Bait & Switch (Book 4 of The Claimed Series) (SAMPLE)

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,” the man greeted, taking in the look on my face. I'm not sure what it was right then, but shock and dismay were pretty damn close to the f*****g surface. “Just transferred from—”

“Webb!” Alpha Lenon's voice called out.

“Excuse me for a minute,” I interrupted, the distraction a welcome one, given the circumstances.

“I see you've met the newb,” Lenon remarked. “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 acknowledgment as Lenon clapped me on the shoulder and jogged off in the opposite 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 a look.

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

“A chosen?” he spluttered, his brows lifting in surprise and worry.

“Chosen mates are not allowed in this pack,” I informed 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 pressed, keeping our distance of a few feet apart.

“Dead. Years ago,” I stated with a sigh. “I thought mine had died as well.”

“Well, I'm here,” Hugo declared, 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 when I was 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 surmised. “Are you going to 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 already there with Hugo, but I couldn't turn off my feelings toward Lena like a switch. They were still there, making my voice thick and my chest feel like it was caving in on itself.

“I won't reject you,” I promised him softly. The tension in his shoulders lessened, his spine straightening and shoulders rolling back with casual grace.

For the first time since gazing into his eyes, green as clover and sparkling, I looked at him—really looked at him. Chiseled jaw with the perfect amount of lickable stubble, broad shoulders, and a trim, fit waist. Since we trained in athletic shorts minus the tee, his torso and chest were bare, glistening with a trace of sweat.

Hugo had mussed up, dirty blond locks and a light smattering of golden hair dusting his chest. The whole package made me rock-solid in my shorts, and if I didn't get control of myself soon, I'd be a laughing stock. A walking boner. The clipboard in my hand was probably going to be of much use for the afternoon, if only to hide my arousal.

“What are you going to tell her?” Hugo continued, interrupting my shameless gawking.

“I...I don't know,” I replied, sifting through my darker hair with a trembling hand. “But I have to at least warn her of company at dinner tonight.”

I was jolted out of the memory by Hugo’s next words.

“That could have gone better,” Hugo said dryly from his place at the stove. He was stirring the noodles, looking over my shoulder at the door Lena had left out of.

“f**k,” I muttered. f**k f**k f**k f**k.

FUCK!

“I need to call her,” I blurted out, reaching for my phone. She hadn't read any of the texts I’d left her earlier, but that wasn't unusual when she was working or otherwise busy at home.

Hugo stopped me. “Is that really going to help her?” he posed. “Or is it just going to hurt her more?”

“I need to apologize,” I replied. “I pressured her into having kids with me, and—”

“And you don't have any. Look, Webb, if she was pregnant or had your child already, I would understand the issue. But this—she's not your mate. I am. Destined to be together from birth.” He paused. “You still love her?”

I nodded my head, averting my gaze from his. “I can't turn it off like a machine. We've been together for years.”

“Leave her be,” Hugo urged. “She walked out before you could explain anything. That's on her.”

“What if she—” I cut myself off.

God. What if she was already pregnant and we just didn't know it yet?

boom. All the other s**t that happens afterwards, the arguments, the kids—that was supposed to be the hard s**t.

Well, not so much the kids. Wolves may have once been thought of as things of only fairy tales and nightmares, but we still went by the laws of nature. There would be no children for Hugo and me.

There was, however, adoption. Children who were orphaned by death or taken away from unfit parents. It didn't occur as often as in the human world, as most wolves are particularly protective of their blood, but it did happen on occasion.

I looked at my cell phone as it charged on the nightstand next to my bed. Lena, wherever she was, had finally read my messages, though she didn't text back. Not that I blamed her. I couldn't. She was putting the necessary space between us. She ignored all my attempts to connect with her and usually had the walls in her mind up, so mindlinking was nearly impossible. It was going to be hard to see her around—so f*****g difficult, it made my chest ache at the thought.

“Webb?”

Hugo.

“Yeah?” I muttered.

“You alright?”

“I'm fine,” I grunted.

Lies.

“You're not,” he stated, rolling over to face me full-on. “Look, I get it, I do. But don't let it come between us. I've been waiting almost as long for you as you have for me. I've had boyfriends before this. Hell, I've had girlfriends.”

“You're bi?” I hadn't known that. Hadn't bothered to ask, either. It wasn't that common to have two bisexual wolves in a coupling. The need to procreate amongst our kind was too strong. It happened, but it was a rarity. I even had thought my mate would be female. This… Hugo had come out of left field.

“Yep. I drill both holes,” he quipped, smiling wryly in the dim light coming through the window. “I left my pack because of a female, though. My ex. She found her mate. I don't blame her, and Lena doesn't blame you either.”

“You don't know her,” I argued, flopping onto my back, unable to get into a comfortable position.

“Don't have to,” Hugo replied. “You can tell just by the way she left that she wants what's best for you, Webb. That's me. Your mate. It'll be hard living in the same community as her, but I'm sure she'll get over it, find someone else.”

Hugo knew nothing about Lena. It had taken her two years to get over Langdon's death. I would know. I helped her every step of the way. They had only been together for a few months. Lena and I, we had years to come together, to grow.

To love.

“Lena is selfless, yes,” I agreed. “She thinks of others before herself. She's beautiful and spunky at times. She would make a fantastic mother, dutiful and loving mate. She's soft when she needs to be, hard when life calls for it. She...fuck.”

I clapped my hands over my eyes, refusing to go on as a stone lodged itself in my throat and took root.

“She sounds wonderful,” Hugo murmured softly. “She'll make someone very happy one day.”

I rolled over, unable to face Hugo.

Unable to face myself.

not ask.

“She doesn't want you asking about her,” Lenon told me bluntly.

So, she told him. I knew she would. They were pretty tight for an employer and employee.

“Where'd she go after she left?”

“Webb...”

“I can't even know? Is she upset? Did she come into work?”

“I can't discuss it with you, and you know that.” He didn't sound happy about that fact. “And you know Lena. Of course she's f*****g upset. This has crushed her, but that's all I'm telling you.”

“If the pack laws—” I argued.

“The pack laws were put in place for a reason,” Lenon cut in.

“Hundreds of years ago!”

“Do you regret meeting your mate, Webb?”

“Yes. No... I don't f*****g know.” My head hung low on my chest, eyes closed.

“Mates are—”

“A blessing,” I snarled. “I get it. Heard the whole routine from my parents growing up. Waited for over ten years to find mine. I know better than anyone who a f*****g mate is. It doesn't mean to say I enjoy this whole s**t show.”

“Stop feeling sorry for yourself, you miserable mutt,” Lenon growled. “Poor Webb. Waits ten years for a mate. Has to choose between one beautiful female and his destined. Stop wallowing in self-pity and think about how Lena feels. She has no one to comfort her but her family. Langdon died six years ago tomorrow, you selfish prick!”

Fuck. The anniversary.

“I'm not wallowing in self-pity, Alpha,” I defended. “I'm not. I feel f*****g guilty as hell about all this. I don't begrudge my true mate. Never have and never will. I pressured her six months ago. I made her promise we'd try to have a family—”

“I know. Lena told me you two had come to the conclusion that your mate was dead or otherwise unable to be with you,” Lenon explained. “I warned her this could happen. She was so happy when you started trying. She thought she'd have started her own little family by now. I was excited and sad for her. The fates—they like to f**k with us from time to time.”

“I wanted kids,” I muttered. My throat closing up for what felt like the hundredth time since meeting Hugo and losing Lena. “Lots of them.”

“There's adoption. Surrogacy, even.”

“I want my own flesh and blood,” I argued. With Lena. Still with Lena.

“I know, Webb,” Lenon spoke softly. “And you probably won't believe this, but I wanted that for both of you too.”

“Please tell her something for me,” I asked. No—pleaded.

“What?”

“Tell her...tell her I miss her.”

Lenon looked pained, but I guess my own was pretty evident on my face.

“Okay,” he agreed.               

Hugo

I could see why Webb had fallen for Lena. She was, quite plainly-speaking, exquisite. Dark brown, almost black hair, and light green eyes. Her skin looked silky smooth and so f*****g soft. It would make a lesser man jealous of having had a female like that. Her hair was long, almost to her waist, and pin-straight. The only thing that lessened her beauty was the sadness in her eyes. It would be clear to anyone with the ability to see that she had been crying. Hell, I would have cried too if I had been in her position. Webb was the perfect specimen of a man.

Just a couple of inches short of my six-foot three stature, he had stormy blue eyes and soft, perfectly-coiffed hair. It was messy, sexed-up looking. Perfect. He was leaner than I was, not an ounce of fat on him.

Unless you counted what I hoped was a very fat c**k.

Would he bottom or top? I was good with either, no matter what his length and girth. Personally, I'd done both and loved every minute of it.

Throughout my ten-mile run, I was thankfully left alone. I had a s**t-ton of worry weighing on my shoulders, and it all had to do with Webb. He was obviously miserable without Lena. I could understand why. If I was single, she'd be the first woman I'd be looking to get with.

I had to stop thinking about them—both of them. Running with a stiff d**k was not as easy as f*****g with one.

As I rounded the corner of the last stretch of my ten-mile torture, I saw Webb standing next to the Alpha, a 35-year-old male who was mated to a pretty redhead I had met the previous day upon arrival. Alana was as quirky as a woman could be, yet you could tell she had a heart of gold. Most Lunas did. You couldn't say the same about some Alphas. The power of their position got to their heads in some instances.

I wondered that if choosing a mate were allowed, would I be having the doubts I was having now? I felt like because there were restrictions at this particular pack, I'd been thrust upon Webb's shoulders when he’d been happy enough with his beautiful female. My heart went out to her, it did, but Webb was mine from the start. It just took us longer than usual to find each other.

I bent over at the waist, out of breath after the punishment Webb had given us. Ridiculous, really. He was taking out all his guilt and frustrations on us, but as he was in charge, we had no choice but to follow his directions.

“Hugo! Wait up!”

Training was done, and I was on my way home to grab a shower. I walked slowly, hearing Webb coming up at a slow jog behind me.

“What?” I snapped out, irritated at having to deal with this drama of his when I should've been happily mated.

“I'm sorry,” Webb offered. He sounded contrite enough. “You didn't ask for all this s**t, and I'm only making it worse by pushing you away.”

“No shit.”

I was angry and had every right to be. I left because my ex had found her happily-ever-after. Mine was now surly and ill-tempered, and hung up on some she-wolf that didn't belong to us.

Him. I meant him.

“Let's go home,” Webb suggested. “Take a shower together. f**k. I do want you, but you're just going to have to understand that I want her as well, even if I'm denied that pleasure.”

I felt like Grade-D beef. It was okay if it was that or starve, but it wasn't what you went to the store for initially.

“f**k you!”

I stalked off. I wasn't going to mate with him if he was in love with another. Not until I knew I had his attention, his full attention.

Mate? Ha! What a f*****g joke. I had wanted kids too, and now I was stuck with a man who didn't want me, or at least, not really. Instead, he wants his 2.5 children and a wife. The picket fence. Family barbecues. The whole domestic 9 yards.

It was a mistake coming back here. I could deal with an ex who had found her true love; I just couldn't deal with being forced upon someone because of a mating bond.

“Hugo!”

I picked up my pace, grabbing my shirt up off the ground and racing to the house Webb had shared with Lena for the last few years. His home—not mine.

am confused.  And angry.” His voice lost its gusto. “I promised her a life, children. I feel like the world's biggest asshole on all accounts. I picked up the pieces of her shattered heart only to break them all over again. Every time I look at you or think of her, I feel guilty. Ashamed. I promised not only her, but her family that I would take care of her and never hurt her. I'm a f*****g wreck because of that. I was promised to you from birth, but I made other promises along the way. I… It's hard to reconcile that. No matter what I do, I’m hurting someone irreparably. I f*****g hate this s**t! I hate that I had to wait, I hate that I'm letting people down! I hate my-own-f*****g-self in general right now!” His hands took hold of his hair, gripping and pulling at the strands.

I think I had been too hard on him, but I only wanted what every other wolf had: the love of his mate. Only that. I left my past behind and had said sayonara. I was ripping a hole in the world as he knew it, and the casualties were gruesome. Three hearts, a possible family, one strong female who was probably crying inconsolably, her world crashing down around her ears.

I felt worse about that than anything. I knew I could come to terms with this whole f*****g debacle, but if what Webb said was true—and I had no reason to think otherwise—then she was hurt, devastated even.

“Have you tried contacting Lena?” I asked softly.

He paused, looking at me, probably waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Yeah, I tried,” he admitted. I couldn’t figure out if he sounded ashamed or angry. “She doesn't answer the mindlink or her texts. The Alpha told me she doesn't want me knowing anything about her.”

My brows rose. “Not even to see if she's okay?”

“Nope. She wants no contact, not even by proxy.”

“Fuck.” She was hurt worse than I thought. Much worse. To break off all ties with someone you had lived with, loved with, just like that? Brutal.

“Maybe it's for the best.”

It wasn’t me that said that. Webb did, echoing my sentiments from 24 hours ago.

“Maybe if we don't see each other or even know anything about the other…maybe I can push through this. Get past it. I'm sorry. I'm a sorry excuse for a man and mate.”

“But you're handsome,” I joked, smirking a little when he scoffed. “And kind. And caring. s**t, Webb. You care enough about someone to feel like the biggest prick on the planet. That's not the sign of a bad guy. You have a big heart, I can tell. It's just f*****g tattered from having to deal with all this. I don't blame you. Hell, I dated, had girlfriends, boyfriends. I even went through a phase where I was a complete jackass and manwhore. But all's I was doing was f*****g to feel better. Or to not feel anything at all. Whichever. When I didn't find my mate by 23, I thought I didn't f*****g have one at all, that there was something wrong with me. That I wasn't good enough to get one somehow. So, I f****d. I f****d a lot. Men. Women. Unmated, but that didn't matter. I didn't care about their feelings, and I sure as f**k didn't care if they got attached. I was one and done. When I met Cheryl, I—” My throat closed up, the words caught in my throat. “I was happy for her when she found her mate, but I was jealous as well. I didn't love her, not yet, but she showed me that love existed. We were on a date. Our six-month anniversary, if you will, when she met him. She felt so f*****g bad, but the man's wolf was out of control, seeing her with another man. Turns out he was only from a pack over from us but had enlisted in the army right out of high school. Stayed for six years until he came back to the area. His first weekend home, and he found his mate kissing me in a booth at a restaurant.”

Webb was quiet, sniffling. “Worst date ever,” he quipped, a reluctant laugh catching in his throat.

“One for the books, most certainly.”

“Are you leaving me?” His wet eyes looked up at me finally.

“f**k no, Webb,” I proclaimed, moving closer to him. “You're mine, my person. Or wolf, or whatever. I was angry and wasn't thinking about how you felt.”

“We are a bit egocentric at times, we males,” he allowed, giving me a sad smile as another tear dripped down his face.

“Let me get you a f*****g tissue,” I muttered. I couldn't bear to see him cry. It made my chest throb painfully.

Sweeping into the bathroom, I looked for some Kleenex and found none. There were some makeup-smeared tissues in the small trash can in there, but I figured Webb wouldn't mind using some toilet paper in a pinch. I used up the last of it and, like a good little mate, tossed the empty roll in the bin and added a fresh one to the dispenser. Something odd poked out of the can as I pushed down the debris to make room for the empty roll.

“Webb?” I cried out. I couldn’t move, my mind running in circles with the sudden knowledge that things had only gotten more complicated.

“Yeah?” he replied from the bedroom.

“You said you've been trying to conceive for how long?”

“Six months. Why?”

I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

“You should probably get in here and see this.”