Read Online Rated: X-mas: Twice Blessed by Rachel Bo - Free Book Online Page B

this was for her, she wasn’t sure what they might do. “I’m just ... I’m just not ready for this.”
    Devlin’s claws dug into the ground, but Damien only nodded. “Okay.” His voice was neutral. Empty. “We’d better head back.” He swung up into the truck.
    Jenny walked to the passenger side, blinking back tears. “What about Devlin?”
    The vehicle shifted as Devlin jumped up and sprawled in the pickup’s bed.
    Jenny climbed into the truck and shut the door.
    The drive home felt like a wake. She felt a mixture of relief and dread as they pulled up in front of her parents’ home. Damien shifted the truck into neutral, staring straight ahead.
    Jenny reached out to touch his arm, but drew back at the last moment. “I’m sorry.”
    “It’s all right, Jenny.” Damien’s voice was raw with pain, and suddenly she wanted to beg him to Bind her. To promise him anything, if he would just make her his and Devlin’s forever. And that, more than anything, convinced her that she had made the right decision.
    She was willing to lose herself in them, and every fiber of her being fought against that. She had not worked so hard to escape her father’s cage, only to be trapped inside another.
    Jenny opened the door and stepped out, shutting it carefully behind her. Damien shifted the truck into gear as soon as she stepped away, and she stood in the street, watching until their tail-lights disappeared in the darkness.

    56 Rachel Bo
    Barren

    Five days later, Jenny sat in the kitchen drinking coffee, staring into space. Plagued by strange dreams, she had hardly slept the last few nights.
    Her mother glided gracefully into the room. “Good morning, darling.”
    “Hi, Mom.” For the thousandth time since Damien’s revelations, Jenny thought how much her mother’s grace resembled the fluid movements of a wolf. Caught that whiff of odd scent -- an earthy smell, like a newly turned field. And musky, like sex. A scent she’d never noticed before, but which now permeated the house and originated with her mother. She pushed these unwelcome observations away, staring into her coffee cup.
    Meredith fixed her own cup of coffee and sat across from Jenny at the breakfast bar.
    “Mom, I’ve decided to go back a little early.
    Meredith regarded her evenly. “How early?”
    “Tomorrow.” Jenny looked away. “I guess I’m feeling homesick.”
    “You’re afraid.”
    Jenny turned back, startled. “What?”
    “They’re Wolves.” It wasn’t a question.

    Rated: X-mas: Twice Blessed
    57
    Jenny shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    Meredith’s gaze didn’t waver. “My senses may have dulled over the years, but I still know a Wolf when I see one. And I don’t doubt that they’ve told you the Blood runs in your veins, as well. In fact, I’m sure of it. I’ve seen the way you’re listening lately. You hear it now. The whisper in your Blood.”
    Tears sprang to Jenny’s eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “There didn’t seem to be any reason to.” She tilted her head, considering. “If we had lived on the farm, like your uncle, it would have been harder. But the city drowns the whisper. You never seemed to feel it, so I didn’t say anything.”
    “Why wouldn’t you want me to know?”
    “You wouldn’t have believed me. If you hadn’t met Devlin and Damien, would you ever have noticed?” She shook her head. “There aren’t that many of us. Chances were that you would never meet another. At least, more than in passing. I thought it would be easier if you didn’t know.”
    “Dad’s not ...” Jenny raised her eyebrows.
    “You know he isn’t.” Meredith stared into space for a moment. “I did meet some, once.
    Other than the ones in our weyr, I mean. They were quite a gorgeous pair -- thick black hair, dark eyes. From an Italian branch.” She smiled. “It was a delicious diversion, but I didn’t love them.”
    “Did they love you?”
    Meredith laughed. “No. We