Desert Fate (The Wolves of Twin Moon Ranch Book 3) by Anna Lowe Read Free Book Online Page B

tongue. Any questions she asked would give Tina free rein to ask right back, and she wasn’t in the mood for another interrogation. Not unless it came from a tall, dark cop with short, spiky hair.
    Tina motioned toward the table, piled with a mountain of food. “Eat. You look like a scarecrow.”
    Stef squeezed her hands against her shirt in silent protest. This yellow T-shirt suited her just fine. Then her fingers found her waistband. Okay, maybe her shorts were a bit loose. As in, hanging off her hips. And yeah, there might have been a bit more rib showing than usual. The past couple of days had been filled with more running than eating—and not the kind of running that filled her with weary satisfaction.
    While she dug in to lunch with a ravenous hunger that swept over her like a burst dam, Tina started an ode to the ranch and the seasons and the beauty of the desert. Her voice was just lulling Stef into thinking Twin Moon was paradise when a cat moved outside the window. It sat in the sun, casually cleaning itself by licking a paw then scrubbing its ears. Stef wondered if the cat could shift forms. A werecat?
    She wouldn’t be surprised.
    Nor was she surprised when Tina made a smooth segue into the ugly details of werewolfdom. When the subject turned to topics like shifting, pack structure, and mating, Stef put her fork down and twisted her hands under the table. No longer hungry, she eyed the door.
    Escape. Her mind was crying for it. Soon, she feared, she’d be screaming it out loud.
    The warnings uttered in the council house came back to her in a rush. She belonged to North Ridge. She belonged to Ron.
    The need will start to pull you in after your first couple of changes,
Tina had said.
    So how the hell do I keep him away?
    She must have said it out loud because Tina answered. “We’ll think of something.”
    Somehow, though, Tina didn’t sound so sure.
    Maybe she could go to Oregon, where her mother’s relatives lived. Or Georgia, where her dad’s closest friends were. They were all tough army guys, so maybe…
    But Tina shook her head sadly, like she’d been reading Stef’s mind. “A lone female wolf is an easy target.”
    “But what about you?” Stef blurted. “You’re single, right?”
    The light in Tina’s eyes faded, and her cheeks tightened just a pinch. “It’s hard not to be single when your father is—or was—the pack alpha and your brothers are ready to kick the ass of any man they don’t approve of right over the state line. All in the name of protecting my virtue, of course.” She said it lightly, but there was bitterness between the words.
    Still, Stef couldn’t help sounding wistful. “Sounds good.” She’d had a loving dad and a protective older brother, once upon a time.
    Tina just sighed. “Believe me, it has its disadvantages.”
    Stef looked around the perfect, empty house and gave a little nod. “I guess it would.”
    Tina studied her over her glass of juice and shook her head a little bit. “We’ll think of something. Somehow.”
    Only
something
and
somehow
weren’t much of a comfort. Not right now.
     
    Things were no different that night when Stef lay curled in a tight ball in bed in a small building Tina called the guest adobe. Another crazy concept, because what kind of guests would a ranch run by werewolves get? Vampires, maybe? Shapeshifting bears?
    Or maybe just other wolves. Like herself.
    She pulled the sheet from chin level to over her head, pretending she could escape her doubts. She’d been so naive in Colorado. Was she being too trusting now?
    A wolf pack, not exactly known for good manners.
    Technically, you belong to North Ridge.
    What if all this was a ruse? Maybe these wolves were doing nothing more than keeping her busy until Ron could show up and claim his mate.
    Images assaulted her mind: visions of her visits to a ranch much like this, where a beast disguised as a man sprouted fangs and forced her against a wall, then leaned in and bit deep.