Suzanne's Sexy Shifters [Shy River Pack 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Bec Adams Read Free Book Online

Suzanne got the distinct impression that she already knew what they were about to say.
    “Suzanne, you can’t go home, not now, not ever.”
    “Why not?” she asked, striving to stay rational. “You already said werewolves are nothing like in the movies. I’m not likely to go munching on the villagers.” Even as she said the words out loud she somehow knew they were true. “And I promise not to mention anything about the child. What did you call him? A bear-shifter? The woman who reported seeing him was obviously doing drugs. She’s not even sure she saw what she thought she saw. It’ll be okay. I won’t reveal your secrets. I promise.”
    It all seemed very reasonable in her head, so when Gideon rolled his eyes in dismissal, her anger flared once more. But before she could start using some of the more colorful language she’d learned from having three older brothers, Brigden stepped in between them, gave her his shirt and helped her pull it on, and then threaded his fingers through hers.
    “I need to show you something,” he said as he led her out of the enclosed space they’d been in. It opened into an even smaller cave that looked a lot like a wolves’ den and then into the bright sunlight of midday. She shielded her eyes, surprised by the strength of the sun. “Look at me, sweetheart.” Brigden’s tone was surprisingly affectionate.
    “See anything that might make you and Brig stand out from the crowd?” Gideon asked in an impatient tone of voice.
    Stung a little by his sarcasm, Suzanne concentrated her attention on Brigden. The purple hue of his skin had her blinking more than once. She’d ignored it inside the cave, but out here in the open she couldn’t put it down to a strange source of light.
    “Oh, that would make it a little hard to hide.” She was halfway through babbling a few more platitudes when she finally glanced at her own skin. She, too, had the strange purple hue. “I take it that’s a side effect of making me a werewolf.” Did she really just say that word out loud? Werewolf? She wanted to write it off as imaginary bullshit but the evidence was starting to stack up.
    She took a deep breath, pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to think rationally.
    “Why aren’t you purple, too?” she asked Gideon, trying to make sense of too many things at once.
    “Just genetics,” he said with a shrug. “Unfortunately, a made wolf will always have the same purple-toned skin as the rest of our pack.”
    “It’ll be okay,” Brigden said, lifting her hand back into his own. It was maybe a little silly, but it felt nice to have someone to hold on to. Weirdly, she also wanted Gideon to hold her hand. Considering how annoying the man was being at the moment, she wasn’t quite sure where the thought was coming from.
    The fact that Gideon chose that moment to lean over, grab her hand, and press a kiss to her palm just rattled her even more.
    “You need more rest,” he said, holding her hand against his warm chest. “Please just stay here with Brigden while I go sort a few things out.”
    “A few things…like what?”
    Gideon breathed out heavily, gave her an exasperated look, and turned to Brigden for assistance. “The sooner I contact our alpha, the better it will be for all of us.”
    “Use the video chat on the laptop,” Brigden said very seriously. “It’ll be easier to gauge the alpha’s reaction if you can see his face.”
    Gideon nodded, pressed a kiss to Suzanne’s forehead, and then sort of melted into a wolf and loped away on four paws. For the second time in five minutes Suzanne stood watching him with her mouth open.
    “Come on,” Brigden said, gently tugging her hand and moving back toward the cave they’d just exited. “It could take a while. He’ll need to report to the alpha of the Dry Creek pack as well.”
    “What’s a Dry Creek pack?” she asked, again before she could really think the question through. A group of wolves was called a pack. It was