Free The Claimed by Caridad Piñeiro Page A

and his aura visibly shimmered with quivering tendrils of the dark silvers and grays of a tempest over the ocean.
    “Is that wise? Dating a human?” he asked, laying his hand on the jamb of the door as if to ground himself.
    A human with a hint of power that could be useful, she wanted to defend, but she sensed that would only create additional unrest within Rafael. “It’s just dinner. Nothing to be worried about.”
    She walked back to her captain and laid her hand on his arm in a calming gesture. Beneath her palm she sensed the volatility of his energy and for the first time ever, felt uneasy with him.
    But as soon as that sensation came, a shudder worked over his body and like a dog shaking off water, Rafael drove away his irritation. “I’m sorry, Victoria. I have no right to question you.”
    Because she didn’t want resentment between them, she cradled his jaw in an attempt to calm his unrest. “You’re my captain, but more importantly, my friend, Rafael. I will always appreciate your concern and counsel.”
    With the warmth of her touch and caring, any tension between them seemed to evaporate like the morning fog beneath the sun’s rays.
    “Let’s finish our workout,” she said, and together they returned to the center of the room where they resumed their training, mixing up traditional martial arts with occasional uses of their Hunter power.
    After about half an hour, Rafael excused himself. Despite an awkward moment by her door when theyboth stood there unsure of what to do, Victoria believed things with her captain were at least smoothed over for the moment.
    He had been a friend and protector for too long to have him upset.
    After she closed the door and returned to her living space, she thought about the call from Christopher and her upcoming date. Kind of like a human date and yet not completely. She’d be foolish to ignore the power he possessed, especially since the Shadows had been in the area lately.
    For centuries the Dark Ones had sought out the Light Hunters, coveting the purer energy Light Hunters possessed. It was more effective in driving away the pox that returned time and time again to damage their physical bodies.
    There was no doubt someone was after Adam, possibly because of the intense potential in his life force. Draining him could possibly keep a Shadow illness-free for some time, but his clan also needed that store of energy for their Light Hunter members who could not hunt because of the way the pox had damaged their systems.
    So much ruin for her people from their contact with the humans and their illness.
    But Victoria also suspected the humans, especially Hybrids like Bobbie, held the key to the future and if Christopher was a Hybrid…
    She might just find a way to choose her own mate after all.

CHAPTER
7
     
    R afael stood below the edge of the veranda, vigilant as Victoria and her date were seated at a table overlooking the avenue and the beach across the way. Thread-thin control somehow contained the resentment and concern snaking through him.
    Victoria had been less than honest the night before. This man was not a human date. The faint outline of power surrounding her companion had been visible from the moment Rafael had first laid eyes on him. Even though the aura was barely discernible, hinting that her date might be a Hybrid, Rafael would not be satisfied about Victoria’s safety until he somehow ruled out the possibility that the man was a Shadow. Many of them had also learned how to conceal the murky auras that identified their putrid existence.
    Until Rafael could eliminate that worry, he would do what he had been charged to do by her parents: Watch and protect.
    The Columns was a perfect choice, Victoria thought as she sat across the intimate width of the table opposite Christopher. The summer sun had begun to set, creating rosy pink and blue cotton candy clouds along the beachfront. The golden hues cast by the lights along the edges of the veranda and the votive