The Claiming by Cooper

Chapter 70: Jara

"Aren't you worried about going feral?" I ask, truly interested in his reasons for not wanting to claim me.

"Yes and no. If Mason is right, you will be the key to keeping most, if not all of us from going feral in the pack. Besides that," he looks up at me, "I want Layan. I wanted her this year and....well, next year I have another chance to claim her."

I don't think I could be more surprised by this statement. Most ranked members would consider her damaged, m*ntally and physically. I had even wondered if anyone would enter her claim next year. "Why Layan?" I ask him quietly. There's something about the way he's speaking of her that makes me want to help him.

"I don't know how else to say it, other than she's mine, Luna." He says shrugging. "I felt it the moment I saw her on that stage for the first time."

"And you purred at her, to help her relax." I say, remembering that moment.

He smiles at the memory. "And she responded. It made my heart feel so full. I felt powerful in a way that I never had before, having the ability to calm her like that." He looks up at me and I can see the sincerity in his eyes.

"Alpha Mason said that you and he want to change the claiming process. I have hope that when" he stresses the word, "he catches you, that you will make this process something better. Something all of us can live with and live through."

"I intend to. But your Alpha has to catch me first." I say, giving him a sassy smile. "Speaking of, where is Mason. You two have been together this entire time, or so it seemed on the couple of times I' you."

ividing filed pages

He looks at me a moment. "It's Day 4, Luna. He knows the claiming haze will take him before the end of the day. When that happens, he won't recognize me as anything other than a threat to claim you. He sent me away to protect me from himself."

I sit down and Elijah makes himself more comfortable. "Is it really that bad?" I ask. Females don't go through the haze. I saw it with Seth when he came out with Hana, but I assumed that was because they had fought him after he claimed her.

"I went through it three years ago, in your sister's claiming. The need to claim our mate overtakes our wolves. Everyone becomes a threat and your scent, the scent of the female we intend to claim, becomes addictive. The only thing you see is your mate, and the threats to you claiming your mate."

"So, if he claims me, he won't really be in his right mind?" I ask, now even more concerned about getting claimed by anyone.

"He'll recognize you as his mate. He won't hurt you. But he'll kill anyone that he feels is in his way, including me or any of our pack members." I nod, it's basically what Luke told me.

"So, how come you don't seem to be effected by this haze?" I ask curiously.

He gives me a sheepish smile. "I'm not actually here to claim you, Luna. If anything, I'm here to protect you now. Which sounds ridiculous since you just saved my life."

I have to laugh at that. If I make it out of here, and choose Mason as my mate, I can see that Elijah and I will get along well together.

"I'm going to get back to the safety of the trees now. And I need to find some water to wash off this blood." I say, lifting my hand in the air. The blood has started to dry and it's making my hand itch.

He nods. "Me too. Oh! I can't believe I almost forgot." He reaches into a zippered pocket of his shorts. "Mason and I ran into Alpha Luke yesterday after your battle. He mentioned that you were hungry, so we made extra food today in case one of us ran into you." He says and extends his hand to me. It's full of cooked meat and my stomach immediately responds, growling loudly.

When I don't immediately move to take it, he looks at me, raising an eyebrow. "No offense, Luna, but if I was going to try to claim you, I would have done it the minute you sat down."

I give him a self-deprecating smile. He read my mind. I was wondering if it was a trap.

I stand, moving to take the food. "Thank you." I say, before immediately eating two strips of meat. I want to save the rest for later.

"Is Alpha Luke okay? He was still healing when I left him."

"He was still healing when we found him too, but his wounds were shallow, and he was washing himself in the lake." He looks at me for a long moment.

"What?" I finally ask.

"He said you told him your heart belongs to Mason."

I nod shyly. I didn't think he'd tell anyone that, especially Mason.

Elijah moves to stand. "Another reason I wouldn't want to claim you, Luna. I would hate to have a mate that was in love with my Alpha. It would cause too much of a rift between us."

I'm not sure if he means himself and his mate, or himself and Mason. But either way, he's right, it would cause a problem. As I've been pondering this, he has moved closer to me. He leans in, kissing the side of my head

"Be careful, Luna I'll try to assist wherever I can. But the haze may end up taking me as well, I'm not sure

"Thank you, Elijah Go wash that nasty Beta's scent off of you. And you be safe too. If the haze is taking everyone, you'll become a target as well. There are still several Alphas in this claim." "I will, thanks Luna"

He watches as I leap back to my tree, making sure I'm safe before he begins climbing back down the cliff