Page 72 of Claimed

His lips press together in a hard line as he looks between us. “Why do you want to know?”

“Our mate was held by him for years. He tortured her.”

“We need to take him out,” Bain says as Finn’s eyebrows rise in surprise.

“Your mate, as in—she is both of yours?”

Fuck. I slipped up. I was supposed to act as if she was just my mate. Outside of Erica and her pack, we don't know what anyone else in this town thinks about the whole multiple mates thing.

I press my lips together, unsure how to respond. Bain makes that decision for me when he answers, “Yes.”

“Huh,” Finn says, sounding more curious than anything as he leans back in his chair. Somehow, this information has made him relax. He glances between both of us before he seems to make up his mind and starts talking. “I met my mate, Lexi, at the facility. I recognized her as my fated mate as soon as we both shifted. Which was obviously amazing and terrifying.”

He shakes his head as if lost in thought. “Can you imagine finding the one person fated to be yours and realizing she’s trapped in the worst place imaginable with you and there’s nothing you can do about it?”

I shake my head. Finding Cherry the way we did was bad enough. I couldn’t imagine being in the scenario he painted.

“Well, imagine my surprise to find out I wasn’t her only fated mate.”

My eyebrows raise in surprise. Is Lexi an omega too? I want to ask, but it isn’t relevant right now, and if he doesn’t know about the truth of omegas, he might close himself off.

“Anyway, we managed to escape and kill the man who was experimenting on us in the process.”

“Can I ask what they did to you?” I ask, leaning forward.

“They were obsessed with healing abilities. They took vials of our blood daily. They got bored with me pretty quickly and didn’t seem to care that I was close to death. Luckily, they didn’t know I’m only half fox shifter, or they never would have tried to get rid of me, which is how I ended up meeting Lexi.”

“Wait—half fox shifter? What else are you?” I ask in confusion, not knowing what he means by that.

“Oh, I assumed Cody told you.”

“Told us what?” Bain asks, almost growling.

“I’m a hybrid. Half fox shifter, half vampire.”

Chapter 26

Cherry

Standing in my bedroom, I stare at myself in the mirror. I’ve seen myself in my human form several times now, but standing in front of a full-length mirror wearing nothing but a new pair of panties and a bra that Chase and Bain bought me feels completely foreign to me. I place my hands on my hips and realize I have curves.

I definitely didn’t have those when I was fourteen. I’m not even sure I had them two months ago. Thanks to being well fed and taken care of by my mates, I think I’m a lot healthier than I was back then.

And happier.

I glance at my closed door and frown.

When Chase and Bain arrived home, they showered me with bags full of clothes and all but shoved me in here and shut the door. Telling me to try everything on.

Didn’t they want me to show them my new clothes? I have a feeling they want to talk to the others without me around. And the only reason I can think of why they’d do that is because they don’t think I can handle what they are discussing.

Which means it’s either about my stalker, Blaze, or about the facility. Did they find another note on our doorstep when they got home?

I don’t want to be treated as a precious treasure—well, at least not all the time. I rummage through the bags for something else to wear.

I can’t help but smile at all the pretty clothes they bought me, my frustration at being left out of their meeting quickly fading to appreciation. Besides their shirts, I haven’t worn real clothes in a decade. I’ve literally never worn any as an adult.

I find a light green dress that I think will look great with my hair and pull it on. It has cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline, fitting tight to my body with a slight flare at the hips.