THE CLAIMING (The Chosen Series #1)

“Hey, man. Are you sure you haven’t seen my lighter?”

Jase’s eyes follow Evan, chuckling to himself as he watches Evan’s tall frame bent over while searching the tent for the second time. Flicking the lid of the missing zippo open and closed, he lights his joint and inhales, saying, “Nope. Maybe recheck your bag.”

Jase’s mind begins to drift into a euphoric haze. Taking another long drag of his joint, the sweet smoke relaxes his muscles. His thoughts slow as he leans back, admiring the dark sky above. So damn gullible. So fucking gullible.

“You sure, man? I am positive you had it last. Didn’t you use it just...” Pausing, Evan’s eyes focus on the lit joint dangling from Jase’s lips. “Damn it!” he spits, fists balling at his sides. “Why are you always such a complete ass?”

Smirking to himself, Jase continues to stare at the stars, smoke pluming from his nostrils as he takes another drag.

“Seriously, Jase, you’re a fucking dick,” Evan growls, making his way over to the fire, his boots sticking in the mud as he snatches the lighter from Jase’s outstretched palm.

“Maybe it’s because you’re such a pussy,” Jase drawls, lowering his head and blowing smoke in Evan’s face.

“Can you not be a jerk for five seconds? Seriously, Jase, we have three more nights of laying low out here before our contact is ready to move us. I would appreciate it if you didn’t mess this up as well,” Evan sneers, running a hand through his dirt-tangled hair.

Jase zips up his red ski jacket, the night’s chill settling in, and rolls his eyes, a lazy smile forming on his cracked lips. “Ev, man, I swear to you, it wasn’t my fault. She wanted it.” Stretching out his long legs, his cock beginning to swell at the memory of that night, he sighs, “how was I supposed to know that she claimed? I mean, there was no mark on her. To me, she was fair game, and FUCK! You saw her, the way she danced, that body. Fuck, I didn’t...”

Glaring, Evan scoffs, “Jase, you can’t be that stupid. If you had taken a second to smell her, you would’ve known she was one of the claimed. You just let your dick do the talking as usual. Now we’re both out here, hiding until we can get the hell out of this fucking place.”

Jase runs a dirty hand over his pants, taking another drag, his clothes beginning to smell from overuse. “Ev man, even you didn’t know that she was who she is. I mean, fuck! We hadn’t seen her since she was a kid. How was I supposed to know who she was?”

“Maybe you should’ve asked her that before you tried to stick your dick in her,” Evan retorts, anger showing on his face as he glares into the fire.

“I did ask her. It’s not my fault she didn’t clarify. And no one told YOU to come with me,” Jase groans, frustrated at Evan and his constant whining. His attitude is seriously threatening to dampen his buzz.

“No, but I was WITH you, and now we are both in it up to our heads.” Evan lights a smoke, scratching his face, a frown forming, “I’m going to take a leak. Try not to fuck anything else up while I’m gone.”

“Whatever, man,” Jase sighs again, watching as Evan disappears into the surrounding woods, thick with blue spruce and eastern white pine trees. Turning back to the flames, he grabs a stick and pokes the coals, attempting to increase the warmth from their small campfire.

His mind drifts back to that night, her body, her stormy eyes, the way she felt when she squirmed underneath him. He groans.

It’s been two weeks since THE mistake, and they’ve been laying low ever since. The girl wasn’t supposed to get hurt. It was meant to be a bit of fun, but now, they’re stuck out here, hiding from them, until they can meet up with their transport and get the hell out of Dodge.

One false move right now could alert the ranch of their location, and that would be bad. Very bad.

Jase takes a can from the ice chest and opens another beer, taking a long swig, the slightly warm liquid soothing his throat. Having exhausted their supplies to keep their food and drink cool, they’ve been relying on nature to get by. Checking his watch and seeing the time, he notices that Ev has been gone for 10 minutes now. It shouldn’t take that long to take a leak. It shouldn’t take that long.

Standing up and stretching, Jase uses his hand to adjust his semi-hard cock. He grunts before heading in the same direction. Boots getting stuck in the mud, Jase slides on the wet ground, cursing as he straightens.

“Ev, how long does it take to piss? Are you playing with it or something?” His voice projected, trying to avoid moving further out and stumbling across Ev, mid-pump. Hearing a groan, Jase hesitates, craning his neck, ears pierced.

“Seriously, Ev, you better not be jacking off.” Taking a few more steps, he sees movement in the distance, another groan filling the night. Inching closer, looking down, he sees Evan crawling on the ground, his mouth open, dark liquid pooling out, and a massive dark shape straddling his back.

“Jase!” Evan gasps, more fluid pouring out as he speaks, “run!”

FUCK, FUCK, they’ve found us! Heart pounding furiously in his chest, the fear instantly killing his buzz. Jase bolts, running back towards the tent where he knows his gun is stored. FUCK! Not enough time to shift. Breaking through the underbrush and reaching their small campsite, Jase pumps his legs harder.

Relief floods him when he’s less than a foot from the green and grey fabric glowing in the firelight. He stops at the canvas flap and reaches for the zip. Pain explodes as a sharp sensation pierces his flesh. The shock causes his body to lock. Swallowing deep and trying to breathe, Jase opens his mouth, blood bubbling up from his throat. His eyes begin to blur from the pain as he looks down and sees his jacket, the fabric torn, and a red claw-tipped hand coming out of his chest, right where his heart should be.

............................................................................................................

“Is it done?”

Raising the phone to his mouth, he replies, “It’s done!”

“Clean up?”

“Tomorrow.”