SEALed Embrace by Jessica Coulter Smith Read Free Book Online

us? We were just watching a movie.”
    Hailey
looked up at him warily. “I don’t know. It’s been a long day. It might be best
if I head home.”
    “Could
you stay, just for a little while?” Isi asked. She’d missed her friends and
wasn’t ready to be left alone with the guys again.
    “Well,”
Hailey wavered. “I suppose a few minutes wouldn’t hurt.”
    Isi
smiled and tugged her friend over to the sofa and pulled her down onto the seat
next to her. Curling her legs under her, she faced Hailey with a smile. “Did I
miss anything the past few days?”
    “The
day you went missing I wasn’t sure if the village was going to celebrate or go
into an uproar that someone had dared sneak onto pack land and abduct one of
our own.”
    Isi
smiled. “I’m guessing the party won.”
    Hailey
shrugged. “You know how the village feels about you. Once the alpha assured
everyone it was a one-time event, they settled down. I don’t think you were
even gone a day before Lumley put your place up for rent. Everyone pretty much
decided you were gone for good, and they weren’t exactly broken up about it.”
    Garren
growled. “I’ve never been to such a backward place in my life! Just because she
can’t shift doesn’t mean she’s cursed. There’s no reason to believe that her
cubs won’t be perfectly normal and able to shift when the time comes.”
    “If
I can even have any,” she said softly. “Don’t forget, ocelot shifters don’t
always have cubs.”
    “Ocelot?
Is that what you are? Then we’ll adopt,” Garren said.
    Hailey’s
eyes went wide. “Excuse me? Did I miss something?”
    Dagan
sat in the overstuffed chair again. “Garren is Isi’s mate, but she’s being
finicky about it and denying him.”
    Isi
watched as Hailey raked her gaze up and down Dagan, really taking him in. Her
eyes dilated, her lips parted. If she listened closely, she could hear her
friend’s heart start to race. Hmm. Interesting. It seemed that perhaps Hailey
wasn’t as immune to men as she’d always claimed. Or perhaps it was just this man. Isi turned to look at Dagan
and saw that he was devouring Hailey with his eyes, a wolfish smile on his
face. Was it possible that there were two mates to be found in the village for
the ex-SEALs? Was it just a surge of hormones? It was definitely something to
look into.
    “Hailey,
this is Dagan. Dagan, this is Hailey Ryerson. She was adopted into the pack
when she was seventeen.”
    “Hello,
gorgeous. I must say, before meeting you, I was starting to wonder if this
place had any redeeming qualities.”
    Hailey
blinked at him before turning toward Isi. “He’s joking, right?”
    Dagan
looked affronted. “I can assure you, I was quite genuine with my compliment.
While I’ve never really understood the need to dye one’s hair rainbow colors,
on you it’s rather fetching.”
    “So
what you’re saying,” Hailey said, “is that despite my unusual hair color, you
find me attractive?”
    He
grinned. “Yes.”
    Isi
groaned. That so wasn’t the thing to say to Hailey. She was proud of the fact
that she was unique, worked hard to be part of the pack while standing apart,
and now Dagan had gone and insulted her, even if he didn’t realize it. Poor
fool. On the plus side, he hadn’t mentioned the scars on her face. Three
vertical slashes from an overzealous male’s claws were a gift Hailey couldn’t exchange
and one that held bad memories every time she looked in the mirror. Isi knew
there were scars on the inside as well, perhaps much worse than those the world
saw, but Hailey was good at hiding things from people. She remained upbeat most
of the time, always giving everyone a smile. Isi had always admired her for her
strength, but she often wondered if her friend wasn’t dying a little inside,
needing to confide in someone, to break down, cry and just let it all out. Isi
had tried many times to get Hailey to talk about what happened that night, but
she’d always laugh it off, say it