Read Online Scent of a Wolf's Mate by Tory Richards - Free Book Online Page B

gaze moved over Serena, as
though looking for proof that she’d been attacked. “Did he hurt
you, dear?”
    “I–”
    “You know damn well I intercepted him before
he could get his hands on her,” Connor barked, cutting Serena off.
He got to his feet. “He has two days to leave Savage Hills, or
suffer the consequences.” He walked away, opened the door, and went
inside the house.
    His mother would never accept that Clive was
a bad apple. He couldn’t be trusted, and the trouble he’d gotten
into last year had gradually escalated until they could no longer
ignore it or make excuses for him. Clive’s jealousy of Connor’s
position as alpha was the driving force behind his actions and
enough was enough.
    Connor grabbed a beer out of the fridge,
hearing the muted voices of his mother and Serena through the
screen door. He didn’t intend to go back outside, so he headed to
the living room instead. Shit, he needed to run off some steam, but
until Serena turned and could join him and the others, he knew he
wouldn’t leave her alone.
    He popped the top and took a long swig, then
went to the hearth to start a fire. There was nothing hotter than
fucking a beautiful woman before a blazing fire. He could visualize
Serena now, naked, her body glistening with tiny beads of moisture,
twisting beneath him.
    God, how did I get so lucky? Wolves
chose their mates by scent, it didn’t matter what they looked like.
The fact that Serena was a natural beauty was an added plus, and he
could hardly wait to have another taste of her. He was just about
to strike the match, to set the scene, when his phone began to
ring. Standing up, he dug his cell out of his back pocket. Max’s
number flashed back at him.
    “Yeah?”
    “Uh oh, someone’s in a bad mood.”
    It wasn’t Max on the phone, but his wife,
Rose. Connor took a calming breath and apologized. “Sorry about
that, Rose, Mother’s here.”
    “Say no more,” she laughed. “I heard about
Clive, sorry it had to come to that.”
    “It was a long time coming,” Connor said,
meaning it.
    “Well, the reason that I’m calling is because
we’d like to invite you and Serena for dinner tonight, figured you
might like to go on a run with the others while we girls become
acquainted.”
    It was Connor’s turn to laugh. “You don’t
know how tempting that is.”
    “Yes, well, I know how unmanageable and
grumpy Max is when he can’t go running. I figured I’d spare Serena
that.”
    He could hear the amusement in her tone. Rose
and Max had only been together a couple of years. In the beginning
it hadn’t looked like it was going to happen, they had fought like
cats and dogs. Max’s life-mate had been killed in a tragic accident
early on in their marriage, leaving Max with the rare opportunity
of choosing any woman he wanted for his mate. Rose didn’t come from
their world, but had discovered Max’s secret. As their laws went,
he had the choice of killing her or turning her.
    “Well?” Rose asked impatiently.
    “What time?”
    “See you both at seven.”
    Connor was slipping his phone back into his
pocket when the door opened and Serena walked in. Meeting his eyes,
she offered him a smile. He had to wonder what she and his mother
had talked about.
    “Your mother, Anne, is a nice lady,” she
said, walking further into the room. Connor nodded but remained
silent. “So, you have three brothers?”
    He nodded again. “Julian, Dominic, and Clive.
I’m the oldest.”
    “I understand about alphas, but why does
Clive want to hurt me?”
    He held his hand out, beckoning Serena over
to him. She slipped her hand into his, letting him lead her to the
leather love seat that matched the sofa. As he sank down onto the
plush cushion, he pulled her down onto his lap. He liked keeping
her close, liked her slight weight against him, liked taking in her
scent with every breath he took.
    “He wants to hurt me,” Connor admitted
reluctantly, realizing that Serena deserved to know the