Zena Wynn - Claiming Shayla

At the mention of mates, all the unmated males and several of the unmated females perked up. The females looked at the surrounding males with a gleam in their eyes, and some began primping. The Ravens’ males returned their looks with interest.

While hunting outside of your pack wasn’t forbidden, it wasn’t always strategic to do so, as pack politics tended to come into play. This new alliance with the Ravens just opened up a world of opportunity. Not that she cared. She already had her sights set on a mate.

“What are they getting out of it?” Wesley asked. “Seems like everything’s weighted in our favor.”

The Ravens’ alpha-fem spoke up. “We get the privilege of making sure you fuckers know if you touch my cousin or her child, there’ll be hell to pay.”

Alex closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face. Rory and his siblings grinned. Shannon’s male didn’t show any reaction. He kept watching the pack, his gaze going from person to person as though looking for something. And the human? Well, she laughed.

“That’s not the way I would have phrased it,” Alex amended, “but what she stated is the truth. Because of our mates, Rory, Kian, Shannon, and I are family now. Their enemies are mine,” he finished in a hard voice with a cold stare. Gone was the affable persona, and in its place was the alpha that ruled a pack of over two hundred.

Ashley’s gut twisted, and her blood ran cold. She took in the posture of the group standing before them, shoulder to shoulder, and felt her dreams go up in smoke. Only a fool would go after the human now, and though Ashley was many things, foolish wasn’t one of them.

As the pack dealt with Wolfe’s announcement, a confusing blend of scents swept through its midst, mirroring her own—fear, confusion, dismay, a hint of anger, and a whiff of trepidation.

“Which brings me to our next order of business. Laurie Bell, please step forward,” Rory requested in a mild tone, breaking the silence.

The strangeness of the request had her forgetting her own problems. Laurie Bell, her slim body encased in jeans and a white T-shirt, long hair gathered in a ponytail at her nape, pushed her way through until she stood a few feet in front of Caleb and Michael, a quizzical expression on her serene, Madonna-like face. God, just for once Ashley wished others could see behind the mask her mother wore.

Alex and the male with Shannon moved to stand slightly behind and to either side of her. Ashley’s, along with every other pack member’s, interest sharpened. Why had they flanked her like that, she wondered as Rory stepped past his second and third until he stood directly in front of her mother. She moved to a better position that allowed her to see her mother’s expression and still keep everyone in view.

If the two men standing behind her mother perturbed Laurie Bell, it didn’t show. She kept the same placid, mildly confused but agreeable expression on her face. “Yes, alpha?”

“Laurie Bell, you’ve been accused of a heinous crime against the pack. How do you plead?” Rory asked, his expression neutral.

Her mother tilted her head to the side, a faintly amused smile on her face even as her brows furrowed in puzzlement. “All right. What’s the crime?”

“Attempted murder of the alpha pair’s unborn child,” he announced.

There were gasps and cries of outraged denial from the pack. Ashley whistled under her breath. Man, that was ballsy, even for her mother. Did she really believe she wouldn’t get caught? What am I thinking? Of course Laurie Bell thought she’d get away with it.

Laurie Bell’s mouth dropped open, and she brought her hand up to capture her gasp. “You’re serious? Someone actually accused me of doing something so…so dreadful?” Tears welled up in those innocent-looking eyes.

“How do you plead?” Rory repeated.

“My God, you actually believe…” Her voice trailed off, and she examined the alpha’s expression. He didn’t crack a smile. No mercy there, Ashley thought. Her mother’s gaze slid past Rory to zero in on the human. “Shay, I’m a healer. I save lives, not destroy them. You can ask any person in this pack. I would never do something so…so…” She shook her head, apparently too overcome to speak. The sheen of tears sparkled in her eyes.

Bravo, Mother, bravo! Talk about an award-winning performance. If I didn’t know you to be the viper you are, I’d believe you. I can’t even smell your lies.

“You plead not guilty?” Rory asked.

“Of course I’m not guilty,” her mother responded, her voice containing just the right amount of injured outrage.

“What’s the meaning of this? Who would dare point the finger at Laurie Bell, after all she’s done and continues to do for this pack?” Uncle Graham demanded.

Questions were shouted out as the pack demanded more information. Laurie Bell was a beloved member whose legacy as a pack healer went back several generations. Ashley wasn’t surprised only she, and possibly the alpha, believed her mother capable of murder, and even Ashley wasn’t sure. God knew her mother was cold enough to accomplish it.

Rory ignored Graham and the others and nodded. Alex and Shannon’s male stepped closer to her mother, each one grabbing one of her mother’s arms, holding her immobile. Then before the pack’s shocked and horrified gazes, Shannon’s male bit her mother on the neck, drinking her blood.

Vampire! Shannon’s male was a vampire? Shannon had mated a vamp, for there was no denying the two were mated. Ashley stood frozen with shock, watching the tableau unfold before her.

Some of the men protested and moved forward as though they would put a stop to whatever was happening. Alex snapped his fingers, and quick as a blur, there was a wall of Raven pack wolves standing in the way. Knowing they were no match for the others, the Sparrowhawk men settled down, resorting to angry mutterings and hostile glances.

The vampire raised his head, fangs showing clearly in the moonlight. He closed his eyes and licked the few drops of ruby-red blood spotted on his lips. There was a tense silence as everyone waited to see what would happen next. Ashley didn’t know much about vampires and their powers. Most of what she’d heard was probably rumor. She did know that shifters had a natural immunity to some of their more powerful psychic powers.

Suddenly her mother shrieked, “Get out of my head!”

All movement ceased. Ashley’s startled gaze bounced from her mother to the vamp. He was in her head? How was that possible? Unless it had something to do with the blood… Ashley glanced around at the older pack members. Their gazes were somber, knowing.

“Nikolai?” Rory asked.

“Guilty as charged,” Nikolai stated calmly as his eyes opened.

“You can’t prove anything, you bastard! Let me go!” her mother shouted furiously, the mask beginning to crack.

Ashley heard the mutters.

“He read her mind.”

“That’s impossible.”

“He’s a vampire.”

“He took her blood. Never give blood to a vamp. It gives them a path in.”

“On the contrary. We have proof. We took the herbs you gave Shay to an herbalist in Fort Knox. He’s the one who told us what you did,” Rory said in a voice gone as cold as his expression.

There were more gasps. More whispers, but opinions were divided. The mood of the pack shifted from angry disbelief to denial and uncertainty.

“He’s a liar,” her mother hotly denied. “I’d never do such a thing.” Laurie Bell glanced at the council, the pack. “You know me. I delivered most of you, doctored the rest. There’s been a mistake.” She turned back to Rory.