Allister, J. Rose - Discarded Cowboys [Lone Wolves of Shay Falls 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read Free Page A

change during the spell. It is a small price to pay for our assistance in curing you, no?”
    Glittering eyes flicked wildly back and forth between Talaitha and her father, seeming to measure them both. She did her best to keep her expression neutral when the naked man’s gaze landed on her for a long moment. Finally, he relaxed. “All right.”
    “Right this way,” Zakono said, affecting a tone of welcome as he started off in the direction where Talaitha knew the other werewolf was already caged. That would be interesting to explain. While she walked behind the men in silence, she considered potential explanations so they could get this other shifter into the cage with the other one without a fight. Oh, why hadn’t she thought it through before opening her mouth?
    “Seems there are others of you in the area,” Zakono went on. “Another just came to us, in fact, pleading for help. He is quite distraught and upset at the moment about full moon’s approach, as I’m sure you can understand. He is desperate to be free of the curse before moonrise. We will perform the ritual on you both together.”
    Talaitha blinked at her father’s quick lie. The man definitely thought fast on his feet, something she wished she had inherited.
    When they approached the cage, the blond man was facing away from them, displaying perfectly round buttocks and thick, hard thighs. They were still several feet off when he whipped around to face them, and his eyes immediately narrowed at the sight of the other shifter.
    “You know one another?” Zakono asked, his step wavering slightly.
    The man beside her shook his head, and she stifled a sigh of relief. Good. Hopefully the caged one wouldn’t be able to relay any silent message to warn him off, the way it seemed their kind could do with others in their own packs.
    “No matter,” her father went on. “You have some things in common. I’m sure you’ll be fast friends after this.”
    She heard the rattle of keys while he pulled them from his pocket, and the blond heard it, too. His eyes went wide. No doubt he would charge the door the moment her father opened it.
    A short metal ramp extended from the back of the trailer bed housing the cage, and Zakono waved the shifter ahead of him as they climbed it.
    The caged creature cocked his head. “You’re comin’ to this willingly?”
    She was surprised to note his voice held a similar Western twang to her mate’s, or rather, the man who might have been.
    He nodded. “Desperately. As are you, I’m told.”
    The other stared at him, clearly confused. “Is that what you were told?”
    Her stomach tightened. Strangers or not, the other shifter might well reveal their trick before they could maneuver this one into the cage. Zakono moved forward with the keys, and from behind his back she saw him pull out a long glint of metal.
    “You’re a damn fool,” the blond spat.
    That made the man in front of her pause, stiffening.
    “You never did tell me your name,” Talaitha said hurriedly, pushing in front of her father. The man turned to her, and with their relative positions on the ramp, he towered over her even more now. “I’ll need your name for the spell.”
    He eyed her. “I’m Russell. Russell Steven Adams.”
    The blond stepped forward, stopping halfway to the cage door. “Well, Russell Steven Adams,” he said in a sarcastic mockery of Russell’s more-pronounced drawl, “you’re a fuckin’ idiot.”
    “But I am not,” Zakono said.
    Her father’s quick motion startled Russell into a double take, but he was no more shocked than she was. Her father pulled hard on her long hair, exposing her throat to the cool, sharp blade he now held against it. She could feel his hot breath on her ear. “Get into the cage, dog, or I’ll slit her throat.”
    She gasped in horror, and her eyes flew wide, meeting Russell’s. In contrast, his had flared into bright golden flames that were narrowed into slits. “You lied to me,” he said,