Page 84 of Claimed By Prince Daddy

And with each fading footstep, my heart caved in. Though I had escaped the battle unscathed, a part of my soul died that night.

CHAPTER ONE: REAPPEARANCE

SASHA

What did it take for a girl to get some damn peace?

Eyes narrowed, I glared at the door, more specifically at Beta Garret. He’d entered uninvited into my office. My inner wolf’s upper lip trembled. We both concurred that this wasn’t the first time the male had failed to knock and pushed his way inside like a damn bull.

But he was an outstanding sniper, second only to myself—his brain as quick as his weapon.

I guess I’ll keep him around…

My lips curled in a wry smile at the thought.

Garret flashed a grin, his attention dropping to my hand. “Sugar cookies for breakfast? Aren’t alphas too much of a hard ass to enjoy sugar?” Mischief twinkled in his eyes.

I flipped him off, taking another bite and chewing slowly for emphasis.

He threw back his head and laughed. “Saucy bitch.”

“Nosy bastard.”

He nodded in concurrence. “True.”

I dusted my sugar-flaked fingers on my jeans. “Anything pressing on the morning report?”

He circled the metal desk I rested a hip against, coming to stand in front of the windows.

The early light of dawn peeked over the horizon, smattering the sky in a soft honey hue. Garret’s hair shimmered in the rays. His body seemed haloed, as if the sun illuminated his sunshine disposition for all the world to see.

My lips pinched. It was a conundrum how he could always see the bright side—live in the light despite being a latent himself. From my youth, I dwelled in the darkness, didn’t belong, and never looked up into the light. The light was not an ally to Latents. We were the darkness, the misfits, the undesirables of the packs.

A satisfied smirk touched my lips as I joined Garret at the window and looked upon the pack. My pack. A pair of warrior latents kept up a brisk pace, jogging beyond the boundary of the cabins. They lead a row of adolescent warriors tagging on their heels—their training regimen well underway.

Maternal females sat in groups along porches, basking in the rays of dawn. Warm pride swelled in my chest. My pack of latents thrived. Unwanted. No assets. I united rebels and trained them to be skilled fighters and guards, despite not being able to shift into their second skins. Two years of painstaking work turned the Hopecrest pack into a formidable pack.

“There’s been another report of a tourist killed on a trail.”

My head whipped to Garret. “Where?”

“Uplands trail. A female human. Killed in broad daylight.”

Lips thinned, my brain raced with possibilities, processing the disturbing news.

“That’s the fifth human slain.”

Garret nodded. Raking a large hand through his pale gold strands, he growled out, “They mauled the victims. News reports claim the bite wounds and claw marks belong to a bear.”

“But they do not consume the bodies. Wild bears don’t behave in that manner.”

“Yeah. That rules out every predator in this region.”

Ice crept down my spine as dread mounted. I slid Garret a cool look. “Not every predator.”

His eyes hardened to steel flints as cold realization sank in. “Werebears.”

Jaw clenched, I said, “It’s too close to the town center and in broad daylight. Highly unlikely a bear would attack in such conditions.” My hands fisted, the nails biting into my palms.

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