Read Promised: True Mates Book 1 (BBW Paranormal Wolf Shifter Romance) (A Craggstone Paranormal Romance) for Free Online

They recognize each other, and want to be together.” His fingertips danced on my arm, leaving goose bumps in their wake. “A true mating means that both the human half and the animal half are happy and complete. Joined on both a soul and heart level, unbreakable, until the next cycle.”
    My voice stuck in my throat as my mind reeled and spun. This was so different to what I had been told, brought up to believe.
    “I don’t understand,” I croaked out eventually. “I was told that the male shifter’s beast chose a female and that was it. No further discussion or talk of souls entwining. That it is all biological, the need to procreate and strengthen the male’s line. That the female didn’t have a choice, her mate would be decided by the Alpha,” my voice broke, while numbness held my mind in a vice. “Then again, I was also told it was completely normal for the male shifter to choose more than one female for his mate, that sometimes he just had to.” My voice rang sarcastic and bitter in my ears.
    “Oh, Kara,” James said softly, wrapping his strong arms around me and pulling me close. Stroking my hair as if to soften the blow, he continued, “He lied. Eric lied to you. Do you find that hard to believe?”
    “Not just Eric,” my words were muffled against his broad chest. “Lots of the men. They told all the women, and we believed them,” I gasped out, close to crying.
    “Did the Alpha tell you these lies? The older men? The older women?” James questioned, cursing under his breath. “Your old pack is diseased, rotten from the core.”
    “No, not the Alpha. But he barely speaks anymore, and no one sees him — except Eric. The Alpha has turned into a recluse since his mate died, so Eric, his son, acts as proxy and leads the pack in his name. There are no elders, apart from the Alpha. I think…I think Eric and his friends killed them, but I didn’t know what to do or who to tell,” I whispered, sobbing into his shirt.
    Guilt wracked me as I remembered the kindly faces from my youth. The women who had fed me, clothed me, and held me when I woke from terrible nightmares. The men who had taught me not to be afraid, how to look after myself, and how to hunt. All gone. And no questions. Everyone was too afraid, too worried about becoming a target. By the time I was a teenager, Eric and his crew ruled the pack, and the Alpha had withdrawn.
    I looked up at James. How could I tell him what it had been like? Living with the promise of violence, scared to sleep, scared each time I eventually fell asleep that I wouldn’t wake up in time to run and hide. Eric liked his games. James would see me as the coward I really was. I shoved all my memories back into their box, and swiping at my eyes, quickly jumped to my feet.
    “Come on then, I thought this was a party?” Hearing the desperation in my voice, I mentally begged James to understand.
    “Ah—” James blinked, confused by my sudden about turn. “Well…sure! Let’s introduce you to some of the pack. They are all dying to meet you, and since this is going to be your new home—”
    “James—”
    “— if you decide to stay here. Whatever happens, it would be nice if you knew your way around,” he continued, rising from the couch to tower over me. “We can continue our talk later,” he added. His tone was light, but his eyes promised to make good on the threat. “Anyway, you are the guest of honor, we don’t want people complaining that I am monopolizing your time,” he said with a wink.
    Placing his hand on the small of my back, he guided me around the room, stopping to make small talk and introduce me to people. Everyone smiled, welcoming me heartily, their expressions ranging from that of genuine interest to expressions of relief. The last puzzled me. Whispering sprung up in our wake, a buzzing sound mixing with the incessant throb of the music.
    I turned to James while we were, for this second, alone. “They do know I am a shifter, don’t