Read Maggie's Wolves, Part Five: A BBW Shifter Romance (Red Mountain Pack Book 5) for Free Online Page B

only by a small white towel. She’d used his larger bath towel to wrap her hair. She yelped when she saw him, her eyes going wide. She clutched at the towel but instead of securing it, somehow managed to loosen the tucked end. Declan watched with interest as the towel sagged in the front, revealing the edge of one rosy areola. He was rooting for gravity, but Maggie managed to jerk the towel up before it fell any further.
    She lifted her chin like she was ready to take a punch. “What are you doing here?”
    “It’s my room.”
    “It’s…” She looked around the small, plain room. He knew it wasn’t much. He didn’t have many personal items to begin with and he didn’t like clutter. She frowned as her gaze returned to his face. “I’m sorry,” she said grudgingly. “I didn’t know. I thought it looked like the guest room.”
    “No.” He held up his folded clothes. “I needed to grab a few things. I don’t mind you using the room. I might not be living here much longer anyway.”
    Her mouth tightened at that. She thought he was poking at her again, but that hadn’t been his intention. He was just stating plain fact.
    “Didn’t you scent me in here?” he asked, curious.
    Something flickered across her fine-boned face too quick for him to read. “I scented wolf, but I didn’t know it was your wolf.” She shrugged a sweetly curved shoulder. “It just smelled like pack.”
    He took a step closer, intrigued by the fact that she didn’t back away. He liked her this way, vulnerable, maybe a little bit nervous but not frightened as she’d been last night. Alone, his wolf didn’t feel as threatened by the other males, her mates who couldn’t help but bristle every time Declan so much as looked at her.
    He wanted to look at her now. He took another step in her direction. She stiffened a bit and he stopped. “Your wolf should have recognized the difference.”
    “I’m broken, remember? Split inside. Separated from my wolf.”
    He winced. Had he said that? He might have when he’d been fighting with Case. It was something they often argued about. He thought Case needed to let his wolf take charge more often. Case was of the opinion that Declan needed to leash his.
    Maggie wasn’t as connected to her wolf as she should be. He could tell it was making the heat cycle difficult. Heat was wolf instinct, not human. Maggie should be letting her wolf make the decisions, but she was determined to remain in charge. She was fighting her wolf every step of the way and it was hard on her.
    There were bruises beneath her eyes and her skin was a shade too pale. She should be eating more too. An unwelcome wave of protectiveness came over him and he shoved it aside. It wasn’t his place to be taking care of her. She already had four mates for that.
    And yet here she was in his room.
    He reached out to touch her, uncertain of what she’d do. He barely brushed her cheek with his fingertips before letting his hand fall away.
    Her gaze locked on his. He still saw no sign that she was truly afraid of him. Unhappy about her own response—he could smell the faint spice of her arousal. Some natural wariness that seemed to be part of her personality. But not fear. Maybe the fear he’d scented on her earlier had been her being afraid he might damage her mates.
    He wouldn’t do that. He’d never have hurt Case or any of the others. He wouldn’t hurt her.
    He had to swallow past a lump in his throat before he could speak. “That’s a decision you’re making, not a permanent condition. Why don’t you let your wolf take charge of the heat? It would be much easier on you.”
    She surprised him by smiling. “Maybe. I was taught to keep my wolf in a cage.” She tapped her head with a finger. “That becomes a habit after a while.”
    He knew all about how hard bad habits were to break. He always lashed out at new people, throwing the first punch before they could hit him. Margot had taught him that.
    “You seem to be