Read Online Forbidden by Cathy Clamp - Free Book Online

it’s on the other end of town, but that’s only a few blocks.”
    â€œRight. That’s what Dani told me.” Claire looked around in bewilderment. “Where’s Dani? She was right here.”
    He shrugged and looked around. Ray was gone too. “Dunno. I didn’t even notice she was with you. We’ll look for her on the way. I’m sure she hasn’t gone far.”
    He offered his arm and she looped hers through it carefully. Realizing she was moving gingerly because of the bandage on her arm, Alek quickly shifted around to her other side. She smiled gratefully. Even though his instinct screamed for speed, his mind knew that hurrying would increase the bleeding. He forced himself to walk slowly. It’s not that far. Just keep moving. To keep from just picking her up in his arms and starting to run, he forced himself to point out some of the local businesses. “That’s Hansen’s Grocery. It’s not really much of a grocery. There’s some canned goods and dairy. Mostly, though, we use it for meat storage for deer and elk.”
    She nodded. “Yeah, we have a big building where we have our freezers. But I really do prefer meat right after a hunt. It loses something in the freezer. Y’know?”
    He turned his head in surprise. “You hunt ? Really?”
    Claire gave him a very odd look and even her scent was confused. “Um, sure. Why? Don’t you? How else would you get your meat? You don’t buy deer, do you?”
    He was about to respond when he heard a familiar voice behind him. “We tend to split the duties here, miss.” Alek turned as Claire did, to find the mayor and police chief standing behind them.
    â€œOh? How so?” Claire’s voice suddenly grew tense and her scent had overtones of distrust. Why?
    Mayor Monk smiled and tipped his trademark white felt cowboy hat. “Well, we’re in an area where there are a lot of natural predators. I’m sure you can see that it’s important to guard the children and homes while the hunt is happening.”
    â€œOf course,” Claire said with a slight nod. “My family assigns someone to stay behind, to watch the kids and lock all the doors. That doesn’t explain why people would be surprised that I hunt.”
    Lenny tried to explain. “Here, women tend to stay home with the kids while the men go hunting. There’s nothing more dangerous than a mama protecting her young,” the police chief said with a smile. “It’s kept our kids safe since the night of the plague.”
    Claire’s expression grew bemused and her scent was slightly incredulous. “You’re kidding, right?” She looked from face to face but they all shrugged. “Okay.” She paused for a moment and then let out a little laugh. “Guess I’m glad I don’t have any kids. ’Cause I like to hunt and plan to. That’s okay, right?”
    Lenny and Van looked at each other and both smiled before Van responded, “Of course. It’s a free country.” He held out his hand. “By the way, we haven’t met. I’m the mayor-slash-Alpha, Van Monk. I’m guessing you must be Miss Sanchez, our new guest from Texas.” He motioned to Lenny. “And this is Police Chief Lenny Gabriel, who is also our Wolven representative.”
    She held out her hand and took his and shook it firmly, her eyes still slightly narrowed. “Claire Sanchez. I’m looking forward to spending some time here. I know you must think of Luna Lake as a small town, but we’re pretty far out in the wilderness back home. I need to get to know how to handle myself in a bigger community of people.”
    Lenny put a hand on her shoulder with a broad smile. “Speaking of that, we need to get you registered. You know how it is with Wolven—there’s always paperwork to be filled out on a new pack member, and we need to get your statement