United (The Ushers) Read Online Free Page A

Monica! And she’s perfect!” Bianca’s excitement rushed over the line, and Monica smiled. A girl. A new generation of Amazon.
    “Well, that’s wonderful, Bee. Is Jack’s chest puffed out with pride?” She heard Jack chuckling and realized they had her on speaker.
    “Yes, Alpha. I think I’m about to rip through my T-shirt like the Incredible Hulk.”
    “Well, I’m so thrilled for both of you. But I miss you guys. Hurry home, okay?” Monica felt her wolf let out a little whine, and she bit back a laugh.
    “Three hours,” Bee said. “We want to stop at a few stores before we head back to the sticks.”
    “Okay, Bee, Jack. See you then.” She hung up, envisioning the riot of pink and purple clothing that would soon take over Bianca and Jack’s home. She made a note to talk to them about moving into larger quarters, maybe a suite, or even starting construction on a house. She was ecstatic for her friends to be expecting a baby, but a part of her was sad, wishing. Her first mate had died so many years ago, and she thought the longing for a baby had died with him. But the last few months, with Fionn living under her nose, that old longing had stirred up again. Monica had vicariously enjoyed Bianca’s pregnancy; however, suppressing the jealousy and longing for her own baby had been difficult.
    She needed to run, to clear her head. So she called Ellen on her cell phone.
    “Monica, is everything okay?”
    “Fine. I’m sorry I snapped at you. Wanna go for a run?”
    “Hell, yeah! Should I get Kathy and Ted?”
    “That sounds awesome, actually.” She smiled. Jack’s brother Ted was so much like Jack, except even kinder, if that were to be believed. Too bad he was the Alpha of Mid-Atlantic; otherwise, he’d have made a fine Amazon. And Kathy? Kathy was everyone’s little sister. The tiny redheaded spitfire had every wolf she’d ever met wrapped around her little finger. She possessed an innate ability to inspire others to want to take care of her, to protect her. However, she was an enigma to most. She had the strongest mental armor Monica had every encountered: her mind only shared what she chose to reveal. No one, not even her Alpha, could touch the secrets Kathy held dear.
    Monica slipped out of her clothing and tossed a robe on to conceal her nudity. She took the elevator through the library down to the ground floor and walked out amongst her pack. Too often, she spent her days sequestered in her office, working with Angelo, Bianca, and Jack. Rarely did she allow herself a run in the middle of the afternoon, but today, it seemed suddenly more important than her next breath. Ted and Kathy emerged from the building across the street, wide grins on their faces. Ted shook Monica’s hand, Alpha to Alpha, before he embraced her.
    “I’m sorry, Monica,” he whispered in her ear. She met his eyes and knew he was talking about Fionn.
    “I’ll live.” She smiled at him. “Where’s Ellen?”
    “She’ll be along in a few.” Kathy giggled. “She wanted to call Bee before getting hairy.”
    “Ellen, meet us in the woods.” Monica sent the thought gently and then dropped her robe and shifted. Her shift was fast and furious: a shake of her head, and the world hazed into her animal senses, and she was flying across the campus in a blur of fur. In moments, she knew she’d left Ted and Kathy behind, so she slowed to a gentle lope as she approached the woods. There in the grass, she could smell him. Fionn. He’d shifted here this morning. She dropped down onto the grass and rolled in his scent. He smelled of wood and smoke and crackling fires, and it called to her. She lay in his scent, imagining he could be there with her, running with her. Ted and Kathy came bounding across the field toward her, feinting and playing as they did. She couldn’t speak to Ted in her head, though she could feel him.
    “It smells like Fionn here,” she whined to Kathy.
    Kathy stopped short, sniffing. “ Like Fionn and