The Club by Yvette Hines Read Free Book Online

healed—it appeared swollen, with red and purple bruising around it. Her brows furrowed. Remarkable, Anton’s mark was practically gone, appearing like two mosquito bites, and Trae’s remained, bold and vivid. Why was that?
    Trae’s mark .
    He had spoken to her, in her mind.
    Trae’s mate . That’s what he had told her.
    “What does that mean?” she questioned herself. Pacing the bathroom, she tried to think of every horror movie she’d ever seen, but her archive was small. She wasn’t a big horror fan. Didn’t like scary things, or things that went bump in the night.
    Oh, God, when was the next full moon? Would she change? Glancing at her arms, she didn’t notice any additional layers of hair sprouting, of course, and her nails were still trimmed and blunt-cut as she always kept them.
    “Olivia, you need to keep calm.” Talking to herself out loud helped her get control of her emotions. Being shuffled from place to place most of her life had left her with only one voice of reason, her own. Taking a deep breath, she filled her lungs with air and held it there until her chest began to burn. Slowly, she let it out. Feeling slightly better, she tried to remember if Trae had said anything else to her.
    But the only thing that she could recall was after breakfast, when he had helped her into the passenger seat of Kelsey’s car and told her he’d see her soon. What was soon? Still riding on her euphoric high, she had given him her address and number. Now that she had a moment to think clearly, she regretted her decision.
    What was I thinking?
    However, she knew she had not been thinking, but feeling. No more. She needed to make sense of all that had happened, including the joy, peace and passion she had felt around Trae.
    Some things didn’t make sense. She had never felt that type of connection with previous boyfriends. She could easily blame it on the fact that Trae was not really human, but that would not explain why she hadn’t had the same response to Anton.
    “Ahh!” Frustrated by all her musing, she exited the bathroom and put on sweat pants and a T-shirt. Still wanting to sleep, but not believing it was possible at the moment, she went to the living room, where she grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the couch and lay down on the sofa. Maybe Trae would not call or come to see her. Then she could just chalk the night up to a once-in-a-lifetime experience. She didn’t want to think about Trae, Anton or last night’s events anymore. Overdosing on television would help her blot out her actions and just maybe she could fall back to sleep until tomorrow.
    The bite on her back pulsed, a reminder that Trae would be hard to forget.
     
    * * * *
     
    “We’re here, son.” Ziona Wulfene walked into the study beside her husband. His mother was always elegant. As the head female in their pack, she kept herself looking meticulous and sharp in slacks and a blouse. As sophisticated and demure as she appeared, Trae had been witness to her taking down a few female weres who had thought they could steal his father away. She wasn’t weak and could bare her teeth in a flash if provoked.
    Trae crossed to his mother and bestowed a kiss on her cheek.
    “What’s this all about?” His father waited until his mother had taken a seat on the short couch, then sat beside her.
    Trae dragged over a chair from the antique writing desk in the corner of the room and sat across from his parents. “I’ve found my mate.”
    His mother’s lips parted in shock as she pressed a hand to her chest.
    His father studied him with hazel eyes that matched his own. “Is this some type of game you’re playing, Trae?”
    The growl slipped from Trae’s mouth before he could stop it. He hated having his words or actions questioned.
    “Romel, what would be his reasons for such a joke?” Ziona found her voice and glanced from her son to her husband.
    “Because of the ultimatum I presented Trae with just yesterday.”
    “It’s not a