Claimed

Claimed

Devlin Beach Wolves 3

H.M. McQueen

Devlin Beach Wolves

Claimed

H.M. McQueen

Copyright H.M. McQueen 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without written permission.

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Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author
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Other Titles by H.M. McQueen

Devlin Beach Pack Series

Mated

Taken

Claimed

Chosen

Atlandia Chronicles

Ruling Esland

Protector Series

Choices

Betrayal

Surrender*

Possession*

*2016 Publication

Chapter One

The bell over the door at Inner Bean jingled when Taden Wolfe entered.  Kristen Reed took a calming breath before turning to him.  He stood by the register studying the day's specials, his ice blue eyes scanning the selections.  For a rare long moment she was free to take him in. With brows lowered, hands jammed into his jeans, he read over the board for longer than he'd ever done. Owner of the nightclub half a block away, he usually ordered a double espresso and a bagel.  Never said more than hello and rarely ate there.

She'd never attempted to have a conversation with him mainly because the six-foot-four hunk intimidated her. Not just that he was a wolf shifter, but something about him gave her pause.  Of course in part, she became tongue tied around him because of his looks.  His shoulder length blond hair was windblown from riding in his topless Jeep.  With an impatient sweep, he pushed the waves away from his face.

He inhaled then let out a sigh, his chest expanding and lowering, making her insides quiver. Every girl's type, broad shoulders, slim waist, washboard abs.  Not that she'd seen them, but she imagined someone with arms like his had to spend time working on their abs.

"Double espresso and one of those scones." He finally looked at her, his fingers impatiently drumming against his thigh.

Kristen couldn't help but ask,  "You usually order a bagel.  Why the change?"

With a one shouldered shrug he lifted a brow.  "My sister recommended I try the scones."

"That's right, Baby is your sister." Kristen wished she'd kept her mouth shut when he studied her with a slow concentration that made heat rise from her throat to cheeks.  Damn.  "She and her friend Vane come here often," she continued to babble. Now she was shutting up, he kept staring at her, and if it kept up, she'd melt into a gooey embarrassing puddle.

"How much?"

"Oh." She turned to the cash register and rang up his drink and scone.  "Five fifty." He gave her a ten and waited for his change.

When she placed the money in his hand, she was careful not to touch him.  Someone told her if wolves got a scent, they could track you for miles.  Not that she'd mind him tracking her home.

"Err...to go or here?" She hated how obvious it was how flustered she was.

"To go." He moved away and stood by the window looking toward the parking lot.

When he walked out, she tracked him.  The way his jeans hugged his ass made her forget to breathe.  The guy was built perfectly, every delicious inch of him enticing.  He got in his black Jeep Wrangler and backed up.  Just before he drove off, Taden looked through the windows and met her gaze.  Kristen's eyes widened, she fought the urge to duck and instead waved.  He returned a slight nod and drove off.

"Good morning, gorgeous." Vane walked through the door. The bright smile always made her relax.  Of all the wolves, he was her favorite.  The easy going, drop dead gorgeous, and very homosexual male was the perfect friend package.

"Long night?" Kristen asked already making his beverage of choice.  This location had been a good choice for business when she'd rented the space for her café just down from Sanctum, a shifter owned nightclub.

Who would have known wolves were voracious coffee drinkers.  Not only that, but the Sanctum customers and humans who worked there often met at her shop early in the morning after closing the club. 

She opened at five o'clock every morning except Sunday.  Her best friend Jamie and she co-owned the small business and split the week, so they worked three days each. They hired college students to fill in during busy times.  It was the perfect set up.  She loved the shop, the clientele, and the hours.  Off by one in the afternoon, it gave her plenty of time to do things. The students usually worked the evening hours.

Vane neared and leaned on the counter.  "I need a date." He sighed dramatically.  "My BFF is mated now and I'm dateless for most things she did with me."

"I find it hard to believe you don't get dates.  Have you looked in the mirror lately?"  Kristen laughed when he primped in the mirror behind the counter. 

"The guy I'm dating isn't ready to come out." He sighed.  "If he wasn't so damn hot, I'd dump him.  I probably will anyway."

"He won't come out of the closet?" Kristen found it crazy.  "For someone like you, he should jump out with nipple tassels."

His smile was sweet.  "No, not that. His family is against him with a wolf. I will have to talk to him about nipple tassels, maybe he'll do that." He attempted to laugh, but it was dry.

Kristen reached for his hand and covered it with hers not worrying about the whole scent thing with Vane.  "I'm so sorry. That sucks."

"Yeah, well, I deal with it.  I'm to the point of giving him an ultimatum." Vane stopped talking and drank his coffee when a group of people came in and she took their orders. 

Once everyone was seated, he got her attention again.  "Will you be my date for Baby and Isen's wedding?"

The coffee in her hand splashed and she cringed at the burn on her hand.  "I didn't know your kind had weddings."

"Oh, we do, have to get married for legal purposes with whomever we mate.  Of course, most wolves go to the courthouse and do a quickie.  Others, especially females, like the whole dress and cake thing.  You know Baby would."

She rounded the counter to deliver the coffees to the group.  When she came back to the counter, Vane waited with an expectant expression.  "You're not going to be the only human.  The people from work are coming and Baby's neighbor Mrs. Jacoby will be there.  Some of the wolves are bringing human dates."

"No, it's not that, of course I'll go.  I would love to be at Baby's wedding.  Thank you so much for inviting me." She hugged Vane who grinned widely.

"Are we going to coordinate outfits?" Kristen asked getting excited at going to a gathering where she could watch Taden for more than a few minutes.

"With what?" Vane frowned.  "What are we supposed to coordinate with?"

"I thought gay men loved fashion." Kristen cringed.  "Sorry, I'm stereotyping."

Vane laughed.  "Yeah, that's not me.  If I look halfway put together, it’s because Baby picks out all my clothes."

As much as she wanted to go, she wondered if it was wise. Yes, Taden was hot as all get out, but she wasn't about to get with a wolf. She'd heard all the stories of how voracious they were in bed.  Heck, the line of women trying to get into Sanctum was testament to what these males offered.  A challenge many women could not refuse.  She wasn't sure if she was up to it.  Especially given Taden's size.  The guy was physically huge.  He was the alpha wolf, the pack's leader, which meant he was probably strong too.

"So, what is the attire?" Kristen gave in, she really did want to see Baby get married.

Vane looked up from his cell.  "Uh, I don't know, it's at five in the evening this Saturday."

"All right, I'll figure out something." She reached for his hand again.  "Thank you for thinking of me."

She looked up and noticed the wolves that walked in stared at them with unabashed curiosity.  "They are all wondering what we're up to," Kristen whispered.

"True." Vane shrugged.  "I bet rumors will fly when you come to the wedding as my date."  He leaned over the counter and kissed her on the lips. "Laters, babe"

Kristen pressed her lips together and turned away to finish the drinks for the wolves.  But she heard the mumbles. Yep, they were wondering what was up and she wasn't sure she liked being the center of a pack of wolves' attention.

Late that afternoon, she finally got home with arms full of shopping bags.  Three dresses and two pairs of shoes along with a couple sets of matching panties and bras was the most she'd purchased in a single day in a long time. 

After placing the bags on the couch, she kicked off her shoes and padded to the kitchen.  Music played from her kitchen radio.  Her little dog, Penelope, sat up in her dog bed and watched, sniffing the air then let out a whimper. 

She let the dog into the yard and poured a glass of wine, then the little dog came back and sat next to its food bowl.

"Yes, I know it's dinner time." She proceeded to pour kibbles into the bowl.  "I have a date in a couple days, Penelope. Isn't that great?"

She sensed Penelope's lack of caring, the crunches filling the air.  Her only focus was food.

On the other hand, she was torn between nerves and excitement.  Goose bumps prickled her skin at the thought of attending a wolf event.  She'd called her mother to tell her about it.  Surprisingly she'd been excited for her, stating how curious she'd always been about shifters.  It was hard not to be overly excited, she would spend several hours around Taden.

Chapter Two

Taden threw the basketball and watched as it made a graceful arch in the air then missed the basket by a mile.  Two boys laughed at him, bent over at the waist, not bothering to go after the ball.  The youngest, Deyon, an eight-year-old, jogged over to him. "Mr. Wolfe, you need to give up the game.  It ain't a white man's game."

He pushed the boy to the side and ran to the ball.  "Oh yeah, I'm still beating you."

The other boy, Antoine, who at twelve considered himself fully grown, picked up the ball before he could get to it and quick as lightning dribbled to the basket, shot, and made it.  The younger boy recovered it and dribbled in a circle around Taden.  "Get it now. Get it now."

These mornings were always fun.  He enjoyed playing big brother to the youngsters he met when he'd caught them shoplifting at a convenience store down the street from Sanctum.

What started as a stop for gas had turned into six months of meeting the boys weekly, taking them out to lunch and then whatever activity they chose to do.  Today's activity was definitely to prove they were better at something than he was.  It suited him just fine.

Deyon shot and missed, Taden grabbed the ball from mid-air and once again attempted at a basket. He would have made it if not for an eight-year-old wrapped around his waist.

"Stop cheating, boy!" their mother called from her front porch.  The attractive woman wore a scarf wrapped around her hair and some sort of unflattering housedress distracting from her looks.  Taden waved at her.  "They're fine."

Talinda Bush had not been too trusting of him at first.  He didn't blame her, since most men wanting to spend time with boys were up to no good.  So he invited her along on all their outings.  The woman spent most of the time looking at her cell phone with a wistful expression.  She was stuck on the boys' father and some sort of drama with another woman who constantly contacted her to tell her he was her man now.  Taden knew all this because Talinda shared every detail with him. Sometimes he spent hours listening to her justify the father's lack of attention to his sons. As far as he was concerned, the man was a loser, not spending time with the boys.

Talinda on the other hand never lost hope. She planned to get married, but only to Antoine Jackson Sr.

So until the man came around, Talinda battled with the other women in her sons' father's life.

An hour later, tired after all night at the club and half a day keeping the boys busy, he made his way home.

After showering and a tall glass of orange juice, he went to bed.  Thoughts of the woman behind the counter at the café came as soon as his eyes closed.  She'd been watching him, the expression on her face more of curiosity than anything else.  It was obvious she didn't date his kind. By her cautious movements, ensuring not to touch him, she made it clear.

The woman was beautiful with long golden-brown curls to the middle of her back and playful hazel eyes, he could stand to wake up to her.  He let out an annoyed grunt when his cock agreed and hardened.

"Fine, let’s do this because I have to get up in a few hours," he mumbled and wrapped his fist around his hardness. Taden stroked his cock with fluid motions while picturing a naked Kirsten, legs wrapped around him in front of the window in plain view at the café.

Banging woke Taden. He looked to the clock on the nightstand and grumbled.  It was seven in the evening, too early to get ready for work. He usually got up around nine.  Jerking on sweatpants, he went to the door.

Vane lifted a brow at his state of disarray.  "You told me to stop by before work."

He moved back to let him in. If he killed the young wolf, maybe no one would miss him for a while.  "I said about nine would be good since neither of us go to the club until eleven most nights."

"Oh damn, sorry. I sleep right after work, so didn't think." He breezed in past Taden, not seeming one bit remorseful. Taden closed the door and trudged to the kitchen to make coffee.

"So, did she say yes?" he asked directly, otherwise Vane would make it a long process of stringing him along.

Deflated, Vane rolled his eyes and sat at a barstool.  The coffee machine gurgled and filled the cup.  Taden pulled it out and placed it in front of Vane. "Talk."

"She said yes.  But the woman is not into wolves, that I can tell." Vane took a sip of coffee and sighed.  "Oh, yes, I needed this."

Taden didn't care what Vane thought, he wanted to get to know Kristen and figured a wedding would be a perfect scenario to start his conquest.  It wouldn't be easy, at least he hoped not.  Part of the enjoyment of the game was the hunt.

"She doesn't deserve to be treated badly," Vane interrupted his thoughts.  "Kristen is a great lady."

The coffee slid down his throat, a delicious blend he bought at a gourmet shop. Although most wolves enjoyed coffee, he often over indulged and spent way too much money on special blends. "Believe me, treating her badly is not in my plan." Taden met Vane's narrowed eyes.  "Thanks, by the way, for bringing her to the wedding."

"Yeah, not a problem.  You could have asked her yourself."

"Does she ever touch you?" Taden hoped Vane would say no.

"Yeah, she actually took my hand today.  Oh, and kissed me." Vane gave him a smug half smile.  "Like I said, she's really cool."

"Kissed?" For the second time, Taden considered killing Vane.

"Just a goodbye peck on the lips, that's all." The young wolf stood. "Gotta roll, I'm meeting Baby at some store. She wants to buy matching shirts for us."

"Us?" Taden coughed when his coffee went down the wrong pipe.  "I don't need a shirt."

"You don't get a choice.  Since you're giving her away, and I'm her best man, we're both wearing light pink shirts." Vane shivered.  "Ugh."

"My sentiments exactly."

As soon as Vane left, Taden's phone rang.  It was his sister.  Obviously no one wanted him to sleep this day.  Baby went straight into her sales pitch.  "Since the wedding colors are soft pink and flamingo pink, and you're giving me away, you have to wear a shirt that matches the theme."

He could visualize her pouting and let out a breath. "You buy the shirt, I'll wear it."

"Of course you are, you're paying for the wedding, Taden, so technically, you're buying it."

He closed he eyes and let out a long sigh. How much was this going to cost him?

"Taden?"

"Yeah.  Okay, send me the bills or whatever."

"I've got the credit card you gave me. Joint account remember?"

Shit.  "Don't go crazy."

"I love you. Bye."

Taden eyed the bottle of Grey Goose and wondered if he should drink until he had to take a cab to work.

Booming techno music filled the air, lights flashed in time to the beats and slid across the floor and walls.  People danced, somehow able to move on the crowded dance floor.  The disc jockey floated above them, suspended by cables, a dancer on each side of his clear platform.  Servers threaded through the room, their trays held above their heads.

Taden leaned on the bar, his attention on two women who'd climbed onto one of the short pedestals situated on every corner of the dance floor.  He'd seen plenty of them fall off and considered having them removed.  Although they had a pole to hang on to, the drunker they were, the more creative people tried to be.  Several men gawked as one of the women tried to wrap her leg around the pole and slipped landing in a heap at the base.

Time for their party to end.  He signaled two of the bouncers to get them down. Just as one of them reached the women, one toppled off the platform to end up on the floor, her legs in the air.  When the bouncer reached for her, she began to cry.

"Good grief." Taden turned to Jace, who stood next to him laughing.

Just then a redhead came to him, her eyes roving over his body.  "Hello, I'm Ruby." She slid into the space between the barstools and leaned into him.  "What's your name?" She was attractive. Somewhere in the neighborhood of late thirties to early fifties.  It was hard to tell, so many women got enhancements lately. She rubbed against his arm. Her breasts were definitely not real.

"Enjoying your evening?" Easy women bored him, so he signaled Jace to pour her a drink then extracted himself from the clingy redhead and moved away.  When she asked where he was going, he mumbled something about being on the clock, knowing she could not hear him over the music and walked away.  In no time, the crowd on the dance floor, strobe lights, and flashes of neon swallowed him.

A group of women pulled him into their circle, coaxing a dance out of him.  He growled under his breath.  To be treated like a man toy would thrill a lot of men, but not him.  He grew more and more tired of it each day.

He danced for a bit, ensuring to face each of them as they attempted to outdo each other gyrating and wiggling with so much force, he wondered if they'd all be at the chiropractor the next day.

As soon as he completed the rotation, he ditched out and made a beeline for the back hallway.  The safety of his office beckoned.  Just as he moved past the front doors of the club, a woman he'd slept with entered and bee lined for him. "Shit."