Taken: True Mates Book 2 (BBW Wolf Shifter Romance) (A Craggstone Paranormal Romance) by Olivia Arran Read Free Book Online

his voice gentle.
    “It didn’t work out—”
    “Matings don’t just not work out—”
    “Well, this one didn’t.”
    “Come on…talk to me,” he cajoled, teasing one of my curls out, and letting it spring back.
    I had to talk to someone, and since he now knew - but, the humiliation still stung, cutting into me. I took a deep breath. “Ian was nice to me, kind — just like I thought he would be. At first, I thought it would be okay. I mean, the passion wasn’t there, but we would talk and he treated me with respect…”
    “Go on…”
    “But, then I found out that he’d already found his mate, his true mate, and that she lived in the pride.” My voice was empty as I remembered the day I had been introduced to Jasmine, a woman my age. My first thought had been that we could be friends. She had seemed like fun, bubbly and easy going — just like me. Then Ian had told me, trying his best to break it to me gently. We were mated in name only. He would share my bed only to produce an heir. They were together.
    “Shit, Lisa…” Luis squeezed my shoulder in sympathy.
    “You called me Lisa!” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
    “I’m starting to understand why you did it.”
    “Oh, that didn’t bother me — not so much. Because, I didn’t love Ian. Shit, I didn’t even lust after him. I was happy enough, living my own life. I even became friends with her — Jasmine. We’d paint each other’s nails and gossip about men…”
    His face was a picture of incredulous disbelief. “So, if you were fine with it — what went wrong?”
    “She came to the main house—”
    Heavy footsteps interrupted my train of thought, and I glanced at the open archway. His scent hit me first, rolling over me like a thundercloud, the tang of nutmeg and musk.
    “Sean…” I whispered, as his large frame appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Dressed in dark distressed jeans and a black tee that clung lovingly to every ripple of muscle, complete with heavy black boots, he looked sinfully good. He tensed as he caught sight of me.
    Luis let out a low whistle. “I’m with you there, sis. And, from what you’ve told me so far, you’ve got no reason not to…”
    “First, I’ve got to convince him of that,” I muttered under my breath.
    “I have every faith in you,” Luis whispered back, before calling in a normal voice, “Hey, Sean. Where’re you off to?”
    Sean froze on the bottom step, a tortured expression flashing across his face. Then, wiping it clean and setting an easy going grin in place, he turned, making his way over in large, ground eating strides.
    “Hey, man,” he said, avoiding look at me, directing his attention to Luis. “Alpha’s called a meeting to discuss progress, make plans…” he trailed off, looking a bit lost.
    “Should we come?” Luis voiced my unspoken thought.
    Sean glanced at me briefly, then ripped his eyes away. “Nah, thanks man. I think we’ve got this.” He started to turn away, obviously eager to put distance between us.
    Not gonna happen, sweetie.
    I cleared my throat, spurred on by Luis digging his foot painfully into my side. “Uh, Sean? I have some information that James might need.”
    He didn’t turn around, just barked over his shoulder, “He said he would talk to you later.”
    “I think he might need to know this now, before you guys make any plans that might involve the Smithrock Pack.”
    He sighed, the sound heavy and frustrated. Then with a wave of his hand, he signaled us to follow. “This better be good,” he muttered under his breath.
    Jumping up from the couch, I dragged Luis to standing. “You’re coming with me, for moral support,” I hissed, clutching his arm. Following Sean, I amused myself with checking out the view, his jean-clad ass flexing and firming with every step. Oh yes, I was going to make him see me.
     
    ***
    Lisa
    Pushing open a heavy door, we piled into a large office. I recognized most of the Alpha’s lieutenants lounging