Page 54 of His Claim

The voice was female, high-pitched and dripping with venom. I turned my head slowly.

She was sitting on a crate like she owned the place, one leg crossed over the other, a rifle leveled at my chest. She looked human, grime on her face, hair tied back with a filthy strip of cloth, clothes patched and re-patched a dozen times, but her eyes… her eyes burned with a hate I recognized instantly.

“Well, well,” she said, her mouth curling in a grin that didn’t touch those eyes. “I see you two have had a good time.” She cocked her head, smirking at Mariah. “Sounded like it too. These tunnels carryallthe sound.”

Mariah’s cheeks went red, her mouth opening and shutting again, but she remained silent.

I straightened, my voice calm, but edged with warning. “Put the gun down before I take it from you.”

She snorted, leaning back against the crate, completely unfazed. “Typical wolf shifter talk. Big, bad, and full of shit.”

Mariah bristled beside me. “He’s not?—”

The girl cut her off, tapping the rifle against her knee. “Save it. I know what you are.” Her eyes flicked to me. “You’ve got that look. All of you do. Thought you could hide down here, huh? Keep your little mate tucked away and play house?”

I felt my jaw tighten. “You don’t know a damn thing about me.”

“Oh, I think I do.”

She reached down beside her and held up a battered leather-bound book. My book. My blood went cold.

“Looking for this?” she asked sweetly. “Found it right where you left it, under a rock. Not very clever, by the way. Wolves usually guard their secrets better.”

Mariah glanced at me, startled, then back at the girl. “You stole it?”

“Stole it? Honey, I liberated it. And you should bethanking me.” She flipped the journal open, thumbing through the pages, her smirk widening. “Because this little diary of his? It’s more than just notes. There are memories in here. And unless I’ve completely lost my mind…” she squinted at me, her grin widening, “…this big scary alpha used to love someone else.”

The silence that followed was heavy. Mariah’s eyes shot wide, her lips parting.

The girl slapped the book closed with a laugh. “Didn’t expect that, did you, sweetheart?”

I sighed, dragging a hand over my face. “Of course you read it.”

The girl leaned forward, rifle still aimed, her smile wicked. “Don’t act so sour, alpha. Honestly, it’s kind of refreshing. A wolf shifter with baggage. Makes you almost tolerable.”

“You’re the one who injected me with that stuff, aren’t you?” Mariah said softly.

“Guilty as charged,” the woman chirped, her eyes sparkling. “Didn’t see the mate bond coming to save you though. That was a surprise.”

Mariah blinked at her. “Whoareyou?”

“Name’s Elsie,” the girl said with a shrug. “And before you ask, no, I don’t like wolves. Not even the tortured-soul ones.” Her gaze flicked to me again, amused. “Especially not the ones who fuck loud enough to wake the dead.”

Mariah groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Elsie chuckled, tapping the barrel of the gun against her shoulder. “Don’t worry, lovebirds. If I wanted you dead, you’d already be dead. I just came here to talk.”

I crossed my arms, glaring at her. “Then talk fast.”

Elsie twirled my journal in her free hand, rifle never wavering. “One more thing. Don’t bother wolfing out, the both of you,” she said, her smirk sharp. “I promise I can shoot faster than you can shift.”

Something in her eyes told me it wasn’t an empty boast. I believed her. I pushed Mariah behind me just in case Elsie’s finger got a bit twitchy.

Mariah bristled against me. “You’d shoot him?”

Elsie tilted her head. “If he moved just a little bit wrong? Absolutely. But lucky for you, I like to talk more than I like to kill.” She tapped the journal against her knee. “And I know things. Things you two clearly don’t.”

I crossed my arms, watching her carefully. “Then talk.”