The Claiming by Cooper Book 5
The Beta Trials by Cooper (Jace & Jordan)
Chapter 58 (Jordan)
“Your n*ecklace? Are you sure?” I ask Gianna. Why would she have an amulet that suppresses a wolf? She’s a human. “Yes, that’s definitely mine. When those creeps grabbed me, they ripped it off of me. I was pretty sure I’d never see it again,” Gianna says.
“Where did you get it?” Jace asks her.
She must realize something is wrong because she looks between us before focusing back on me.
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“Is there a problem?”
“Where did the n*ecklace come from?” I ask, not answering her question.
She looks at Jace then back at me. “It was a gift, from my parents.”
“Your parents?” I ask.
She presses her l*ips together. “If I tell you what you want to know, will you tell me why it matters?” she asks me. “Yes,” I say without hesitation. Maybe I should have considered it longer, but if this woman got this amulet before she got her wolf….
‘Then she has no idea she’s one of us,’ Jace finishes my thought in the mind link. “My parents gave me away when I was born. They left me at a fire station with a blanket and this n*ecklace. The blanket is long gone, so this is the only thing I have from the people who didn’t want me when I was born. Now, why is that important information?”
I look at her a moment. Is it possible that her parents are werewolves? She’s my age, maybe a bit older. Her parents would be my parents’ age. She would have been born during the time of the Claiming. If she was born outside of a mate bond, maybe it was consensual, maybe it wasn’ t, but the she-wolf would have needed to hide this girl to protect herself, Gianna, and if she cared about him, Gianna’s father.
And if she wasn’t born outside of the mate bond, even if her mother had died, I can’t imagine anyone getting rid of a female, most likely a ranked female knowing that almost all females were claimed by ranked members back then. “Jordan?” she says, watching me closely. “How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-two, why? What does this have to do with my n*ecklace?” she asks, and her fear begins to permeate the room.
I sit down on the bed beside her. “That n*ecklace is an amulet. It suppresses our shifter spirits, specifically, a wolf shifter’s spirit,” I tell her, making her frown.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would I have an amulet that suppresses a wolf spirit?”
I hold her gaze, letting her figure it out.
I see when the realization dawns on her and she barks out a laugh.
“You think I’m a werewolf that has had her wolf suppressed? Why?”
“We don’t know, but we need to find out,” Jace says.
She looks between us. “You’re serious.”
“Yes,” I tell her.
“Well, I haven’t had the n*ecklace for over two months. Wouldn’t I know if I had a wolf now?” she asks.
“Not necessarily. You’re pregnant. She- wolves can’t shift when they’re pregnant. And Dr. Braxton and Gamma Luke said the amulet is very strong, very powerful. If you wore it for over 20 years, it’s very likely that it may have killed your wolf. If not, it may take years for your wolf to come back,” I tell her.
She looks thoughtful for a moment. “Do you think, if what you’re saying is true and I really am some sort of wolf shifter, that it’s the reason I couldn’t get pregnant with my husband? Because he’s a human?”
“It’s possible, but I’m not a doctor. I’m guessing that Dr. Braxton is going to want to run more tests on you. But I will say this, on a positive note, if you are a shifter, or have a dormant wolf, your odds of surviving your child’s birth just went up tremendously.”
“Well, that is positive,” she says, rubbing her belly again. “Oh, and while you were gone, Dr. Teresa told me that I’m having a boy.”
“Congratulations!” Jace and I say as a mind link comes through.
‘The Council is calling a meeting. One hour. The didn’t wait for Dr. Braxton to call them,’ Victor says.
‘Thanks, Victor,’ I say and look over at Jace to see that he got the message too. “Problem?” Gianna asks.
“No. The council is calling a meeting. I’m not surprised given the concerning nature of your amulet,” I say looking at Gianna. “Do you know anything at all about your parents?” I ask her.
“No. Nothing. There wasn’t even anything in my records to seal. The video cameras had been damaged, so they didn’t get any visuals of the person who left me, no f*ingerprints, no note, nothing.”
I scrub my hands over my face. I don’t know enough about my parents’ generation to know who might have tried to hide a child, but my mother might, and Dr. Braxton might be able to figure it out based on Gianna’s DNA.
“Who named you?” I ask, wondering if she was given her name by her parents. “The state. I truly had nothing when they dropped me off, no identity at all.”
“Okay,” I say, standing. “Do you need anything? I know it can get boring being here, but right now, this is the safest place for you and your baby.”
“No, it’s been a long time since I got to sit around and watch TV, although, I know myself and I’ll be bored before the sun goes down. If I’m not a prisoner here and Dr. Teresa says it’s safe, I’d like to be able to go outside,” she says.
“I’ll come back by tonight and we can walk around the pack lands. By then, we should know what the council is planning,” I say, glancing at Jace. He knows me well enough to know that I’ll go up against the council if they try to lock this woman away.
“Try not to sound so ominous when you say that,” she says, making me laugh. “Get some rest, I’ll be back soon,” I say and Jace and I walk out, heading back to the packhouse.
“So, what’s this about Carter?” I ask, having tucked that tidbit away earlier.
“Oh s*hit! I need to go talk to Elijah,” Jace stops, pulling me to a stop beside him and looking around. There are people moving about like always.
‘I was going to wait to tell you until after I spoke to Elijah, but….I think Carter is betraying the pack,’ he says in our mind link.
My stomach drops. I knew Carter didn’t like the idea of a female Alpha, but to betray the pack? A pack his parents live in?
‘Why do you say that?’
‘Charlie messaged me earlier letting me know that Carter was back from checking for rogue trails.’
I feel my anger flaring. ‘What the f*uck?’ ‘Yeah, that was my thought too. But I need to know more. Charlie said he thought I’d sent him on the mission, and he was only gone for an hour. I want to know what he was doing and who he was talking to,’ he says.
‘Put someone on him. I want him watched 24/7,’ I say, thinking for a moment. I absently wave at pack members as they pass and say hi. ‘Put a guard on Gianna, too. If Carter has issues with women in authority, he may have issues with a pregnant human female being in our pack.’
“Good thinking,” he says.