Read Online Jaxson (River Pack Wolves 1) - New Adult Paranormal Romance by Alisa Woods - Free Book Online Page B

sense, but they figure it’s all turf wars and pack fights. And they stay out. Plus, once they know we’re shifters…”
    “Oh. Right.” She knew about the laws regarding shifter registration. Once someone was a known shifter, they had to submit DNA samples in both shifter and human forms, in case they ever committed a crime. That way the police could tie them to the crime, even if they did it in shifter form. She’d never thought about it before, but it was pretty ridiculous to treat shifters that way—like they were sub-humans who were already criminals. But then she’d never kissed one before and realized just how human a shifter could be.
    “The other packs already know most of the situation,” Jaxson continued. “We’ve been in talks about how to handle it with them, so I might as well brief you now on it now, so you’re not caught off guard.” His face was grim. “Shifters have been disappearing for a while.”
    “Disappearing?” She frowned. “You mean going missing?”
    He nodded. “At first, it was just lone wolves vanishing off the streets. Then a few from the smaller shifter gangs downtown went missing. Being in the security business, Riverwise hears things. For a while, it seemed random. Maybe some rogue witch at work, harvesting shifters for her Dark Arts.”
    Olivia cringed. “But now you think it’s more than that?”
    “It’s definitely more,” he said. “The pace has been picking up, plus we’ve begun to see some of the first wolves who disappeared show up again. And they’re pretty messed up. Sick. A couple have died since their release.”
    “Release?” she asked, her face scrunching up in revulsion. “From where? Who’s doing this?”
    “That’s what I was trying to find out when you interrupted me in the alleyway.”
    She thought about the men, the ones using the cattle prods on Jaxson, and her stomach curled into one giant knot.
    Jaxson gave a soft smile at her distressed look. “It’s all right. You were trying to do the right thing. I can’t fault you for that.” He traced a finger along her cheek that just stirred up feelings she really shouldn’t have for this incredibly brave and sexy man. But her lips were still swollen from his kiss devouring her only a minute ago. That didn’t exactly help.
    She brushed all that aside. “I had a feeling something was wrong with that shelter. So you think whoever took Cassie might be taking her there?”
    “The shelter’s a way-station of some kind,” Jaxson said. “The shifters were released near there. And some of the ones who disappeared might have processed through there at one point. If we move fast and if we’re lucky, we’ll find Cassie there before they move her on to wherever they’re holding the missing wolves. If we don’t find her there, I’m going to locate someone inside that place who knows what’s going on and persuade him to tell us where they’ve taken her.”
    “Persuade.” She swallowed—she could easily picture Jaxson in his hulking, snarling wolf form. She wouldn’t mess with him, but these people… they might have guns. Then again, Jaxson was an ex-SEAL. They probably had more to fear from him than the other way around—no matter what form he was in. But she couldn’t help worrying. “That sounds… dangerous.”
    The muscles in Jaxson’s cheek worked silently for a moment. “It takes a lot to kill a shifter, Olivia. And yet these people have practically destroyed full-grown gang members three times Cassie’s size. I’m not going to let them play with a twelve-year-old girl.”
    She nodded quickly. Of course not. Because that’s the kind of man Jaxson was. She blinked back tears and impulsively threw her arms around his neck. “Go get the bastards,” she whispered, then pulled back just as quickly, nervous that it had been too much.
    A crooked smile hung on Jaxson’s face for a moment, then he slipped one hand behind her head and pulled her in for a fierce and fast kiss.