Free Bodyguard (Shifters Unbound #2.5) by Jennifer Ashley Page A

guarding. I
can't chance endangering him. Neither can his family."
    "I never said he had to guard me," Elizabeth
said. "If you don't want me endangering Shifters, then Mabel and I
are happy to leave Shiftertown."
    She started to turn away. Ronan stopped her
by simply not moving. "You're not going anywhere until the threat
to you has been eliminated."
    Elizabeth's eyes flickered at the word eliminated . "If Liam won't be happy until he hears all my
secrets, then I can't stay," she said. "He'll have to be
disappointed."
    "Lass," Liam began, again in the coaxing
tone.
    "Leave her alone, Liam," Ronan said. He
looked at Elizabeth and her blue eyes, not at Liam's. "She doesn't
want to tell you."
    "Ronan, she's using a false name. Until six
years ago, she didn't exist."
    "She exists now."
    "Ronan . . ."
    "I said, leave her alone,
Liam. "
    The room went quiet. Ronan expected Sean to
come charging across it to stand by his brother, his sword a silent
threat. He'd seen them do that, and Shifters wilt under the
double-alpha stare.
    Sean didn't move or speak. Neither did Kim,
who usually was ready with some opinion. Even baby Katriona made no
noise.
    "Do you want to make that official?" Liam
said in a quiet voice. "Be responsible for her?"
    "Vouch for her, you mean?" Ronan let Liam
hold his gaze. He'd already vouched for Scott, Cherie, and
Olaf--clan-less, family-less Shifters with bad pasts. No one knew
what the cubs would do or what kind of adults they'd become. Ronan
had vowed with his life that they'd not be threats. Liam was asking
him to do the same for Elizabeth.
    "No," Ronan said.
    Liam's eyes went wider, and Kim stirred.
"Liam, stop it. You too, Ronan. This is Elizabeth's choice. She's
not a cub. She's not even Shifter. The same rules don't apply."
    "Much as I hate disagreeing with you, love,
they do," Liam said. "Will you let him vouch for you, Elizabeth?
That means that, if you are lying to us, or you put a foot wrong,
it's on his head."
    "No!" Elizabeth said fiercely. "What is wrong
with you all? I didn't ask you to bring us to Shiftertown. I'm
grateful for your help, but I don't have to stay with you. So thank
you, but I'm leaving."
    Again Ronan stopped her by being too big for
her to walk around. "I said I wouldn't vouch for you," he said.
"But that's because I'm going to go one better, and mate-claim
you."
    "Ronan," Liam said, warning in his voice.
    "Mate-claim?" Elizabeth said. She took a step
back, which put her against Liam's desk. "What does that mean?"
    "It means not only do I vouch for you, but I
ensure that all Shifters stay away from you, always, including
Liam. The bond of the mate supersedes the authority of the clan
leader and even the Shiftertown leader. If Liam has a problem with
you, he has to come through me first. Trust me, he doesn't want to
have to go through me."
    Liam, instead of getting upset, sat down and
leaned back in his chair again, grinning his annoying Irish grin.
"It's an interesting solution," he said. "Very interesting."
    Elizabeth looked from Liam to Ronan. "What
are you saying? That I'm now your mate? I don't want a mate!"
    "Tell her she can reject the claim," Kim
said. "Be fair. She doesn't understand complicated Shifter
rules."
    Liam shrugged. "A mate-claim only means that
Ronan now protects you, and that you're off-limits to all other
Shifter males. Doesn't mean you're mated. Yet. And yes, you can
reject the claim. He can't force it on you." Liam said the last
part reluctantly, as though he'd be happy for Elizabeth to be stuck
in the claim.
    "Then I reject--"
    Ronan put his fingers over Elizabeth's mouth.
"Wait. Let it work, first. If you stay under my claim, then Liam
can't make you tell him about your past, or any other detail he
wants to poke his nose into. I stay with you and protect you from
angry gang leaders who want to kill you. Once the danger is over,
you can reject the claim. We can't stop you. That's Shifter
law."
    "I'm not Shifter," Elizabeth said, her breath
warm on his