Read Betrayed (Wolf Gatherings Book 6) for Free Online Page B

In a way he was.
    Heather made a pile of her clothes and quickly shifted. She nudged her mate, tucking her nose up under his front paw.
    His eyes danced as he turned to her. And then he pounced, flattening her to the ground in submission, belly up. He held her down with one paw.
    Fine. Got it. You’re the alpha. You can assert your authority in that area as soon as you shift . Too bad she had no way to communicate her thoughts with him. The only thing she could do was stay still and let him assert himself. In a strange warped way, she was turned on by his dominance.
    Shifters didn’t mate in their wolf form. Their minds were advanced even shifted. It wasn’t something she would ever do. But she was nevertheless attracted to what small portion of his personality she was privy to in his natural form.
    He couldn’t talk to her, but he demonstrated his strength and virility anyway.
    •●•
    Marcus stared down at his gorgeous mate, his heart pounding, his chest heaving. He held her steady for longer than necessary, hoping to ensure she understood he wasn’t some dumb mutt. He was her mate.
    Not that he was an ass, but he wasn’t the pushover she may have perceived him to be.
    He’d conceded to the bloodwork for several reasons. To do otherwise would have been suspicious. If they happened to find traces of some substance from years ago or even last year, it would only indicate he too was a victim. If not, he would be cleared of any possible ulterior motives the Spencers may suspect of him concerning Heather. Hell, he would be relieved to have the confirmation he was not under the influence of any substance affecting his knowledge that Heather was his true mate.
    Now, if he could get her healed and then keep her safe, he’d be one hundred times more relaxed. Shifting could wait. The snake bite had shaved years off his life. Adding the knowledge she’d been drugged made his blood boil.
    He’d nearly pounced on her when he’d come inside the house, shoving the Spencers out of the way to make sure she was safe and healing. How on earth he’d thought he could leave her and walk away into the woods, he couldn’t imagine. It hadn’t taken him long to wander back toward the main house, worry eating at his gut.
    The Spencers were right about one thing, it had been a while since he’d shifted. And Natalie was astute about his state also. It hadn’t been so long that he was a bedraggled mess. He was matted for sure, but not beyond repair. Nothing a shower and a comb wouldn’t fix.
    Marcus released Heather and nudged her to stand. He pawed at her hind leg, hoping to ascertain the level of her discomfort.
    Heather picked up the afflicted paw and wiggled it. She nodded as she set it down, and then she took off running into the tree line.
    The little imp.
    Marcus bounded after her. What if she got bit again? Or fell? Or couldn’t make it back?
    Since when do you worry so much about someone else’s safety?
    Since I met my mate .
    She didn’t go far before pausing to rest her hind leg. She plopped down in a meadow and lolled in the sun. Marcus glanced around, unsure about the level of their safety. Surely Heather knew what she was doing. He hoped she wasn’t foolish enough to put herself in danger. She hadn’t done anything yet to concern him to that level, but he barely knew her.
    And he wasn’t convinced about the safety level of the ranch yet. There were a few members of the North American Reserves milling around at all times, probably remnants of whatever had gone down on the ranch before he’d arrived. NAR could only do so much. They had a few guys staying in one of the cabins on the property, but however many others had been there before, they were gone now.
    He feared whatever army his grandfather had assembled.
    He attempted to piece together Heather’s story. She was from Oregon, so it meant she’d traveled quite a distance to get to the ranch in northwest Texas. And this family was not her own.
    She’d spoken