Shadow Of A Mate Read Online Free Page B

happened. Sadly that just wasn’t true. Anyone would think Kyle had been the one spelled because he was cold. Someone without a mate bond wouldn’t understand.
    “Not we, me and my betas,” Kyle corrected, turning to meet his father’s eyes.
    Papa frowned and Kyle could see him preparing to argue.
    Holding up a hand, he tried to put this in a way that wouldn’t throw what Papa was offering in his face. As an alpha, the need to protect the pack, to be the strength of the pack was in every breath he took. Yet his father was pushing that aside to be a good dad instead.
    “You’re needed here.”
    “You and Jay need me more,” Papa pointed out.
    Kyle couldn’t refute that. Going up against a witch, especially one as strong as Katrianna was terrifying. But he didn’t have a choice.
    The last thing he wanted was to leave the pack unprotected after everything with the hunters. “Jay can’t come with me like this, it’s too dangerous. I need you to watch over him. You and Mam, no one else.” Leaving Jay behind was going to be torture. All his instincts screamed at him to reconsider and stay here with Jay. But if he did then he was admitting there was no hope left at all.
    Staying wasn’t an option.
    “Kyle...” Papa came forward and pulled him roughly into a hug.
    He leaned into his father, shuddering as he struggled to restrain the need to cry. Crying wouldn’t help Jay.
    Papa held him up easily with strong arms. When a deep comforting rumble erupted from his father Kyle went limp. The sound vibrated through him, and like a cub, he yielded and let Papa lead him over to the bed and sit him down. They hadn’t sat like this since Kyle was thirteen. Jay had been the reason he was upset then, too.
    It had been around the time when Jay had started avoiding him like the plague, dodging his calls and Frank had refused to give any messages or let Kyle in to see Jay when he went to the house.
    “I can’t lose him, Papa.” His words were calm despite his racing pulse.
    “You won’t. I’ll look after him here and you’ll go and end this evil spell. You are strong and capable. Look how you rescued Nikko. You can track, hunt, fight better than most experienced alphas and you need to trust your training. Failing isn’t an option. You’ll end the spell and bring my other boy back to us.” Papa gripped his shoulder firmly, shaking Kyle to make the point stick.
    Papa and Mam had claimed Jay as their own straight away.
    He knew Jay was still cautious and maybe a bit distrustful about it, but his mate stood taller every time Mam or Papa called him son.
    “And when Jay wakes up we are throwing him straight in the deep end of training,” his father growled, turning to look at Jay.
    Kyle almost smiled as he imagined breaking the news to Jay that he was going to be put on a gruelling training schedule of running drills through the forest and worked hard until he sweat a river and ate dirt. Papa didn’t hold back on training. Arthwr was a big believer in everyone being capable of defending themselves and others if they were forced to.
    “He’s going to hate that.” He reached out to touch Jay’s blanket covered foot, reassuring himself that Jay was actually still there.
    “Yep, and we’ll never hear the end of it. I remember when you started training. Such a whiner.” Papa shook his head and made a mock disappointed face, ducking when Kyle swatted at him half-heartedly.
    He took offense at that. “Hey! I was nine and you had me practicing the monkey bars in the rain.”
    “Yes, I did and the next year you got into trouble climbing a tree in a storm that was far too high for you when a branch broke. You were able to hang on until I climbed up after you to bring you down because of that training.”
    Kyle didn’t dignify that with a response. He didn’t have to. They both knew Papa was right.
    Sitting here with his father talking about what would happen when Jay was himself again, safe again, helped Kyle find some