Read Tessa, Vampire/Werewolf Romance, (Standalone) (Shadow Creek Shifters Book 3) for Free Online

you live amongst shifters I won’t worry so much about you, but I’m not pressing you on it. It’s totally up to you where you live. It’s just that besides one of the ranches near Creeksboro, there is only the boarding house in town. It gets pretty noisy there at night with all the drunks who room there when they’re too sloshed to drive home.”
    “Seth has a room there and that’s exactly what he did last night,” Tessa said.
    “Take your time, Tessa,” Chase said. “There’s no rush, is there?”
    “No. I just want to be clear that I will be leaving just as soon as I find a place. I don’t want to get any guff from any of you about it, either.”
    Katlyn crossed the room and gave Tessa a tight hug. When she let go, she said, “I’m not trying to be selfish. I just want what’s best for you, and I will miss you horribly if you leave.”
    Tears gathered in Tessa’s eyes, but she blinked them back. “I know, but this is no reflection on you, I assure you. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll come back if I can.”
    “You always have a place here any time you want to come back,” Brendan said.
    Tessa nodded and made way for the door, saying as she left, “I’ll let you know once I make arrangements.”
    She practically ran back to her cabin. If she had stayed one more second in their presence, she would have completely broken down, but that would have weakened her resolve to leave. She didn’t want to, but she felt that her life led her away from the ranch. Tessa just hoped it was the right decision.
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
    Tessa paced the living room, admiring the knotty pine walls. She’d hate to leave, but she knew she had to. She had flicked the channel on the remote, watching a few crime shows, but she was on edge. Would she be able to find a place to go or not? She was startled from her thoughts by a knock at her door. When she opened it, she was surprised it was Raphael.
    “Raphael. This is a surprise.”
    “I know, but Brendan called me and I figured it might be a good time to drop by and talk.”
    Tessa narrowed her eyes, but led the way inside. “And what, exactly , did Brendan say to you?”
    “No need to be defensive. He just asked me if I had a spare cabin for you to live in until you got your head straight.”
    “As in I don’t know what I’m thinking? All I wanted to do was figure out how this vampire thing works.”
    “I know. I have a cabin at Silver Creek and it won’t cost you anything. It’s a nice cabin, perhaps not quite as nice as this one, but I think you’ll like it. You’ll have all the privacy you need, too. I’m also not offering it to you because I expect anything in return. I just know what it feels like to want to figure out things on your own.”
    “Do tell.”
    “I told you I lived amongst the full-bloods, right?”
    “Yes, but not what led you there.”
    “My brother Nate was to be the alpha of the pack. I knew it growing up and there was no way I’d ever challenge him to be alpha myself. I had the wanderlust so strong back then, and I drifted for years. It led me into trouble and I was shot in wolf form. It was then that the full-bloods took me in and nursed me back to health. They didn’t care that I was half-human. I bonded with them and stayed.”
    “Why leave them then?”
    “When the Shifter Patrol began to cause problems and murder my own kind, I had to act. I’ve done some things that I’m not totally proud of, but I did it for the survival of all shifters, not just the werewolves. I never went back to live amongst the full-bloods after that. When I found out my brother Nate had been murdered by a human, I had to come back. Not to avenge his death, as that had been taken care of before I arrived, but it was my responsibility and duty to lead the pack and become their alpha.”
    “And it wasn’t something you wanted to do?”
    “Duty outweighs wants. I have to hone my nephew into the next alpha and it won’t be easy. He’s been quite a