Free Claiming Shayla by Zena Wynn Page A

laserlike precision. “Show no mercy. Your daughters’ safety depends on the decisions you make now.”
    Before she could press for more details, she was snatched back against a hard, muscular chest and strong arms wrapped securely around her from behind. Rory. She’d know that chest rumble anywhere. With a wave of her hand, she introduced them. “Rory, meet Conor, the man responsible for Kiesha and Alex and, consequently, you and I meeting.”
    The growling stopped, and a stunned silence followed. “ The Conor?”
    She leaned to the side and glanced up at him. “Alex told you about him?”
    He looked down at her, eyes still rounded in shock. “Uh…Conor’s a legend among our kind. Until Alex told me differently, I didn’t think he was real.”
    “A legend? Come on,” she scoffed. Turning to Conor, she said, “Don’t get me wrong. You’re one of my favorite peeps in the world, but a legend?” She shook her head and chuckled.
    The grin he gave her in return said Conor shared her amusement.
    “Shay, who are you talking…Conor!”
    She reached out and slapped her cousin’s arm. “Kee, why didn’t you tell me he was coming?”
    “I didn’t know. I didn’t even know he knew I was engaged. We didn’t see him in Pirate’s Cove when Alex and I returned to pack up my condo.” Kiesha appeared totally bemused.
    “ This is Conor?” Alex asked. Startlement gave way to the same awe Shayla saw on Rory’s face.
    “Oh, not you too.” Shay rolled her eyes. “What is it with you people? He’s a man, not God. What’s with all the astonishment?”
    Conor’s features seemed to shimmer and blur. In a matter of seconds his slightly hunched shoulders straightened, his graying hair turned black and curled, and his attractively wrinkled face unlined, becoming youthful. The end result was a man so devastatingly handsome it made Shay’s mouth drop open. “Okaaay, I didn’t know he could do that !”
    “Damn,” Kiesha muttered, equally surprised.
    On second thought Shay wasn’t sure why she was stunned. If the man had teleported Kiesha five states away in the middle of the night to meet her mate, as Kiesha suspected, neither of them really should be astonished at Conor magically altering his appearance.
    Mary Elizabeth, who’d just walked up with Hugh close behind, said under her breath, “Hubba, hubba,” and fanned her face.
    Shay was distracted from her own shock by Nikolai. He strode up to Conor, went down on one knee, placed his fist on his chest, and bowed his head respectfully. “Sire.”
    “Nikolai!” Conor said with a big grin and held out a hand to him. Nikolai stood, and the two clasped forearms.
    “Sire as in king ?” Shay asked.
    “No, as in progenitor,” Nikolai stated.
    “This is your father ?” Shannon asked, voice faint.
    “Oh hell,” Rory said. “He’s a bloody vamp .”
    By now they had the attention of everyone in the room. Even the musicians had stopped playing and gathered. There were angry mutters all around. Shay began to giggle. Oh, this was just too good. Their revered matchmaker was a vampire?
    Conor smiled, and Shay swore she heard a few moans from some of the females in the room. “I’m more like his great-grandsire.”
    “We all know Nik, being a vampire, is older than dirt. Just how old are you?” Shay asked.
    “Shay!” Kiesha scolded.
    “What! You know it’s true and that we’re wondering. Hell, who can tell how old any of these guys are? They’re all disgustingly healthy and age really well. I’ll bet even Alex is older than he looks. He’s what? Sixty?”
    “No, I am not sixty,” Alex denied sharply.
    “What about you?” She pointed at a male shifter in a police uniform standing nearby. “You look young. Bet you’re at least fifty.”
    Rory popped Shay on her ass—hard. The sound echoed over hastily muffled laughter as she spun around to confront him. “You want your ass kicked, don’t you?”
    “Quit instigating,” he demanded.
    “You’re