Wolf’s Princess by Maddy Barone Read Free Book Online

have you. Come on, I’ll walk with you back to the den.”
    Sky picked up his suitcase and walked beside his younger cousin. He was glad enough to leave the train yard and all the whispering residents of Kearney. But when Stone led him in a different direction than the one Rose had taken, he protested. “Wait. Rose is going that way.”
    “Yeah, she has to go back to the Plane Women’s House to pick up the supplies Taye ordered. And her horse is there. We’ll go straight to the den and meet the others there.”
    “Her horse? She rides to town?”
    “Yeah. Taye’s orders. All the women at the den ride to town. If they are attacked, the women have a better chance of escaping if they’re mounted.”
    His wolf pushed a growl up his throat. “Men try to steal our women?”
    Stone’s smile was humorless. “No. Taye is just extra careful.”
    “Good. How many women are at the den?”
    “At the moment it’s just Rose and the Lupa. Mel and Snake are visiting her family in Kansas this month, and Ellie and Quill are with the Clan. They took their kids with them. Sand and Amanda went too, and are in charge of Taye’s oldest boy. The Lupa said it would be good practice for them.”
    Sky was sorry to miss seeing Amanda. It had been two years since he’d seen her. She had worked in his house in Omaha and he thought of her like a sister. “How is Amanda?” he asked.
    “Pregnant.” A hint of the boy Stone had been peeked out in a quick grin. “She always seems so sweet, but when Sand tried to tell her they should stay home and not go with Quill and Ellie to visit the Clan, she pitched a fit. I think the Lupa convinced Sand to go just to get some quiet.”
    They covered ground fast, passing through parts of Kearney Sky didn’t recognize. Eight years ago, he had only lived at the den for a few months before he met Rose. He left for Omaha not long after, so he wasn’t familiar with the city. Still, some of it looked new. There was a Catholic church ahead that he was sure was newly built. The scent of freshly painted raw wood was strong in his nostrils. They finally hit the north end of town and the road leading to the den. Sky cast a sidelong glance at his cousin.
    “You haven’t asked about your mate. I saw Sara just a few days ago,” he said casually.
    “Oh?” Stone said, with an appearance of boredom that shocked Sky. “How is she?”
    Did he really feel nothing for the woman his wolf had chosen for his mate? “She’s scared. Her eighteenth birthday is less than a month away. Since she doesn’t have a marriage certificate to prove she’s married and her uncle doesn’t have enough money to pay the Single Status Tariff, she will have to go to work.”
    Stone grunted, but didn’t speak. Sky sniffed to try to detect Stone’s mood. There was a hint of something there, but Sky wasn’t sure what. His nose wasn’t nearly as developed as some.
    “You know what work women in Omaha have to do, don’t you?” he prodded.
    “Yeah. They have to be whores. Don’t worry about it. She’s young and pretty. She’ll find someone to marry her.”
    Sky stopped walking and stared at him. “How can you be so cool about it? Your mate, married to another man?”
    “She can marry whoever she wants.”
    “She’s already refused a dozen offers. She told me she won’t have any husband but you. If you don’t come, she’ll be forced to have sex with strangers.”
    Stone’s laugh was mirthless. “I doubt that will be hard for her.”
    Jarred by disbelief, Sky clenched his hand on the handle of his suitcase so he wouldn’t plow it into Stone’s nose. “You can’t mean that.” He drew in sharp breath and finally scented misery under Stone’s cool facade. “Who do you think you’re fooling with that act?”
    “It doesn’t matter. She rejected me every chance she got. And then—” He stopped to clear his throat when his voice broke. “She tried to seduce another man, after we were married. My wolf chose her, but I