Read Online Not The Leader Of The Pack by Annabeth Leong - Free Book Online Page B

he complained that Lewistown had gotten into Juli? The entire point of this rebellion was to get away from the Werewolf Council’s stultifying, legalistic ways. He cut to the point. “I told them the pack wouldn’t follow Juli. I said we would break off from the Council, and that I would be alpha.”
    Sarah Edmond leaned back, pursing her lips.
    “I guess I came here to ask if I was right. Would you follow Juli? Was that what she just asked you?”
    The older woman sighed. “Why are you doing this, Neil? The way you’ve chosen causes so much trouble, and when you shift, you’re twice Juli’s size. You can just take her down and claim leadership, if that’s what you’re really after. Maybe it doesn’t satisfy all your principles, but it’s practical.”
    “I can’t fight her.”
    “Why not?”
    “I shouldn’t have to. Darrow can’t pass on the—”
    Sarah made another of her impatient gestures. She leaned forward and grabbed a big hunk of the roast beef, rolling it deftly between her fingers and biting it in half with feral enjoyment. “I don’t want to hear your official reasons. If you’ve got a wolf in you like the one in me, you’ve got no patience for that kind of argument. If you can win a dispute with your teeth and claws, under the moon, you go for it. Part of you longs for things to be so simple all the time. What’s stopping you, Neil?”
    Her brown eyes sharpened with predatory interest, and he found himself swallowing and leaning back in his chair. She’d asked a fair question. More than one pack member had wanted to know why Neil made trouble with the Council over this when he’d never had any hesitation about taking on a shifted challenge before. Juli had never even fought officially. He had both size and experience on his side.
    He avoided Sarah’s eyes, took his own bite of roast beef, and thought it over. He imagined himself shifted with Juli, raging, tearing, fighting for supremacy and life. The image raised a host of instincts within him—the urge to claim, to mate, to raise a set of cubs. Then he knew. He lifted his head with new understanding, and saw only knowing humor on Sarah’s face.
    “You’re afraid to shift with her,” Sarah said.
    Neil blew out a breath, half-covering his face with his hand. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, he couldn’t help the grin bursting out of him, along with the knowledge of his feelings for Juli. For him, mating with her wasn’t a choice. It wasn’t something to think over. It was an inevitability, if ever the opportunity arose.
    If Neil ever found himself fully shifted with Juli, a single need would dominate his mind. He’d been telling the truth when he said he couldn’t fight her. Lowering his hand to the table, he jumped to see the thick mat of hair that covered it. “I am so sorry.” Sports scores automatically entered his mind as he snatched his hand off the surface and tucked it into his lap. Sarah only chuckled and shook her head.
    “It’s not a problem, boy. It’s perfectly normal.” She refilled the coffee cup Neil hadn’t noticed himself draining. A fresh sip of it burned across his tongue, helping him return to the present moment.
    His hand shrank and returned to human form. To Neil’s dismay, a dusting of fur spread over Sarah’s kitchen floor. “The Lewistown officials didn’t see it that way. They gave me a citation.”
    Sarah scowled. “When you’re near a likely mate, the shift gets away from you for a while. It settles down shortly after you consummate.”
    “Who said anything about mating?” Neil’s face heated. He covered his nerves with a different protest. “I’ve never heard anything like that before.”
    The old woman just chuckled and continued speaking. “There aren’t as many of us as there used to be, and a lot of werewolves marry humans these days. When was the last time you were around a pair of courting werewolves?” When Neil shrugged, she gave a little nod. Then her eyes grew