His to Claim by Alice Cain Read Free Book Online Page A

the
uncomfortable silence as he dug into his food.
    The plates were almost empty before Kyle
started the conversation.
    "We need to talk—"
    "Hell, no," Alex said vehemently.
    "—about our next
move. Internal affairs knows that you were threatened by your own partner."
    "Oh," Alex said, blushing slightly
when he realized it wasn't the topic he'd been expecting. "I'm not sure
'threatened' is the right word. He was aiming a Taser at a hysterical woman."
    "One that you were standing in front of
at the time," Kyle said by way of reminder.
    "Yeah, but that's reckless rather than
threatening. There's no way I'm mentioning that he and his friends came back in
hyena suits, so I really don't have much to offer by the way of proof. Especially when my most credible witness is also likely wanted for
questioning over the theft of a police car and the possible kidnapping of two
people."
    "There's no chatter on the police scanner,"
Kyle said confidently. Brody would have advised him if there was. He'd stayed
in the area for that exact reason. Well that and the possibility that the kitsune had maybe been with another fox of a similar age.
Foxes tended to live in small family groups so it was possible the kitsune they'd found wasn't the only one in that area. They
wouldn't know for sure until Anaedra sensed the kitsune as it changed into its human form for the first time, and then only if the kitsune was extremely frightened or in physical distress. With
the possibility of a hyena clan wanting to exploit them, it made sense for one
of the Alateeka siblings to be in the area.
    "Do you really think Terry and his clan
will come after me? I honestly don't know all that much about them. I doubt
they know about the internal affairs investigation and, even if they do, I
haven't been able to gather enough proof to pin anything substantial on him
anyway."
    "I'm more worried about the fact that
he revealed his paranormal nature to you. I don't think either of us was
supposed to survive a confrontation with so many hyenas."
    "They wouldn't have noticed when you
turned into a grizzly bear?"
    Kyle laughed softly. " That they might have noticed, but they
wouldn't have known it until I changed."
    "But you knew what Terry was before he
changed."
    "Yeah, it's a family quirk. My siblings
and I can easily identify each species, but to other paranormals we seem human,
well, except for vampires. For some reason they usually sense we're not
edible."
    "Um... vam … pires ?"
    "Sorry," Kyle offered. "I'm
trying not to overwhelm you with too many details, but yeah, vampires are real,
as well as werewolves and many other species of animal shifters. Few of them
live up to their reputations, however."
    "Meaning?"
    "Meaning most paranormals are defenseless against humans and would be listed as
endangered species if people actually knew about them."
    "I suppose that makes sense. If
vampires were like the ones on television, they'd be the dominant species on
the planet."
    "Probably," Kyle said with a shrug.
It was obvious that Alex was rather surprised by everything he'd learned in the
past twenty-four hours, but he was still thinking clearly, staying rational,
considering things carefully without prejudice or unfair profiling. He truly
was an incredible human being.
    Just that simple thought had Kyle reaching
for the man, the need to hold him close nearly overwhelming. Alex seemed
surprised, but he allowed the awkward hug, even letting Kyle lift him into a
standing position as his need for the man grew even stronger.
    He barely realized how hard he was crushing
the man to him until the sensual, breathless moan reached his ears.
    "Shit." He let go, stepped back, ran an unsteady hand through his hair. "Sorry."
    He paced back and forth, trying to work off
a serious overload of energy in the tiny space.
    "Kyle?" Alex asked as Kyle walked
the length of the room and back again. "This thing between us…it isn't
normal, is it?"
    Kyle scrubbed a hand down his face and shook
his