Page 81 of Claimed By Prince Daddy

Sharp claws, creamy fur, and a lupine muzzle. My inner wolf paced the confines of my mind, pawing and whimpering.

My limbs became molten. For twenty-two years, they deemed me a latent. Never had I laid eyes on my inner wolf.

She doesn’t exist…

A sharp yip within my mind suggested otherwise. My head pounded.

Why is my inner wolf showing herself now, of all times?

Fingers trembling, my hold on the rifle slackened, and the muzzle dipped down in danger of revealing my location.

With a stifled gasp, I yanked the rifle up, tucking it to my side.

A low growl rumbled, the sound akin to thunder rolling in. I turned back to the clearing. Alpha Ryan met the alpha wearbear’s gaze, a challenge flashing within the sky-blue depths of his eyes. My father and Carter brandished their claws. The alpha werebear paused before the three werewolves. He blinked and placed his hands on his narrowed hips, thumbs hooked into the jean loops. I swallowed. If the alpha was trying for innocuous, he fell short of the mark. He was a massive male and loomed over our alpha—a werewolf of sizable stature.

“You called for this meeting,” the alpha werebear said. “So, speak.”

A flare of warmth hit my lower abdomen at the hard steel of his words, his voice a deep purr that caressed my skin.

I flinched at the claws raking my insides. My inner wolf growled and snapped her jaws, fighting to get out.

Jaw clenched, I pictured myself patting my she-wolf’s head, hoping such thoughts would send a measure of tranquility down the soul bond. In answer, my she-wolf’s upper lip peeled back to reveal a row of gleaming fangs.

God dammit, calm the hell down!

I shoved my thoughts at her. She whined, her round eyes flitting to the clearing. I followed her gaze.

“Playing the dumbass, Damon,” Carter said. He cocked his head to the side.

Alpha Damon shrugged one broad shoulder in nonchalance, though wicked fangs peeked out from his lip. “I’ve been called worse.”

I held my breath, gaze darting between the sentinel werewolf and the alpha werebear.

“Our patrols have caught your bears in our territory hunting our prey. You better have a damn good reason.” My father’s clipped words shot out like bullets.

Carter muttered, “Not that there are any.”

Alpha Damon’s eyes fastened on Carter, narrowing to thin slits. “Watch yourself, pup.”

A collective whisper of snarls rose from the underbrush at my rear. The Silverfang pack bristled at the werebear’s domineering response.

“You need to watch your bears,” Alpha Ryan retorted. He jutted his chin a notch. “You have violated the treaty by trespassing on our territory.”

The stocky female standing to Alpha Damon’s right growled and said, “It violated the treaty when you denied our request for aid.”

My brows rose. What request was the female werebear speaking of?

“It is not the Silverfang pack’s responsibility to feed bears.” A soft snarl broke from Alpha Ryan’s throat.

“The treaty states that when a clan needs food, then the clan having a surplus will allot a portion of prey to the clan in need.” Alpha Damon hissed, baring thick fangs. “Or is it beneath wolves to feed starving cubs?”

The fine hairs at my nape rose. Werewolf pups or werebear cubs were children—innocents. I looked at my alpha. Faint tremors wracked his frame, the composed leader in danger of letting his wolf slip under the tight leash of control. I felt sure our alpha wouldn’t overlook innocents’ bellies needing to be filled…

“Sounds to me like the Alpha of the Stoneclaw clan can’t take care of his own and is begging for charity.” My father folded his corded arms.

A wicked smirk curled Alpha Damon’s firm lips. “Werebears wouldn’t think of seeking charity from mangy mongrels.”

Howls of outrage rippled throughout the forest floor. A hum of amusement rumbled from the bears on the opposite side of the clearing. The blood roared in my ears, every cell in my body firing off, readying for battle.

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