Read Online Quarantine by Dakota Rebel - Free Book Online Page A

said this directly to Dean, who flinched at the words.
    “We do—” Nate started, but I cut him off.
    “I’m just a little old lady who needed three strapping young men to kill a psychopath, right?”
    “That’s enough!” roared Dean. He got to his feet and advanced on me.
    I backed away, but Jasen caught me, pinning my hands behind my back and holding me still so I couldn’t run.
    “I care about you so much it makes me sick. Do you think I wanted to fall for you? All this time, I thought you were playing us. I’m sorry if you think we took advantage of you, but we thought you were doing the same to us. We all underestimated each other. But don’t act like you’re guiltless in all of this. You lied to us. You thought we were all just innocent little boys, and you kept your mouth shut about your condition until there were no other options. Your beast could have broken free at any time, Jo. You showed up here so physically hungry that anything could have set you off. If we’d been just normal people and your emotions forced you to change, you’d have killed us all. But you didn’t say anything, did you?”
    “No,” I whispered. “No, I didn’t. But don’t think it wasn’t tearing me apart. Don’t act like I didn’t think everything you just said every single time I looked at you guys. I knew I was playing with fire. But I didn’t know what else to do.”
    “Look,” Nate said as he stepped between Dean and me. “It’s the night before the full moon. Can we perhaps tone this down before someone goes overboard and shifts? We’re all running hot right now. We don’t need to make things worse for ourselves. We need to eat, and we need to calm the fuck down. All right?”
    Dean nodded, and I agreed. Jasen released my hands after pulling me backward into his chest and placing a wet kiss against my neck. I couldn’t help smiling at the gesture, and when Dean’s gaze caught mine again, his eyes were softer, more mellow than they had been in hours.
    “Fabulous!” Nate clapped his hands. “Who wants meat?”
    * * * *
    Nate prepared the steaks I’d seen in the fridge earlier. As we ate, I told them the story about Kevin and my husband and what I’d been doing the last six months, and they told me about how they’d all been turned.
    “We were camping, and a Were-Wolf attacked us all. Honestly, we were lucky none of us was killed. But he didn’t seem to want us to die, he just wanted us to turn,” Jasen said around a mouthful of food.
    “What did you mean when you said this was the Were capitol of Michigan?” I asked Nate.
    “Well, we all grew up together, but it wasn’t here. My uncle, the one who left this bar to me and my sister, lived here so I knew all about it. Tabitha moved out here after Uncle Walt died then Dean and I came after we graduated high school. Jasen dropped out and followed us a year later. That’s why he’s still in college. Dean told Jasen he’d pay if Jasen went back and got his GED.”
    “Yeah, the bastard decided he wants to try law school,” Dean said, shaking his head.
    “Hey,” Jasen said with a shrug. “Go big or stay home.”
    Dean rolled his eyes, and I laughed. The more time I spent with them the more I realized they were like a family. They worked well together. I hoped I didn’t fuck any of that up.
    “So anyway,” Nate said. “I don’t know if the founders of the town planned it this way or not, but we attract a lot of Weres. I think it’s the fact that we’re out in the boonies. Not a lot of civilians to accidentally hurt. The word gets around, and people move here looking to settle down somewhere safe.”
    “That’s nice,” I said with a sigh. “I wish…” I trailed off, preferring not to bother finishing that sentence.
    I was glad to know that when I shifted they would be there with me. But when the quarantine lifted I knew I had to get out there. I couldn’t let Kevin find them. I wouldn’t risk their safety any more than I already