Saving Margaret Read Online Free Page B

now?”
    “I’m going to bed. I’m not having this conversation with you.”
    “But, Chase will take the heir’s seat on the Council. Their family will become royalty through the marriage. At least their children will.”
    “Mom!”
    The questions and the stress of the evening were not helping the pounding headache developing behind her temples. She pulled a glass from a cabinet and filled it with cold water from the refrigerator spigot. Between the wine, the dancing, and Scott’s announcement that he wanted to sweep her away to the Teton Mountains…gods, she just needed to get some sleep. She grabbed a bottle of aspirin from a drawer and turned back to the phone.
    “I don’t know anything about the Council seat, nor do I want to. What I really want to do is take the aspirin in my hand and go to sleep. Give dad a kiss for me, okay? I love you, mom.”
    She smiled at the heavy sigh on the other end of the line. “Alright, honey. Get some rest. Love you.”
    Clicking off the phone, she downed the painkiller and the rest of her water before heading back to the stairs.
    “How long are you going to hide from our mate?”
    I’m so not in the mood.
    “We need him.”
    Not tonight, we don’t.
    She rolled her neck, popping a few vertebras always made her feel better. The stairs were endless…maybe she was just climbing really slowly.
    At the top, she pushed open her bedroom door, gently pulling the zipper on her dress down as she walked in. It slid from her body and she laid it carefully over the back of a chair in the corner of her room.
    The bra and underwear were next. They landed in the hamper next to the closet. Her nightlight illuminated the room just enough to see her reflection in the wall mirror. Hair would just have to wait until tomorrow. She pulled an over-sized t-shirt from the dresser, a fresh pair of underwear, and some short yoga shorts. After pulling them on, she climbed into her bed and snuggled underneath her fluffy comforter. Her cares and worries floated away as sleep closed around her like the arms of a warm lover.
     
    ***
     
    The morning alarm came unexpectedly. She reached from her cocoon of bedding and slapped the off switch. Then she pulled the little digital clock under the covers. Blinking her eyes into focus, she groaned when she read six-thirty am.
    “I forgot to turn the damn thing off.”
    Didn’t matter. She was awake now. No matter how hard she tried, she knew she wouldn’t fall back asleep. Throwing off the powder-blue comforter, she stretched and cracked a few joints. Her head still felt like someone had stuffed it with peanut butter. Damn headache. But even through her haze, she could smell Scott’s scent clinging to her dress. She slipped out of the bed and walked across the room to pick up the dress. Pressing it to her face, she inhaled deeply.
    He smells so good. It’s wrong for a man to smell so good.
    “He’s our mate.”
    I know! You keep reminding me, but I know.
    “So you are finished denying it?”
    Maybe.
    She laughed. It always tickled her that she could feel her wolf’s emotions even when they weren’t voiced. Though her wolf was pleased that she’d accepted Scott, she was still irritated by her lack of enthusiasm. It couldn’t be helped. He wanted to drastically alter her life without any concern for the one she’d built here.
    “You don’t know that. You won’t talk to him.”
    Just chill. I need to run.
    A jog always helped clear her mind.
    She put the dress down and sighed, enjoying the cool breeze blowing through her open window.
    WAIT. Why is the window open? Did I open it last night?
    “No!”
    Her wolf’s anxiety heightened hers.
    Pushing aside the curtains, she poked her head out. An unfamiliar male wolf scent still clung to the windowsill, though the actual man was nowhere to be seen. Magick rolled across her vocal cords, changing the human growl to a very nasty wolf’s snarl. Who would violate her privacy so blatantly? What the fuck did