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

alpha’s permission as well.
    “I’m assuming you had a good reason,” the alpha said in a statement that sounded more like a warning.
    “Yes, sir. She’s my mate.”
    “Well then,” the alpha said with a relieved-sounding exhale and a big smile, “congratulations are in order. True-mates are a rare find. I know you’ll be happy together.”
    Gideon nodded automatically, but wasn’t so sure. The woman was perplexing, and being able to hear her thoughts was just making things more confusing.
    “Thank you, sir. I was just on my way to speak to my alpha.”
    “Of course,” the Dry Creek alpha said with a relaxed smile before turning back to the lively conversation at the table.
    Several minutes later, Gideon sat staring at the computer screen, hoping like hell that the annoyance on his own alpha’s face would fade quickly. Apparently biting one’s injured mate still required getting formal permission from his alpha first. Thankfully, from the man’s next words, Gideon suspected that the permission would have been forthcoming.
    “I’m glad you found your mate, Gideon. You’ve been alone for far too long.” The alpha glanced over his shoulder at someone who’d just entered the room. He nodded, a clear indication that the conversation was over. “Bring her home to meet the pack as soon as you can.” He leaned forward to turn off their connection. “I’m just glad I no longer have to worry about you.”
    “Yes, sir,” Gideon said, hating the man more now than ever before. It seemed pretty clear that the alpha had worried about Gideon’s sexuality when he’d failed to settle down with one of the eligible females in their pack. He’d managed to tolerate and mostly overlook the alpha wolf’s prejudices in an attempt to keep Brigden safe, but the man’s obvious preference of a human woman over any sort of homosexual mating with a packmate was almost more than Gideon could take.
    Suddenly the idea of spending the next six months growing his relationship with both Brigden and Suzanne here at the Dry Creek pack seemed far preferable to exposing them both to the scrutiny of a bigoted leader caught deeply in the past.

Chapter Four
     
    Brigden was grateful that Suzanne was staying calm. He knew enough about humans to know that it wasn’t always the case. Some of the things he’d seen and read on the Internet were truly disturbing.
    She’d given her boss a plausible reason for not returning to base until much later and had thankfully bought them some time to deal with a few things.
    “How old are you?” Brigden asked, suddenly remembering the age difference between humans and werewolves.
    Suzanne laughed softly and got more comfortable on the pile of blankets. For a moment, he wasn’t sure she was going to answer.
    “Twenty-six. You?”
    “About the same,” he said, wondering how much information he should bombard the poor woman with. Her life had changed irrevocably while she’d been unconscious. Did she really need to know everything all at once?
    “How old is that exactly?” she asked suspiciously. This time he was the one to laugh softly.
    “In equivalent human terms, I’m about twenty-five.” She raised her eyebrow and waited. “In actual years I’m sixty-two.”
    “So you’re saying what? Your life expectancy is longer than that of a human?”
    He nodded, watching her closely, and was relieved to realize she wasn’t freaking out just yet. “The average werewolf has a life expectancy of about three hundred years.”
    “Does the change affect how I age?”
    “Yes. There is a wolf in our pack who was changed from a human about ten years before I was born. He doesn’t seem to have aged a day since then.”
    “Well that’s something I suppose,” she said with a crooked half smile. “Although considering how boring my life has been up until now, extending it by a couple hundred years or more seems kind of silly.”
    “You don’t like your job?” he asked, completely forgetting