Wolf at the Door: Salvation Pack, Book 1 by N.J. Walters Read Free Book Online

black hair shimmering in the light as he shook his head. “Leave it to you two to do things the hard way.” He walked over to Jacque and slapped him on the shoulder. “But it is a good thing. To find a mate is something to be celebrated.”
    “Not everyone will be happy about it,” Louis pointed out as he stopped and turned toward them. “She’s human.”
    “There’s a possibility—” Armand was cut off before he could finish.
    “No!” Both brothers spoke at once, their voices joined as one.
    “No,” Jacque said again. “We will not risk her.” He glanced at his brother, who nodded in agreement.
    “Too many die during the conversion process,” Louis pointed out. “Simply being bitten by a werewolf won’t necessarily turn you into one. You know that. It’s very rare it happens that way and about ninety-nine percent die during the transition. Werewolves are born of other werewolves, plain and simple. Plus, I don’t think that is something Gwen would even consider right now. She thinks we’re the big bad wolves and are going to kill her.”
    “That’s not too far off the mark.” Armand held up his hands in mock surrender when both brothers growled at him and flashed their fangs. “You know it’s true. Many in the pack will want her dead. They don’t want to dilute the bloodlines, nor do they want outsiders in the pack.”
    “Which is the very reason we broke from the pack and moved to North Carolina to start our own.” Jacque could still remember the long yelling matches with his overbearing father. “They would rather stay in the dark ages and die out than embrace the modern world and new ways.” It was what had finally driven Jacque, Louis, their cousin Armand, and two others to break away and start a new pack far away from New Orleans.
    He missed the swamps and bayous of his childhood, but he’d come to embrace the deep woods and mountains of his new home. Plus, he was his own master here, not having to bend his will to traditions that made no sense to him.
    “He’ll still find out.” There was an underlying threat to Armand’s words that had Jacque turning on his cousin.
    “And who will tell him? You?” Pure, undiluted fury sped through his veins like molten lava, penetrating every cell in his body. His nails grew while his jawbone cracked and began to elongate.
    “Don’t be an ass.” Armand took an aggressive step closer. “Your father has spies everywhere. You know as well as I do he’s been monitoring us since we left.”
    Yes, Jacque did know that. No one walked away from Pierre LaForge unless he let them. He’d expected his two sons to toe the line and do exactly as he wished. That was his right as alpha of the pack. But Jacque and a few others had chaffed for far too many years under the oppressive yoke and finally had broken off. He hadn’t spoken to his mother in the two years they’d been gone. His attempts to contact her had been thwarted by his father.
    Jacque felt his body return to normal and was chagrined at his aggression toward his cousin. Armand was on his side. Always had been. Their father was a mean sonofabitch, but Armand’s father was even worse. Remy LaForge had never accepted the fact he would never be alpha, would always play second fiddle to his older brother. He paid lip service to his alpha in person and took his disappointment out on his family. Everyone knew that, but no one had ever done anything about it. Armand would bear the scars of that neglect for the rest of his life.
    “I know.” He reached out and pulled his cousin to him, giving him a quick, tight hug before releasing him. The apology went unsaid and was immediately accepted.
    “If you two girls are finished sharing your feelings, can we get back to Gwen?” Louis’s taunt broke the tension. Armand raised his middle finger toward his cousin.
    “You can have a hug too.” Jacque managed to keep his face deadpan. “I wouldn’t want you to feel left out.”
    “Assholes.” Even as