The Claiming by Cooper Book 6
The Gamma Tournament by Cooper (Ezekiel & Gianna)
Chapter 6 Ezekiel
I’m thrilled that Gianna likes her ring. When she was nursing Zeke last night, I went online and found one at a local jeweler that I liked and thought she would like. It’s not nearly as expensive as the ones they call engagement rings, but it has much more meaning, and my mate seems happy with it.
When we finish breakfast, Gianna says we need to go to the police station first, to make sure they have closed her missing persons case.
“I don’t want the police to have any reason to come looking around the packs,” she says.
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So, after breakfast, we go to the police station, and she leaves Zeke with me when they call her back. I wanted to go with her into interview, but they refused to allow me back with her.
I listen as they interview her, and it becomes apparent very quickly that they think that I’m her kidnapper and I’m here forcing her to report that she’s safe. After an hour, I become restless, wondering how many times they are going to ask her the same questions. They found the girl’s b*ody, Carol, on the side of the road, mauled to death and their questions imply that Gianna should have done more to help save her.
I listen as Gianna once again tells them that she escaped before Carol and had told the police before that she didn’t know where the other women were being kept.
I begin pacing, not happy that they are keeping her for so long and that they don’t seem inclined to make sure she’s fed or that her son doesn’t need to nurse.
“How much longer?” I growl at the human behind the counter.
“I’m not sure. You need to have to have a seat, sir,” the man says.
I hear a door open and close as I resume my pacing. A few minutes later, a uniformed officer walks out. Instantly, I know he’s a shifter.
“Mr. Battles, I’m Detective Simmons. Would you like a cup of coffee?” he asks. I’m about to snarl at him when he lowers his voice to a level that a human can’t hear.
“Say yes,” he says, watching me.
“Yes.”
“Follow me. I was going to get your fiance a glass of water and I wanted to check on your son. She seems concerned that he may need to nurse soon,” he says.
“He’s starting to fuss. He’s getting hungry,” I tell him, following him into what looks like a breakroom.
“Cream and sugar?” he asks, pulling down two Styrofoam cups.
“No, thank you,” I say.
“What’s the real story?” he asks in the low voice that the humans can’t hear. “Rogues,” I answer in the same low voice. “Are they dead?” he asks.
“Not all of them,” I tell him.
“We have several missing women. Are there any others that you know of?” he asks. “They killed a lot of them, or they died in childbirth,” I say, and heturns, looking at me.
“He’s not yours,” he says, indicating Zeke.
“She’s my mate and he’s her son, that makes him mine.”
“Rogue?” he asks.
“Yes. One of the dead ones,” I say and he nods.
“There are two females that we rescued in one of our packs. We aren’t sure what to do with them, but one is a mate to my best friend,” I tell him.
He looks at me. “You know you can’t keep them against their will,” he says.
“Yes, but you and I both know it’s a risk. The girl, Carol, that you found? She was with us and decided to leave. She was killed by a real animal, not a shifter. The two who stayed are fitting into the packs much better.”
He nods as someone comes in. The person looks me over in a way I know well, he’s assessing my threat capability. When he makes eye contact, I see he has assessed properly – high.
“How’s it going, Des?” he asks Detective Simmons.
“I’m good, Harold. Just getting some coffee for this gentleman while he waits for his fiance who is in interview.”
He hands me a cup of coffee that smells horribly stale and tastes just as bad, but I take the sip while Harold leaves the room. “I’ll handle it, make the case go away. My partner really doesn’t care as long as the paperwork doesn’t get questioned and I’ll make sure it goes through,” he says. “Appreciate it, but how much longer,” I ask, just as we hear a door open in the back.
We both tilt our heads, listening. As soon as I hear her footsteps, I smile.
“They’re done,” he says, grabbing a water bottle for Gianna.
I walk out, waiting for her. The moment she steps out, I pull her into a hug, nuzzling her and making sure she’s okay.
“How’s Zeke?”
“Getting fussy,” I tell her. “Let’s go back to the hotel, feed our son, then feed you,” I tell her as Detective Simmons brings her the water.
“Thank you,” she says, drinking half the bottle in one go.
“If you think of anything else, give me a call,” the older detective says, handing Gianna a card.
“I will, thank you.”
I wrap my arm around Gianna and walk her to the door.
“Excuse me, Mr. Battles?” Detective Simmons says, jogging over.
“Yeah,” I say.
“Uhhh, as you must have realized, I’m a lone wolf. But I’ve been thinking about joining a pack again. Do you think that, maybe, I could talk to your Alpha or something?” he asks.
“Actually, it’s a really good time if you’re interested. They are expanding the packs and there is going to be a Gamma Tournament. I could let a couple Alphas know if you’re interested, but you’d have to move to a pack,” I tell him.
“I have some time off, is there a good time when perhaps you could introduce me to one of the Alphas? I’ve never actually lived in a pack.”
“We’re planning to go to one of the new packs within the next week. The new packs need to be built back up, which is exciting for some people. I would find it more exciting if I didn’t have a mate, a young pup, and another on the way,” I tell him.
“Would it be okay if I reach out to you at the number we have for your mate?”
“Yes, that would be fine,” I tell him. “I can reach out to our Alpha to see if there is any problem bringing you into one of the new packs, just to see what you’d be getting yourself into,” I say.
He extends his h*and. A very un-shifter like thing to do. “Name’s Desmond,” he says. “Ezekiel,” I say, shaking his h*and. “Ezekiel? The elite fighter?”
I raise an eyebrow. “You’ve heard of me?”
“Every shifter knows about the elite fighters,” he says.
“If you decide to come with us, I’d be interested in learning how it is you became a lone wolf,” I tell him.
He smiles sardonically. “It’s not a happy tale, but I’d be willing to tell you or anyone that needs to hear it if that’s what it takes for me to join a pack. This life isn’t exactly giving me what I was hoping for and you’re the first shifters I’ve met in a very long time,” he says.
“We’re here for two more days. After that, we’re heading back to our pack and then on to the pack that is in the process of being built. If you’re really interested, we could possibly bring you back with us,” I tell him. “I’m interested. I’ll get some time off and I’ll be in t*ouch,” he says.
“We look forward to hearing from you,” Gianna says to him.
“We need to get going. Zeke is getting fussy,” I tell him.
“Of course. Thanks for stopping in. I’ll take care of everything,” he says, the last part in the low voice that only Gianna and I can hear.
We head back to the hotel and while Gianna nurses Zeke, I order food then let her fill me in on her side of the conversation with the detectives. Then I tell her about my interactions with Detective Simmons.
“Do you think his story is similar to mine?” she asks me.
“No. He’s seems to have known that he was a shifter his entire life. You had no clue,” I tell her.
When she’s done, we eat our own lunch, and she calls Alpha Jordan telling her about the lone wolf that we met.
“It’s a risk, but I’ll talk to my father about it. Did you both feel comfortable with him?” she asks us, and I can hear a baby crying in the background before hearing the soothing sound of a masculine voice, Alpha Jace.
Gianna looks at me and I nod. “We did,” she says.
“I’ll be in t*ouch tomorrow and give you my answer. I’ll also talk to Jaxon and see what he thinks. If this Desmond wants to follow you to his pack, he will also need to agree,” she says.
“Sounds good. We’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Gianna says before hanging up.
After that, we get Zeke and head back out, this time to go to Gianna’s old apartment.
When we walk in the door of the apartment building, an older woman rushes out of an apartment on the first floor.
“Gianna! Oh my god! I’m so glad you’re alive!”