Wicked Werewolf Passion by Lisa Renée Jones Read Free Book Online Page B

three large warehouse looking buildings off in the distance, beyond it. This was where Shi housed his mercenaries, or whatever they were. This was his world. 
    Carmen glanced at the driver she’d barely noticed until now, who had wavy brown hair and strong forearms, with sunglasses hiding his face. She wondered what he thought of what he’d heard in the backseat, but imagined he’d been paid well enough to not care.  
    “Could my father be controlled by magic?” she asked, without looking at Shi. “He had magic used on him to stop him from dying when my mother died. He’ll live his life with a spell cast on him. How can we know that hasn’t made him susceptible in some way?”
    This was where he had to tell her things she wouldn’t want to hear. “The leader of the Benedanti, Ariel,” he explained, “who I know you know from his involvement with Nico and the Guard, says that the magic used to stop the death of a living creature isn’t used for a reason. It’s poison. It eats away at the person and turns them into something you don’t recognize. For some it would be quickly. For another, someone ancient and powerful like your father, the drain of his true self could be much slower, but not avoidable.”
    She shook her head. “No. No. That’s not possible. I’d know. I’d feel it.”
    “Alexander won’t let you see or feel anything he doesn’t want you to. You have to know this.” 
    The Escalade pulled to a stop and he felt the desperation rising inside Carmen. “Maybe the Rebels are threatening The Society or maybe they are threatening me. They did show up at the mall today. After losing my mother, maybe he’s afraid of losing me.”
    “Which is why you’re here, Carmen.”
    She paled instantly. “Because you’re going to use me against him, just like the Rebels might be.”
    “Let’s go inside and talk.”
    Tears prickled at her eyes and she was instantly angry – at her weakness, at Shi. At the world. “You mean let’s go inside so I can be interrogated. Sure. Let’s.” She turned away and shoved open the door and climbed out of the truck.
    Shi was by her side in a flash, the driver not far behind him, and she didn’t wait to be ordered towards the building. Carmen marched forward, seeking an escape from Shi, when there was nowhere to go, but she didn’t miss the way the other wolf trailed in his wake.
    “Get me an update on the Rebels,” Shi ordered the other wolf. “And make sure Kole knows what happened back there.”
    Carmen kept moving forward, thankful Shi was clearing the way for them to be alone, or so she hoped. Shi was King here, she sensed that, and she was the King’s captive. It scared her that on some level being his captive appealed to her. How much she wanted him, when he was using her to get to her father. He wasn’t a traitor. He was working for the Guard, but he wasn’t her protector anymore either, her confidant. He was, however, her mate, and even with that bond, he’d ignored her for five years. That hurt. This hurt. She was so full of hurt and anger she thought she might explode. She needed to be alone with Shi, so she could let loose, away from his pack, where she didn’t dare challenge him.  
    Just when Carmen thought she might make it to the porch and escape further scrutiny, a tall man moved from the side of the porch, leaned against the railing, watching her approach with a cold as ice stare. She could see the flare of his nostrils, knew he smelled her anger, mixed with the damnable lust for his leader she couldn't control, and it made her uneasy.  He made her uneasy in a way the driver had not. The driver respected Shi. This wolf, he would rip out Shi’s throat when he wasn’t looking. He was looking for a reason to challenge Shi. She smelled it all over him, and if rumors were true, and Shi hired dangerous wolves no one but him could control, she had reason to be worried. 
    Shi was suddenly by her side, his hand on her elbow. He lifted his