Claimed by Caden

by Serena Akeroyd

  “Whereabouts did you live?”

  “We lived in Queens, I think. For a while.”

  “Before your father disappeared?”

  “Yeah. We moved to the Bronx afterward.”

  The two Enforcers shared a look, then Nikola said, “Was there a reason for that move?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think even Tommy would know. He’s not that much older than me, and Mom tended to keep to herself about these things. She tried her best but she had a lot on her plate trying to keep everything going. I remember her crying a lot, and I know how unhappy she was. That’s it.”

  “You sounded…well, to be frank, Dam, you sounded like you lived in poverty?”

  Lia’s lips tightened. “That isn’t the word. Why do you think I’m pissed off? My grandmother is Pride royalty, and my mother had to slave away every night, without break, to put food on the table.”

  Nikola winced at that, and sat back, leaving Alice to take up the questioning. “Do you think it’s possible you were in hiding?”

  Lia frowned. “Hiding from what?”

  Alice merely jerked a shoulder. “Why didn’t she apply for welfare? With two children, surely she could have asked for some support from the human government?”

  Lia shrugged. “They must have rejected her petition—it happens. I don’t think we were hiding out from anyone, but I can’t say for definite.”

  “You’ve been very helpful, Dam, thank you,” Alice told her with a gentle smile. “Now, we’ve come here today for two reasons. We wanted to ask you about your father, and to try to gain as much information about him as possible. But your grandmother also petitioned us to ask you if you’d come and visit her.”

  “She’s asking?” Lia blurted out. Hell, even Caden was shocked.

  Nikola nodded. “Yes. She has a helicopter reserved for you in the neighboring town that will take you to the airport. She’s eager to meet you. Both of you.”

  “What about Tommy?”

  “We understand from his healers that he’s in no real state to travel. The instant he is, the Mater would also like to meet him.”

  Lia pondered that, and then asked, “What does she think happened to my father? What did you expect me to tell you about him?”

  Nikola looked at Alice who cautiously said, “When your father ran from the National Headquarters thirty-two years ago, the Enforcers searched high and low for him. They tracked him through three states before he disappeared. And we mean disappeared! He went completely off the grid. We had no idea why he did that. As far as the Mater and her children were concerned, your father was happy with his role in the Pride.

  “At first, the Enforcers running his case believed he’d been kidnapped, as that appeared to be the only explanation for his disappearance. But, they soon learned that wasn’t the case. The Mater has never really understood why her son left, until now. Until you.”

  Lia frowned. “You’re talking about my mother, right?”

  Nikola murmured, “Yes. Mismatching partnerships are frowned upon by all the races. The offspring aren’t made to suffer for their parents’ misdeeds, you understand, but still, it’s understood by all that we breed with our own.

  “The only reason your father would have done what he did, without any outsider intervention, was for a mate. Just as yours did.” A small smile sprang across her lips. “We only break the rules for mates. Once you were born, because they were half-breeds, your parents didn’t need to fear your shifting like pureblooded children do. So they could still stay low. Living under the radar was the only way they could be together, I assume, without bringing attention to your father’s whereabouts.”

  “But surely,” Lia interrupted, “once they’d had kids, the Pride would have accepted them?”

  Nikola nodded. “Yes. The Pride would. Which means there was another reason why they stayed hidden in the city. It was either to do with your mother’s lineage, or....”

  Caden hissed out a breath. “You think the Puristas were involved, don’t you?”

  “Unfortunately, yes, we do,” Alice replied.

  “What are the Puristas?” Lia asked, only to be interrupted by the sound of a crash coming from outside the room. Both Enforcers leapt to their feet, Nikola headed to the door, gun suddenly in hand, while Alice moved over to shield Lia. Caden, on the other hand, didn’t bother to move. He knew exactly what was behind the crash, and from Lia’s smile, he thought she knew, too.

  “Come in, Mother,” he called out, earning scowls from both Enforcers.

  Alice spat, “Your dam?”

  He nodded. “She’s listening in.”

  Nikola dragged open the door and barked, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  Caden peered over the armchairs to look at his mother surrounded by smashed china and an overturned coffee pot. “Eavesdropping, Dam? I thought you had more class.”

  Beside him, Lia snickered, and Eloise, who had already been flushed with mortification, turned a shade of beet. “My apologies,” she hissed to the Enforcer while glaring Caden’s way.

  “It is not I to whom you should be apologizing, Dam Drummond. It is to the Mater’s granddaughter.”

  From beet to puce in two seconds flat. If Caden had feared for the health of his mother’s heart, he’d have been concerned at the after-effect of Nikola’s words. Instead, his mate was gracious, where graciousness was not deserved.

  “It’s alright, Nikola. Eloise was just curious. I’m going to assume you overheard something that concerned you, Eloise? Something to do with the Puristas?”

  Eloise’s nod was stiff as she slowly moved to a standing position. She walked into the room, leaving the mess for the maids to clear later, and moved toward the seating area where they’d all congregated.

  “The Puristas were a movement in the eighties. They gained a lot of power in all the Pride’s towns. Even the other shifters, the wolves and bears, eagles and pumas, joined the ranks. For once, our nations were at peace with one another against a shared enemy,” she explained, directing her words at Lia.

  Caden raised a brow. “You seem to know a lot about the group, Mother.”

  She grimaced. “I’m ashamed to admit I was a part of it—the Leona was one of the group’s sentinels, and most of Anchor followed her. Puristas were, and the few who still follow, are against crossbreeding. There’d been a surge in the sixties of half-breeds. Free love among the humans had spread to the shifter communities and had been worsening over time. The Puristas came about to put the fear of the Lea into our cubs.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Nikola spat. “The Puristas were vigilantes. Attacking half-breed homes and places of business. Marking or destroying their property. It took a few years for the National Enforcers to weed them out, especially the main ringleaders.” Nikola’s lips pursed. “And you’re telling me the Leona of this Pride was a member? A sentinel, even?”

  Eloise hissed out a breath, and slowly sank down into a chair. Her fingers curled into claws as she gripped the padded armrest of her seat. “I meant no ill toward our Leona. She is a good leader. And we all make mistakes.”

  “That is not for you to decide. If she ran with the Puristas then she committed a felony.”

  “Many ran with the Puristas,” Eloise cried. “That does not make them all evil.”

  “No, it doesn’t, but when one in power sides with an organization that is expressly against the Mater’s laws, then she must be punished. And only the National Congress can see to that punishment.”

  The horror of what she’d unwittingly caused by a few misspoken words cast a pall over Eloise’s face. Enough so that even Caden, who had spent the last few years in one long pique of infuriated anger with his mother, felt for her.

  “She really is a good leader,” Caden offered, earning himself a grateful glance from his dam. “True to the Mater’s laws in all things.”

  “Save this,” Nikola dismissed. “Now is not the time to discuss such a topic. And if news of our conversati
on reaches the Leona’s ears, then there will be hell to pay, do you understand?” she demanded of them all, only continuing when they nodded. “It is to the Mater’s Enforcers to see to her incarceration. As it is, we must speak with your brother, Lia. Before we go, I would like to report to my seniors that you are interested in meeting with your granddam. Can I offer them this good news?”

  Lia sat up, turning to look at Caden as she did. “What do you want to do, Caden? Shall we go?”

  While there had been silence among the others before she’d posed the question, the tenor of it changed afterward. “Why do you ask your life mate?” Alice asked, curiosity in her tone. “It is your decision to make.”

  Lia scowled. “You could all do with a dose of equality in your world. He’s not my property. Human females have spent too much damn time trying to fight their way to a level footing, there’s no way I’m going to make my husband my chattel.”

  Alice was unoffended by this, if anything, her curiosity increased. Eloise made no comment, neither vocal nor with her body language to say whether she agreed or not. Caden knew she was still in shock at the trouble she had unintentionally caused the Leona, who was, after all, a friend. But he also thought she’d be pleased by his mate’s admission. After all, she’d spent the majority of his life bending the Pride’s rules to suit the way she wanted him educated. Nikola was the only one disgusted by Lia’s remarks. And she said so.

  “Males are not to be trusted, Lia. You will come to realize this once you live among us. Their aggression makes them less worthy of important roles save those for war-making.”

  “Perhaps, in your world, but not in mine. I couldn’t stand it if he wandered about the place like a ghost. My father-in-law is like a shadow. I never see him for more than five minutes, and even then, he doesn’t have a damn thing to say! That isn’t how I want my husband to be. And Caden has lived among humans for long enough to become accustomed to our ways. On top of that, he’s a lawyer. He fights with words, not his fists.”

  Nikola didn’t look as though she agreed, not if her scowl was anything to go by. Lia merely shook her head, looked at him—outright blanking her—and asked, “Well, do you think we should go or not?”

  With all eyes on him, he couldn’t exactly have said no. Not if he didn’t want the Mater to detest him immediately, but in the end, he had no choice anyway. Lia needed to meet her family, and that was that.

  Decision made.

  Chapter Fourteen

  With Caden for a husband, Lia wouldn’t deny she’d grown accustomed to a high standard of living. Not that she took advantage of that or of his wealth. But after their years together, she was just used to lovely surroundings, lots of space even in space-poor Manhattan, and dining in really nice places that were more expensive than most people’s mortgages on special occasions.

  Regardless of that, she was stuck in her ways to some extent. Her mother had had to raise them with a less than generous wage lining her pockets. Clipping coupons, cutting corners where possible, they’d all been a part of her childhood. To this day, if Lia saw a coupon in a magazine, she’d cut it and use it. If she saw a staple on offer, she’d buy that over her preferred brand. It was engrained in her. Wealth was not.

  If Eloise’s home had staggered her—she couldn’t say Christopher’s home, because the Pride didn’t work that way. Properties were owned by the female—then the Mater’s was heart attack inducing.

  Think White House. Only bigger.

  “This is where she lives?” Lia hissed in an aside to Caden.

  They were in a limo driving through gates so ornate they looked as though they were made from spun sugar rather than wrought iron, and heading down a drive lined with gardens that made the term manicured look unkempt.

  Acre after acre of grass so perfect it looked like fabric, flowerbeds so symmetrical they made her frown.

  So much flawlessness was unnerving. The whole Pride seemed to thrive on it, and it just made her anxious!

  Caden chuckled. “Yes. She lives and works here. This is the seat of the National Pride.”

  “Oh, so the Pride government meets here?”

  He wobbled his hand from side to side. “Sort of. There’s a congressional hall, but when the Mater’s decision is required, they meet here.”

  “Does she live alone in this palace?” Lia asked, eying the enormous building.

  “No. Her family lives in.”

  She nibbled her lip. “She might want us to live there, mightn’t she?”

  Caden blew out a breath, one loaded with a nervousness that kindled a similar emotion in her. “Perhaps.”

  His usually light-golden skin was a little paler than usual, another sign of his nerves. And his eyes were darting all over the place, from the limo to their joined hands, then back to the Mater’s palace.

  Before this whole thing had started, and she’d just believed them to be an ordinary couple, Caden had astounded her. He’d possessed an ironclad control that had attracted her. A wit that clashed with her own, and a strength of will that appealed to her greatly. With his golden looks, from the tawny-gold tousled hair, to those leaf-green eyes, the wide and generous mouth, and firm jaw, as well as the delicious muscles that clad his body, he’d had the whole package. So much so, she’d questioned what he’d seen in her.

  She was pretty. She knew that, and didn’t see the point in being coy about it. But, she was also rotund, well, far too much for her own liking. Short with none of the willowy length she’d thought a man of Caden’s caliber would appreciate.

  A pleasant arrangement of features shouldn’t have been enough to catch this man, but it had been. And now she knew they were mated, she realized he loved her for her. For who she was to him and what she would be, the mother of his cubs, as he phrased it.

  She’d loved him, but there had always been a part of him closed off to her. She’d sensed it, and now she was aware of his secrets, she’d learned so much more.

  He was capable of anxiety, and of showing it. His feelings weren’t on lockdown, as she’d always imagined. Learning about the real man had shown her how perfect he really was for her. And hell, it was no wonder he found corporate law less stressful than being a Pride male. Just getting away from his mother was like a vacation.

  It was ironic that he was more attractive as a partner now, with all his vulnerabilities, than he had been as the strong, stoic man who had stood by her side and fought any demon she’d brought to him to slay.

  She liked the two halves of the man she was mated to, and it eased some of her tension to know that whatever she was about to endure in this goddamn palace that would make a Queen sigh in envy, she’d have him at her side. To protect and defend her from whatever happened, but not only that, as a friend. As a mate.

  They were stronger together than they were apart. She knew that now. Strange how it had all seemed to sink into place once she’d learned just what she was. And Lia said as much to him, “Whatever happens in there, Caden, we’re a team. You remember that, right?”

  He squeezed her hand. “I do. And you’re right. I’m just nervous, that’s all. What would you be like if all of a sudden, the President was your grandsire-in-law?”

  She chuckled at the notion. “Freaked as fuck.”

  “Exactly,” he retorted with a grin. “I think that says it all.”

  “I have a way with words, don’t you know?”

  “That’s why I mated with you,” he teased.

  The limo slowed as it reached a roundabout of sorts. The kind that only huge drives have. In the middle, there was a statue of a Lion and Lioness in mid-pounce. Underneath, fountains spat water, making it look like the creatures were in motion. It was impressive and if you knew what and who the palace housed, then it told a tale. Otherwise, and to humans, it was just a fountain with some pretty nifty lion statues.

  As the car slowly pulled to a halt outside an edifice that was as wide as the Trump building was tall, the wheels spat out small, chalky stones like they were bul
lets from an AK47. Hell, she’d have been less surprised to see the guns than she was at the mansion in front of her. Endless reams of windows and doors, cornices and decorative curlicues adorning the façade stared back at her as she gawked at her grandmother’s home. A huge expanse of brick, more Juliet balconies than she could count, and storm shutters that looked more decorative than useful were the next features her eyes absorbed.

  When the limo was stationary, she made a move toward the door, but Caden tugged her back. “The driver will get it for us.”

  “I’m not sure I want him to open a door I’m quite capable of opening myself.”

  He snorted. “Brat. You’ll get used to it eventually. The staff in there will want to do more than open doors for you, baby. You’re the daughter of the long lost son of the house. Your granddam worshipped her son. Unusual as it was, and disapproved of by most. The entire nation mourned for her when he ran away, and everyone stopped to help her seek him. This might get overwhelming, sweet cakes.”

  She grimaced at his warning. “Don’t sweet cakes me, sweet cheeks.”

  “You can tell me how sweet they are later.”

  Lia’s grimace turned into a grin. “Eww, not in my grandmother’s house.”

  He laughed. The sound was so full-bodied and rich, it swam over her senses like the finest wine. “You think no babies were made in the expanding of this Pride? Hell, your granddam wouldn’t be who she is without popping out six cubs.”

  Lia shuddered at that. “Six. You can get yourself snipped if we have more than three.”

  “It’s a good job I have no aspersions to power,” he mocked, sounding almost mournful.

  She just rolled her eyes, and alighted from the limo when the door opened for her. Lia turned to the driver with a smile, and murmured her thanks. The instant she stood beside the limo, she could see what she hadn’t seen inside it. Faces. Hundreds of them peering through the hundreds of windows to look at her. Christ, there could have been thousands considering the goddamn size of the palace.