Ever After by Carrie Ann Ryan, Leia Shaw, Marie Harte, Rebecca Royce, Lia Davis Read Free Book Online Page A

her tighter.
    “Nothing’s wrong,” he lied.
    She wrinkled her nose and pulled back from him but still kept her arms wrapped around his waist. “You’re lying.”
    “I’m just thinking,” he said then leaned for another kiss. He couldn’t get enough of her taste. He knew that sudden love-at-first sight thing wasn’t quite accurate, it was more of a could-be-perfect-forever-and-ever-at-first sight thing, but he didn’t care.
    His demon wanted this wolf.
    Badly.
    “Okay, fine, but I want to know later.”
    He nodded, knowing he’d have to get her to talk about why she’d wanted him to stand back and let Colin growl without getting his face kicked in.
    They stood to the side of the den circle, the trees swaying behind them in the breeze. There was going to be a dominance battle within the circle a bit later and Fawkes wanted to watch as he’d never seen one before. He had a feeling Leslie would want to leave, but she wouldn’t be able to.
    All wolves would have to be present—especially since she lived with the Beta.
    It would be bad form to miss it and show weakness if she were too scared to show up.
    He’d stand by her side though. No matter what.
    “Tell me more about you,” she whispered.
    There were others around them, but they were off to the side enough that they had a semblance of privacy.
    They’d already talked about growing up without mothers and her case, without a father. Dorian had raised her—something she hadn’t wanted to get into. He’d already gone into detail on how he’d met Hunter and Ambrose and how Balin had trained him had a young age.
    “Well, I’m the youngest son in my family,” he began.
    “Do you have any sisters?” she asked as she played with his fingers. Her hands were so small compared to his.
    Not weak, but fragile none the less. If he’d been a wolf, he’d probably already have gone to his animal side and marked her. Because he was a demon, he wouldn’t do that, but the idea of her bearing his mark held a certain appeal. That way everyone would know she was his and when she marked him, the same would be true of he being hers.
    “No, I don’t have any sisters,” Fawkes answered as he trailed his fingers up her arm, loving the way her body shuddered.
    “That’s odd considering how old Lucifer is,” Leslie commented. She ran her other hand up his stomach, seemingly unaware they were in public and all he wanted to do was bend her over and mount her.
    Well, he’d make it less crude, but still.
    “Either my dad is really, really good at making boys, or any demons who have his baby girls hide them,” Fawkes answered. “I don’t think Lucifer would want to acknowledge girls anyway. He’s a misogynist ass that way. So, yeah, I guess I could have some sisters out there, but none that call me brother. Technically, I don’t really know what it feels like to have siblings. I wasn’t raised with the rest of them.”
    Leslie furrowed her brow and he leaned down to kiss it. She sighed against him then pulled back to look into his eyes.
    “I kind of wish I hadn’t been raised with my sibling.”
    He nodded, waiting for her to continue. They’d said they’d take this whole true half thing slow so they could get to know one another. This was one thing he’d been waiting for.
    “He ruined everything, Fawkes. He might have beaten me, but the physical things don’t matter as much as everything else.” She looked over her shoulder and he squeezed her side before moving her toward the trees. Here at least people wouldn’t be likely to overhear.
    Though he wanted to comment on the beating part of her statement, he stayed quiet, knowing she needed to talk.
    “I’m afraid, Fawkes. I hate being afraid. What kind of wolf does that make me? I’m afraid of others fighting. I’m afraid of wanting to fight myself. I’m supposed to want to fight for my Pack, even as a submissive, but I can’t.”
    He swallowed hard and slid his hand through her hair. She leaned into