Lone Wolf (The Westervelt Wolves, Book 8) Read Free Page A

in a few weeks, I think you should talk to Michael. Talk to Tristan. Talk to anyone about what happened here .
    He swallowed, his mouth dry. To do so would be treason. We don’t talk about the Alpha behind his back.
    Even when you think the Alpha may have lost his mind?
    All thoughts of his father’s mental state were pushed aside as Carrie walked into the clearing. She wore a light lavender dress, the same one her mother had worn fifty years earlier. He’d watched her mother wed and never dreamed he’d see his own bride wearing the same clothes. On Carrie they were ethereal. He took a deep breath. It was the nature of his life to watch generations go by with no change in his own life and then suddenly be overwhelmed by how fast everything moved.
    She walked toward him . He loved the way the air shifted around her when she moved. Birds singing their last songs for the night ceased to make a sound when she passed. Carrie didn’t even know these things happened in her presence.
    Watching her for so long had given him so much knowledge about her, things he thought she didn’t even realize about herself. She twisted her hair when she tried to work out a problem. No one would ever be a more loyal friend than Carrie. Her fighting skills left something to be desired when she tried it on two legs. Four legs? She radiated strength and ability. Her wolf could handle anything thrown at her.
    Carrie took his hand. “Woolgathering again?”
    “Maybe.” He sighed. “Nothing overly important. I’m not solving the world’s ills tonight.”
    She scrunched her nose and he wanted to bend over and kiss it. The pack had started forming around them so he resisted the urge. There would be time for kissing—and lots of it—later.
    “Tonight is our mating. You can contemplate deep problems some other time.” She shrugged. “Unless, you know, it requires your attention this instant?”
    “No. It’s probably nothing.”
    Liar .
    He ignored his wolf. “Let’s go be mated.”
    Her grin spoke volumes. The woman wanted this as much as he did.

Chapter 2
    Carrie sighed as Gabriel pushed a strand of hair away from her face. Her wolf had gone noticeably quiet since the mating ceremony. The pack had dispersed to leave them alone. All that remained were Gabriel, a warm night breeze that seemed to have been handpicked for their mating, the privacy of the Westervelt woods, and her. She swallowed.
    It’s all good and fine to be so confident about the whole thing until it comes time to actually do the mating .
    Her wolf didn’t answer. Nothing like being ignored during nerve-racking times .
    Her mate, and even thinking of that term still made her heart jump, kneeled down in front of her. He kissed the top of her nose.
    “Looks like everybody cleared out.”
    She swallowed through her dry throat. “Looks that way.”
    It had been one thing to daydream about being with a Kane when Gabriel had alerted her to his feelings, but another thing to acknowledge her own. Her wolf had been ecstatic. Now? Reality descended on Carrie’s shoulders. How would she ever be enough for a prince of Westervelt? Kendrick both terrified and confused every wolf he came in contact with. Would Gabriel get to be like that as he got older?
    “You’re thinking about something and it’s making you nervous. I can smell it.”
    She jumped. Gabriel’s deep voice resonated in her head. The mating ceremony had given them both the ability to communicate telepathically with each other. Some of the Kanes were strong enough to do that with the whole pack anytime they wanted, but Gabriel had never done that before.
    “Have you always been able to speak in my head?”
    He took her hand in his. “No. Dad can do that. Tristan can, but he doesn’t. Michael has a little bit of that ability. I guess he’ll have more after he’s Alpha. Me? No, I don’t have a lot of magic, not really. I’m pretty run-of-the-mill on the powers scale.” His dark gaze met hers. “But I have