Chapter Forty-Five

Claire

Claire was frightened to move. His suave nonchalance scared her. It seemed like one wrong move, and he'd snap, and she didn't know what he was capable of doing to her.

That maniac smile rubbed her every way but the right one.

She couldn’t get her mouth to open, all her words ran into each other like a nasty game of bumper cars. When she didn't speak, he chuckled and reached forward to pinch the tip of her chin.

Claire stepped away from his touch. He slowly retracted his hand and shoved it into the pocket of his pants. "We'll work on that. I understand your reluctance. I'm sure you're upset because I didn't come get you myself—"

Suddenly Claire's words found their way out. "Seriously? You think I'm upset about your lack of manners? I'm upset because you plucked me from my mate and have put us through hell. Not to mention turning and traumatizing the students. Can you not see the multiple problems here?"

Tristan's light blue eyes twinkled in the lighting. "You must think I'm a monster," he said with a smug smile. "I've been waiting on you for years, Claire. I got ahead of myself turning Mark so quickly and letting him loose. He didn't have the experience to go on campus without hurting a kid or two. And the two football players," he chuckled. "Cash was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mark was searching for you at the party that night and coincidentally so was he." He glanced down at his watch as if he had somewhere to be. "And when Mark ran across Tibbs searching for the lycan, we decided to use him to get our message to your … little friend."

Little friend? What in the …

"However, this has all been for you, Claire."

She swallowed her disdain and curled her fingers into fists. "For what? How do you know me? What do you want from me!" she nearly screamed.

Tristan smirked and gestured for Sarah, who stood beside Claire, to leave. Dread filled her as everyone in the room, including the guards, left. Claire's stomach dropped to her butt, and she tried to step back, but he caught her around the waist.

"Listen, little bean," he said carefully. "I'm aware you weren't raised near wolves or lycans, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, but if you ever scream at me again, you'll regret it. I'm the Lycan King, and nothing will change that. Now, I suggest you drop your attitude and come along. We have tons to speak about."

Claire's inner voice threatened to scream 'piss off,' but she knew it wasn't a good idea. She needed to stay safe until Axel and his pack could find her. She wasn't sure how far they'd taken her from home or where she was, but it felt light-years away.

Carefully, she pulled at the bottom of her gown and lifted it from the floor, so it wouldn't drag behind her. The fact he wanted her to dress for a ball in the middle of the day worried her.

Had she been taken back in time?

Tristan braced his palm against her lower back, his fingertip dusting across her skin from the low back of the dress. She fought her instinct to pull away and let him lead her out of the room and down a slender breezeway.

The archways were grey brick with vine-covered windows and guards posted at every exit. Tristan walked Claire out of the castle and toward a small trail. She didn't like the woods, nor did she like Tristan, so she was overwhelmed when the castle grew far away and the canopy of trees overtook the sky.

"Where are we going?" she finally asked.

Tristan rolled up the sleeves of his silk shirt. "We're almost there."

That wasn't an answer, and she wanted to call him out on it, but she didn't. She bit her tongue until she tasted blood, her fingertips growing numb from clutching her dress.

The trail became wide, and it opened into a huge cemetery. Lycan Cemetery was written in bold black letters across the metal arch, a high privacy fence boxed in the numerous headstones and mausoleums.

She stopped at the entrance, fighting the urge to run from him, to try and escape. Maybe it would catch him off guard, but she doubted it. He made it a few feet and glanced over his shoulder. "Don't fret. There is nothing here that can harm you."

He winked, and she pressed her mouth into a thin line to keep from snarling. Claire stepped foot into the cemetery, feeling creeped out, as he lead her around the circular trail that surrounded the perimeter.

"What are we doing here? I don't like it."

He looped his arm through hers. "I think you deserve to know a little about your history."

You don't say?

Claire gave him a quick look. "What history? I know where I was born and where I grew up. My father—"

"Oh, I know your father, Claire, and to be honest with you, I don't believe that you truly know your father."

She stopped in her tracks. Everything about his smug tone rubbed her the wrong way. Claire knew her father well enough; she didn't need some condescending ass to tell her any different.

"What don't I know about my father?"

Tristan stopped randomly, and plucked a flower from the ground, handing it to her with a smile. She took it reluctantly, letting it hang from her grasp. "What did he tell you about your mother, Claire?"

"That she died when I was small in a car accident."

He lifted one brow and tskd underneath his breath. "Do you remember the funeral?"

"Vaguely," she mumbled.

"You were young," he said. "It was the first time I saw you."

Chills raced down her spine. "You're lying," she blurted out before she could stop it.

Tristan caught her neck in his palm and gently squeezed, a silent warning not to defy him. "You're riding the line of punishment, Claire."

He let go after a several-second stare-off. "I saw you at your mother's funeral. Some of the kingdom came to see her since your dad was once a part of it. The ones that didn't mind the obvious forbidden romance."

Claire's blood turned to ice. "My dad was a part of what kingdom? What forbidden romance?"

Tristan studied her face for several seconds. "You have no idea, do you, Claire?"

She ground her molars together in annoyance. "Obviously not, Tristan. I don't understand how my father has anything to do with this."

Tristan kicked a random rock with the toe of his boot and walked over toward a large mausoleum, curling his finger inward. "Come, little bean."

Claire walked through the cemetery toward where Tristan had stopped. He forced his fingers to intertwine with hers, and he pointed with his other hand. "See that. Kenneth Damon Summers. That's your grandfather, Claire." He turned to face her. "Your dad comes from royalty. He was in line to become king before he met your mother."

"King of what?" she asked confused. "What are you saying?"

"Your father is a lycan, Claire, and your mother was a werewolf."

Claire's body began to grow numb. "When they refused to let her in the kingdom, your father resigned, leaving the place to my family. See, back then, they were stricter about interspecies romances." He beamed. "Don't you see? You're the first hybrid werewolf in centuries." He rubbed his knuckles against her chin. "And together, Claire, we're going to start an entire new kingdom of wolves. Hybrids."

Claire blinked several times, trying to judge his seriousness. When he only smiled, she began to laugh and took a step back. "You're serious, Tristan? I believe you have the wrong Summers. I'm no wolf. I've never shifted—"

"Your dad made a deal with a witch. She covered up your abilities. That's why he doesn't like Axel—because he's afraid your wolf will come out if you're around him. Your dad decided to hide this from you after your mother was killed."

Claire took another step back from him, hitting the edge of the building. "The lycans killed my mother?"

Tristan turned his head in pity. "Yeah, well, they didn't approve of wolves and didn't like that your dad wanted to give up his title for one." He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "But no worries. I'm the king now, and I don't mind you're mixed breed. I can see the future it will bring." His gaze lowered toward her mark. "We need to get rid of that mark."

Claire's flight or fight reaction took over, and since she had no way to fight him, she ran through the cemetery, well aware she wouldn't get far.

In her heart, she screamed for Axel. She prayed he'd get there quickly.

The Lycan King wanted to mate with her, and there was no way in hell she would let that happen.

Just like there was no way she was anything other than human.