Chapter Fourteen

 

 

 

The next evening, Aidan guided Claire and Chloe into the main meeting area. While Claire knew it was usually used for announcements and clan gatherings, she hadn’t expected a large cavern full of stalactites glowing with soft lighting. Or, to find a large stage decorated in evergreen boughs, ribbon, and gold and silver draping material.

Aidan nodded toward the stage. “That’s for us, Claire.”

While she was determined to stay with Aidan, seeing the stage made everything seem more real and her stomach flipped.

Everything will be fine. Sure, she had no idea what to expect living with DarkStalker long term, but Aidan, Kian, and even little Chloe would help her through it all.

Pushing aside her nervousness, she replied, “It’s beautiful. Although, if those decorations are just for a claiming ceremony, I can’t imagine what they would be for a mating ceremony.”

Chloe spoke up. “It’s much simpler. But I hope you don’t mind blood. The cutting palms and holding hands part is a little gross.”

Claire had researched shifter mating ceremonies as part of her job. After all, the problem was human law not recognizing the matings as a legal marriage, which in the case of human-shifter pairings, should grant certain privileges. She only hoped when her time came, she could cut her palm without flinching.

Provided, of course, she wasn’t arrested first.

Rather than think about the work she and Aidan had to do before November, she focused on the empty space. “Where is everyone, by the way? It’s really empty with just us.”

Aidan motioned toward the stage with his head. “We’ll stand up there, and then everyone will be allowed in. The point of the claiming ceremony is to show the entire clan that you belong to me.”

As they approached the stage, she raised an eyebrow. “So, I’m property then? Are you going to sell me if I don’t behave?”

Chloe giggled. “No, silly. Daddy can’t sell you. He belongs to you too. Shifter mates belong to each other.”

Her soon-to-be stepdaughter’s giggles were infectious and Claire couldn’t help but smile. “Well, that I can live with. Although, your daddy belongs to more than just me. He belongs to both of us.”

Chloe nodded. “Yes, so we need to protect him.”

Aidan rolled his eyes. “I’m standing right here. Did you conveniently forget that I’m one of the head sentries? I can protect myself.”

Chloe beat her to the punch. “Our job is to protect you from sadness.”

They ascended the few steps to the stage and Aidan moved them both in front of him before releasing their hands. “Somehow, I don’t think it’s sadness I’ll need protecting from.”

Grinning, Claire tilted her head. “What, are you afraid of little old us?”

He grunted. “The two of you together will bring trouble.”

Claire was about to tease her man further when the giant wooden doors at the far side of the cavern opened. Kian and Trinity slipped in and then the door closed behind them.

Immediately, the playfulness and ease disappeared. Even Chloe straightened her shoulders as Kian approached, his limp in no way diminishing the control and dominance he exuded. Being steady all the time for the sake of the clan had to be exhausting.

For the first time, it hit Claire how lonely being clan leader could be.

Then Trinity wrapped an arm around Kian’s waist and Claire realized DarkStalker’s leader would always have his mate to lean upon.

Kian smiled and nodded at each of them in turn. “Everyone’s waiting, if you’re prepared.”

Aidan looked to Claire. “Ready to go?” When she nodded, he looked to Chloe. “And how about you?”

Chloe raised her chin. “I’m ready, Daddy.”

Kian smiled. “Good. Then let’s get started.”

As he pulled out his cell phone and texted a message, Trinity moved closer to the stage. “Come, Chloe. We can watch from the front row.”

Claire took a step toward Trinity. “Can’t she stay? She’s claiming me as much as Aidan.”

Approval flashed in Trinity’s eyes. “That’s the right answer. I think you’re going to do just fine here, Claire Davis.” Trinity looked to Chloe. “As long as you promise to behave, you can stay on stage. Can you do that?” After Chloe bobbed her head, Trinity looked to Aidan and Claire. “All right, it’s show time.”

Aidan drew Claire to his side and whispered into her ear, “Just act with them like you act around me and you’ll do fine.”

“Not everyone approves of humans intermingling, let alone mating with the shifters.”

He shrugged. “Too bad. Once Kian endorses the claim in front of the clan, they’ll have little choice but to accept you. If they’re really against it, they can always leave. After all, Lauren is part of the clan; they need to accept the both of you.”

Some shifters did leave their clans to become loners, although it was rare. Still, some of those loners had been invaluable in her campaign get as far as it had.

Well, her former campaign. The fact she was no longer in charge still stung.

Sensing her unease, Aidan squeezed her side. His gaze was full of confidence and even a little tenderness.

Not wanting to disappoint her man, Claire straightened her shoulders and whispered, “Bring it on.”

Aidan smiled before the doors opened and everyone filed in.

 

~~~

 

As soon as his clan filed in, Aidan went on high alert. His cat was anxious to spot any threats to either their new mate or their daughter.

Hey, she’s not our mate yet.

His cat didn’t agree. Even without a ceremony, she was theirs.

Hoping his cougar would channel that possessiveness into something useful, Aidan scanned the room. Dani entered first, followed by some of Aidan’s soldiers. Next came his brother, his brother’s mate, and some of his friends. His allies would stand near the front of the room, as a type of buffer and visible reminder of support to those who might oppose the match.

But as the cavern filled up, Aidan finally spotted some of the anti-human minded shifters. Most of them were older and were used to shifter and human segregation, believing it was the reason they had stayed safe over the years.

The only good news was that they stood at the very back of the room. There were close to two hundred shifters in the room, and even if the anti-human faction managed to shift, his soldiers and friends would stop any threats before they reached the stage. Of course, even if they managed to get past Dani, they still had to deal with Aidan.

Once the giant doors were closed, Kian took the steps on the side of the stage slowly, one at a time, and limped his way to the middle. Putting up his hands, Kian spoke once there was silence. “This evening, we celebrate our own Aidan Scott. It is rare to find a second chance, but he has done so in Claire Davis. As both leader and friend to Aidan, I fully support his choice of future mate. Any who oppose the match may talk with me privately. However, barring any concrete proof as to why this match shouldn’t go forward, we should have another mating before long.”

Aidan watched the back of the crowd. A few of the shifters were whispering with each other, but so far, no one had dared to challenge Kian openly.

Claire squeezed his waist and he looked down at his beautiful human. Strength and determination glinted in her eyes, which only strengthened his resolve to do the claiming properly.

Kian’s voice filled the cavern again. “Come forward, Aidan Scott, and make your claim.”

Normally, Aidan wasn’t one for public speaking. Dani handled that aspect of their shared duties much better than he. Yet as Kian motioned for him to come forward, he mustered all of his stubbornness and protectiveness, giving him the strength to speak loudly and clearly when he reached the front of the stage. “Claire Davis is my choice and I claim her. With my claim, she has the protection of me, our leader, and the clan as a whole. To harm her would be to harm one of DarkStalker.”

A few murmurs rose up from the back of the room, but Aidan ignored them and faced Claire. “With the clan as our witness, do you accept my claim?”

Claire’s voice was strong when she answered, “Yes, I do.”

Cupping the cheek of his brave little human, he gave her a gentle kiss. Applause rose and Aidan decided what the hell, and kissed her again. However, this time, he slipped his tongue into her mouth and pulled her tight against his body.

When he finished, Claire’s face was flushed and she was out of breath. She whispered, “At least you didn’t try to rip my clothes off. That’s a relief.”

He murmured his reply, “I was tempted, but then too many males would see your body.”

She smiled at that, but before she could say anything else, Kian touched their shoulders. “The claim is complete and has been witnessed. Those who have a complaint can come speak with me privately. Today is a time to celebrate, not to cause an unnecessary rift in the clan.” Kian looked over the crowd slowly, lingering on the old-timers at the back. While they didn’t look happy, they weren’t about to challenge Kian. At least, not this evening; no doubt, they would think of a plan eventually. Kian nodded. “Now that’s out of the way, how about some music to celebrate?”

As cheers went up from most of the crowd, upbeat music filled the cavern and Kian turned toward Aidan and Claire. “As much as I’m sure you want to rip each other’s clothes off and enjoy a wild night of sex, I need you to mingle. The purpose of this event is for the clan to get to know Claire. The more the clan thinks of you as their own, the less we’ll have to worry about the older clan members causing trouble.”

Aidan asked, “Have you heard anything specific?”

“No,” Kian answered. “But while they grudgingly accepted Lauren, they might see Claire’s addition as a trend that needs to be stopped. However, I’m a few steps ahead and have a few spies among them. The second there’s talk of serious trouble, I’ll know.”

Aidan nodded. “Good. Let me know if I can help.”

Kian slapped him on the shoulder. “I will, but not tonight. You two should go have some fun.”

Claire spoke up. “But what about Chloe? We can’t leave her alone and I don’t want her to accidentally hear rude comments thrown our way. Just because there won’t be major trouble doesn’t mean people won’t be assholes to me.”

Aidan looked at his daughter, who was chatting with Trinity. “Maybe Trin could watch her? After all, she needs the practice.”

Kian frowned. “You aren’t supposed to know that yet.”

Aidan shrugged. “Dani noticed first. Besides, it’s our job to protect your future young.”

Claire glanced to Trinity and back to Aidan. “She’s pregnant? She can’t be far along since she’s still quite thin.”

Kian’s voice was dry. “She prefers athletic, although her pregnancy hormones have convinced her she’s already fat.”

Aidan winked at his clan leader. “Good luck with that one, Kian. It’ll only get worse, especially considering you’re a twin and Trinity might be pregnant with twins herself.”

Kian sighed. “Don’t remind me.” He scanned the crowd. “Speaking of which, Sylas should be around here somewhere with Kaya. I told Dani to let them in after the claiming.”

Aidan spotted Sy in the crowd. “I see them.” He looked back to his clan leader. “You can help Trinity with Chloe. You’ll need the practice as well because there’s no way in hell Trin will allow you to back away from baby duty.”

“Fine,” Kian said. “Enjoy yourselves because from tomorrow, your schedules will be a mixture of clan duties, training, and strategy sessions with me and Kaya about how to use your pairing to win the vote in November without getting arrested.”

Nodding at his clan leader, he pressed gently against Claire’s back. “Come, Claire. It’s time for you to charm the rest of the clan.”

She looked at him with amusement. “Let’s just hope none of them try to ‘charm’ me by shucking their clothes to shift. It’ll be hard not to look, and then you’ll probably punch them in the face.” She tapped her chin and continued before Aidan could do anything but blink. “Come to think of it, I want to see more cougar-shifters in their cat forms and hear them purr. Maybe I should ask them since you don’t do it enough.”

He growled, which made Claire laugh. As he guided her down the stairs of the stage, he murmured, “I can shift and purr for you later. For now, just promise me you won’t ask everyone to shift so you can pet them.”

Her eyes were bright with mirth. “I’ll try not to.”

Squeezing her tightly against his side, Aidan readied himself for the crowd.

 

~~~

 

With a smile on her face, Claire studied the crowd as Aidan guided her to a man he said was his brother. While younger, the other shifter male had the same brown eyes and dark hair. The woman leaning against his side had to be his mate, and like most non-middle-aged shifters, she was tall and athletic with perceptive, assessing eyes.

Still, the woman smiled, her white teeth bright against her dark skin. When they were only a few feet away, Aidan nodded. “Jeremy, Naomi, this is Claire.”

Naomi spoke up first. “We’ve heard a lot about you from Chloe. It’s nice to meet you.”

The woman’s words rang genuine, so Claire extended a hand. “I know Aidan’s grateful for you helping out with Chloe, so I am too.”

The younger version of Aidan, Jeremy, took her hand. “Any female who can put up with my brother’s stubborn ass deserves a gold medal. Anytime you need an escape, you can come over for a while.”

Aidan grunted and everyone laughed. When Claire finally caught her breath, she replied, “I’ll keep that in mind, although my stubbornness rivals his, so he may be fleeing to you.”

While it was said in jest, Claire had experienced a man or two who hadn’t liked a strong, determined woman. As a young woman in her twenties, she questioned if she should remain stubborn or give in more often.

Then Aidan squeezed her tighter against him, and she was grateful for never giving up. Standing toe-to-toe with Aidan was more fun than she could ever remember.

Naomi’s voice interrupted Claire’s thoughts. “Well, you can’t just keep Claire all to yourself, Aidan. Bring her around for dinner soon, with Chloe, of course, so we can tell her all the good stories.”

Claire raised her brows. “Oh, I’d like to hear the good stories. I hope they’re extra embarrassing.”

Naomi laughed. “Some of them are, although we may have to wait until Aidan is out the room before I share.”

Aidan frowned and jumped in. “We’ll talk about you violating my privacy later, Naomi. Right now, I need to show Claire off.”

Jeremy’s face grew serious. “Just be careful, brother. There’s talk in the clan about her ruining our image because of the leaked photo.”

Claire’s brows drew together. “How could I ruin the clan’s image?”

Jeremy answered, “Some think it was planned. Or, if Aidan had never had to meet with you, we could have kept the humans away. The fear is that the media attention will bring reckless shifter groupies and poachers. The latter worries me.”

Aidan gripped his brother’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, brother, we’ll be careful. First thing tomorrow, I’ll talk with Dani about extra patrols and surveillance, if she hasn’t implemented them already herself.”

“I don’t doubt you, Aidan,” Jeremy stated.

Aidan released his brother’s shoulder. “Good. For now, I see Sylas in the crowd and I need to talk with him. I’ll touch base with you tomorrow.”

After saying their goodbyes, Aidan guided Claire back into the crowd. She noticed that the further they went from the stage, the less friendly the smiles.

Then a man who looked remarkably like Kian Murray appeared in front of them with the leader of the GreyFire wolves at his side. With a grin, Kian’s twin winked. “All the gorgeous humans showed up after I left. Makes me wonder if I did the right thing.”

Kaya punched him and he faked being hurt. “That may never get old for you, but it’s getting a little old for me. You touch another female and I’ll cut off your dick in your sleep, Sylas Murray.”

Claire blinked. But then Sylas leaned down to whisper something into Kaya’s ear, which she couldn’t hear, and the corner of Kaya’s mouth ticked up. Claire was tempted to ask what he’d whispered, but then Aidan spoke up. “Stop flirting with my human, Sylas, or I’ll cut off your balls in your sleep.”

Sylas gave an exaggerated look of offense. “I was just trying to give a compliment.”

Aidan grunted. “Sometimes, I’m glad you left. Putting up with your bullshit is exhausting.”

Sylas laughed and Claire knew she was missing something. She hated knowing so little about the man who was starting to mean so much to her.

Thankfully, Kaya looked to her and said, “I’m sorry about the picture leaking. Kian believes it wasn’t you, and I trust him. Hopefully being stuck with Mr. Grumpy Pants isn’t too difficult.”

Claire shook her head. “No, although I will admit it’s happening a bit fast.”

Kaya smiled. “Well, the opposite isn’t much better. It took just over a decade for my male to finally get it right.”

Sy sighed. “This again.”

Kaya gave him an amused look. “Stop flirting with all the females and I may let it go.”

Aidan grunted. “If you two want to flirt, Claire and I have other people to talk with.”

Kaya’s gaze moved to Aidan, her look serious. “Before you go, Sy and I may have an idea for your first secret event with the human public.”

Claire asked, “What? I haven’t even had a chance to think strategies with Kian. He said we could work together on this.”

Kaya nodded. “We’ll need your help, for sure. But the University of Washington in Seattle is hosting their annual Shifter Appreciation Week in two weeks and Sy knows one of the organizers and has asked for some speakers. They wish to hold an indoor event. Only a certain amount of people will be admitted, all of whom should be vetted supporters.” Kaya looked from Claire to Aidan and back again. “Provided, of course, you’re willing.”

Claire was smart enough to realize a good opportunity when she heard it. Holding grudges or resenting someone for accomplishing something without your help was petty and damaging to her cause. “Well, if Kian says it’s okay and there’s a plan in place to get me there without getting arrested, I don’t see why not.”

Aidan chimed in, “I don’t know if it’s the best idea. Even with a secure plan to transport you to the university and back, you haven’t had any self-defense training and you’re going to need it in case any of the anti-shifter groups, especially Human Purity, show up.”

Sy interjected, “But it’s an invite-only event, where shifters and humans from all over the area will attend. In addition to organizer security, DarkStalker and GreyFire would help protect your female.” Sy paused a second and his eyes became serious. “I wouldn’t ask you, Aidan, if I didn’t trust the person in charge.”

Claire sensed Aidan’s resistance loosening. She just needed to convince him a little bit more. “Us together and presenting a united front, despite the risk of getting caught, will help verify our love story. We may not have many chances to do it, so we should take every opportunity we can before it’s impossible.”

Aidan studied her in silence. Kaya’s voice was gentle when she said, “You can’t keep her in a cage, Aidan. With all of the security planned, she’ll be nearly as safe as if she were still here.”

Claire held her breath, waiting for Aidan’s answer. If he said no, she wasn’t sure what to do.

Letting out a sigh, Aidan finally gave his answer. “You’re right, keeping Claire in a cage is like trying to keep a shifter locked up in a zoo; it would drive her crazy.” He tightened his grip on Claire’s side. “However, you need to promise me that from now until the event, you’ll train every day with me no matter how sore you are or how much you hate it.”

Claire tilted her head. “Only if you agree to let me talk with some possible supporters without you at my side, scaring them shitless with your glares and world-famous grunts.”

“As long as I think it’s safe, then fine,” Aidan answered. “We’ll start training tomorrow. Sy, Kaya, once you clear it with Kian, send us all the information you have. Also, ensure with your contact that DarkStalker and GreyFire can help with security. If they say no, then we’re not going.”

Sy’s winks and grins were gone, replaced with a seriousness that made him look even more like his twin brother. “It shouldn’t be a problem. They’ve been trying to get me to go for years, but this is the first time I thought it worth attending.”

Aidan opened his mouth, but Kaya beat him to it. “Enough planning for now, you two. Tonight is critical in gaining support for Aidan and Claire’s claiming and eventual mating.” She leaned into Sy’s side. “Besides, you owe me a dance and I’m claiming it now.”

Despite the fact no one was dancing, Sy and Kaya bid farewell, found an empty corner, and began dancing.

Aidan’s voice garnered her attention. “Sy used to be my boss. He might be a charming flirt, but he’s devoted to Kaya. Only a fool in love would dance in a room where no one else was dancing.”

It was on the tip of Claire’s tongue to ask Aidan if he’d ever done it with his former mate, but a group of younger shifters approached and started asking Claire questions. As she tried her best to win them over while remaining truthful, all thoughts of dancing, love, or even possible danger in two weeks’ time fled her mind.

Thankfully, her years of being friendly and winning support for the SEA proved useful as they worked the room. While any one of the shifters in the clan could turn on her or gossip behind her back, Claire felt confident she had a good start. After all, she’d learned long ago she couldn’t win over everyone.

The older shifters in the back of the room glared in her direction, but with Aidan at her side, she didn’t care. Given what she knew of Kian, she should be safe.

Only time would tell if her gut was correct or not.