Read Online Hell or High Water (Gemini Book 3) by Hailey Edwards - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Hailey Edwards
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can just blast down your brain door.”
“A comatose alpha won’t do anyone any good,” Nathalie chastised.
Eyes wide, I snapped my head toward her. “I can hear you. And Dell. At the same time.”
“You’re pack now.” She grinned wolfishly. “We can conference call like nobody’s business.”
“You may release hands.” Graeson’s booming voice in my ears startled me amid the cerebral chatter. “It’s done.” Rolling gracefully to his feet, he prowled toward me and hauled me upright. Tucking me against his side, he addressed the others. “Welcome, kindred, to the Lorimar Pack.”
Lorimar. Lori and Marie. The two little girls whose deaths had brought us to this place, as these people, and who we would miss for always.
Hot tears rolled down my cheeks as I flung my arms around Graeson. I buried my face against his ribs before the sobs clawing up the back of my throat tore past my lips. I couldn’t hold him tight enough. The harder I squeezed, the more certain I felt that I would be the one who shattered.
“Shh.” He wrapped me closer and nuzzled my hair. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
Voice ruined, I sought his mind. “You named the pack after our sisters.”
“ Our pack.” He drew back to stare down at me. “Is this one of those things I should have asked you about first before making a decision?”
“No.” I laughed, a choked sound. “This was perfect.”
The tension locking his muscles melted under my praise, and I sprinkled impulsive kisses over his face, because Graeson was trying to treat me as an equal and not a weakness he must blindly protect. Compromise didn’t come easily to dominants, a truth I had learned well during my time with the Chandler pack, but he was putting in the work. This newest evidence of his devotion cracked open my soul, and I basked in the rightness of being with him. I pressed a lingering kiss over his heart, my new favorite spot, and breathed in the scent of his skin until fur rubbed against the underside of mine.
Inhaling the column of my throat, Graeson released a low growl. “Want to go for a run?”
I laughed at the mischief in his voice. “We just did.”
“You heard the alphas,” Dell crowed. “The race is on.”
White fabric billowed in the air as the pack shucked their pants and dresses and tossed them skyward. A few darted into the trees for privacy while the rest sank to the ground and gave in to the pain beside a friend. Bone snapped and cartilage popped until wolves filled the clearing. Tails swishing, they pranced and jumped and bit playfully at one another. Only Bianca remained unchanged. She sat where I’d left her and scratched the underbelly of a massive auburn-furred beast busy kicking his hind leg in ecstasy.
A melancholy ache radiated from my chest. “I can’t— Not the way you do.” They peeled aside their humanity and reveled in the untamed nature of their souls. “I don’t have a wolf.”
“Yes, you do.” Backing away, he arched his spine in the throes of change. “Let her come out to play.”
Agonizing moments later, a gorgeous sterling wolf with snow white splashes of color up his forelegs climbed to his paws and shook out the residual tingles from his change. He paused at the fringe of towering pines and glanced back at me, waiting, hoping, then bolted out of sight. The others followed, except for three of us.
Picking at the neckline of my dress, I twisted around to face Jensen and Bianca. “Are you coming?”
“I can’t, and he won’t.” Laughter rang out when he licked her chin. “I haven’t felt the urge to shift since my scent changed, and he can’t leave me unprotected. It goes against all of his instincts.” She ruffled his fur. “Even though he can’t help but answer the alpha’s call by going furry.”
“Will you two be all right?” The explosion earlier had me on edge. Charybdis thrived on preying on the vulnerable, and it didn’t get more defenseless than a heavily pregnant
“A comatose alpha won’t do anyone any good,” Nathalie chastised.
Eyes wide, I snapped my head toward her. “I can hear you. And Dell. At the same time.”
“You’re pack now.” She grinned wolfishly. “We can conference call like nobody’s business.”
“You may release hands.” Graeson’s booming voice in my ears startled me amid the cerebral chatter. “It’s done.” Rolling gracefully to his feet, he prowled toward me and hauled me upright. Tucking me against his side, he addressed the others. “Welcome, kindred, to the Lorimar Pack.”
Lorimar. Lori and Marie. The two little girls whose deaths had brought us to this place, as these people, and who we would miss for always.
Hot tears rolled down my cheeks as I flung my arms around Graeson. I buried my face against his ribs before the sobs clawing up the back of my throat tore past my lips. I couldn’t hold him tight enough. The harder I squeezed, the more certain I felt that I would be the one who shattered.
“Shh.” He wrapped me closer and nuzzled my hair. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
Voice ruined, I sought his mind. “You named the pack after our sisters.”
“ Our pack.” He drew back to stare down at me. “Is this one of those things I should have asked you about first before making a decision?”
“No.” I laughed, a choked sound. “This was perfect.”
The tension locking his muscles melted under my praise, and I sprinkled impulsive kisses over his face, because Graeson was trying to treat me as an equal and not a weakness he must blindly protect. Compromise didn’t come easily to dominants, a truth I had learned well during my time with the Chandler pack, but he was putting in the work. This newest evidence of his devotion cracked open my soul, and I basked in the rightness of being with him. I pressed a lingering kiss over his heart, my new favorite spot, and breathed in the scent of his skin until fur rubbed against the underside of mine.
Inhaling the column of my throat, Graeson released a low growl. “Want to go for a run?”
I laughed at the mischief in his voice. “We just did.”
“You heard the alphas,” Dell crowed. “The race is on.”
White fabric billowed in the air as the pack shucked their pants and dresses and tossed them skyward. A few darted into the trees for privacy while the rest sank to the ground and gave in to the pain beside a friend. Bone snapped and cartilage popped until wolves filled the clearing. Tails swishing, they pranced and jumped and bit playfully at one another. Only Bianca remained unchanged. She sat where I’d left her and scratched the underbelly of a massive auburn-furred beast busy kicking his hind leg in ecstasy.
A melancholy ache radiated from my chest. “I can’t— Not the way you do.” They peeled aside their humanity and reveled in the untamed nature of their souls. “I don’t have a wolf.”
“Yes, you do.” Backing away, he arched his spine in the throes of change. “Let her come out to play.”
Agonizing moments later, a gorgeous sterling wolf with snow white splashes of color up his forelegs climbed to his paws and shook out the residual tingles from his change. He paused at the fringe of towering pines and glanced back at me, waiting, hoping, then bolted out of sight. The others followed, except for three of us.
Picking at the neckline of my dress, I twisted around to face Jensen and Bianca. “Are you coming?”
“I can’t, and he won’t.” Laughter rang out when he licked her chin. “I haven’t felt the urge to shift since my scent changed, and he can’t leave me unprotected. It goes against all of his instincts.” She ruffled his fur. “Even though he can’t help but answer the alpha’s call by going furry.”
“Will you two be all right?” The explosion earlier had me on edge. Charybdis thrived on preying on the vulnerable, and it didn’t get more defenseless than a heavily pregnant
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