Page 9 of Marked by Alphas 2: Claimed (The Blood Moon Chronicle #2)

“Guilty,” he agreed, not sounding sorry at all.

Time became a blur of Marcus’ touch, snippets of pack lore that I was definitely too distracted to properly retain, and the growing heat between us. I vaguely registered the sun shifting through the library windows, casting shadows across the ancient books we were definitely not reading anymore.

“We’re back!” Caleb’s voice carried through the manor, followed by the sound of multiple footsteps and what I assumed was my stuff being hauled in. “And our mate better be exactly where we left him!”

“Library,” Marcus called back, making no move to release me from his lap. If anything, his arms tightened slightly.

Derek appeared in the doorway first, took one look at our position, and growled. “Really, Marcus?”

“I’m teaching,” Marcus said innocently, though the way his thumb was stroking circles on my hip suggested his intentions weren’t entirely educational.

“Teaching what?” Caleb demanded, joining his brother in the doorway. “Advanced lap-sitting?”

“Pack history,” I held up the book as evidence. “Very educational. Did you know there’s a whole chapter on?—”

“Don’t encourage him,” Derek cut in, moving into the room with the kind of predatory grace that made my mouth go dry. “He’s already broadcasting enough smugness through the pack bond to give us a headache. ”

“You’re just jealous,” Marcus murmured against my neck.

“Obviously.” Caleb dropped onto the sofa beside us, close enough that his thigh pressed against mine. “Some of us had to pack up a cottage while you got to play sexy librarian.”

“I did not—” Marcus started.

“Dinner!” Maria’s voice rang through the manor like a bell, cutting off what promised to be an interesting argument. “Now! Before Jorge’s soufflé collapses and he has another culinary crisis!”

“I heard that!” Jorge shouted. “My soufflés are perfect! I trained in Italy!”

“Then why did the last one look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa?”

“That was artistic interpretation!”

The dining room smelled amazing—a mix of herbs and spices that made my mouth water. Jorge had outdone himself, the table laden with what looked like an Italian feast.

“Your things are in your room,” Derek informed me as Maria began serving. “We can get the rest tomorrow.”

“My room?” I raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think you should ask before assigning me real estate?”

“You mean the guest room you always use?” Caleb grinned. “The one Anna’s been secretly redecorating for weeks because she knew you’d end up staying?”

“I have not!” Anna called from the kitchen, then immediately contradicted herself. “The curtains just happened to match his favorite color!”

I blinked. “How does she know my favorite color?”

“Anna knows everything,” Miguel said sagely, joining us at the table. “It’s terrifying.”

“It’s efficient,” Maria corrected, setting down what had to be the world’s most perfect lasagna. “And she’s right about the curtains. That shade of blue does suit him.”

The dogs arranged themselves around the table—Shadow at Marcus ’ feet but angled toward me, Storm under Derek’s chair with the same tactical positioning, and Scout sprawled dramatically between Caleb and me like he was auditioning for a dog food commercial.

“No begging,” Jorge warned as he brought out more dishes. “I already gave you special treats.”

Three pairs of puppy eyes immediately turned to me.

“Don’t even try it,” I told them firmly. “I am immune to your supernatural charm.”

Caleb snorted. “Says the person who lets all three dogs take over his bed every time he stays over.”

“They get lonely!”

“They're manipulating you,” Derek pointed out. “And you give them the good pillows.”

“Shadow looks depressed if he can’t have the memory foam one! And Storm gets cold.”

“Storm is literally a hundred and fifty pounds of fur,” Caleb laughed. “And Scout just sprawls wherever he wants.”

Marcus’ smile was entirely too knowing. “Our mate has a soft heart.”

“Our mate has been completely conquered by tactical assault units with puppy eyes,” Caleb corrected. “Face it, they’ve trained you well.”

“I am not—” I started to protest, but then Jorge set down a dish of something that smelled divine and temporarily short-circuited my brain. “Okay, what is that and why does it smell like heaven?”

“Tortellini al Forno,” Jorge announced proudly. “With my special cream sauce. The recipe was passed down from my mentor in Florence—though I may have added a few touches of my own.”

“He means he ignored tradition and added truffles,” Maria commented, passing me the garlic bread.

“Tradition is meant to be enhanced!” Jorge defended .

I caught Miguel and Anna exchanging fond looks across the table as the familiar argument continued. The brothers seemed content to let the bickering wash over us, more focused on ensuring my plate remained full than mediating the culinary debate.

“You need more protein,” Derek murmured, adding another helping of something that smelled amazing to my plate.

“I need to still be able to move after dinner,” I protested, though the aroma was making resistance difficult.

“You’re healing,” Marcus reminded me. “Your body needs fuel.”

“My body needs to not explode out of my clothes,” I muttered, but took another bite anyway because damn, Jorge’s cooking was worth any potential wardrobe crises.

Caleb’s eyes darkened. “We wouldn’t mind that.”

I choked on my tortellini. Derek helpfully patted my back while shooting his brother a look.

“Behave,” Marcus warned, though his own eyes had taken on that heated quality that made my stomach flip.

“I am behaving,” Caleb protested innocently. “I’m just saying, if Kai needs new clothes…”

“We’re at dinner,” Derek reminded them, but his hand had shifted from patting my back to resting possessively on my neck.

“Yes, we are,” Maria cut in pointedly. “A family dinner. Behave, all of you.”

The rest of dinner passed in a comfortable blur of amazing food, playful bickering, and the brothers’ increasingly obvious attempts to touch me at every opportunity.

By the time Jorge brought out the soufflé—which was, as promised, perfect—I was full, warm, and maybe a little drunk on both wine and attention.

“Shower,” Marcus declared once the dishes were cleared. “Then rest. ”

“I’m not actually tired,” I protested, though my body betrayed me with a yawn.

Caleb escorted me to my room—apparently my permanent room now—like I might get lost in the manor I’d been visiting for weeks, his kiss landing dangerously close to my mouth. “We’ll be right downstairs if you need anything.”

The shower was perfect, like always—because of course it was; everything in this manor was perfect.

I had just finished drying off and changing into my own sleep clothes when I remembered my phone.

The old one was definitely dead now, screen completely black despite my best efforts to revive it.

Thank God for Marcus’ timing with the new one.

I was just starting to transfer my stuff over when it happened. Luke’s contact photo lit up the screen. So much for waiting twenty-four hours.

“I can’t sleep,” he announced without preamble the moment I answered the call. “I’ve been staring at my ceiling for hours, thinking about how weird you sounded this morning. Something happened. Something big. And now Eomma’s acting strange—like burning-sage-and-muttering-in-Korean strange.”

I shifted against my pillows, watching as Shadow nudged the door open wider with his nose.

The three dogs padded in like they owned the place, which honestly, they kind of did.

Shadow claimed his usual spot on my left, Storm took up his tactical position at the foot of the bed, and Scout sprawled dramatically across my legs.

“Luke…”

“Don’t ‘Luke’ me. You had a date with three suspiciously perfect guys, then you call me being all cryptic about ‘not very friendly people’ showing up? And now my mom’s unlocking her special tea cabinet—you know, the one she keeps hidden behind that weird painting? Start talking.”

“I’m fine,” I tried, absently scratching behind Shadow’s ears. “Just… had an interesting night. ”

“Interesting like that time we tried to make kimchi in our dorm room, or interesting like that time you swore you saw shadows moving in the forest?”

I winced, remembering Marcus’ earlier promise about protecting them. Trust Luke to bring up all my weird incidents that suddenly made a lot more sense. Well, at least I didn’t have to worry about getting permission to tell him the truth anymore.

“So… remember how I always said my mom was kind of paranoid about doctors?”

“Yeah, because of some weird family thing—wait, what does that have to do with anything?”

“Everything, actually.” I took a deep breath, drawing comfort from the warm weight of the dogs around me.

“Luke, what I’m about to tell you is going to sound crazy…

” I paused, then decided to just rip off the Band-Aid.

“I might be a quarter werewolf. And those three guys I’ve been seeing?

They’re actually alpha wolves. Like, literal wolves.

Who can shift. Into very large wolves. With very sharp teeth. ”

There was a long pause.

“Luke?”

“Hold on.” Luke’s voice was eerily calm.

“Let me get this straight. You’re telling me you’re part werewolf, those three impossibly hot guys who’ve been circling you like overprotective guard dogs are actually…

guard dogs, and this somehow connects to why my mom is currently setting up her mudang altar and pulling out her ceremonial hanbok? ”

“She’s what?”

“EOMMA!” Luke’s voice carried away from the phone. “ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GETTING OUT THE SACRED BELLS? IT’S ALMOST MIDNIGHT!”

I heard the distinct sound of brass bells jingling, followed by the rhythmic beating of a ceremonial drum and… was that silk rustling ?

“Luke? What’s happening over there?”

“Oh, you know, just a normal Tuesday night where my mom’s turning our living room into a gut ceremony. She just pulled out her grandmother’s sacred fan and— EOMMA, NO, NOT THE CEREMONIAL DRUM! THE NEIGHBORS ALREADY COMPLAINED ABOUT THE LAST MIDNIGHT RITUAL!”

The rhythmic chanting grew louder, Imo’s voice rising and falling in ancient Korean that made Shadow’s ears perk up and Scout lift his head with interest.

“Is she… is she okay?” I asked, slightly concerned by the increasing volume of both chanting and drumming.

“Okay? OKAY?” Luke’s laugh had a slightly hysterical edge. “My best friend just told me he’s part werewolf, which apparently explains why my mom is breaking out her sacred implements and— EOMMA, YOU CAN’T DO A FULL GUT CEREMONY IN OUR HOUSE!”

I heard Luke’s door slam and his footsteps pacing. “Kai. Listen to me. This isn’t funny. If you’re having some kind of crisis?—”

“I’m serious, Luke.”

“No. No, no, no. You don’t get to drop ‘I’m a werewolf’ on me like it’s totally normal! Is this because of the cottage? The job hunt stress? Have those impossibly hot brothers somehow broken your brain with their… their… whatever they do?”

“Luke—”

“Because I can take time off work. Right now. Pack a bag. Stage an intervention. Clearly, my best friend is having some kind of mental break and needs?—”

The sudden crash of his bedroom door flying open cut him off. I heard Imo’s voice, sharp and clear even through the phone: “LUKE! The signs! They were about Kai! We must go NOW!”

“Eomma? What?—”

“Pack your bag! The spirits have been trying to tell me—” More r apid-fire Korean followed, making all three dogs’ heads snap up in perfect synchronization. Shadow actually sat up, ears forward, while Scout let out a soft whine.

“Wait, what do you mean you KNEW about the wolves?” Luke’s voice went up several octaves. “EOMMA!”

“Your friend needs us.” Min-seo’s voice came closer to the phone. “Kai-ya? Hold on, we’re coming. Don’t let those wolves—” She switched to Korean, something that made Storm actually bark in response.

“Did that… did I just hear a dog bark at my mom’s Korean?” Luke asked faintly.

“The Stone brothers’ dogs are… special,” I managed, watching as Shadow maintained perfect eye contact with my phone.

“We must leave now!” Imo declared firmly. “Luke! Stop standing there and?—”

“Eomma, it’s almost midnight!” Luke’s voice shifted from panic to practicality. “I have work tomorrow. I would need to request time off, and it’s a three-hour drive to Cedar Grove!”

“But the signs?—”

“Will still be there this weekend,” Luke said firmly. “Kai, you’re not in immediate danger, right?”

I glanced at the three supernatural guard dogs surrounding me. “No, I’m… actually pretty well protected.”

“Okay. Then we’ll come this weekend. But this conversation is NOT over. We’re video calling tomorrow, and those brothers of yours better be there. I want to see their faces when they explain exactly what they’ve done to my best friend.”

“They haven’t done anything?—”

“Yet,” Luke cut in. “We’re talking tomorrow. No excuses.”

After we hung up, I flopped back on the bed, immediately becoming a pillow for three very large dogs. A soft knock at the door made me look up to find Marcus there, his brothers right behind him .

“How did it go?” Marcus asked, entering the room.

“My best friend thinks I’ve lost my mind; his mom is breaking out ancient Korean ritual tools, and they’re coming this weekend to potentially perform an exorcism on you three.”

“So… better than expected?” Caleb grinned, dropping a kiss on my forehead.

“We’ll handle it,” Marcus promised, his kiss landing on my lips, slow and sweet.

Derek’s kiss was firmer, more possessive. “Sleep. You need rest.”

I watched them leave, three pairs of eyes glowing slightly in the darkness of the doorway before they closed it softly. Surrounded by warm fur and the lingering sensation of three different kisses, I drifted off to sleep, wondering what exactly I was going to tell Luke tomorrow.