A Lion's Chance: A Crimson Hollow Novella Read Online Free Page A

to her and strolled toward the door. Perhaps he was being unreasonable as he’d only known her for a short time, but already, he was tired and her attitude was more than he could handle without getting his lion edgy. Another reason why he had no doubts this woman was his mate. From the moment he set eyes on her, she’d gotten to his head.
    “Liam,” she called to him, but he didn’t stop.
    He needed to put some distance between them and think things through. How was he supposed to handle his mate’s hatred toward his animal? If it continued, he’d be destined to spend the rest of his life a lonely bachelor.
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    T he door slammed shut , leaving Ginger alone with her regret. Her wolf snarled at her, demanding to know why she let her fear get the best of her. They were better than this. Wolves fought; they didn’t give in at the first sign of trouble. Her human side was weak and willing to let the terror from her past spill into the future she could have, while the wolf within grew angry at the very thought of allowing the past to control them any longer. She needed to rise above it all and fight through the horror to grab a hold of her mate. She only wondered if she could do it.
    She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, lost in her own thoughts, regret, and feeling sorry for herself, but when she opened her eyes again, Garret was squatting in front of her, his hands on her shoulders. He shook her.
    “Ginger!” He shook her shoulder again.
    “What?” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded different—weak and distant. She tried to blink away the fog that had settled around her and focus on her brother.
    “Damn it! You scared the shit out of me. I knocked and you didn’t respond. What the hell is wrong with you?”
    “I’m…” Her voice broke, forcing her to swallow before trying again. “I’m fine.”
    “Where’s Liam? How could he leave you like this?”
    “He left before.” She rubbed her hands over her face and squeezed the bridge of her nose. “He’s angry that I can’t trust him and you know what…I don’t blame him. What hell it must be to have a mate who can’t stand you because of the animal you shift into. Every time he comes near me, all I can think about is what happened. His lion scent reminds me…”
    “You’ve known other lions before this happened to you. Focus on them.” He rocked back on his heels and took her hands in his. “Focus on the happiness you can have. Finding Sin changed my life and I’ve never been happier than I am now. You can have that too with Liam. He’s a good man, a protector.”
    “I already have one of those.” She grinned at him. “You’ve always been there when I’ve needed you.”
    “And so will Liam.”
    Maybe he was right but it didn’t ease the tension within her. The idea of being mated to a lion chilled her blood and made her want to run. Her wolf was eager to find a mate, but even the idea of a lion made her wolf’s hair stand on end. She had been at the receiving end of the lion’s claws and didn’t want to find herself there again. Maybe spending her life alone would be the better option than finding herself stuck with an evil lion. Liam might be different when they were alone and behind closed doors. By then, it would be too late.
    No, I’m not willing to do that. I’d rather be lonely than deal with that.

Chapter Four
    A s the night settled over them, she needed to get out of the cabin and think. For the last week, Ginger had been focused on Swift and trying to keep her thoughts away from Liam. Occasionally she’d seen him around the village but they hadn’t spoken since he’d turned his back on her and walked out. She had considered going to him. Maybe if she could explain things to him, then, he’d understand.
    Each time she found herself near the guards’ cabin, her courage seemed to abandon her. What if he refused to see her? His anger would have had days to marinate, possibly growing strong with each hour. He