Read Betrayed (Wolf Gatherings Book 6) for Free Online

it would hit the spot. I know it’s technically too hot outside for soup these days, but when I’m feeling under the weather, I like it anyway.”
    “Yes.” She licked her lips. “You’re correct.”
    Natalie returned with a bowl, a chunk of fresh-baked bread, and a glass of iced tea. She took a seat next to Heather.
    “So…”
    Heather shook her head and nodded toward her feet. Hopefully Natalie would get her drift. Maybe if she stopped pandering to the stupid wolf, he would come around.
    Or maybe it wasn’t that he didn’t want to shift. Maybe he couldn’t.
    Shit . “Could a wolf spend so much time shifted that they can’t shift back, do you suppose?”
    Natalie’s eyelids rose. “I suppose. We were just discussing that possibility in fact. I’ve never known anyone who did, though.” She glanced under the table. “Frankly, I don’t think it’s been too long. He’s a little ragged, but not the way I’d expect him to look if he’d been in this form for years.”
    “True.” Heather blew on a bite and sipped it. Heaven. She moaned. The wolf lifted his face. “So he’s just an ass.”
    Now he growled.
    Natalie smiled. “I wouldn’t go that far. He’s awfully protective. Not leaving your side. He knows.”
    “Yeah, he knows all right. Thought he might have a coronary when I got out of bed in my undies.”
    Natalie laughed. “Hmm. If that didn’t do it…”
    “Maybe he didn’t like what he saw.”
    The wolf growled again.
    “Okay so not that.”
    The men suddenly burst into the room from outside, letting the screen door slam behind them. The wolf sat up on his haunches and eased closer to her leg.
    “You’re awake,” Jerome said.
    “Yep.”
    He glanced at the floor. “And your mate hasn’t shifted yet.”
    “Nope.”
    The men all took seats at the table, and Natalie went to the stove to bring over the pot of soup.
    “Do you know how hot it is out there, Mom?” Scott asked.
    “Shut your mouth. This is for Heather. If you don’t want it, make a sandwich.”
    Scott lifted his arms. “Sorry. That was rude.”
    “Very.” Natalie resumed her spot at the table. She must have already eaten. She hadn’t set a place for herself.
    Scott, Jerome, and Jerrod, the youngest Spencer at only twelve, started eating.
    “Did Drake go back to his own place for lunch?” Natalie asked them.
    “Yeah.” Jerome swallowed his bite. “Said he needed to help Kenzie with the baby. She apparently didn’t get much sleep last night.”
    “That poor girl. I’ll go relieve her in a while so she can take a nap.”
    “Maybe I’ll go with you,” Heather said.
    The wolf perked up at the pronouncement. She’d known he would. In a moment he settled back at her feet. She’d only said it to get a rise out of him. It worked.
    It didn’t last long, however. Jerome spoke again. “I’ve been thinking. Do you think it’s possible your wolf has been drugged? That could explain why he hasn’t shifted. He could be held in a suspended state and can’t reach beyond the drugs yet.”
    Heather almost fell out of her chair when her wolf jumped to both feet and stared at Jerome. Bingo.
    Jerome smiled. “Okay then. That’s a possibility. Perhaps he escaped the Romulus and hasn’t been able to shift yet.”
    “Why do you suppose he came here?” Heather wondered if he knew about the ranch and came for a similar reason. Refuge. But that didn’t explain his reluctance to shift.
    Heather set her hand on the wolf’s head and wove her fingers into his fur. She hated the idea, but considering how many shifters had fallen under the influence of the Romulus, it wasn’t far-fetched to assume this wolf had been among the victims.
    “If he’s been receiving the same drugs as the other members of the Romulus, why isn’t he extraordinarily large and strong?”
    The wolf stiffened.
    “Sorry. Didn’t mean it as an insult.” She held his head and tipped his jaw up to meet his gaze. “Have you seen those