Page 47 of Claimed

He stops me. “It’s gonna be okay,” he assures, then steadies me by wrapping his arms around me, putting his mouth to my forehead briefly. “Promise,” he vows then squeezes my hand quickly before leaving the room with his phone.

I barely register what I’m doing as I put the food away and wash the dishes. I can’t stop the overwhelming feeling that something terrible is going to happen.

To Greyson?

To the innocents in my pack?

To all of us?

12

Grey

I call Ty. Ivy answers and passes the phone to him.

“Greyson Blackwood,” he greets. “Congratulations on your mating.”

“Thanks, Ty. Feelin’ okay?”

“Feeling fine.”

“She was ordered to do it by her pack’s alpha. Also her brother.”

“Not a surprise. Of course I’d let it go, Greyson. This is your mate. She’s pack now. Is this why you’re phoning?”

“Not exactly, but glad to hear it. I had no doubts you’d understand. Do you recall any dealings with a pack in Silver Hills?”

“Don’t know a town called Silver Hills.”

“Not a town, the name of the pack and their business. Silver Hills Salvage. It’s about twenty or thirty minutes outside Darkmoor. Alpha named Meadows.”

“No.”

“My mate’s brother. Apparently he’s after our territory and pack, wanted you taken out first for revenge because… my mate says he’s accusing you of slaying their former alpha, their father, John Meadows.”

“When?”

“More than eight years ago.”

“I have no memory of that specifically, but Greyson, that was a time when Cornelius used me in fights. We traveled a lot.”

“Can you explain, Ty?”

“Meaning he would put me in dogfights for money. He would work me up into a rage I call the red haze. With words or with food that might have contained potions, I don’t know, but I’d black out. He’d sometimes have to jab me with a needle to bring me out of it.”

“Fuck, Ty…”

“There was a shifter once... I don’t remember much, but I remember Uncle arguing with another shifter after one of those fights. Could be him. I have a vague memory of Uncle whispering things of a man who was a risk to us, and I did attack a man after a fight. I don’t know if it was him, don’t even remember if it was a shifter, but I do know he didn’t survive.”

“He could be a real problem, this Wyatt Meadows. He’s already ordered you to be assassinated, but ordered Stacy to do it. Had her weaken alphas with that poison. She’s not remotely built that way. She’s a wreck over what he forced her to do.”

“She’s your mate. She’s pack. I won’t hold it against her. Besides, she lowered the gun at the last second. She had me lined up but moved the gun down before she fired. She intentionally maimed instead of slayed.”

I’m not surprised by this. She followed her brother’s orders because she had to do it, but she intentionally failed at her mission.

“That’s good, brother. Thank you.”

“What can I do to help, Greyson?”

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