Hunted by Ellie Ferguson Read Free Book Online

Garces said as he stood. “I’ll touch base with my contacts and see if they can tell me anything.”
    “Thanks, Adam.”
    “You aren’t getting rid of me that easily,” Sharon commented once Garces and Stefan had left. “You’re going to need some clothes, Finn. I’ll pick some up for you.”
    “Thanks.” Just then, that sounded better than almost anything. I really couldn’t go around in a robe until Matt decided it was safe for me to go to my apartment.
    “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Matt, make sure she gets some rest.”
    Rest? I wasn’t sure I’d be able to rest until I knew for certain the trackers were far away from here.
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    I was up before the birds, literally. Of course, that’s not hard to do when you don’t sleep. It didn’t matter that I was exhausted, both mentally and physically. Nor did it matter that I knew I needed to rest to allow my body to finish healing. Whatever the trackers had tainted the taser barbs with had slowed the natural healing process. There were still moments when I moved wrong and pain reminded me of what had nearly happened the day before. It also reminded me just how much I had come to rely on the rapid healing shape-changers usually enjoyed.
    None of which helped improve my temper.
    But that wasn’t why I was up at this ungodly hour. Well, not entirely at least. I’d spent much of the night thinking about what had happened--and what could have happened had Matt not shown up when he did. I hadn’t been exaggerating when I told Sharon that I’d have been sedated and secured--read bound and gagged--and on my way back to Northern California if the trackers had managed to get their hands on me. The fact they’d risked the tainted barbs spoke volumes about just how desperate Michael had become.
    That worried me because it didn’t make any sense. He’d had years to consolidate his hold over the clan. So why did he feel like he still needed me? Surely, he’d taken a mate by now. Clan leaders were expected to mate, to help propagate the clan. They didn’t have to take a mate from within the clan, nor did they even have to mate with a shape-shifter. We’d figured out long ago that we were the result of some sort of genetic mutation or recessive gene. We were born, not made. It wasn’t like the movies where a bite or scratch from one of us would create a new shifter. 
    And that brought me back to Michael. If he had taken a mate, then why did he need me? Surely he wasn’t continuing the hunt simply because I’d hurt his pride when I ran. I’d known even then how he was one to hold a grudge. But to hold it this long seemed impossible, even for him.
    Of course, I had done more than just hurt his pride. I’d used teeth and claws and had drawn more than a little blood in my attempt to keep him off me that last day. Unless I missed my guess, he saw the scars every time he looked in the mirror. It was possible that explained why he hadn’t given up.
    There was another explanation. It was possible he’d figured out I was an alpha. If he did, he’d be worried I might come back and challenge him for leadership of the clan. It didn’t matter that it made about as much sense as thinking I’d willingly return to be his mate. But if I hadn’t known I was an alpha until Matt pointed it out, how could he? I knew none of the previous trackers had gotten close enough to sense it. Hell, I’d done a very good job making sure no one like us ever got that close to me.
    Now, as I stared out the bedroom window, watching the first rays of sun touching the sky, I was no closer to the answers than I had been since finding myself trapped in the parking garage. But I did have a plan, or at least the first glimmer of one. Whether it would work or not depended on several things, not the least of which was Matt.
    Matt.
    Just the thought of him had my jaguar stirring. I couldn’t deny the attraction I felt for him. Every time he’d come within ten feet of me