Impulsive Destiny

by Cassandra Lawson

  Entering his father’s home, he was surprised by his father’s sympathetic expression, and even more surprised to see Zane’s mother there as well.

  “I’m not very good at all this emotional stuff like May is,” his father muttered, gesturing to Zane’s mom. “This has to be hard on you, and I wanted to see what I could do to help.”

  Cam swallowed hard. He’d been prepared to deal with his father’s hard ass attitude, but the idea that his father wanted him to talk about his feelings was too much. He also wasn’t in a cuddly mood, and you just couldn’t be around Zane or his mom without them touching you. Sure enough, soft feminine arms slipped around his waist from behind.

  “You poor thing,” May crooned softly. “I’m sure your female will realize her mistake in pushing you away soon. You’re a wonderful male who will make her very happy.”

  His father snorted. “He pushed her away, proving he’s a dumbass.”

  That was more like it. A fight he could deal with. “What the fuck do you know about it anyway?” Cam demanded, and he might have felt bad about the way Zane’s mom flinched at his harsh tone if he weren’t so lost in his own misery.

  “I know you’ve been waiting for her to come around for months, finding any excuse to see her, but not actively pursuing her,” his father accused. “You refuse to do what has to be done.”

  “That’s not fair to Cam,” May insisted. She was one of the few people who had no problem standing up to his father. She wasn’t the least bit afraid of his wrath.

  “You should go,” Cam told her before realizing what an ass he sounded like. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate you wanting to help me. I’m just not ready to talk about things yet.”

  Without arguing, she kissed Cam on the cheek before leaving him alone with his father.

  “You really have become an expert at pushing females you care about away,” his father accused.

  “What would you like me to do about Claire?” Cam demanded. “Should I just toss her over my shoulder and drag her back here?”

  “Yes,” his father answered without hesitation. “I gave you the chance to claim your mate, rather than pushing you toward a shifter, because I realized she was the one for you. Yet, what have you done with that chance? You sniff around her like she’s in heat, but refuse to truly claim her.”

  “If I force her, she’ll never forgive me!” Cam shouted.

  “So, you’ll lose her rather than make her angry?” his father asked.

  “You of all people have no right to judge me,” Cam hissed. “Do you think I didn’t notice your reaction to that vampire, Eleanor? You think I’m so stupid that I don’t know what a hypocrite you are?”

  “This isn’t about me, Cam,” his father growled. “You know as well as I do why that situation is futile.”

  Cam snorted. “The situation with Claire is just as hopeless, yet you expect me to do something, which is funny since you didn’t want me to have anything to do with her at first.”

  “That was before I saw you with her.” His father stalked across the room and ran a hand through his hair before turning to speak again. “Listen, Cam, I’m in a very difficult position here. I’m responsible for our clan.”

  Cam understood that, and he knew it was why his father hadn’t been thrilled with his choice of mate. Zane having picked a non-shifter mate was making matters worse. “Is the woman Zane really found his mate?”

  His father nodded. “He marked her as soon as she woke up in that hospital, from what I hear, but I have no idea how things are going. I thought it best to let him work things out on his own.”

  Cam was surprised, but not that his brother had marked the woman already. Zane was impulsive. Hell, Zane had tried to mark Layla the first time they’d met her. What shocked him was his father’s insistence that Zane be left alone with his mate. Well, as alone as he could be at the born vampire settlement. Those places didn’t offer much in the way of privacy. Sure, the shifter community didn’t offer much in the way of privacy either, but you could take off into the woods to find a place to be alone.

  “I take it by your stunned silence, you didn’t expect me to let Zane handle this on his own?”

  Cam shook his head. “Not really.”

  “In case you’ve failed to notice, you and Jase are more overprotective of your brother than I am. What should really shock you is that I’ve been able to keep Jase from checking up on him all this time,” he said with a laugh.

  That left Cam wondering if he should feel bad about Jase taking off to see Zane. Maybe their father was right about them being overprotective of their youngest brother.

  “How does Zane’s mate affect things for the clan?” Cam pushed to move the subject further from discussions of his failed attempts to convince Claire to accept him as her mate.

  His father let out a weary sigh. “It could be worse, but it’s not ideal. According to Jase, Zane believes she’s a mix of human and Fae, but she seemed shocked by the Fae part.”

  “So, how does this impact you?” Cam asked. “I thought you needed Zane to take one of the females during her heat cycle for the good of the clan.”

  “I do,” his father admitted. “Of course, that’s not an option now that he has a mate.”

  Cam understood the reasoning, even if he didn’t like it. There were a few younger males looking for power. They weren’t challenging Max to a fight, so much as openly questioning his ability to keep his line going if something were to happen to him. This had, unfortunately, caused the older members to worry about that as well. Cam knew that left his father with few options. He either had to father another child himself, or he had to get one of his sons to procreate or take an acceptable mate. The irony of this was that their father had discouraged them from impregnating any female. For all his gruffness, Max cared about his children and didn’t want to see them pressured into doing things for the good of the clan at the expense of their own happiness.

  “I’ll do it,” Cam finally said.

  His father’s head jerked up. “Do what?”

  “Impregnate the female,” Cam explained in a hollow voice. Yes, it sounded cold when he put it that way, but to him, it would be a cold act. Yes, he’d love his child, but there was no way he could feel anything for another female.

  “Cam,” his father began before running a hand through his hair. “Give me just a minute. You wait here.”

  Cam nodded because he wasn’t really sure his voice would work at this point. He hadn’t been in the mood to talk when he’d returned, feeling the weight of Claire’s rejection weighing heavily on him. Now, his words truly marked the end of any chance he might have had with Claire. Still, it was the right thing to do. Someone had to, and Cam had no idea what he was saving himself for anyway. Claire would never be his. It was time to accept the truth and move on.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Zane wouldn’t say he was surprised when Jase turned up at the born vampire settlement. Actually, he’d been surprised his family had given him this much time alone with Lexi.

  They were walking back to the house from the training center with Raven and Layla when Jase approached them. Zane was happy to see his brother, but he really hoped the visit would be short. After watching his female spar with the others for the last hour, he was so turned on, it was hard to remember how to put one foot in front of the other.

  “I was wondering how long you’d all wait to check up on me,” Zane muttered. “Did our father send you?”

  Jase let out a quick bark of laughter. “He’s the one who told me I couldn’t check up on you. He said you needed time to work things out on your own.”

  “Really?” Zane asked, raising both eyebrows.

  Jase nodded. “So, introduce me to your mate.”

  “Lexi, this is my oldest brother, Jase,” Zane said as he slipped an arm around her waist. He’d been doing his best not to touch her for fear it would strip away what self-control he had at the moment, but he figured Jase’s arrival meant his plans to ple
asure his mate would have to wait a little longer.

  Lexi flushed. “I remember you from the hospital.” She gave Jase a shy smile, and Zane suspected she was probably embarrassed about having Jase know what had happened in the hospital, so he pulled her closer.

  “I hope my brother’s manners have improved since that day,” Jase said, and Layla laughed.

  “Are you kidding?” Layla asked him. “Zane doesn’t know the meaning of good manners.”

  “True, little kit,” Jase agreed.

  “Are you just here to check up on Zane?” Raven asked. “Or, is there something going on Connor should hear about?”

  “Nothing going on in our territory to concern Connor,” Jase replied. “I do need to talk to Claire, or get a message to her. Is she back at the island settlement yet?”

  The way Jase said it had Zane worried. “Cam is back?” Why would Cam come to the settlement and not visit with him? That really wasn’t like his brother.

  “He made it back to the lynx territory earlier today,” Jase explained.

  “From what I heard, the others got here a couple hours ago. Claire is supposed to head to the island because Connor needs Nate here, but I’m not sure if she’s left yet,” Raven explained.

  “I guess I’d better hunt her down now,” Jase told Zane. “I don’t want to have to make another stop if I can avoid it.”

  “Why isn’t Cam hunting her down?” Zane asked. “Cam never passes up an opportunity to chase after Claire.”

  Jase let out a sigh of frustration. “Apparently, he’s decided to stop chasing her.”

  “Is he out of his mind?” Layla demanded.

  “Yes,” Zane answered, even though he knew it was a rhetorical question. Insanity was the only thing that would explain his brother’s actions. No way would Cam give up on Claire. He released Lexi and took two steps toward Jase. “How can he give up on her? She’s his mate.”

  Zane’s agitation faded some when Lexi’s arms slipped around his waist from behind. The pure joy he found from her touch was almost enough to make him purr.

  “You should go to your brother,” Lexi said against his back. “It sounds like Cam needs you.”

  “I can’t leave you,” Zane argued.

  “He’s right,” Jase agreed. “It’ll make him crazy to be away from you. You’re newly bonded, and even I could sense your anxiety increasing at the idea of Zane being away from you.”

  “Then I’ll go with Zane.” Lexi glared at Jase as she made that statement, and Zane’s heart swelled with pride at the way his mate refused to back down. There was also no denying how much he loved the fact that she was thinking about his needs.

  “I’m not sure how Connor will feel about that,” Raven jumped in, and then laughed when Lexi glared at her. “Before you start complaining about Connor trying to keep you prisoner, it’s more complex than that. The Fae can be deadly, and they’ve been known to hunt down and kill half-breeds.”

  “That’s true,” Zane agreed. “Although, I’m not sure what Connor thinks he can do against the Fae.”

  “He just believes there’s safety in numbers,” Raven explained.

  “There’s also the fact that Ian’s mate lives here, and the Fae promised to leave her and those she loves alone. For them to come after you here, they might risk breaking that promise, which could get them in trouble with some of the scarier Fae.”

  “I’m not going to sit around like some prisoner,” Lexi snapped. “And don’t bother telling me I’m not a prisoner. The only way I can leave that stupid house is if you send a guard with me. Maybe I’d be better off with Zane’s people anyway. I’ve been locked up, and I don’t want to live that way again, even if it is to keep me safe.”

  “We can go back to my home if you want,” Zane offered.

  “At the very least, we should check on your brother if you’re worried about him,” she insisted.

  “Let me see if we can work this out first,” Jase interrupted them. “I just need to talk to Claire.”

  “And tell her what?” Layla asked. “I’m not trying to sound pessimistic, but Cam’s been chasing after Claire for months. We’ve all talked to her about shifter instincts, and she still refuses to accept him. You can’t reason with her.”

  Zane grinned at Layla’s ruthless defense of his brother. He knew she liked and respected Claire, but it was clear she’d taken sides.

  Surprisingly, Jase seemed less inclined to berate Claire for her decision. “She’s not a shifter,” he argued. “It’s unfair to assume that just because we find a mate, she’ll understand and accept our ways.” Then his gaze fixed on Zane. “Forcing his mark on her might have changed it some, but in the end, Claire may never accept Cam as her mate.”

  There was silence for a moment as they all processed the possibility of Cam having his heart broken. Actually, it sounded like Cam’s heart had already been broken.

  “You have a plan, don’t you?” Raven finally asked.

  “Not a good one,” Jase admitted. “My father said I should tell Claire what Cam has planned and see if she really loves him. If she does nothing, my father figures it proves she’s not right for Cam.”

  “But he doesn’t think she’ll do nothing,” Zane added. “If he did, he never would have sent you to talk to her.”

  Jase didn’t look quite so convinced, but he merely shrugged.

  “So, what does the dumbass plan on doing?” Layla asked and laughed when Jase glared at her. “Don’t look at me like that. He must be planning something pretty stupid to get you running out here.”

  “He’s going to take a female during her heat cycle for the good of the clan,” Jase explained. “At least, that’s what he told our father. I’m not convinced he’ll be able to go through with it.”

  “Why would he do that if he loves this other woman?” Lexi sounded confused.

  “Because he’s giving up,” Zane replied sadly. “He’s decided that she’s never going to be with him, and he’s letting her go.”

  “So, now, he’ll go off and get some other woman pregnant?” Lexi asked with a snort. “What a dumbass.”

  “She’s too smart for you,” Layla told Zane.

  “You don’t understand shifter politics, Lexi,” Zane argued.

  “Right. I don’t understand your politics, but what Cam is doing is fucked up. What’s the woman he’s been chasing after going to think?” Lexi asked with her hands on her hips.

  “We’ll find out soon enough,” Jase replied. “I’m on my way to tell her now. Before anyone bitches at me for interfering, it was my father’s idea to tell her. He said, if she’s his true mate, she won’t be able to let him go through with it.”

  “What if she just needs more time to come to that conclusion?” Zane argued. “Our father can’t expect Claire to react like a shifter.”

  “Something tells me he won’t let Cam go through with it,” Raven said thoughtfully.

  “I think you’re right,” Jase agreed with a nod.

  “That makes this whole thing even worse,” Lexi began her rant. “This is just some stupid game to con that poor woman into giving in when she’s not ready.”

  With that, Lexi stormed off, and Zane sighed. So much for his plans for kinky sex with Lexi. He’d be lucky if she wasn’t thinking of ways to avoid all shifters from now on.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  When Claire saw the messy tawny hair and determined stride, her breath caught in her throat, and she was sure it was Cam. Of course, it didn’t take long to realize her mistake, and she fought the wave of disappointment that washed over her.

  While she’d expected one of Cam’s brothers to show up eventually, she hadn’t expected them this soon, so she was surprised to see Jase stalking toward her. In all the months Cam had pursued her, she’d never really spent much time talking to Jase. Of the three brothers, Jase was the oldest and seemed to be the most serious.

  Since Claire was pissed at Cam for taking off, she decided to walk away from Jase. It was possible he
wasn’t planning to approach her anyway. He might be stalking toward the training center to meet someone since he was friends with other vampires at the settlement.

  “Claire!” Jase called out.

  Cursing under her breath, she stopped because she wasn’t going to act like some coward and hide from Cam’s brother. Maybe he was here to give her a message from Cam, as if Cam’s actions hadn’t spoken louder than words. Cam didn’t want her. He was done trying to get her to accept him, and even though she understood his reasoning, it hurt, and she was furious. No, she wasn’t furious with Cam. He wasn’t the one who’d screwed things up. She’d done that all on her own, and she really needed to get her shit together and fix this.

  “I get that you’re pissed at me,” Claire said as she turned to face Jase. “I hurt your brother, and you have every right to be pissed.”

  Jase cocked his head to the side and studied her for a moment. “I suppose I do have a right to be mad about that, but I’m not. You’re not a shifter, and I know it can’t be easy for you to understand our ways. Cam’s not human, and he’s not really sure how to pursue you in a way that will make sense to you. The whole thing has been fucked up, but I don’t blame you for that.”

  Claire wasn’t sure what to say. Now, she felt kind of ridiculous for assuming Jase was here to berate her for hurting Cam. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I assumed you wanted to talk to me about Cam.”

  “I do,” Jase admitted. “Just so you know, it was not my idea to come here to tell you what’s going on with Cam.”

  “Is he okay?” Claire asked, suddenly worried something might have happened to him.

  Jase hesitated too long, and Claire’s fear increased.

  “If you don’t tell me what’s going on now, I’m going to hurt you,” she warned.

  Jase chuckled. “I can see why my brother finds you so hard to resist. He’s always loved a feisty female.”

  “Feisty does not sound like a compliment,” she told him with her arms crossed in front of her chest.