Un.Wavering (Claimed Series Book 3)

by Reese Morgan

  Hayden dismissed Nicolas’ stark possessiveness and focused sharply on Marcus. It was understandable that he knew so much, considering he was Julian’s beta, yet it still didn’t sit well with her.

  Out of a sense of protectiveness, she stood stiffly, remaining silent on the subject of Cole. Nicolas followed her lead, preferring to stare at Marcus and silently chastise the man for even having the audacity to ask.

  “No matter,” Marcus breezed on, sensing the tension, “I will bring you to Julian. I cannot guarantee you’ll get what you want from him.” Strain laced his words. “Julian can be a bit… disagreeable at times.”

  Hayden took note of the trepidation in the man’s voice, wondering how much worse it could possibly get for them. While the man reassured them that Julian wasn’t supporting his mother or the traditional werewolves, Hayden knew not to get her hopes up.

  Then again, Marcus did say that Julian was interested to see them, her especially. Hayden wondered what his intentions were and why he shared his mother’s unnatural interest when it came to her.

  She exhaled as Nicolas nodded once. Silently and simultaneously, Marcus’ pack stood from their chairs, awaiting orders from their beta.

  The pack dynamic made her think briefly of Blake and the others. She dared to hold a sliver of optimism that Julian would prove to be helpful. She wanted to go home. Needed to go home. She wanted Cole safely with his pack.

  Her eyes landed on Nicolas, noticing that as the man stood, he earned apprehensive and guarded stares from the surrounding werewolves. His mere presence clearly set off werewolves who knew him by name and reputation.

  Their wary behavior made Hayden suddenly realize that their quest to find Xavier Slayter’s secrets wasn’t the last of their problems. How Nicolas adapted with the other werewolves back home would be another hurdle they eventually needed to face.

  “You wear your apprehension on your face,” Nicolas murmured softly as he swept past her. “Relax, child.”

  Blinking, she quickly followed him as they retreated from the bar. Despite Nicolas’ optimism, Hayden couldn’t help but feel a horrible weight of dread settle in her stomach.

  * * * *

  He said not to worry. To relax.

  Hayden clutched the bed of the pickup truck, feeling anything but relaxed. At the speed they were traveling, her hair slapped relentlessly against her face and a thin layer of dirt powdered her face and lips. The sound of diesel engines were nearly deafening against the silent, wide open terrain.

  They were traveling in two massive pickup trucks. What men couldn’t fit inside the cab lounged in the back of the spacious truck. Hayden sat stiffly next to Cole while Nicolas traveled in the truck behind them.

  Unlike her cool, collected companion next to her, Hayden perched uncomfortably against the wall of the bed, clutching the ledge with a white-knuckled grip.

  Nothing but dirt roads surrounded them, inconveniently kicking up clouds of dirt and rocky debris. Hayden knew it would take quite some time to get the abrasive taste of sand out of her mouth.

  Past the roaring wind and the relentless grinding of dirt, a chuckle reached her ears. She turned an accusing stare on a man opposite of her, finding his eyes soaking in her rigid form.

  “You look a bit tense.”

  Hayden lifted her lip at the obvious statement. Before she could offer an abrasive insult, a warm hand pried her grip from the truck.

  “Relax,” Cole ordered smoothly, not realizing he’d just repeated his brother’s earlier advice. “It is a much smoother ride if you can relax your body.”

  As she stared at him, ready to protest, she realized how peaceful he appeared despite the situation. He had seemed wary at first when Nicolas and Hayden conveyed the events from inside the bar. Yet, despite his misgivings, he lounged almost serenely against the side of the truck.

  The moon was nearly full as it hung high and bright in the black sky. Its silver rays highlighted Cole’s upturned face, accenting the deep and defined grooves of his masculine face.

  Hayden faltered at the sight before her, feeling her worries and anxieties diminish.

  His eyes, closed in meditation, opened and levelled her with a fond stare. Small lines of amusement creased the corners of his eyes and an affectionate smile played lightly across his stubbled face.

  Lowering her hand away from the truck bed and onto the floor, Cole entwined their fingers and fully engulfed her hand with his large palm. At his insistence, Hayden slowly eased the tension from her body and put her weight against the side of the truck.

  Unfortunately, his cool presence could only last for so long.

  Hayden squinted into the distance, watching as a horse ranch became clearer and clearer. It appeared as if there were two ranch homes situated on the large property, along with a stable and a larger building, like a training arena.

  Oddly enough, despite the fences and stables, she did not smell or hear horses. Perhaps a very faint odor, maybe, which indicated an age-old memory of the animals that once occupied the ranch, but nothing recent.

  She steadied her pulse as they raced blindly toward the lit ranch house. There were a few werewolves milling about around the two homes, their figures suggesting a mix of female and male.

  As they came to an abrupt, almost jarring stop, Hayden saw the werewolves in more detail. She stared openly at the few females, who were dressed scantly and provocatively. Their cutoff shorts and low cut shirts were meant to entice, but Hayden didn’t understand the purpose.

  When it came to enticing male werewolves, one simply had to be a female. It didn’t matter what they were wearing.

  And then she smelt it.

  Humans.

  Men leaped from the vehicle, but Hayden stayed put in the bed of the pickup truck, assessing the scene through naïve eyes. The scent of sex, sweat, booze, and werewolves fragranced the ranch, yet she could also identify the scent of human females.

  They waltzed around, preening and catering to the men around them.

  It was unsettling, but Hayden realized that it made sense. The poor ratio of male werewolves to female werewolves was obvious. Clearly, the male werewolves wouldn’t sit on their hands forever for a female werewolf to come along.

  These human women had to know what beasts they were enticing. It made the whole scene that much more deprived.

  A hand tapped smartly on the side of the pickup truck, startling her out of her shocked observation. She turned, staring at Nicolas as he came to a stop next to her. Cole slowly stood from his position, watching as the men piled inside the ranch house, clearly in search of Julian Crow.

  “He will be with you shortly,” Marcus informed distractedly from over his shoulder. “Excuse me, I have a few things to clean up.”

  She watched as he approached the group of men and women outside, shooing them away. Hayden grimaced, though her thoughts were disrupted when Cole offered her a hand to stand.

  “While it is in poor taste, it is times like these when I am reminded how young our pup really is,” Nicolas drawled in amusement from behind her. “She is entirely sheltered, Cole. Perhaps some good can come out of this trip.”

  “I am not sheltered,” Hayden argued icily, not realizing her shock was palpable.

  Nicolas simply raised an eyebrow in response.

  Fortunately, Cole didn’t comment. He assisted Hayden out of the truck, ever the gentlemen. “Remain on guard,” he instructed. “I am not anticipating any of Celeste’s puppets to be here. Our chances of defending ourselves is favorable if the situation demands it.”

  Hayden jumped down on the ground, settling between the two males. She kept her eyes directed on the pack house in front of her, observing the many faces peering out at them from lit windows.

  Her fingers brushed against the knives underneath her blouse, reassuring herself.

  As the door opened to the pack house, Hayden stiffened in anticipation. Despite Mavis indicating that Julian resembled his father, Hayden still pictured him to mirror Ce
leste in many ways.

  He would share her strawberry red hair and her piercing green eyes. He would have her poise and her elegance, perhaps even possess her ability of seduction. Even with his surname of Crow, he would have to possess somewhat of an ability to charm others, to lead others despite his young age.

  It was natural to picture a male version of Celeste.

  As a handful of men escaped from the house, she bypassed them and locked eyes on the last figure to emerge from the doorway. Hayden’s breath caught sharply in her throat and her pulse stopped for a fraction of a second before speeding up uncontrollably.

  Her imaginary picture of Julian Crow abruptly shattered as she watched him slowly saunter down the steps. He did not share Celeste’s face, but a face of Hayden’s past, of someone she’d buried long ago from her memory.

  It couldn’t be.

  “We appreciate you taking the time to meet with us.” Cole’s voice came from far away despite his close proximity.

  Julian Crow ignored him entirely, his hazel eyes directed on Hayden and only Hayden. He tilted his head to the side, a coy, almost sinister smirk lighting his features as soon as he noticed her recognition.

  “Hayden,” Cole called distantly, touching her shoulder.

  She sucked in a breath and her hands trembled.

  “Hello,” Julian greeted with intentional slowness. “Sister.”

  They said Julian shared the face of his father, of the infamous Logan Crow. But to Hayden, he didn’t share the face of a stranger, but of her own, elusive father, Kevin Grey.

  11. Chapter Eleven

  It was as if she looked through a distorted mirror, or maybe even an old photograph.

  Hayden shared many similar facial features as her estranged father. From the long nose to the almond-shaped eyes. She even possessed his square jawline and his upturned lips.

  All those features of her father mirrored back at her in Julian Crow. Only, Julian also shared their father’s hazel eyes and the same slicked-back blond hair. Though, his shade of blond possessed some of Celeste’s warm red.

  Hayden stood in absolute silence, her body stiff and clammy with anxiety. Not only did she reel over the revelation that her father was the very same ghost they were recklessly hunting after, but also the fact that her father had not simply abandoned his family, but had died a couple years ago.

  In her mind, she’d always considered him dead.

  However, knowing it was actually true devastated her.

  “Don’t look so surprised,” Julian coaxed, his voice nearly earsplitting in the stunned, observing silence. “Logan Crow slept around quite frequently. An offspring or two were bound to happen. Of course, none as special as you.”

  His tone was sour and his eyes flashed bitterly.

  A bombshell like this wasn’t supposed to happen to Hayden. She’d been a simple human, bitten on accident and dragged unwillingly into the werewolf world. They were looking for Xavier Slayter’s dirty secrets, not hers, not her father’s.

  She could sense the skeptical eyes and feel the weight of the focused attention from the surrounding spectators. Questions burned her throat and pressed heavily on her chest, yet nothing came out of her mouth.

  She stood there stupidly, staring at the younger version of her father.

  And he was younger.

  She drank the sight of him, morbidly fascinated. He was not yet a full-fledged male werewolf. Built like Hayden, he was slender with long limbs. His shoulders were broader, though, and his body was on the cusp of adulthood.

  One thing Hayden kept turning over in her head was that her father was a werewolf and why she still couldn’t see it, even now. Did her mother know? Course not. Then, how could she not have known, having slept with the man, having conceived a child with the man, having married the man?

  Although, he had been gone for work the majority of the time... a convenient way to cover the fact he lived a double life.

  Her eyes landed on Nicolas, narrowing her sights on him. Just yesterday, he’d questioned her specifically on her father. His career in particular. “You knew,” she accused softly. “All those questions about my father. You knew all this time.”

  “I had my suspicions, and only just recently.”

  “No one knew,” Julian interrupted, drawing Hayden’s attention once again. “With the exception of myself, my mother, and a few close friends of my father.”

  Celeste.

  It suddenly dawned on Hayden that Celeste had known all along.

  It had been too ironic that Tracer had showed up on her Aunt’s property that night of the full moon. Celeste planned Hayden’s transformation into a werewolf from the very beginning, or maybe, the woman had hoped Hayden had died that night.

  “I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many bastard children Logan Crow spawned. He’s lived a very long time.” Julian glided off the last step and slowly advanced. “It’s not uncommon. But what is uncommon is for a werewolf to impregnate a human woman and conceive a human child.”

  Hayden knew it wasn’t impossible, though. Fergus and Nathan were living proof of that theory. While they were twins, Fergus had been born a human.

  “His one and only little girl. He wanted to stick around and play house with the humans for as long as possible.”

  It was impossible to ignore his disgust and envy. He was upset over his father’s deceit and he saw Hayden as the perfect scapegoat. “You sound bitter,” she said dryly, recognizing this would not be a happy family reunion.

  He raised a finely shaped eyebrow. “Shouldn’t I be? Shouldn’t you be? He destroyed my mother and lived a double life. The only difference is that I knew his true self, while you were raised with a deceitful and neglectful father.”

  She trembled. The truth and his words hit her hard.

  Julian studied the trio, looking especially at the way Nicolas and Cole stood unmoving on either side of her. “Ironic you keep the company of Slayters. Just like our father.” He looked at Cole. “I know exactly why you’ve come here. And I’m afraid I can’t give you the answers you’re looking for.”

  With one last assessing sneer, Julian turned his back and retreated towards the pack house. Other werewolves began following suit, apparently dismissing the conversation and company entirely.

  Hayden exhaled in surprise, subconsciously reaching out a hand toward his retreating back. “That’s it?” she demanded sharply. A hand landed on her shoulder, holding her back. “You can tell me about our relation, but you won’t give answers on Xavier Slayter?”

  “You don’t want information about Xavier Slayter,” Julian countered fiercely, turning his heel and facing her once more. “You want information about what he was involved with while in the company of my parents. You want to take my mother down, armed with enough information to use against her.”

  “Yes,” she admitted without hesitation.

  Why deny it when it was so painfully obvious?

  His expression remained firm, unreadable. “I’ll tell you what,” he started slowly. “I will challenge you to a hand-to-hand combat. Without your favorite knives. If you win, I’ll give you answers.”

  At the spoken offer, laughter chorused across the ranch. Hayden finally tore her eyes away from Julian and assessed her surroundings. Werewolves were everywhere. Seeing the numbers in person was far more impressive than hearing about it.

  Julian truly had a significant amount of manpower behind his every order.

  All of them, at least four dozen, appeared amused at Julian’s offer; as if they all shared a secret only they were privy too. Hayden recognized the ridicule in their eyes, the fire behind their amusement.

  To them, a mere female wouldn’t stand a chance against their Alpha male.

  “And if you win,” Hayden prompted impatiently.

  Julian smiled sinisterly. “We need another female in our pack. Especially a daughter of Logan Crow. Even if you are a Mutt, you still come from a predominant pedigree to produce strong offsprin
g.”

  A set of heavy hands fell on top her shoulders just as high-pitched whistles and cheers erupted amongst the men of Julian’s pack. Cole clutched her, his expression as dark as she’d ever seen it before. Even Nicolas, who liked to remain aloof when it came to Hayden’s safety, stepped in front of her territorially.

  “Those sound like reasonable terms. We will agree to them,” Nicolas informed icily. “Only, I will be taking Hayden’s place in combat.”

  Julian laughed hollowly. “I am not stupid. I will do everything in my power for favorable outcomes, even if that means being a pompous ass for challenging a female.” He shook his head. “I can’t beat you, not yet, anyway. My offer only extends to her.”

  “Then I’m afraid she won’t be accepting.”

  Hayden grinded her teeth at Nicolas’ bold intervention. Just as she was about to argue, the Alpha male turned abruptly and caged her against Cole’s unmoving chest.

  “No,” he told her simply, yet sternly, as if he anticipated her forthcoming rebuttal. His eyes then flickered above her head at Cole. “Do you not agree?”

  “I don’t think it’s your decision to make, or Cole’s either,” Hayden argued quietly. Pitching her voice lower, she said, “If I lose the challenge, I don’t think you’d let them take me. There is enough room on their property to make an escape—”

  “That is not why I think you should refuse.”

  “Why then?”

  Nicolas’ jaw clenched. “Your ego.”

  Hayden went from being reluctantly flattered at Nicolas’ apparent protection to downright insulted that he thought so lowly of her abilities. She lifted her lip, flashing him a look of disdain. He simply stared back, completely unbothered.

  Cole tightened his grip on her shoulders and bent down near her ear. “I think what he is having difficulty admitting, Hayden, is that he is worried about you.”

  “I’m sure that’s exactly what he meant,” she growled out.

  “After what you just learned about your father, I believe he intends to use the challenge in order to put you in your place.” Cole squeezed her collarbone, a forewarning to control her rising anger. “He will go out of his way to humiliate you, to hurt you, to show his pack who the true successor is to Logan Crow.”