Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) by Theresa Hissong Read Free Book Online Page A

bags of groceries. Savage hurried over and waited for the
women to pass before telling them he’d grab the rest. Nova made her
excuses and headed for the stairs. She would sleep and then make
her plans to head back to work in the morning.

    Kye drove his old truck up the long, winding
road as he came home from school. He was so happy to have Evie
sitting beside him, his hand resting on top of her knee. They had
only two weeks before the Thanksgiving break and he planned on
taking her out over the holiday weekend. She’d not been herself
since the kidnapping and he was out of ways to keep her happy.
    “Want to take a run with me?” he asked,
squeezing the top of her knee to get her attention. “I can be a
little late to work.”
    “No,” she replied, shaking her head. Her
short blonde hair had grown out some since the beginning of school.
He liked the longer look, but then again, anything on Evie was
beautiful. “I have a ton of homework.”
    “I’ll drive you home,” he told her, making a
left onto the road leading back to the mated cabins. Her home was
far back from the main house and he sure as hell didn’t want her
walking alone. He’d be an idiot to send her off by herself.
    She’d shown signs of panic when she would be
left at home. Her mother had called the alpha two weeks prior,
begging him to come talk to Evie. Talon had immediately found Kye
and suggested he go to check on her. Her parents had planned on
going out for the evening, her brother was out on a date. She’d
cried, begging them not to leave her, saying she couldn’t be alone.
It was only after Kye had entered the home that she had calmed and
snuggled into his arms, eventually falling asleep curled up on his
lap. Talon had sent her parents on their way, promising that Kye
would be there until they returned. She never would talk about her
panic attacks or even give him an idea of what was going on in her
head, but he knew. She was obviously suffering from some sort of
post-traumatic stress from the kidnapping.
    When they arrived at her home, Kye jumped
out of the truck, reaching his hand in to help her out of the cab.
She smiled warmly and grabbed her backpack, allowing him to walk
ahead of her. He pushed the door open and was relieved when her
mother peeked around the corner from the kitchen.
    “How was school?” she asked, wiping her
hands on a dishtowel.
    “Good, Mrs. Sawyer.” Kye smiled, turning
toward the girl that owned his every thought and his heart. “I’ve
got to go to work. You’ll call me if you need me?”
    “Yeah.” She smiled weakly, standing on the
tips of her toes so she could kiss his cheek. “Call me when you get
home?”
    “I will,” he promised, waving toward her
mother.
    He had to run to the house to change,
expecting to find Talon waiting on him. His brother was probably
already tapping his foot in the foyer, preparing an ass chewing for
being two minutes late. When he entered the house, Kye frowned
because his brother was nowhere to be found. If he was going to be
told to help cut firewood, Talon better show up soon. It was cold
outside, the temperatures quickly dropping with the end of the day
approaching. It was November and they’d been having unseasonably
cool weather.
    He hurried upstairs to his room. Liberty’s
sister was staying in the room just across the hall from his.
Really not paying much attention, Kye stumbled and froze. Winter,
in his panther form, was asleep right in front of her door. One eye
opened, then narrowed. Kye raised his hands in a sort of surrender,
letting Winter’s panther know that he wasn’t there to cause any
trouble.
    Whatever the hell that was all about, he
sure wasn’t going to ask. That wasn’t the first time he’d found the
cat outside the human’s door.
    When he quietly left his room, Kye didn’t
even look to see if Winter was still at the door. He had other
things to take care of, and figuring out that male’s infatuation
with the human was not going to impede