Read Online Runt of the Litter by Sam Crescent - Free Book Online Page B

to
not give in and tell her. Right now, she needed to be focused on the
transition, on getting stronger, not on the mate that would lose her if
everything went badly.
    “I do. I watched the way Marshall was with Scarlett.
He loves her so much.”
    “You’ll find it.”
    “I doubt it.”
    He turned to look at her fully, which made her pull
away from him. “Don’t do that. You’re going to get through everything. You’re
going to know what true love feels like.”
    “Jack, you’re such a good person. When did I get so
lucky?”
    Closing his eyes, he forced the emotion down. It was
already tearing him apart at knowing what was to come.
    “Oh, that’s our call. Come on.” She took his hand, and
she took over showing him where to store their bags then taking him through to
their terminal. “Here we go.”
    He didn’t say anything, showing his ticket as they
went.
    When they were on the plane, he strapped in, and made
sure Tori did the same. He didn’t trust any planes after seeing one too many
disaster movies.
    “You’re panicking for all the wrong reasons,” she
said, chuckling.
    “No, I’m panicking for all the right ones. Haven’t you
seen movies where the plane breaks apart?”
    She grabbed his hand. The beast inside him calmed.
“Look at me, Jack.”
    Turning to look at her, she smiled, her blue eyes
capturing him as she stared back.
    “Tori?”
    “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to go up in the
sky and travel for a short time. I’m going to be here, holding your hand the
whole time. I won’t let you go.”
    “Do you promise?”
    “Yes. I promise.”
    He held onto her hand throughout the plane ride. Her
very presence was calming the beast inside him.

Chapter Six
     
    “You made it,” Uncle Paul said.
    Tori laughed, hugging her uncle close. “We did make it,
but it was touch and go for Jack. He didn’t handle the plane ride well. I
thought he was going to kiss the ground.”
    She looked behind her to see Jack rolling his eyes.
“It wasn’t that bad.”
    “No, it was worse.” She shuddered, trying to make
light of his fear. The wolf in him was what caused the biggest problem. Jack
didn’t look afraid, but his wolf wasn’t used to being in such a confined space.
Add in the lack of the pack, and his wolf had been terrified.
    “How are you doing?” Jack asked.
    “Oh, Uncle Paul, this is Jack. Jack, this is Uncle
Paul.”
    “I’m not calling you uncle. You’re Paul to me.”
    “Tori got into the habit at a young age and never
really got out of it. She’s always called me that.” Paul looked around the
airport. “Let’s get out of here and get back to the ranch.”
    The sun was bearing down on them the moment they
walked outside. She missed the air-conditioning in the building.
    “I tell you this heat is a fucking nightmare,” Paul
said.
    “Amen to that.” Jack threw the bags into the back of
Paul’s truck.
    Tori climbed inside, moving over so that Jack had
enough room to climb in.
    The moment he was inside and his leg was pressing
against hers, she couldn’t help but look down at where they were touched. She
wore some shorts, but that didn’t stop her from wanting the feel of his skin.
    “Tell me what you’ve been doing all summer,” Paul
said.
    “I’ve been taking her out into the forest to meditate
and to also open up her senses to get them to come alive.”
    “Has it helped?”
    “Yes. My senses are slowly waking up. It’s like I’ve
been asleep for so long, dormant almost.”
    “It’s good. It means your wolf is not dead or not
there at all.”
    “But it’s locked in a cage,” Jack said.
    “We’re going to need to unleash her wolf at some
point.”
    “How? I’ve only ever heard of a wolf coming out when she’s at the height of
her transition.”
    “We’ve got to find a way.”
    She saw her uncle’s fingers were locked around the
steering wheel. They were all so worried and yet tried to hide it from her.
    “We’ll find a way. What’s the