Read Online To Catch His Mate (Crescent Moon Series Book 5) by Savannah Stuart, Katie Reus - Free Book Online Page B

forty and unmated, whereas the Kincaid pack and her own pack had plenty of shifters over a hundred. And most of them were coupled up.
    He nodded once. “Once my uncle died, the older members dispersed. They didn’t like the thought of me taking over instead of his son. Though none of them were willing to challenge me over it. They wanted an older leader.” Reece lifted a shoulder and she could tell he truly wasn’t bothered by it.
    “Why didn’t your cousin become alpha?”
    “He didn’t want to. I…honestly don’t know who would have won in a challenge. He’s strong and smart, but he simply didn’t want the responsibility of a pack.”
    That was a big admission for an alpha to make. It meant his cousin was as powerful as him physically. “Do you guys still talk?”
    A small smile touched his lips. “Damn near every week. He’s busy trotting around the globe doing God knows what right now.”
    “What about you and your uncle? Were you guys close?” He’d never said much about his relationship with the deceased alpha.
    “As much as we could be. He was a hard male. Fair, but old school. My father and he had a falling out before I was born.” Reece paused as their server returned with their drinks; wine for her and a beer for him.
    After the man took their order and they were alone again she looked back at Reece. “Keep going. Please.” She wanted to know everything about this male.
    Taking her by surprise, he reached across the white linen cloth tabletop and took her hand, linking his fingers through hers. The skin to skin contact sent a shiver through her, especially since she knew how talented he was with those fingers. “After my parents were killed he took me in, no questions asked. And he never made me feel like he was doing me a favor or that he cared for me less because of my father. To him, blood and family were important and he took that seriously. Some days I don’t think he knew what to do with me. I was very…strong willed.”
    She snickered. “Most alphas are.”
    His lips curved up as he nodded. “Yeah. My father wasn’t an alpha though so I think it took him by surprise. When he figured out I had the makings of one, he started teaching me to fight, to take care of myself right away. I miss him. What about you? Was it hard growing up as a pack princess?”
    She rolled her eyes at the term. “I never felt unloved. Sometimes I think my dad tried to overcompensate since it was just him raising me.” Well, him and the pack. They all took care of each other. It was the shifter way. “He was just very protective sometimes.” That being an understatement.
    “Good,” Reece grunted.
    She lifted her eyebrows. “Good?”
    He just nodded.
    “So…if we decide to maybe…” She felt weird saying the word mate.
    “Mate?” Apparently he had no such issue. His eyes went pure wolf as he watched her.
    She cleared her throat. “Yes. If we do, are you going to send bodyguards with me if I want to go shopping?”
    “No. I’ll just go with you myself.”
    “That’s not what I mean.”
    “I know. And… I don’t know. If there’s a threat to the pack, yeah, I’ll probably go into crazy lockdown mode and give you…uh, ask you, if you want bodyguards.”
    “Ask me, huh?”
    “Yes.”
    She’d noticed that while he was alpha, he didn’t order her around. Even when he’d been annoyed that she’d been dancing with other males, he didn’t get all macho and crazy about it like she knew some alphas could. Which brought up another question. “I heard from Max that you came to the Crescent Moon bar the other night. The night before you came to see me at Charlie’s.”
    His fingers tightened slightly against hers. “I did.”
    “Why didn’t you approach me then?”
    He paused, clearly measuring his words. “I didn’t want to ambush you. I’d just found out what you’d overheard and you looked like you were having fun. I didn’t want to give you another reason to hate me.”
    Their