Full Circle (Central Florida Pack Book 1) by Chudney Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

an eyebrow as the second oven's timer dinged.
    "Think you made enough?" he asked, as he lifted out a few more pans.
    "Maybe." She watched him close the oven with a practiced hip bump. "I didn't know whether you'd come alone…"
    How to explain the nervous, panicked energy that had filled her when she saw his note? Combined with the hangdog expressions of the sentries who were at the house, it had propelled her into the kitchen to burn it off. Werewolf business really wasn't that much different from human business except that werewolves tended to have fangs and fur involved.
    Drake cocked his head to the side in a wolf-like movement as her words trailed off. "Duly noted. Next time, I'll keep you up to date." He grabbed a plate and took the serving spoon she held out as she struggled to wrap her brain around the words
next time
.
    Next time. There was no guarantee that there'd be a next time. Just because he'd declared that she was his mate didn't mean she had to accept his claim. Her parents had loved each other but they'd ended up not having forever. Werewolves might be long-lived but even they couldn't survive being decapitated and cut in two. She'd woken up to a note on that night, too.
    She stood rooted to the spot as Drake put together dinner for the both of them. Her fingertips tingled and felt numb, and Ria resisted the urge to shake them out. Perhaps she should just head home. Spending the day with Drake, well, she'd given into the longing—but what would happen the next time he had to disappear from the house? What would happen if he didn't come back? Panic, old and new, coalesced into the cold sweat, inducing fear she was experiencing for the first time. It all but knocked her off her feet.
    Her father's grieving face was a permanent fixture in her mind. He'd tried after her mother had died in the accident, but he'd never been the same. Ria stared at Drake's back and willed herself to calm down. There was no way he hadn't noticed the fear that had flooded the room, but still, he kept his back turned.
    "I'm not so sure that we will be able to get anything from the wolf. He wasn't up to an interrogation. I left him with Doc under heavy surveillance." Drake set their plates aside and Ria tensed as he turned around to face her.
    "Until I find out why this is happening, I need the Pack to be careful." He leaned against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes boring into hers.
    "Why is that?"
    "It's unusual for a lone wolf to attack another wolf out in the open, surrounded by humans. It's even more so for them to attack a juvenile."
    Panic faded to concern. "Is Tim here or at his parents?"
    "He's here." Drake smiled.
    "He should be home."
    "You know he's not a pup, right?"
    "He's still their kid." Ria shook her head. "I would want my child to be home if he was attacked. Juvenile wolf or not."
    "He's fine. A little shaken and more than a little happy to be here, where he can sample some of your home-cooked food."
    "A little shaken?" Ria knew from experience it could mean anything from an already healed wound or something that required a wolf to change back and forth between states. She eyed her Alpha and wondered whether she'd have a sick wolf to tend to. Those could be dangerous, snapping with their sharp teeth at a lowly human like herself. "Did he need to change?"
    "Not until he has something to eat. Then his stitches will need to come out."
    "Does he need a nurse?"
    "We've only ever allowed you to care for those who weren't truly a danger to you. Tim won't need a nurse and we won't have to worry about an uncontrollable wolf. If he were…"
    "You would have left him at Doc's."
    Drake took the few steps to reach her. He tipped up her chin and laid the barest of kisses on her lips before he wrapped his arms around her. She wasn't sure what had brought this on, but she gave in to the need and leaned into his chest and let him hold her.
    The kitchen door opened. Wolf by wolf, they trickled in, drawn by the