Page 1 of Claimed

Prologue

Stacy Meadows

I tuck away theLilynametag and lift the gun out of the bag while hauling in as much air as my lungs can hold. As if oxygen will help me with what I have to do.

This isit.

After this, I won’t need to be Lily anymore. I won’t have to disguise my scent. Not for my job and not in order to hide my true nature from the Arcana Falls wolf shifter pack. I don’t even have to go back to that job tomorrow.

It all feels bittersweet.

The sweet: it’ll be over.

I’ll have accomplished the mission I’ve been tasked with – eliminating the alpha who killed Father.

My fingers flex, but nowhere near the trigger. The thing feels cold, heavy – like it’s a chunk of death.

When my cousin Jimmy brought it and told me what my brother wants me to do, I couldn’t wrap my mind around doing it. There was no way I could pull the mission off and do what he wanted. But by the look in Jimmy’s eyes, the threats of violence that were made, I knew I had no choice. My brother is our pack’s alpha and Jimmy is his henchman.

Jimmy meant it when he said there would be suffering if I didn’t do what I was told. And a small, desperate voice inside me urged that despite how horrific the task was to me, maybethiswas the way forward.

We’ve been in agonizing limbo for too long. Wyatt’s plans aren’t ever good ones, but something has got to change. Something drastic has to happen and this would be that. Could it be the start of something?

If I do what I’m told, as horrible as it is, maybe it can be a catalyst for change.

The witch my brother held hostage before I was sent here whispered in my ear that she occasionally saw things from the future. She saw that I’m the key to things changing for my pack. She told me it would all happen soon.

Maybe this is what I need to do.

After this, not only will I no longer need to be Lily, I might not even bemeanymore. Because how could this not permanently change me? It’s a bitter pill to swallow.

I need to fire this weapon because of my brother,forwhat’s left of my pack. For the girls and our elderly and for the greater good. Because Wyatt is ruining us.

Yeah, bittersweet. Because life could change for the better after this. Change, finally, after I do this thing – which will be the hardest thing I’ve done in my life. A thing I would never have thought myself capable of. But I have to. If I don’t do this, Wyatt will deliver on his threats. If I do this, he says he’ll pair me with Malachi, which would likely make him part of the inner sanctum and then Mal can work like we talked about to find a way to go for that jugular and remove the barrier to the health and happiness of our pack -Wyatt.

After this, I’ll walk away from this town and this job that I’ve enjoyed. I’ll walk away from the nice people I’ve worked with the last several weeks and the many regular customers who have been so kind. I’ll go back to my old life and hope my actions, as awful as they’ll be, can spark the right kind of change.

I shouldn’t have gotten attached to my newfound freedom, but it happened anyway. I like working there. Bringing people food. Hearing about their day. I’ve helped out in the kitchen a couple times, too, and the owner of the diner wants to try me out for a half-day to see if I can handle the kitchen when his cook goes on vacation next month. I would have liked that.

But I won’t be here for it. I’ve already called in and left a message that not only can I not make it in, but also that I don’t think I can come back. I apologized for doing it without giving notice, said I needed to leave town immediately due to a family emergency, but that I truly appreciated the opportunity he gave me.

I like my coworkers. My boss. The regulars. I enjoy counting my tips at the end of each shift, buying little treats for the girls back home. I’ve enjoyed having enough food to eat, not to mention clean water to drink and shower in.

Life before this wasn’t just hard. It was also lonely – in so many ways. Lonely for what we used to be. Hungry for so many things, including happiness. Longing for our pack not to be what it’s become. Hoping for light at the end of the tunnel that isn’t a train.

I’m not looking forward to going back. Yeah, Wyatt has made promises, swears everything will be so much better after he has what he’s working towards, but the truth is that Wyatt has not onceevermade things okay. Why would it be any different this time? No, I don’t believe anything will be okay if he continues to run everything into the dirt, but the immediate threat and what could happen in the near future is what needs to drive me.

The brighter future Aphra hinted at struck a spark of hope. Even though I’ve never been one to chalk things up to fate or destiny. Because if it was all down to fate, why have our people suffered so much and for so long? Does fate want that for us?Do we deserve it? Would someone as powerless as me really be destined to fix life for so many?

Nobody else is coming to save us. Most of our strongest are dead or have fled. So if I have to change everything about who I am to give us a chance, it’s what I have to do.

Yes, I’d forsake my own brother for a better future. Because he’s the one who’s keeping us in this bleak, hopeless existence. He’s the reason so many in my pack cry themselves to sleep. For what we don’t have. For what we’ve lost. For the things he does.

The women in my pack deserve a far better life than what they currently have. There are some males who do, too. And stopping this awful cycle now could mean it’s not too late with the boys in the pack who aren’t yet men. Like Lucas.

Everyone does what Wyatt wants. Nobody speaks up. He’s chased off or done away with anyone who would be a threat, so the rest aren’t about to defy him. Except, hopefully, Malachi. But Mal needs the opportunity to force change. What I’m about to do could buy him that. Could buy us all a chance.

I need to dig deep and get this done. For everyone’s sake. Even if it’s abhorrent to me. I’ve been telling myself,it’s just a target. Point and pull the trigger, then go. Don’t think too much about it. Don’t.

---