Bait And Switch--SAMPLE (Book 4 of The Claimed Series)

Chapter 2

Webb

I didn't expect this. Not after all these years.

I felt like an asshole.

My throat closed up as I watched Lena walk out the door with her suitcases. Running a hand through my hair, I turned to see Hugo watching me. I had explained everything between Lena and me earlier today when I first met him.

"You?" I asked, shock coursing through me and rocking me to my very soul.

"My name's Hugo," he greeted, taking in the look on my face. I'm not sure what it was right then, but shock and dismay were pretty damned close to the fucking surface. "Transferred from—"

"Webb!" Alpha Lenon's voice called out.

"Excuse me for a minute," I said to Hugo, the distraction a welcome one, given the circumstances.

"I see you've met the newb," Lenon said to me. "Transferred from the Midwest. Grew up here until he was 14 when his parents moved to Colorado. Make him feel at home, will ya?"

I nodded my agreement as Lenon clapped me on the shoulder and jogged off in another direction. He moved too quickly for me to ask him about Lena and what she was doing.

Or even to warn her.

But no, I should be the one to tell her I'd found my mate. This was going to be damned difficult.

I was somewhere between emotions when Hugo walked up to me, sensing my tension.

"What's up with you? Meeting your mate shouldn't feel like this, should it?" he asked, skewering me with his eyes.

"It's complicated," I mumbled, running a hand through my hair as I often did when stressed. "I...I have a female at home."

"A chosen?" he asked, his brows lifting in surprise and worry.

"Chosen mates are not allowed in this pack," I told him with a shake of my head. "I have...had someone. Someone I love and have devoted myself to but cannot mark. And I've waited years for you." My tone was bitter, though it was ultimately not this man's fault.

"What about her mate?" Hugo asked, keeping our distance a few feet apart.

"Dead. Years ago," I said with a sigh. "I thought mine had died as well."

"Well, I'm here," Hugo said, frowning.

"I know. I'm both glad and saddened. This... It will kill her. She wanted—" I cut myself off, a lump forming in my throat.

"What did she want?" Hugo asked when the clicking in my throat didn't stop as I attempted to swallow my emotions down.

"She wanted to wait until I turned thirty before trying to have children," I said, finally able to find my voice. "We've been trying for six months now."

"Maybe...well, maybe it's a good thing you haven't been successful," Hugo said. "Are...will you reject me? Even if you cannot claim this woman—"

"Lena," I interrupted. "Short for Helena."

"Lena, then," Hugo corrected. "Is she who you truly want?"

I didn't know. I wanted my mate. The pull, that indescribable bond, was there already with Hugo, but I couldn't turn off my feelings toward Lena like a switch. They were there, making my voice thick and my chest feel like it was caving in on itself.