Chapter 4: The Claimant

***

“Claimed.”

All three of the men spoke the word at the same time, the tension thickening as they did. They surrounded me so I couldn’t run, and their narrowed eyes watched each other then drifted back to me.

I shivered beneath their gaze and looked to each of them. I wasn’t sure what their version of ‘claimed’ meant, but I had just been a prisoner. I didn’t intend on being one again.

“She is in forest territory. She will be the forest pack’s claimant tonight,” the one with long, curled brown hair said.

The black-haired one sneered, “You saw the way the vamps lusted after her. The Grasslands pack can protect her from those savages. She will be ours,” the green-eyed one said, folding his arms across his bare chest.

He had a tattoo on his pec, an array of flowers and grass like a meadow over it. It was a strangely pretty tattoo for such a big man.

The other two had one too. But they were different.

The brown-haired man had a tree with vines hanging down. The blond man—the biggest one—had a water pattern that looked like a lake.

“Both of you know, I sensed her first and will claim her because of it,” the blond one corrected.

“You are werewolves?” I interrupted, needing to change the direction of the conversation. I was not going to be their ‘claimant’ as they so eloquently put it. And that was partly because I didn’t know what that meant.

The men looked at each other before their eyes glowed red and their stares landed on me.

“Alphas. I am the Forest Area Alpha, Dorian Achlis,” the brown-haired one said. His voice was strong and sure—like he was proud to be who he was.

The one with blonde hair that was braided on the top and shaved on the sides said, “I’m Atticus Trux, the Water Area Alpha.”

The one with black hair didn’t move; his eyes had barely left mine. It was so intimidating, and I assumed quite terrifying for most. But I wasn’t terrified. Sure, my stomach was fluttering with nerves, but I was more intrigued.

The stories the humans told—and even the vampires told us—of how awful the wolves are. How volatile. But these Alphas seemed well in tune with themselves.

It had me wondering who was worse: the wolves or the vampires? Because in my head so far, the vampires were definitely taking home the win.

“Zachariah Ferus, Grasslands Alpha,” Black-hair murmured, “And you belong to me now, Little Red,” he stepped forward.

I stepped back, holding my hand out to stop him coming forward. “I will not be a prisoner again,” I seethed.

That had Zachariah pausing, a deep V forming in his forehead.

Dorian spoke then, “We do not intend to harm you, Sweet Siren. The opposite, actually,” he smiled. It was a warm smile that seemed trusting enough, but I had trusted enough monsters in my time, and not a single one had been worth the effort.

“Then why are there girls in dresses like mine running through the forest? Do not lie and tell me they do not run from you,” I said forcefully, not about to make my capture any easier on them.

Even if the idea of being the opposite of hurt in their arms had memories of my dream coming back to haunt me in the best ways.

As soon as the images of the dream latched on, I was there, remembering how these three Alphas touched me. How they caressed my body and made it feel foreign but beautiful.

My stomach fluttered again and my breaths became heavier in my chest.

Zachariah’s chest rumbled as he took a step forward, “She is mine.”

Atticus took a deep breath in, his eyes flashing red, “There are not many things I would choose to fight another pack over, Zachariah, but that scent is one of them,” he warned.

I shivered at the way they looked, not sure how to escape or even if I wanted to. I had nowhere to go. The vampires had slaughtered my entire family. I was alone.

“The girls are human. Like you, Sweet Siren. And the magic in their virgin blood is what calls to us. We take them as part of a ritual that keeps the magic in us and our territory alive. But you call to us in a different way. I feel it and I see that my friends here feel it too,” Dorian explained in a way that I actually understood.

“Feel what? That I’m a virgin?” I shivered. They had changed that very thoroughly in my dreams.

Dorian nodded, “That, but not just any virgin are you?”

“Is there another kind?” I frowned, not sure if he was insulting me or not.

“Why did the vampires want you?” he asked.

I was not telling them about my voice. Then they’d use me for it too.

“This ritual, the girls want to be a part of it?” I asked, not convinced since I had seen them running.

“They are aware of the ritual long before it happens. They know what the blood moon brings and the sacrifice they must make. It’s part of the realm’s plan,” Zachariah said, his voice deep with a slight husk to it.

“So why do they run?” I challenged.

“Because chasing them is part of the fun,” Atticus smirked.

I frowned at that answer. Not because it scared me but because it confused me.

“So they don’t want to have you?”

My question gave me away.

All three of the Alphas smirked knowingly. Atticus was the one to break the tension, “Red hair, a silver dress, running through the forest, and cunning as all hell. What is your name, Fox?”

“Kassandra Kane. Kassie,” I murmured, not sure if it was smart to give that out. But it wasn’t smart to entertain the idea of being ‘claimed’ by werewolves either, so apparently, I was out of brain cells.

“From the Kane tribe in the mountains?” Zachariah asked softly.

I nodded once, giving them nothing on my family lest they use it against me.

“I’m sorry,” Zachariah said instead of taunting me like I had expected.

My lips parted, but nothing came out—an ache in my heart slightly soothed at those words. Nobody had ever been sorry.

“Thank you,” I eventually said.

Dorian cleared his throat then. “The blood moon will not wait for this to be resolved, Alphas. We must decide who claims the siren before it is too late.”

I went to argue about being a claimant again but found the words were not as easy to get out. I wanted to run, to fight, to get away somehow, but then I circled back to the alone thought.

“Technically, you couldn’t, could you? I mean, I am not one of the ones in a white dress? I’m also not running,” I shrugged.

Atticus smirked at that and came over to me—the first one to fully approach. I shivered as he stalked through the roots to stand before me.

He was so naked.

I almost looked down, but he grabbed the point of my chin and lifted it so I had to look up at him instead.

“Maybe that is what makes you so different to our souls, Fox. Because right now, mine is screaming for you. And I will heed its call.”

His touch made everything he said foggy in my head. Flashes of my dream came back in full force and licked my lips.

His fingers could do things to my body that were much more exciting than tilting my chin.

“I will claim her, and if you try to prevent it, we will fight this night,” Zachariah snarled, closer to me than I realized.

A second later, howls broke through the eerie forest, tearing up the red-bathed night sky as the blood moon shone down. Each of the men’s eyes glowed.

I sucked in a breath and stepped back, drawing their attention to me.

“The girls have all been chosen,” Dorian said.

“The packs are ready,” Atticus nodded.

“Then there is only one left to claim,” Zachariah murmured, as he seemed to do every time he spoke.

“But there are three of you,” I gulped.

“And you have three holes,” Atticus chuckled darkly.

I gasped, my stomach filling with heat at the images those words enticed.

“Atticus. Now is not the time to frighten her,” Dorian scolded.

Atticus just grinned, “You’re not frightened, are you, Fox?” Then he took a big sniff, his eyes glowing brighter. “No, not at all.”

He licked his lips, and I did the same.

Dorian turned to Zachariah. “Are you proposing a shared claimant, Zachariah?”

He nodded. “It is the only way this does not end in bloodshed.”

“I am not sure the packs will accept this,” Dorian frowned.

Atticus laughed loudly. “They will. She has power in her veins, Alphas. I sense it, and so do you. Claiming her tonight will be beneficial to us all.”

***

Zachariah came over, pulling his cloak off. He put it over my shoulders and pulled the cowl up. “Come with us, Little Red. We have a surprise for you.”

I didn’t have a chance to think; the touch of his hand on my elbow fried my brain. I nodded dumbly and followed like a lamb to slaughter.

Dorian strode ahead a step while Atticus stood on the other side of me. They seemed to walk in a triangle with me at their center.

They led me through the forest until I heard the gentle laps of water and the swish of trees in the wind.

We broke through into a clearing, and my breath caught in my throat.

There were so many naked bodies—more than I had ever seen in my life. And they were all accompanied by girls in white dresses.

There was a lake on the edge of the clearing, forestry surrounding it. But the clearing itself was bathed in the red rays of the moon.

My breath was stuck as I tried to take it all in, but it seemed so surreal. That morning I had been wondering whether I would survive another day, and now I was here?

I wondered again whether I was dreaming or not, but even if I was, I didn’t want it to end.

“Do you see what they are doing, Sweet Siren?” Dorian said softly as he pointed to the naked bodies.

I did see what they were doing. They were…connecting. In so many ways. Their bodies were all over each other, mouths hanging open, limbs flailing.

It was strange and yet…seductive. All the naked bodies were connecting with the women in white. And the sounds they were making had my body burning.

“Look at their faces, Fox. See how much they enjoy what our wolves do to them?” Atticus pointed to the girls in white, and he was right.

Each one of them looked like they were living a life of utter bliss. Their eyes were glazed with pleasure, their bodies sweating as they were ravaged by the naked ones.

My mouth was dry, my skin tingling as I watched. I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

“Do you like to watch, Little Red?” Zachariah said, his breath on my ear making me shiver.

I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to when the answer was so obvious.

The Alphas started leading me around the clearing where sex was filling every part of the grass that covered it.

“The blood moon comes every year, creating a heat so savage it brings out the worst in our wolves. We tear each other apart,” Dorian said as we walked.

I listened while I watched the many bodies enjoying themselves in ways I had only ever dreamed about.

“So when it comes, each of us brings our unmated wolves together with the virgin humans from our villages and has this ceremony,” Zachariah continued.

“Then we choose our claims. This year, we’ve chosen you,” Atticus said as we came to a stop in a space of the clearing between three boulders.

I was surrounded again, the Alphas taking a stand next to each of the boulders.

“Usually, we each have a claim, and we take them on a boulder each to solidify the strength and relationships between the three packs,” Dorian said.

“But this year, we have one,” Zachariah spoke, looking me up and down, his eyes glowing.

I swallowed.

“And by claim, you mean—”

“Your virginity,” Atticus concluded.

I nodded, looking past them and back into the clearing where other women were being claimed.

It brought the images of my dream back, and heat kept my breaths short in my lungs. My thighs ached, the heat between them growing uncomfortable.

I was a Kane. My tribe had been killed by vampires. I was a virgin. And there was only one of those things I could change.

So instead of running from the three gorgeous alphas who waited for me to say yes—like any sane person would have done—I embraced the change of fate that escaping had brought me.

“Okay. I’ll be your claim.”