Page 28 of Claimed

She covers her face with her hands, then peeks through those still bloody digits. “I’m sorry,” she squeaks. “Some of it is starting to come back to me. I must be in so much trouble.”

“You are,” I say, already feeling my resolve crumbling a little. She’s so adorable, and as for the disobedience and the danger, that’s a part of the nature of being a new shifter. She has instincts and desires. She has impulses she needs to learn to tame. I will help her tame them. I will teach her all the lessons she needs to learn. And I will bury my cock deep inside her because right now there is nothing I want more than that.

She curls up next to me and falls asleep again, entirely contented, and apparently feeling very safe indeed. She trusts me, even when she knows she is in trouble. I suppose that means I am doing a good job as a mate, though I do not know if I am doing anywhere near good enough of a job as an alpha.

Elena meets me on our way in. Anya is still asleep, indulging in the slumber of the righteous. I intend to bathe her and then let her sleep a little more, and then I intend to deal with her.

“Is it true? Did she eat human flesh?” Elena is straight to the point, following us into the castle.

“Not now, Elena.”

“We shouldn’t really be able to stomach humans,” she says, failing to heed my warning. “If she has eaten…”

“Not. Now. Elena.”

She gets the hint and leaves. I am well aware of the fact that eating people is aberrant behavior for a shifter. It is essentially quasi-cannibalism. There can be issues with diseases and some say it can make shifters more like animals. It’s not good to eat people, essentially.

“Bet she got it from her father,” she says, just as she leaves.

“Elena!” I snap her name, thoroughly irritated.

I hear heels click-clacking away at a faster rate. Good. She should stay clear. The last thing I need is someone telling me how to handle my mate. I know what Anya needs.

CHAPTER 7

Anya

I wake up and instantly know I am back in Russia. There is something about the cool air that hits me in a certain way, a scent in the air. My senses seem sharper than before. I mean even more sharp than they already were. The sheets feel extra slippery and smooth against my skin. Everything feels incredibly good this morning. The whole world is glistening with potential.

“You’re awake.”

Alexei steps into the bedroom and makes an obvious observation.

He is not only awake, it looks as though he has been awake for some time. He’s dressed, and a faint scent of fresh pine is clinging to him, suggesting he’s been for a walk. Interesting. Alexei’s not usually the type to go for early morning walks. He’s more of a breakfast and work sort of man. He likes to shift in the evenings and run with the pack then. I’ve been wanting to do that myself, but ever since the first shift, which hurt like hell, I’ve been reluctant to do it again.

Until yesterday, of course. The memories of yesterday are just starting to filter through my mind. There are flashes of a bar, a house, of blood. I was a busy girl, wasn’t I.

“Morning.” I smile at my alpha.

As I meet his gaze, I notice he’s very, very angry. It is coming off him in waves, even though he’s very contained.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Am I mad at you?” He repeats the question in a slow, incredulous tone. “Yes, Anya, I am angry at you. You left the restaurant, got drunk, and murdered two men, and a…”

“Only because they tried to touch me,” I say, interrupting him before he can give a full litany of my sins. “It was self-defense.”

He pauses for a moment, and I watch his expression shift as he tries to take all of that in.

“I did get drunk,” I admit. “And they carried me off and tried to… so I killed them.”

He sighs, understanding against his will. “You didn’t just kill them. You ate them. All of them.”

I look at him under my lashes. “Are we not supposed to do that?”

He looks at me, and for a brief moment a smile breaks through. “You are quite something,” he says. “But no, we are not supposed to do that. Human flesh is taboo for most wolves naturally.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

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