Healed: True Mates Book 3 (Wolf Shifter) (A Craggstone Paranormal Romance) Read Online Free Page A

hating that my voice rose in question.
    His grin widened as he glanced around the room, acting as though he were noticing the women for the first time. But I wasn’t fooled. I folded my arms across my chest, then immediately dropped them to my sides. I wasn’t going to let him know that it bothered me. Because it didn’t. Not one bit.
    He shrugged at me, trying to act sheepish, but amusement glittered in his eyes. I gritted my teeth.
    “I’m sure you’ll have a fan club soon, babe. I know I’m your first one.” His voice rolled over me, husky and filled with promise. A small part of me, a tiny, insignificant part buried deep inside, shivered in delight at his admission.
    “I don’t need a fan club. Just a suitable mate will be fine. One who I can have an intelligent conversation with, who respects me, and doesn’t expect me to be barefoot and pregnant at all times. One who understands the arrangement.”
    “But bare is okay? I mean, you would disrobe to complete your mating, right? Or would that part be purely functional, too?”
    I glared at him. He was poking fun at me, and I was letting him. Why was I even having this conversation with him? I suppose I was trying to tell him why we wouldn’t work, subtly, but I didn’t think it was working, the lug-headed fool.
    “We’re not animals. There’s no need for any of that out-of-date nonsense, like biting.”
    His eyebrows shot up to his hairline, his mouth dropping open as he looked at me. “No need for biting ? So, no need for a proper mating? You would ask a man to be your life partner, but not share any part of yourself with him?” His tone was incredulous, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
    “It works for the humans. They seem to do quite well with marriage.”
    “You’re serious?”
    “Completely.” There. That should sort that out.
    “What about a true mating, with your true mate?”
    “Not going to happen.”
    “Why?”
    I sighed, wondering how much I should tell him, just how much would make him give up. He was like a dog with a bone, digging at me.
    “Because I don’t believe in it.” Not quite the truth, but near enough. I hadn’t believed in a long time. Not since—
    My wolf whined inside my head, curling up into a ball of misery. I closed the door on that memory firmly. There was nothing good to be had from traveling back down that road, only pain and loss to be relived.
    “You don’t— But didn’t you feel—? When we—”
    “I felt nothing. Only lust,” I said quickly.
    His eyes darkened, sparks of silver swirling at the edges, his wolf surfacing. “I could call you on being a liar, but I’m too much of a gentleman,” he growled, his shoulders tensing, bunching under his t-shirt as he stared at me.
    This was a side of Tarq I hadn’t seen before: tense, brooding, with power rippling under his skin. I bit back a gasp as lust cascaded through me, liquefying my bones into a puddle of need.
    Then it was gone; he was back to normal.
    “We should get started,” he said, indicating the people who had gathered in the room.
    I looked around, flabbergasted. I had been so preoccupied, I hadn’t even noticed them arriving! I nodded, still overheated. He rolled to his feet in an easy motion, taking his position with me against the wall.
    I took a deep breath and began speaking, loud and clear. “I hope you’ve all had time for my news to sink in and to adjust to the change in leadership. What I would like to do is discuss where we are now as a pack, and what we would like to see change. I need you all to tell me how things have been run in the past, and how you feel about it. We need to work together to make this pack whole, to make it strong again. This is not a case of me telling you what you are going to do; we are going to work together.” I paused, noting the skeptical looks that were being cast around and the few looks of hope. “Eric is gone now. He can’t hurt or bully any of you