Free Claiming The Alpha by Adriana Hunter Page A

more than anything, but Lori’s apartment was so much closer. And maybe
    she could bum cab fare from Lori and get to Jax’s house, if Lori wasn’t still mad at her from the argument the other day.
    She ran through the rain, her shoes soaked, slipping on the wet sidewalks, splashing through puddles as
    she crossed the street. She bolted up the stairs of Lori’s building, breath rasping in her throat, heart
    thudding in her chest. When she finally got the door open she darted inside, locking the door and fumbling the security chain in place.
    “What the hell?” Lori came out of the kitchen, hands on her hips. “Someone chasing you?”
    Nikki stumbled into the living room and collapsed on the couch. It was a minute or so before she
    caught her breath, before she could speak.
    “Ryan…he’s…there’s something really wrong with him.”
    Lori dropped into the chair by the couch, lighting a cigarette. “Yeah. He’s kind of sleazy.” She blew out a stream of smoke, her eyes on Nikki. “Did he offer to give you a tattoo for free? I hope you turned that shit down.”
    Nikki shook her head. “No. Not that. Much more than that. And you know what he is, Lori, he said you
    knew.”
    Lori sat back, crossing her legs. “Oh.” She breathed out a frustrated sigh. “Bastard. Can’t keep a secret, can’t control himself.” She took a long drag from the cigarette.
    “So did he hurt you or just scare you?” Lori’s voice was way too calm for this and it set Nikki’s teeth on edge.
    “What the hell difference does that make? You sent me to him…this… creature of a man. A sick, twisted man at that… wanted me to put out in order to get paid before changing into a beast… right before my
    eyes! And you knew, Lori. You knew all about him.”
    Lori looked away, tapping her cigarette into the ashtray. “Yeah. I knew some of that…not all.”
    “What do you mean, not all? Let’s start with what you didn’t know about Ryan and work our way
    backward.”
    “I didn’t know he would try to get you to put out rather than pay you. That’s low, even for Ryan.” Lori
    was quiet for a minute, brow furrowed. “He’s never been interested in sex, as far as I knew. Always more
    interested in getting high. Must have expanded his horizons lately. Or, he’s obsessed with you.” Lori
    regarded her for a minute. “I bet it’s you…he did say you were the best dancer at the club, the one he
    always remembered. Maybe he thought he had some chemistry with you or something.”
    “But you knew about the rest? That he’s a… lycanthrope ?”
    Lori hesitated a moment, eyes locked with Nikki. “How do you even know what that is?” She leaned
    forward. The suspicion and mistrust in Lori’s voice, her posture, the look she gave Nikki, cut her right to the bone.
    “Did Jax fill you in on the details? Or…shit…” And then Lori’s eyes went wide, her face going pale.
    “Did you tell Jax about Ryan? Holy shit, if you did…” Lori’s voice was panicked and Nikki could see
    the pulse beating at the base of her throat. She was spooked, either scared of Ryan or of Jax. Nikki
    suspected Ryan; she didn’t think Jax was much of a threat to Lori. A pissed off lycanthrope would have to be more dangerous than just some guy Nikki was sleeping with.
    Nikki shook her head, frowning. “Huh? No. Other way round.”
    “So…your wolf told you about lycanthropes?”
    It was Nikki’s turn for wide eyes, for her heart to skip a beat…skip several beats, and her stomach drop.
    “How the hell did you know about Jax?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
    “The wolf scent is all over him. I could smell his scent from a mile away. Powerful…very, very
    powerful. I knew from the first time I saw him, back at the club.” Lori shrugged. “I thought he would be all kinds of bad for you, just a wolf in a man’s clothing. Maybe I was wrong. He’s at least better than some of your boyfriends.”
    “His scent? You said, way back when,