Forever Claimed

Chapter Six

Kamryn gave a tentative smile and said, "Hi."

She couldn't stop herself from staring at each of the five large men who sat at the long kitchen table. Though they were all seated, she had a feeling when they stood, each one of them would be around six and a half feet tall. And they were just as muscular as Algar. All except for the one who had long black hair, he had the biggest muscles of the bunch.

Algar guided her closer to the table. "Let me introduce you to everyone, Kamryn." He pointed to each man, in turn. "This is Wulfric, Dolf, Garrick, and Brand.

And the couple sitting at the end of the table is Raed and Lexi."

"Nice to meet you all."

She met the men's gazes when they greeted her. Wulfric had light blond hair that reached his shoulders, and green eyes. Dolf's hair was reddish-brown and had a slight wave to it. His eyes were a dark brown. Garrick, who winked at her, had shaggy light brown hair and brown eyes. Brand, the one with the black hair she had noticed the most, only nodded. His eyes were a dark blue. She then turned her attention to the only other couple in the room—Raed and Lexi. Raed had longish dark blond hair and blue eyes. Lexi, who looked tiny compared to the large men she sat with, had long, light brown hair and blue eyes that were open and friendly. Lexi got up from the table and Kamryn noted she was pregnant. Given the size of her belly, she guessed the other woman wasn't that far along.

Lexi held out her hand. "It's nice to finally meet you, Kamryn. Algar has told me about you."

It seemed strange to hear another American accent while surrounded by a bunch of people who had British ones. Kamryn took Lexi's hand and shook it. "Nothing too bad, I hope."

Lexi chuckled. "No. Nothing bad. Did the two of you have breakfast?"

Algar answered for them. "Not yet." He gave Lexi a pointed look that Kamryn didn't miss seeing. "Kamryn has some questions she wants me to answer and I decided to take you up on your offer to help with them."

Garrick snorted. "You mean you chickened out."

Algar shot Garrick a hard glare.

Lexi shook her finger at Garrick. "That will be enough out of you. You can keep your smart-ass comments to yourself." She then turned back to Algar. "Sure, we can talk, but why don't the two of you have something to eat first."

Algar led Kamryn to the one empty chair. Before she could wonder which one of them would take it, Brand, who sat next to it, stood. "Take mine. I'm done." He then said on his way out of the kitchen, "I'm going out."

Given Brand's abrupt manner, Kamryn said, "I hope I wasn't kicking him out of his chair before he was done."

"It's fine," Lexi said as she once again sat next to Raed. "Brand is a man of very little words. He doesn't mean anything by it."

Once Kamryn took Brand's chair, a clean plate was put in front of her and a large platter with bacon and eggs was pushed toward her. Her stomach growled, reminding her it had been a while since she'd last eaten. She helped herself to the food and passed the platter to Algar. She barely managed not to stare when he mounded his plate high.

"So, Kamryn," Raed said. "Algar said you were from Niagara Falls, New York. I bet you see a lot of tourists who come to see the falls."

She swallowed a mouthful of food and nodded. "A fair amount. Not so much in the winter, though. Plus we get quite a few Canadians who cross the border to shop at the outlet malls."

"Have you crossed the border to Canada?"

"Yes, more than once. I hate to say it, me being American and all, but the Canadian side of the falls has a much better view than we do. Plus, they have the Maid of the Mist boat tours that take you right to the base of the American Falls and into the basin of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. I've been on that a few times."

"I've heard of the boat tours," Lexi said. "You're supposed to get soaked when they take you to the falls."

Kamryn chuckled. "Pretty much, so it's a good thing disposable rain ponchos are provided. But getting soaked is just part of the thrill of the ride."

"I guess. What do you do in Niagara Falls?" Lexi asked next.

"I'm an assistant to a wedding planner."

"Considering where you live, I imagine you have a lot of weddings to work on."

"Sometimes I feel as if I do nothing but run around booking halls and picking flower arrangements, but I like what I do."

"I used to be a teacher's assistant back in the States. I don't miss it that much."

Lexi put her hand on her stomach. "Though four months from now, I'll have my hands full and will be glad I don't have to go in to work every day."

Raed pulled Lexi close and put his hand on top of hers. "With all the uncles this baby will have, I'm sure you'll have lots of help."

Garrick had just taken a sip of coffee when Raed had spoken and now started to choke on it as if it had gone down the wrong way. Once he cleared his lungs with a few loud coughs, he shook his head. "Don't be expecting me to change dirty nappies. That I won't do, even if you order me to do it."

Raed chuckled. "Rest assured that will be one order I won't be issuing. You'd probably do a terrible job anyway."

Obviously pretending to take offense, since Garrick didn't sound too upset by Raed's comment, he went on to say how he would probably do a better job than the rest of the uncles. Of course, the others then had to put in their two cents.

Kamryn silently ate while the conversation turned to good-natured, male ribbing. Even Algar joined in. She also noted no one seemed to think it out of the ordinary for Raed to be issuing anyone 'orders'. It made her wonder if this 'family' had some sort of hierarchy to it. If it did, she could quite easily see Raed in the role of head of the family. He seemed to have a more authoritative presence about him than the other men, though Algar seemed to come in a close second.

By the time Kamryn had finished eating, the conversation had started to wind down. Algar, who'd emptied his plate quicker than she, leaned in and asked, "Did you have enough to eat?"

"Yes, thanks. It was just what I needed."

"Good." He looked toward the end of the table. "Lexi, if you're ready?"

"Sure. Let's go." She gave Raed a quick kiss before she got to her feet and walked over to them.

Once Algar and Kamryn stood as well, Lexi led them out of the kitchen and down the hall to a large living room. She took a seat on one of the leather couches and waited for them to join her.

Lexi looked at Algar. "I think it would be better if you went first."

Kamryn, who sat between Algar and Lexi, looked from one to the other, with her gaze finally settling on Lexi. "You know about Algar's little . . . problem."

"Yes, but like I said, I think it would be better if Algar told you what he is first."

She turned away from Lexi to look at Algar who shot up and started to pace in front of the couch.

"What you are?" Kamryn had no idea what Lexi had meant.

He stopped pacing and took a deep breath. "Let's see if I can do this without causing too much upset. I'm not like other men you have known."

"If you're talking about what happens while we're in bed together, I already know."

"That isn't what I mean. Damn, this is hard." Algar looked at Lexi. "Now I know how Raed must have felt when he told you."

"Just spit it out, Algar," Lexi said. "Like removing a bandage, it's better in the end not to go too slowly."

He nodded. "All right." He then moved so he stood in front of Kamryn before he squatted and took her hands in his. "You asked what I do for a living. Well, I guess my job description would best be described as immortal werewolf warrior." When Kamryn opened her mouth, he stopped her before she could respond. "Let me finish. I can already tell from the look on your face that you don't believe me. It's true. I was born in the Fifth Century here in East Anglia. I'm over a thousand years old. Raed was my king.

Actually, we still consider him our king. The Anglo-Saxon god, Tiw, chose Raed and the rest of us to protect mortals from the werewolves sired by Fenris the wolf, the son of the god, Loki. Tiw gave us immortality and the ability to shift into what we hunt to better help us take down Fenris' get. As for what happens when I sleep with you, I think it's because you're my mate. That has never happened to me before, only with you. This is still new to us. Lexi was the first to become a mate to one of us warriors."

From the serious expression Algar wore, she didn't question that he believed what he'd told her. All she could think was he had to be kidding her. He couldn't expect her to believe a story like that. What'd he take her for? A gullible moron?

Kamryn looked at Lexi. "This has to be a joke. Right?" When Lexi said nothing, Kamryn continued. "Come on? You can't tell me you believe this . . . this make believe story about werewolves."

"It's true, Kamryn," Lexi said with pity in her voice. "All of it. When Raed first told me, I felt the same way you do. No way could it be true, but when he showed me the proof, I couldn't deny it."

Kamryn shook her head and shifted her gaze from Lexi to Algar. "You've had your joke. It's time to stop trying to pull one over on the new girl."

Algar sighed, let go of her hands and moved to stand at his full height. "Shit. I'm going to have to shift."

"Make sure you start off with the wolf first," Lexi said quickly. "I would have freaked less if Raed had shown me that before the other."

Shift? Wolf? They couldn't be serious.

But then Algar's body started to blur and she felt her heart trying to beat out of her chest when a wolf with brown fur, the same color of Algar's hair, took his place. The shift had happened within a matter of seconds. The wolf took a step closer and nudged her shin with his nose. Kamryn pulled her legs up onto the couch.

Lexi put a hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. Take some deep breaths. It's still Algar in there. He can understand everything you say."

Kamryn said nothing, unable to tear her gaze off the wolf.

"Bandage time again, Algar. I don't think this is going to get any better."

The wolf's body blurred, and to Kamryn's horror, something even worse took its place. A creature that stood much taller and bulkier than Algar was now towering in front of her. It had the same color fur covering its body as the wolf had had. It looked a cross between a man and a wolf with its lupine head and tail. Sharp claws tipped each of its fingers. Kamryn breathed faster, her vocal cords frozen, while fear threatened to consume her.

The creature held out a hand toward her. "Take it easy, Kamryn. It's still me. This is my werewolf form." The voice that came out of the creature's muzzle sounded like Algar, but much gruffer and deeper.

He reached for her and that was enough to unfreeze her. She screamed. Loudly.

The creature took a step closer, and she screamed again, jumping off the couch and out of its reach. When the other people, or werewolves, rushed into the room, she backed away until she came up against a wall. The newcomers stared at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"Shift back to human form," Raed barked to Algar. "Your just scaring her more the longer you stay like that."

The creature's body blurred and once more she stared at Algar's familiar features. He went to take a step toward her, but she held up her hands with her palms out. "Stay the fuck away from me."

"Kamryn, relax."

Shaking with fear, needing to get away from the man—creature—she'd stupidly slept with, she yelled, "Relax! Are you fucking nuts?"

"I know you're a little upset right now, but if you would just give yourself some time to calm down you'll find I'm not any different from the man I was before I told you this."

She laughed; the sound verged on being this side of hysterical, and not in a good way. "No different?" she shouted. "Bullshit. You're a freak of nature. An animal. I can't believe I slept with you. Twice."

His face became closed. Something that looked like hurt flashed in his eyes. "I'm not an animal. I'm human. You're going to have to accept what I am. We're mates."

Another wave of panic washed over her. This couldn't be happening. She violently shook her head. "No, we aren't. Just because you went all animal when we slept together does not mean we're mates. I refuse to be a mate to a goddamned wolf."

Lexi moved to stand nearer to Kamryn, next to Algar. "Kamryn, I know this is hard for you, but the signs are all there that says you are Algar's mate. The only one we haven't seen yet to confirm it is Tiw's mark. To see if he marked you like he marked me."

Lexi turned slightly, pulled down the collar of her shirt, and showed the back of her right shoulder. Kamryn found herself looking at what appeared to be the same tattoo Algar had on the cap of his left shoulder.

"That's just a tattoo. Algar said it was."

"No, I didn't," he said. "I only let you assume it was. Tiw gave all his warriors the mark when we pledged to serve him. Since I've claimed you, the mark may already be starting to show. Lexi said it started off looking like a bruise shortly after Raed claimed her."

Kamryn practically choked herself when she grabbed the collar of her long-sleeved t-shirt and yanked it down so the people in the room could see the right side of her back. "Well, is there a mark?" Her gaze latched onto Algar when his face went blank, not showing any emotions. "There isn't one, is there? So I'm not your mate."

"It doesn't mean that," Algar said tightly. "Maybe it's just taking a little longer to show up than it did with Lexi."

"That's just wishful thinking on your part," she shot back.

Her fear not abating one bit, Kamryn gazed over at Wulfric, Dolf, and Garrick, who were standing closer to the living room's entrance. She weighed the possibility of them not stopping her if she tried to make a run for it. She didn't think her chances were very good.

The urge to run was becoming too much for Kamryn to ignore. Panicking to the point where she wondered if she'd give herself a heart attack from her heart beating so fast, she started to inch her way around Algar and Lexi. She kept her hands held out to keep them away.

"I'm getting the hell out of here," she said, trying to keep track of all the people in the room.

"No," Algar said in an abrupt tone. "I can't let you go. I need for you to understand."

When he made a reach for Kamryn, Lexi caught his arm and held him back. She shook her head. "Forcing her to stay isn't going to make matters any better. Maybe the time away from you will help her come to terms with this." Lexi then released him and turned to Kamryn. "I'll take you back to your hotel."

Out of all the people in the room, Lexi was the one Kamryn didn't fear as much.

"You won't go wolf on me, will you?"

Lexi gave her a small smile. "No. I'm not a werewolf. Tiw only gave me immortality. You'll be safe with me. And being pregnant, it isn't as if I can chase you down if you decide to run."

Kamryn thought it over for a second before she said, "Fine. I wouldn't mind a ride to my hotel."

"Let's go then."

A loud growl filled the room when Kamryn started to walk away with Lexi. She knew Algar had made the sound, but she didn't look at him. She needed to get her fear under control. If she glanced his way, she would only be able to see the creature he had been and not the man she'd originally thought he was.