Staking Their Claim Read online

  

  Whyr Desires

  Staking Their Claim

  Penny's in trouble. Someone’s stalking her and she's injured and alone. When a car follows her from her work, she panics and calls the police, but her follower turns out to be her friend's brothers checking up on her.

  Alpha cougar Ethan Black and his brothers Griffin and Dawson are infuriated to find out their mate isn't where she's supposed to be. But discovering that she's in danger and has been hurt chills them. They take her home and protect her while she heals.

  Penny’s stunned when they tell her she’s their mate. When they claim her, she can’t ignore the truth. These three shapeshifters are hers.

  Sex with the three men is sizzling hot and she can’t get enough, but her stalker lurks, waiting to strike. Ethan, Griffin, and Dawson refuse to lose their mate to a cowardly stalker. They’ll protect her and stop anyone who tries to take her away from them.

  Genres: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Romantic Suspense, Shape-shifter

  Length: 87,253

  STAKING THEIR CLAIM

  Whyr Desires

  Rebecca Airies

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Staking Their Claim

  Copyright © 2018 by Rebecca Airies

  ISBN: 978-1-64243-460-6

  First Publication: October 2018

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2018 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  DEDICATION

  To the newest arrivals, Isla and Cal. May your journey through life be blessed.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  A voracious reader since childhood, Rebecca Airies has always enjoyed getting lost in the fantastic worlds of science fiction, horror, fantasy, and romance. When she began to write her own stories, they always had a romantic edge.

  Rebecca currently lives in Texas and writes with the help of a couple feline critics. She’s a multi-published author whose muse loves fantasy, sci-fi, and the paranormal, as well as strong heroines who are sometimes as stubborn as their heroes. She loves to hear from her readers. E-mail her at [email protected].

  For all titles by Rebecca Airies, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/rebecca-airies

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  STAKING THEIR CLAIM

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  STAKING THEIR CLAIM

  Whyr Desires

  REBECCA AIRIES

  Copyright © 2018

  Chapter One

  Penny gripped the steering wheel. Her mouth dried. The black car still loomed in the rearview mirror. One more turn. That would be four and she’d be back where she started. The car shouldn’t still be behind her if it wasn’t following her.

  Damn stalker. Hopefully, this was just another overreaction. She licked her lips. Maybe not. That car had been there too long.

  She made the turn. The black car rounded the corner after her. A lump formed in her throat. Damn it, who is that? No way would she go anywhere near her home or even to the grocery store with that fucking car behind her.

  “Call John Dark.” She flexed the fingers of her right hand, loosening her aching fingers. Hopefully, he’d answer.

  A soft brr vibrated through her car speakers. Come on, John. Be there. Nice to have a direct line to the Chief of Police. Hopefully, it helped. If not, the police department would get the next call. Was this the person who’d been sending her notes, leaving creepy gifts, and calling her? And maybe more, but there was no proof of that.

  “John, here. Are you all right, Penny?” John’s voice rumbled.

  “I’m all right, but there’s a black car following me. I made four rights and it’s still there. I don’t know anyone who drives a car like that.” Penny bit her lip and glanced in her rearview mirror. Still there.

  “Tell me where you are and I’ll have a police car come to you,” John said. “I can have the car stopped to see what the person is doing and why they’re following you.”

  “I’m on Carver Street and I just passed the paint store and can see the big clown of the toy store sign ahead.” Penny drove straight. At least, she wouldn’t have to rattle off more street names. Carver Street continued almost the length of the city.

  “All right, I’ve dispatched an officer and am heading out myself,” John reassured her. “I’ll call you back for more information if we need it.”

  She drove at a normal, steady pace. Her heart pounded. She lifted her gaze to the rearview mirror. The car still trailed her. Her phone rang. She jumped.

  “Answer.” She took a deep breath. Calm down and focus.

  “Where are you now?” John asked.

  “I’m driving past Carla’s Salon. Catfish’s Barbecue is coming up on the corner.” Penny rolled her shoulders. There was still a lot to do before she could go home. This was nowhere near the grocery store.

  “It’s a black car?” John asked.

  “The one right behind me. It’s been there since shortly after I left from work.” She bit her lip.

  “All right, we’ll stop the car. You continue on to wherever you were going. I’ll contact you as soon as I learn something. And later you might try calling Leslie. She’d mentioned she hadn’t heard from you in a while,” John said.

  The call ended. Well, he didn’t linger on the phone. Not that explaining would be easy. He didn’t know about her destroyed phone, just that she’d gotten a new number. That hadn’t been the stalker.

  Blue and red lights flashed. The car behind her pulled over. Her muscles relaxed, the tension flowing out of her. She drove to the next corner and turned. First, back to her favorite supermarket and then get Minnie.

  * * * * />
  Ethan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. The officer slowly made his way to the car. A large SUV pulled in behind the police car. Penny’s car continued to the corner and turned. Fucking hell, she’d gotten away. Dawson had been edgy before. He’d probably lose it with this.

  Somehow, the officer dawdled long enough for the man from the SUV to arrive at the car door at the same time as he did. The officer knocked at his window. Ethan rolled down his window and glanced up. John Dark glared down at him.

  “Care to tell me why you’re following that car, Alpha Black?” John tilted his head.

  “Penny’s our mate, but, on top of that, Maggie wanted us to check on her, because she hadn’t heard from her in a few days. It’s a perfect opportunity to introduce her to Dawson and reveal the truth to her, but she’d moved out of the house she’s been renting from me. The only way we knew to find her was at her work. Unfortunately, we got there as she was pulling out. Did we scare her?” Ethan exhaled and shook his head. Good thing John was a member of the pride. He could be honest with him.

  “She was already worried about something, but discovering someone following her didn’t help.” John straightened. “Have you followed her any other time in the last few days?”

  “No, this is the first time.” Ethan frowned. She had someone following her?

  “I don’t know why she hasn’t called Maggie, but she hasn’t gotten in touch with Leslie in the last few days. Why don’t I call her and see if she’ll meet with you?” John tapped his fingers on his thigh.

  “That would be good.” Ethan nodded.

  John pulled out his phone. He dialed and waited. “Penny, do you know Ethan Black?”

  Ethan couldn’t hear Penny’s reply. If only he could take the phone and talk to her himself.

  “Yes. Have you called Maggie Black lately?” John asked.

  Ethan clenched his jaw. Was John trying to torture him? He was drawing out the questions unnecessarily.

  “Oh, well, that does explain it. Would you meet with Ethan and his brothers? If you’d like, I can be there when you do,” John offered.

  Ethan frowned. She knew him. She shouldn’t need John to act as some type of guardian.

  “What the hell is going on in our girl’s life that she’s this damn nervous?” Dawson leaned over. “What has happened to make her scared? You two kept too much distance.”

  “I don’t know. While Maggie was here, it was easy to keep track of her. Maggie didn’t notice anything off about her or she would have said something.” Ethan lifted his shoulders. Apparently, something was wrong in her life. Someone was following her.

  “If you call Maggie and have her talk to Penny, you might learn a little about that before she’d be willing to tell her ex-landlord and best friend’s brothers.” John tapped his hand on the door. “Follow me. Penny will wait for us. She went to the store to do some shopping.”

  Ethan nodded and pushed the button to raise his window. He glanced over at Griffin. “Call Maggie and tell her to be extra probing, because something is going on and I want to know about it. I also want to know why she moved out of the house.”

  John led the way to one of the local grocery stores. The red and yellow sign along the top of the building proclaimed it the Stevenson’s Market. The big SUV maneuvered around the lot before finally parking on the third row. Ethan pulled in next to him. He got out of the car. Where is Penny? Her car sat just a few slots down, but she wasn’t in it. She was nowhere in sight.

  “Where is she?” Ethan glanced over at John.

  John frowned. “Let me call her.”

  Ethan tapped his foot as John pulled out his phone. Damn, this wasn’t the way today was supposed to go.

  “I thought you were about to get in line to check out. We’re outside waiting.” John tapped his hand on his leg.

  John stood there. Ethan shifted on his feet. What was she saying? Finally, John nodded.

  “We’ll see you soon, then.” John flicked his finger over the screen and slid his phone into his jacket pocket. “She’ll be out soon. She was behind someone when she told me she was in line and then she had a lot of her own groceries.”

  Ethan locked his eyes on the sliding doors to the store.

  “You want me to grill her so you’ll know what’s happening.” Maggie’s voice filled with amusement. “Don’t you think you should try asking first?”

  “No, we need to know what has her so afraid and she doesn’t know us. She won’t trust us even if she’s pulled by the mating attraction.” Ethan grimaced. The trust and understanding would take time.

  “She’ll think you’re a jerk if you don’t give her the phone,” Maggie said.

  “Don’t worry about it. She’ll see many sides of me in the future and this one incident won’t change anything.” Ethan shook his head.

  A little upset wouldn’t matter in the long run. He wasn’t giving her up, especially when they were now so close to claiming her. There were a few formalities to take care of before they could make it legal, but she was their mate.

  “You said she had blonde hair with purple streaks, right?” Dawson’s voice cut through the silence.

  He glanced over at his brother. “Yes.”

  “Like the woman on crutches beside the young man pushing a cart?” Dawson pointed toward the store.

  What the fuck? Crutches? The blonde woman wearing blue scrubs and a blue jacket was Penny. Even that shapeless outfit couldn’t hide her sweet curves. She swung her way across the parking lot.

  “Crutches? She’s on crutches?” Maggie’s voice came from the phone. “She was fine when I left. What is happening with her?”

  Ethan clenched his fist. Fuck, what happened? “It’s her.”

  “Did you know she was hurt?” Griffin asked.

  Ethan lifted his head. How would he know? None of them had seen her since Dawson came home. But Griffin looked past him. Ethan turned to John.

  “No, the last time I saw her she was fine.” John frowned. “While we wait, I’ll make a quick call to see if there was something that didn’t make it to my attention.”

  “Damn it, I leave and suddenly she’s not living in the house. She’s on crutches for some reason. On top of that, she’s so afraid of something she’s spoken to John. What the hell is going on with her?” Maggie’s voice came out of the phone.

  That question burned through Ethan, too. What scared her? She made her way to them slowly. Her breath puffed out in the cold air. She looked at the ground with every swing of her crutches. Talking someplace warm would be more comfortable, but she probably wouldn’t go anywhere with them yet, even with Maggie talking. If she was scared enough that she watched for people following her, she felt threatened.

  “We’ll find out and we’ll help her through it.” Ethan clenched his hand. And whoever made her afraid would pay.

  Chapter Two

  Ethan gritted his teeth. John wasn’t talking. He hadn’t moved off, though. Probably to reassure Penny.

  Penny stopped at the back of her car and opened the trunk. She reached for one of the bags. How did she expect to get all of those into her home?

  “I’ll do that for you, ma’am.” The young store employee smiled.

  Ethan stiffened. Normally, he’d step forward and send the boy to the store. Not now. She had to be relaxed and cooperative. They wouldn’t learn anything if she became defensive.

  Finally, the last bag of food settled in the trunk and she turned away, thanking the man. He closed the trunk and wheeled the cart away. Penny wobbled forward a little with each swinging motion as she came around the car. He clenched his hands.

  “Hi, John, thank you for checking the car out even though it wasn’t necessary.” Her shoulders hunched and she took a deep breath.

  “That’s why I gave you my number. I’m still sure that you need it. Now, they wanted to talk to you and if I don’t hear the answers I want, I’ll ask some questions.” John nodded.

  “All right, is Mags very worried?
” Penny turned toward Ethan.

  Her hazel eyes glistened and her scent carried a hint of pain. If only he could hold her. He exhaled. Not possible yet, but she was here.

  Two days without knowing where she was and two sleepless nights. His muscles loosened, tension easing from them. Damn, it’s good to have her within reach.

  “Pretty worried, she couldn’t get a reply at all. Then we discover you’re not in the home you were renting. No forwarding address, and you weren’t answering your phone. So we decided to catch you at work.” Ethan smiled. Hopefully, it would put her at ease.

  “Yeah, I basically go home from work, eat, and fall asleep.” She gestured to the cast. “I hadn’t even realized I’d missed calls.”

  “Didn’t you check?” Ethan raised his brows. Falling into bed was understandable after a long day, but surely she checked her phone.

  “Different phone, different number. My calls on the old number aren’t forwarded. The sim card was messed up when my other phone broke. I wasn’t able to transfer my contacts and I haven’t found my password to the account I stored them on.” She lifted a shoulder.

  There was a hell of a lot that she wasn’t saying. She hadn’t addressed leaving the house or why.

  “How did you break your leg, Penny?” Maggie’s voice came from the phone.

  “Seriously, you have her on speakerphone and didn’t tell me?” She glared at Ethan before peering over at Griffin, who held the phone in his hand. “Could you take it off speakerphone and hand it to me?”

  “No, I had to hunt you down and was stopped by the police. I think I deserve to hear everything.” Ethan crossed his arms over his chest.

  Dark lashes nearly veiled those hazel eyes. “I thought she was being dramatic. You definitely are a pain in the ass.”

  “Yes, he is. Talk. You’re out of your mind if you think you’ll get out of telling me everything that’s wrong.” Maggie sounded too cheerful. “The leg first.”