Page 75 of Alpha's Claim
“You love my bear?” I’m fishing for her approval. Fate, it’s shocking how vulnerable I feel right now. Paloma might not love me. She doesn’t have bear pheromones to tell her I’m the male for her. But she did allow me to mark her. That must mean something.
“I loveyou,” she says firmly, lifting her soft lips to press against mine. “Andyour bear. Because you are one and the same.”
“You saved me,” I realize. “I was half a male, with a completely unexpressed side I was in denial about. And you set me free. All this time, I thought I was saving you, but I had it backward. Just like I told myself I was saving my brothers by moving to New York.”
“No,” Paloma laughs, but there’s a haunted quality to her expression. “You definitely saved me. God, I was literally enslaved. If you hadn’t come along, I would be some asshole’s sex slave in addition to Thom’s stock trader slave right now.” She shudders.
My bear surfaces with rage, and I let him growl out loud.
Paloma is unafraid. Her eyes crinkle as she presses another kiss to my lips. “There he is,” she purrs.
We both sober, remembering what she’s been through. “I can’t believe Thom knew about shifters and wanted to hunt them.”
I frown. “Yes, there’s a secret society of ultra-wealthyaround the world who traffic shifters–more often juveniles about to transition. They call themselves Venatores.”
“Right. Latin forhunter.Thom told me when you were passed out.”
“Yes. They named themselves after the trained hunters in ancient Rome who participated in public spectacles calledvenationes. These spectacles involved hunting and killing wild animals in arenas and were a major form of entertainment. I guess to these modern-day Venatores, a shifter–a human wild animal–is a better opponent.”
“Disgusting.” Rage flares in Paloma’s gaze, fierce and protective. “Those men are twisted. Morally reprehensible. They need to be brought down.”
“Yes. That’s the focus of the shifter ops team you met.”
“And for fuck’s sake, huntingjuveniles who just transitioned?That’s just sick.”
“I agree.”
“Maybe I can help. I know many of Thom’s cronies.”
“That would be helpful. I’m sure they will thoroughly investigate all leads you can provide or that they can dig up now that they know Thom was a part of it.”
Paloma blinks at me, her gaze clouding even more. “Am I going to be wanted for murder now?”
“No.” I tuck a section of hair behind her ear. “Absolutely not. The ops team stayed to clean up. I imagine they staged an explosion or a plane crash or something to cover it all up.”
“Oh!” Paloma laughs. “I just realized that’s why they lit off fireworks when we landed at Lockepoint. It was to cover the sound of gunfire! So smart.”
“Yes.” I lightly trace around wounds I made in Paloma’s neck. “How much do you hate me right now for this?”
She laughs. “I might hate you tomorrow, but right now, I feel incredible.”
I relax a little. “The serum may have some drugging properties to humans–I’m not sure. I’ll ask Matthias. We should have him keep an eye on those puncture wounds to make sure they don’t get infected although my saliva speeds healing and prevents infection.”
“Okay.” Paloma’s lids droop, and her head falls into the pillow.
I believe we’ve both been up for twenty-four hours straight, except for when I was drugged, but it feels like there’s so much we still need to discuss. “There’s something I didn’t tell you.”
Paloma leans her head up on one hand, looking sleepy. “What is it?”
“Bears mate for life. Marking you is more than a human marriage. There’s no divorcing me. No getting rid of me. But I don’t want you to feel caged in after everything you’ve been through.”
Paloma gazes at me with those big brown eyes. “Are you saying I’m stuck with you now?”
I nod.
“I’m going to have a giant, growly bear protector for the rest of my life?”
“That’s right, princess. We don’t have to stay here, though. I’ll go wherever you and Wren want to live. I can work from anywhere, despite what I told myself for the last fifteen years.”