Wolf Unbound: Aspen Valley Wolf Pack by Amber Ella Monroe Read Free Book Online

thirties. She couldn’t really tell. Except for the bruising, scarring, and tattoos that she could see, he had the most beautiful skin she’d ever seen on a man. To achieve his sun-kissed complexion, it looked as if he road in the sun for hours on end on his motorcycle. He had wide shoulders, a strong neck and jaw. His arms and hands were big. He was exceptionally tall, almost overbearing to the point of intimidation. Maybe about six feet, four inches. His eyes were hooded by a set of dark, thick lashes and his lips were full. He wore old worn jeans, heavy-duty working boots, and a leather jacket that was pulled tautly across his chest.
    “If you don’t mind me asking, who do you work for?” she asked.
    “I don’t mind,” he replied. “My brother is Alpha of the Aspen Valley Wolf Pack. You could say I work for him.”
    “Aspen Valley? That’s not that far away from here. I might have been there once or twice when I was little.”
    “It’s a small town and not as big as Cross City, but we have a big Pack. No hustle and bustle. Quiet. Everyone knows everyone else’s business.”
    She smiled. “That’s the way it is here too, but maybe I just like to stay inside of my little bubble.”
    “At the tavern?”
    “Yeah.”
    “How long have you worked there?”
    “Hmmm,” she said. “My dad put me on the payroll officially when I was fourteen, but I had different side jobs to earn allowance when I was just a little girl, like changing out the menus and wrapping the silverware.”
    “Family business?”
    “Yeah. Besides your brother, have you got any other family or close friends?” she asked.
    He didn’t seem like the type to stay put and judging from the lack of a wedding ring on his finger, she figured he wasn’t married. But that didn’t really mean anything for a shifter. Most of them mated and never married.
    “I have three brothers. There’s Dane, Raoulf, and Brock. Dane’s the youngest, and our dad was the Alpha before he stepped up into the position.”
    “So does that mean the Alpha position stays in the family like with the Cross City wolves,” she asked.
    “Sort of, but not necessarily. Most Packs I know keep it in the family, but almost any other wolf can challenge for the position…if they dare.”
    “What’s your position within it?”
    “That’s pretty complicated. My duties come without rank and I prefer it that way. Before my brother became the Alpha and even when my father held the position, my brothers and I were considered wolf outlaws and we still are really. That means we roam freely and work in conjunction with the Alpha.”
    “Kind of like a lone wolf?”
    “Sort of, but I still know where my loyalties lie.”
    Thunder rumbled in the distance and lightning cracked just outside the door and she jumped to the side. Feeling a little foolish for acting so paranoid, she wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her elbows. Her shirt was still wet from the rain, but she figured it could have been worse. Rain beat hard at the roof of the little bed and breakfast where they sought shelter.
    “Oh…” She glanced down at her wristwatch. “And my bus just left.”
    “Sorry.”
    “That’s not your fault. All I was thinking about was getting away really,” she said.
    “Where were you headed?”
    He handed her some towels that he retrieved from the bathroom and she used it to dab at her wet face and shirt.
    “Further out west,” she replied, intentionally leaving out the state.
    He pulled off his leather jacket and tossed it aside. Her eyes dropped to his blood stained shirt.
    “You’re bleeding,” she gasped.
    “It’s fine. The cut ain’t that deep. Are you gonna tell me your story?” he asked.
    “Depends. Are you gonna tell me yours?”
    He peeled off his wet shirt and tossed it in the wastebasket by the door. Her focus waned back and forth from the two-inch slash across his tight abs to the rest of the hardcore muscles and tattoos on his chest. These marks were