Mate Claimed (Shifters Unbound #4)(36)
Author: Jennifer Ashley

The way Diego was going through the carton of eggs and mountain of cheese, though, told Iona that he, at least, could afford it. Diego was human and ran his own business, no restrictions on him.

“Where’s Jace this morning?” Iona asked as she dug into the steaming chilaquiles Diego dumped onto her plate. She quickly decided that chilaquiles were her new favorite breakfast food. “Still at my place?”

Diego and Cassidy exchanged a glance. “No. He didn’t come home,” Diego said.

Iona realized then that the shower had stopped running. Eric walked in a few moments later wearing jeans and pulling a black T-shirt over his head, his hair still damp. He radiated cold, which told Iona how he’d dealt with his pesky erection.

“What do you mean, he didn’t come home?” Eric asked.

Diego answered, still busy with cooking. “That’s why Shane wants to talk to you. Jace is fine, but he went…investigating.”

“I didn’t tell him to.” The edge in Eric’s voice made Iona lift her gaze from her food. Eric’s mouth was turned down, his eyes hard with anger.

“He’s not a cub anymore, Eric,” Cassidy said. “He acts on what he thinks is best at the time, like I do.”

Eric’s growl was low but fierce. “Where the hell is Shane?”

“Waiting for you next door,” Cassidy said. “Go easy on him. Jace outranks him.”

Eric growled again, grabbed a piece of toast from the top of the stack, and munched it as he slammed his way out the back door.

“Does he always wake up this crabby?” Iona asked, sliding her fork through more chilaquiles.

Cassidy shot her a look of amusement as she took a seat at the kitchen table and started in on a plate almost as loaded as Iona’s. “That was radiant, for Eric. He’s just worried about Jace. Shane brought over a suitcase for you with some clothes from your house.”

“He didn’t need to. I’ll go out and pick up some groceries for you all, then I need to check in with my mother. I can change clothes at home.”

Cassidy’s smile vanished. “You won’t be leaving Shiftertown until the Challenge is over, Iona. Eric’s orders.”

Iona’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth. “Orders?”

Cassidy moved her hand to her abdomen, caressing it, as though she’d felt the baby move. “I agree with him,” she said. “Graham is dangerous. By Shifter law, you should be untouchable before the Challenge, but I wouldn’t put it past Graham to try to abduct you and use you to hurt Eric somehow. Graham is determined to be leader, and he’ll do it any way he can.”

“But I can’t stay here. I have a business to run—my sister’s on her honeymoon, and my mother can’t do it all by herself.”

“It’s Sunday,” Diego said. “You’re closed anyway, right?”

“We catch up on Sundays. I can’t just disappear, no matter what Eric thinks. My mother will get frantic and call the police.”

“No harm in telling her where you are,” Diego said. “Eric’s not trying to keep you prisoner, he’s trying to protect you. So am I. Eric’s right—you’re safest here.”

Iona seethed, but even her frustration couldn’t keep her from resuming her breakfast. “What is this Challenge anyway? Why are you letting Eric and Graham fight over me?”

“It’s Shifter tradition,” Cassidy said calmly. “The Challenge was created to keep Shifters from arbitrarily stealing one another’s mates. Shifters used to be pretty bloodthirsty, and with females scarce, males went all out to fight for them. The Challenge keeps it civilized.”

“That explains almost nothing,” Iona said.

Diego gave her a nod. “I’m right there with you. But go with it. I’ll put it this way—it’s better than Graham trying to rip Eric’s head off and run away with you slung over his shoulder. Eric knows what he’s doing. As far as I understand it, whatever the outcome of the fight, you can still choose whether to accept the mate-claim. Right, Cass?”

“Right. Doesn’t mean Eric won’t keep trying. He can be persistent.”

Iona laid down her fork, but only because her plate was empty. “You two are very sanguine about Eric bringing me home and fighting this guy because of me. You don’t know anything about me. Why are you being so accepting?”

Both of them fixed her with stares, Cassidy’s green one over her plate, Diego’s dark one from the stove. They each seemed to know what the other wanted to say, and Diego got to go first.

“I did some research on you after you called me the other day,” he said. “I didn’t know about you being part Shifter, but the info about your business and family is there for everyone to see. You work hard, make decent money, and pay your taxes.” He gave her a small smile. “Nothing underhanded about you.”

“Scent tells me a lot,” Cassidy said, still tackling her flavorful eggs and cheese. “You’re half-Shifter, unmated, and fairly open and honest. You don’t hide anything. And to tell the truth, Eric’s lonely. Crazy lonely. He doesn’t admit it, but I see it. I think you’d be good for him.”

Iona stared at her empty plate. “But will Eric be good for me?”

Cassidy nodded, her expression matter-of-fact. “He’s the leader of Shiftertown, which means you’ll be the alpha’s mate. That’s a good place to be.”

“I might think that if I’d grown up Shifter,” Iona said. “But I grew up human. I have a human life, a house, a career, things I worked very hard for. You and Eric expect me to give it all up without a fight.”

“You’re also young, for a Shifter.” Cassidy’s voice gentled, and she laid down her fork. “I’m not. Iona, all those things—the house, the business, whatever place you carved in human society—they don’t last. A hundred years go by, the world changes, and Shifters watch it all.” She glanced at the sunny backyard, and her hand returned to her abdomen. “This Shiftertown, the restrictive laws humans put on us—they won’t last either. Life in Shiftertown has been only a small part of my existence, and it will disappear in time. Humans will get used to Shifters, or figure out they can benefit by using us, or we’ll force the situation to change when we’re ready. Nothing is fixed and forever. In another hundred years, all this will be gone.”