided that the child would get one year to determine her fate. Not trusting the elders with his daughter’s fate, her father made plans to take her far away so she would always be safe.

  “They set off into the woods on a long journey. When they stopped to rest, her father told her to fetch some water while he set up their camp. She splashed in the stream and took a long drink when she suddenly saw a reflection of a black wolf drinking in the stream next to her. Without a thought she drew her blade from her boot and plunged it into the wolf’s throat. His body went limp and instantly transformed back to his human form—her father.

  “The girl was astonished. She’d never known the color of her father’s wolf because he had always kept it hidden, never shifting in front of her. Without knowing it, she fulfilled the curse of the black wolf. Because she killed her own father she became full of hate and the black wolf won. Fearing the legend, she vowed never to shift into her wolf again. She wandered the lands until she found another tribe to take her in and she kept her secret until she had a child of her own.

  “Etu, the girl who killed her father was your grandmother. And she told your mother that story over and over as a warning that tapping into her shifter side could only bring evil. That is why your mother hates shifters and why she’s been so protective of you.”

  “Because of my heritage?”

  “Not only your heritage . . .”

  Etti couldn’t wrap her mind around what she was hearing. “You’re a shifter too, aren’t you?”

  He nodded. “And so are you.”

  A million alarms went off in Etti’s head at once. So much made sense now. How she never felt like she fit in. Her temper, her strength, how she could keep up with Wes when they ran, how she healed so quickly from her wreck. Hell, she’d never had a broken bone in her life, even after all the times her mother had punished her. Her mother . . . Even her mother’s cold nature made more sense now. “How could you keep this from me?”

  Shame filled his eyes. “We thought we were protecting you.”

  “Protecting me from what?”

  “There is much you don’t know, Etu. But your wolf . . .” he trailed off.

  Another question popped into Etti’s ravaged mind. “Father, have I . . . shifted before?”

  “Yes, Etu. When you were a child you shifted just once before your mother started feeding you a tonic that would keep your wolf away.” Her father’s eyes shined at the memory. “Your coat was the most beautiful shade of black. A darkness to rival a starless night.” His eyes gleamed and tears slid down the deep grooves time had carved into his face.

  “Maybe that’s why you don’t feel any different after the claiming,” Grey said, sounding hopeful. “Your body already knows how to shift. This isn’t your first change!”

  “I wish it were that simple,” her father said. “You’ve been taking the tonic for almost twenty years, Etu. With that length of time it may have built up enough to prohibit you from ever shifting again.”

  “What? But Father. I’ve been claimed. If I don’t shift . . .” she trailed off.

  Her father cast his eyes at the ground. “I know what it means.”

  “I’m not sorry I did it. I love him,” Etti said taking Grey’s hand.

  “I have no doubt you do, my darling daughter,” her father replied, smiling at Etti. “You’ve always followed your heart.”

  “So what do we do now?” Etti asked.

  “We wait to see how strong your wolf is.”

  31

  Greyson

  Grey couldn’t believe the bomb Etti’s father had dropped on them. He never suspected Etti or her parents were shifters, and something about that bothered him. He should’ve been able to scent them, regardless of whatever tonic they’d all been taking. It seemed a bit extreme to let a legend dictate their lives. Grey had seen wolves of every color and as far as he’d experienced, a wolf’s coat had nothing to do with its heart.

  When Etti’s father finished his tale, he told Etti and Grey they were welcome to stay in the barn. The best he could do was to bring bedding for them, saying Ama would never allow them back in her house. Grey thanked him and walked him out of the barn, wanting a moment alone to speak to him.

  “Sir, I just wanted to tell you that I truly love your daughter. I know this has all happened rather quickly, but I’d do anything for her. Is there anything else I can do to help her?”

  Etti’s father took Grey’s hand in his strong ones. “Please, call me Mohe. And I can see your love for my daughter . . . and hers for you.” A reminiscent look crossed his face. “I remember how quickly the bond can snap into place. The best advice I can give you now is to be honest with each other. It’s just the two of you against the world now.”

  Grey nodded. “Thank you.”

  Mohe smiled and began to turn back toward the house when Grey called to him.

  “Sir, I mean, Mohe, if I’m being honest, I think Etti is strong enough to survive this. After what you’ve just told us, I’m confident she’ll shift and I’ll do everything in my power to help her. But I think the thing that is hurting her most right now is the rift between her and her mother.”

  A slow smile crept across Mohe’s face. “You are a very wise man. But let me give you some advice. Even the strongest force in the world cannot bring two women to peace when their hearts are full of war. Give it time. Ama loves her daughter. Sh
e will do what’s best for her in the end.” And with that Mohe turned and walked back to the farmhouse.

  Grey stuffed his hands in his pockets and returned to the barn. Etti was already wrapped in a blanket. They were still wearing their clothes from earlier in the day and the chill of the night was closing in on them.

  “What did you talk to my father about?” she asked when Grey joined her in the makeshift bed she’d created in the hay.

  “Honor, trust, love . . . the usual.”

  Etti snorted.

  “You joke but that’s sorta the gist of it. I told him how much I love you and that I’d do anything for you.”

  Grey watched Etti’s eyes widen. “You love me?”

  He nodded.

  “I love you, too,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck to kiss him.

  “I’ve loved you from the moment you tased me at the Painted Wolf,” Grey said, grinning against her kisses. “And again when I kissed you on the floor of your shop. And even more when I saw all of your sexy tattoos. And when I bit you . . . Good Christ, did I love you then. And I loved you more still when you saw my wolf and ran to him rather than away. And when I woke up with you curled next to me this morning . . . I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.”

  Etti kissed him harder each time he described how he loved her. He could feel how hot he was making her. She lay sprawled on her back, pulling him closer with all of her strength. He prowled over her slowly, deliberately making her wait. He loved watching her want him. She shimmied her hips and pushed them to meet his throbbing erection. He pulled her sweats slowly down to her knees and felt her slickness. She opened herself to him completely, desperately kissing him deeper and begging him to take her. He rubbed himself against her, teasingly. Tiny gasps escaped from her when he pulled away.

  “And today when I claimed you, I don’t think anyone has ever loved the way I loved you in that moment.”