Read Online The Scent of Seduction by Trina Lane - Free Book Online Page B

there were several people walking up and down the sidewalks. Young, old and everywhere in between. She didn't know how many of the residents were part of Jaryn's pack. Did the humans and shifters coexist peacefully, or were there hidden tensions beneath the affable facade?
    Having grown up in Chicago then attending school in Madison, Nicole was more familiar with larger cities. She'd only been in Wausau for a little over four years. But even that Wisconsin town still had a population around forty-five thousand. Stonepass was probably a fraction of that. She'd tried to establish relationships with some of the others sequestered with her on Adam's compound, but they were only allowed so much freedom. She thought of Kenneth, and hoped the young man was doing okay.
    Kenneth had told her he could read people's minds. She'd been sceptical until he'd demonstrated his ability to her one day a few months after her arrival. That kind of power was a tad scary, in Nicole's opinion, but Kenneth had quickly explained that he'd never use it to hurt her. He was such a sweetheart, always eager to help everyone. A fact that Adam exploited for his own gain on a regular basis.
    Kenneth had confided to Nicole that he wasn't the only non-shifter with special talents being held at the compound, and Nicole wondered just what other talents existed in the world. Nicole was worried that if Jaryn and the council were able to take down Adam's organisation that the hostages who'd been there the longest wouldn't be able to readjust to the world out from underneath Adam's thumb. Adam kept most of his ‘pack’ locked in cells in the buildings on the far side of the property. They were released during the day to do whatever tasks Adam and his goon squad had assigned them, but in the evenings it was back to the custom-made prisons.
    During her dinner with Jaryn, Nicole hadn't got the feeling that he controlled his pack members’ lives. Instead Jaryn talked as though he was more of an advisor. Nicole knew enough about shifter communities that there was always a leader and a small group of executives—for lack of a better word—that kept everything organised. Each species structured themselves a little differently, but the overall premise was the same. She'd met a couple of eagle shifters back in Wisconsin. There were a few coyotes, some black bears, and at least three jaguars. They mostly kept to themselves, but the wolves were by far the most social and friendly of the bunch.
    When the shifters had first been exposed to the world, there'd been much bickering between human officials in the government and leaders of the shifter communities. Initial talks of having all the shifters register with the government had sparked heated debates and protests worldwide for several years.
    Eventually, everyone calmed down enough to realise that the shifters had always lived among the human population, and there really was no need to rock the boat. Outwardly, a few things did change. There were now awareness groups for shifters and ambassadors who worked with governments worldwide to act as liaisons between the government and shifter councils. What most people had seemed to forget for a time was that shifters were people, too. They'd been productive members of society from the beginning of time—earning income, paying taxes, voting for leaders and in general living their lives. The fact that they had a genetic ability to change shape was only one part of their existence.
    "Here you go, sweetie! One order of pancakes with strawberry topping and fresh OJ. Say, do you know when Jaryn going to have a pack meeting to announce your mating? I guess it would make sense to do it the night of the Harvest Moon. We usually have a big to-do out at the pack lodge."
    "Well, the thing is...we're not actually mates."
    Gillian sat in the booth across from Nicole. “What do you mean you're not mates? I heard from Mia, who heard from Kris, who's friends with Amanda—Landon's mom—that