Page 104 of The Alpha’s Unclaimed Mate

I ignore the alarm in his voice. “Give me a minute.”

The emergency box has sat inside the back door for ten years. I drag out sweatpants, pull them on, then come back to the island. “What happened?”

“Marcus, you’re bleeding!” Jessa’s face is pale.

“It’s a flesh wound,” I reassure her, but it’s obvious to me she’s not buying it. “Now somebody tell me what happened here. Where are the girls?”

“They’re okay.” Jessa swallows, her eyes lingering on my wound. “Sloane came by. She had keys.”

“Keys? Where the fuck did she get keys from?”

My question seems to loosen some knot in her shoulders. “I don’t know. She attacked me. I fought back. The girls came down. It was a whole mess.”

I study the gauze on her arm. “What did she do to your arm?”

Those are not her only injuries. A swelling is coming up over her right eyebrow, split at the top, dark already. Jared’s bruise sits yellow-green on the other side. The rage that fills me is blinding.

“Marcus, you should go check on them,” Cole suddenly says, his voice strange.

“No, they’re fine.” Jessa’s response is instantaneous, making me a little suspicious.

“I’ll go take a look.”

I hear Jessa hiss, and the quick anxious look she shoots my way doesn’t escape me. Why doesn’t she want me going up there?

When I enter their room, Mia is sleeping on her side with one fist under her cheek. Bella lies stretched on her back beside her, staring at the ceiling.

“Bella?” I crouch by the bed.

Bella’s eyes widen, and she rushes toward me. “Uncle Marcus!”

Her arms fling around my neck, and I hold her close. “What happened? Are you two girls okay?”

Her chin trembles. “Something happened to Mia.”

My blood goes cold. “What?”

Bella looks shaken. “You always said not to tell Jessa and Mia about us, but Uncle Marc”—her voice lowers into a whisper—“I think she’s like us.”

I look toward Mia, and my niece continues, “She had claws, and she was close to shifting and then Jessa snapped her out of it.”

My heart is racing. “Did Jessa see everything?”

Bella hesitates. “I don’t know. But Mia fell asleep as soon as we came into the room here. Uncle Marc, does that mean Jessa is like us as well?”

I shake my head. “No. Jessa’s human.”

“Then can I talk to Mia about shifters?”

I shake my head again. “Not yet, kiddo. You need to be a little more patient. Neither of you are hurt, though?”

Bella shakes her head. I kiss the top of it before letting her go. “Okay. Stay upstairs. I have to go deal with the situation downstairs. Tell me when Mia wakes up, okay?”

She nods.

I grab a shirt from my room and check my injury. Another three hours and it will be gone. Cole’s not there when I come back down, and Jessa is standing where I left her, both hands braced on the island. I know he’ll be calling me later tonight.

“Are you really okay?” I ask Jessa.