Beauty and the Werewolf (Entangled Covet) (San Francisco Wolf Pack) by Kristin Miller Read Free Book Online Page B

she severed eye contact, and the moment was gone.
    “I’m going to be Alpha of the Irish Wolf Pack after my father. Did I tell you that?”
    He shook his head, desperately trying to recapture that moment. Every now and again, when she wasn’t nervous or trying to peg him for a scoundrel, she opened up. Only then could he glimpse the real Isabelle Connelly hidden behind the walls she’d put up. She had a great sense of humor, and a stubborn flair that kept him on his toes.
    If she was his forever, it was going to be a hell of a lot of fun.
    As she continued to talk about her father, her voice cracked. She would rule the pack and follow in his shoes, no doubt. She’d probably run it with the same values, too. When they first met, she’d been so eager to think the worst of him—and how could he blame her? His family had treated their werewolf brothers and sisters as pawns to expand their own businesses in the States. He’d tried to shed their reputation by building one of his own, but it seemed her father hadn’t forgotten…and had made sure his heir apparent wouldn’t, either.
    Everything made sense: her hesitation, the distance she kept, the walls she continually tried to put up, and the bitterness that trickled into her tone every now and again.
    Reality was a nasty son of a bitch.
    “I spend most of my day studying Irish tradition and wolf pack law. He wants me well-versed in the history of the pack, from its origination in the 1500s up to modern practices.”
    On the short flight to Napa County Airport, they talked about her pack and the family dynamic they’d instilled. Everyone genuinely cared about one another. It was refreshing, since he’d had only Branson to depend on for the last hundred years. Fraternizing with other werewolves from the San Francisco Wolf Pack simply didn’t sound appealing.
    Hayden Dean, the Alpha of his pack, always sent him a personal invite to all of the wolf pack events, but he’d hardly accepted.
    Especially not in the last twenty years.
    Everyone could sense he was an unmated wolf. Past the three-hundred-year mark, he’d sensed their pity, their willingness to help, and their inability to do so.
    That had been the breaking point.
    No one was going to feel sorry for him.
    “And then, after a while, I reached the point where he told me about the restrictions with my Luminary,” she said plainly.
    The plane started its descent as his stomach whirled.
    “What restrictions?”
    “Since I’m the Alpha’s only heir and my Luminary will rule the pack with me, he’s got to be someone from the Irish Wolf Pack.”
    Sucker punch to the gut.
    “That’s a bit shortsighted, don’t you think?”
    “How so?” The plane’s wheels touched down with a loud screech . “If my mate is from another pack, he wouldn’t know a thing about the traditional way we run things. He could learn, but it wouldn’t be in him. He wouldn’t have the trust of the pack.”
    “But you can’t chose who you’re fated to love.”
    “You’re right.” She worried her bottom lip between her teeth as they taxied to a stop near the small terminal. “But you can choose to live alone rather than bond with someone who doesn’t have the pack’s best interest at heart.”
    Wow. “That’s harsh, don’t you think?”
    “Harsh?”
    “You’d live three hundred years”—give or take twenty, depending on the amount of adrenaline in her system—“and die young rather than bond with someone you’re destined to be with? What’s worse is you’ll be condemning me to an early death, too.”
    It was ridiculous. Inexcusable.
    She shook her head slowly as the plane door opened and cool air whipped through the cabin. “I’m not condemning you to death. I don’t know why you’re worried about something that hasn’t even happened and doesn’t concern you.”
    “Because you’re wrong. It does concern me.” His heartbeat pounded in his ears. “It may not have hit you full force yet, the way it has for