Sanctuary (A Hunted Novel Book 1) by Bethany Shaw Read Free Book Online

was filled with shifters—mostly wolves. And so far, everyone was going out of their way to keep their distance. You’d think she had the plague. At least there was plenty to eat. Delicious food was the only thing appealing about this place. Well, maybe not the only thing.
    Her gaze slid to Nate who was piling a third steak onto his plate. His hand reached out and his arm brushed against hers as he picked up a roll. Gooseflesh erupted up her arm from the innocent touch and she shivered at the contact. He was so warm. The touch felt safe. Wow. I need to get out of here. My brain is turning to mush. A wolf is anything but safe. Especially a chauvinistic pig that thinks I’m incapable of taking care of myself.
    She didn’t need them. She could leave tonight. But as she took in the dining room and made note of the hundred or so shifters that were present, she realized sneaking out might not be that easy. Not to mention, she had no idea how many other people called this place home. It could be next to impossible to escape undetected, and it could make things worse for her. So far they were helping her. It wouldn’t kill her to wait until tomorrow. If they didn’t follow through with the trip, then she would flee.
    “Ready to eat?” Nate asked, drawing her from her thoughts.
    Her stomach rumbled in answer. “Yes.”
    Nate stepped in front of her and led the way to a table in the corner. The chatter in the room grew quiet again as they moved through the large cafeteria. Tess glanced around the room. As she stared at her audience, they looked away, but as she passed, she felt their gaze turn back to her. Have they never seen a werecat before? Or maybe Patrice, and people like her, have poisoned their minds.
    She doubted they knew the whole story between the great wolf and cat fight. Tess only knew one side of it as well. But if she had to guess, she’d venture that the version she knew was close to the truth.
    “I see she’s still alive,” Xander said as Nate slid onto a bench.
    Tess plastered a smile on her face as she sat down next to Nate. “It takes more than a poisoned bullet to take me down.”
    Xander started to reply but Nate interrupted.
    “Tess,” Nate began. “You remember Xander.” He motioned to the dark haired man and then waved his hand at the other men at the table. “And this is Ray, Callum, and Jax. They’ll be coming with us tomorrow.”
    “It’s nice to meet you,” Tess replied politely.
    Two of the men, who she instantly recognized as wolves grumbled an unintelligible reply. The third, Callum offered her his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Tess.”
    “You too,” she said, taking his hand. His shake was firm, almost to the point of pain, though she didn’t think it was intentional. He was a werebear. She’d never seen one before. Callum was tall—probably well over six feet, and bulky, but she imagined most of the girth was muscle—not fat. His onyx eyes held understanding. Tess imagined he knew what it was like to be an outsider. It was probably worse for him. Bears preferred to be solitary creatures—or so she’d heard. Living here amongst all the other shifters was probably torture.
    Her attention snapped to her left as one of the rude wolves whispered something under his breath. The second threw his head back in laughter.
    Tess shook her head and shoved her fork into her potatoes. At least it wouldn’t be a long trip to Ohio. Then she’d be done with these fools. You’ll be done with Nate too. Her heart pinched at the thought. What is it about him?
    “I figure we’ll leave about five tomorrow morning,” Nate commented around a mouthful of steak.
    “With any luck, we’ll be home before midnight,” Jax murmured.
    “I don’t mind if we stay gone for a few nights,” Xander sighed as he picked at his steaming potatoes.
    Nate nodded his head as Callum slapped Xander on the back. “Full moons almost here. I’d want to stay away too. Makes me thankful I have another two