The Defiant Claim - The Claim: Book 2 [LGBTQ+]

Sam’s mate snarled, flashing his teeth and threatening to spill blood.

[Move it, Sam!] Cameron snapped his jaws at Sam and pushed him aside.

[No! I won’t let you hurt him!]

[Didn’t you get the memo? We’re under attack! He’s with them!]

The silver-gray wolf turned from them and ran as they bickered.

Cameron swore, barking at him to get his ass back there before kicking his paws up and sprinting after him.

[Please, Cam! Don’t hurt him!] Sam pleaded as he bound after them.

[I can’t let him get through, Sam!] Cameron caught up to the silver-gray wolf in seconds and sank his teeth into his hind leg.

Sam’s mate yowled in pain, twisting around and snapping his jaws at Cameron’s face.

[Please, stop! Please, jus-just let me try and talk with him!] Sam whined, circling around them and nipping at Cameron’s face and hind legs—anywhere he could get Cameron’s attention without physically hurting him.

[Back off, Sam!] Cameron growled as Sam’s mate tried to kick himself free.

As much as Sam pleaded with Cameron, neither one of them would back down. He watched, helplessly, as Cameron’s mixed-gray wolf fought with his silver-gray mate, biting and kicking, tearing flesh and splattering blood everywhere. Cameron was strong and well-trained, one of the higher-ranking warriors of the pack and he was hurting his mate.

[Please, please, don’t kill him!] Sam whined, gagging on the smell of Cameron’s and his mate’s blood splattering all over each other.

[Fuck off!] Cameron snarled as Sam’s mate slipped free and darted through the trees.

They sprinted after him and Cameron pounced, slamming him to the ground. Throwing all his weight onto the silver-gray wolf and sinking his jaws into his right hind leg. He pulled it out of socket as a yowl of agony split the air.

Sam fell to the ground, his mate’s pain breaking him down as he cried. His body heaved with the painful sight before him. His best friend was killing his only hope at love and happiness. He couldn’t watch any longer as Cameron turned and broke his mate’s front leg as well. Bile climbed up his throat and through his wracking sobs, he hurled as his mate screamed once more before he fell silent.

Exhausted, Sam felt himself shift back into his human form. He lay in a heap on the ground and could barely lift his head. The only thing giving him the strength to do so was the sound of his mate’s heartbeat.

Cameron shifted, falling to his knees and panting as Sam’s mate slowly morphed into his human form. He was still alive, just unconscious and severely wounded. He looked over at Sam, blood coating his naked body as he tried to regain himself.

Finding the strength to drag himself to his mate’s side, he looked down at the male. Despite the blood, mud, and dirt that coated his body, he was beautiful. Shoulder-length dirty blond hair, a beard, thick muscular arms and legs, broad shoulders, and tattoos all across his upper body. They were hard to see under all the filth. He brushed his fingers across the flesh. Warm. Alive.

“How could you?” His voice was a breathy whisper as he looked up at Cameron across from him. “How could you, Cam?” His voice rose. “He’s my mate!”

Cameron grimaced, clenching his fists at his side. His unusual amber eyes narrowed as he clenched his jaw. “He breached the border and wasn’t listening to you! What would you have me do? Let him attack Olivia? Let him reach the pack house and kill someone? Come on! Pick him up. We have to get out of here.”

Sam winced from his tone. He hated that Cameron had a point. The border had been breached, the current state of affairs and extent of the pack’s safety was uncertain, and Cameron’s second chance with his mate was ruined. He worked so hard to get this close with Olivia.

The part that hurt Sam the most was that he couldn’t get his mate to stop. He wasn’t able to prevent this from happening to him.

Pulling his mate into his arms, he cradled him gingerly for a moment. Smelled his hair. Imprinted the scent of him into his soul. Softly, under his breath, he vowed to make it up to him. Somehow, someway, he would make their relationship work.

Gathering strength, he lifted his mate up and followed Cameron back to the clearing around the lake and waterfall. His mate was heavy, but thanks to weeks of training, Sam managed. Just rubbing his nose through his hair and filling himself with his mate’s scent gave him strength. His mate was completely dependent on him and he needed to step up and take care of him.

“Olivia!” Cameron hollered as he paced around the lake, looking around for signs of his mate. “Come on, Olivia! We need to go! Now!”

Sam couldn’t help gazing down at his mate in his arms. So beautiful. He hoped he would be okay and would give him a chance. He was Sam’s soulmate. The Goddess only granted one.

Groaning, Cameron turned to Sam. “I parked the car near the shack. Go ahead and we’ll catch up.”

Nodding, Sam allowed himself another sniff of his mate’s hair and closed his eyes. Turning away as Cameron snatched his boxers from the ground and yanked them on, Sam walked through the trees on the path Cameron and Olivia had taken. Their scents still lingered in the air but he could hardly make them out over the stench of his mate’s blood. He suppressed the bile creeping up his throat and reminded himself that it was just blood. His mate would live. He had to live.

He picked up his pace, eager to find the car and climb in. He knew Cameron would want to hurry out of there. It wasn’t safe for a human like Olivia to be out in the open with the scent of a werewolf on her. She’d be an easy target and that would destroy Cameron—and their pup.

He hoped his mate wasn’t involved in the border breaching. What would Alpha and Luna do to him if he was?

Don’t think about it, he chided himself. The most important thing to focus on right now was getting his unconscious mate to safety.

Breaking through the forest, he found the car right next to the narrow trail. Setting his mate down on the ground, he tried the back door and found it was unlocked. He climbed in and took the middle seat, cradling his mate on his lap.

His mate’s wounds were already healing and he knew the pack doctor would have to rebreak his bones in order to set them properly in place. He hoped his mate would still be unconscious for that. He couldn’t bear the thought of having to endure that pain again.

He only had to wait a few minutes before Cameron and Olivia reached the car. He had her slung over his shoulder like a caveman. Judging from his clenched jaw, he had no choice but to drag her kicking and screaming.

He set her down next to the car and opened the front passenger door. “Now is not the time to fight with me, Olivia. Get in and I’ll answer your questions then.”

“Asshole,” she spat, but conceded.

They climbed in the front seats, their anger rolling off each other in waves. Sam couldn’t help but whimper and hold his mate tighter to his chest.

“How could you—” he started but Cameron snarled as he shoved the keys in the ignition.

“Just shut up, Sam! He wasn’t going to stop for you, okay? You can nurse him back to health and win him over then because the way I saw it, he didn’t give a flying fuck about you and I wasn’t about to let him get near my mate or the pack house. You got it?”

Bowing his head in submission, Sam whimpered and fell silent as Cameron backed out of the lane and onto the dirt road. The two in the front continued to bicker and he tuned them out, focusing on his mate. From the bits and pieces he caught, this was the first time Olivia saw his wolf—and that was part of the reason for Cameron being pissed. Sam knew that Cameron wanted to show Olivia his wolf when he thought she could handle it and, clearly, that plan backfired.

“And then you’ll tell me everything?” she demanded.

“What more is there to say?” Cameron said through gritted teeth. “We’re under attack. I don’t know the full extent of it right now. My only concern is to get you to safety and get Sam and his mate to the infirmary before I go out there and rip some throats out.”

Olivia’s anger curdled, turning to fear. She fell silent as she mulled over everything he had told her as Cameron pulled up to the back door of the hotel in Aspen Beach. He wasted no time in putting the car in park and climbing out. He stomped around to her door and yanked it open. “Come on, I’ll explain more upstairs.”

Sam waited in the car while they went into the hotel, his skin crawling with nervous tension. His eyes darted around, feeling extremely vulnerable and exposed within the car as he clutched his mate tightly.