Passions Recalled: Forbidden Passions, Book 2 Read Free

wouldn’t have moved heaven and earth to get to her, to see for himself. If that was true, she had no choice but to face reality. He wasn’t here. He hadn’t come. She’d been nothing more than a means to an end, a game piece in the ongoing war between the two most powerful clans in North American. But why wait so long to go after them, after her land? Why now?
    And why on earth was he in Florida? Everything west of the Mississippi belonged to the leopards. East of it was wolf land. Most of the Gulf Coast was dolphin land, however. Jason would have had to get their permission to move into their territory. She was pretty sure his park belonged to the dolphins. Panama City was far from the mighty river’s borderlands, those wild and untamed places most shifters chose not to live in, but where anyone strong enough could.
    Lyra’s pretty face rose in her mind, accompanied with the usual worry. Her cousin had disappeared from her medical clinic in the borderlands a few months ago. Celeste had heard through the family grapevine the cats had had something to do with it, but no one could tell her what exactly and her oldest brother, Bastien, had warned her to stay out of it when she’d mentioned asking Lyra’s parents if they knew anything. Lyra’s father was reported to be in a state beyond rage, so Celeste had taken her brother’s advice without batting an eye. She wasn’t in a hurry to face her uncle’s infamous temper.
    “You have to go to him,” Michael ordered, the bit of pleading in his eyes jerking her out of her thoughts. “Explain our position.”
    She barked out a laugh. She didn’t understand their position; how could she explain it? Fury rose, swelling her chest to what felt like impossible proportions, making her head ache, her fingers itch with the urge to hit something.
    “How would I do that exactly?” she asked sarcastically.
    “We were taking care of you. We were protecting you.”
    A glance around the room told her her brothers clearly hadn’t agreed with this approach, but they’d followed their Alpha. No wolf would have dared to defy him. Even her mother wouldn’t have stood up to Michael, her mate. Celeste’s heart hammered, a whispered voice buried deep in her mind railing against the betrayal. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Her brothers, her mother all had given into Michael’s demands, despite knowing how much it would tear her apart. Ever the loyal family and pack, willing to forgive whatever stupid decisions he might make. Celeste, on the other hand, was not a werewolf or mated to one, and she was not so forgiving.
    Her whole life had changed in that instant, and the person she’d needed there the most wasn’t. Now it was happening again. It was too much to take, too much information at one time. She was angry, shocked and hurt. Confused. She couldn’t stay another minute and quickly walked from the room. Digging her keys out of her pocket she ignored questions about where she was going. At the door, she didn’t even pause, just gulped a deep breath, and sprinted into the rain to her car. She was inside and driving before she could string a coherent thought together.
    What was she going to do? She didn’t believe for one minute Jason didn’t know she was alive. If he’d loaned Michael money, wouldn’t he have checked the family out? The Jason she remembered was fun and light-hearted, but serious minded and thorough. She’d go to Derek. She’d known him for years, but he was much older than her, ran in a totally different crowd when they were young. They hadn’t become friends until she returned from college…and not good friends until the accident. He’d got her through those first awful lonely months when she’d still had to fight her body’s and mind’s cravings for Jason every day.
    She frowned. If Jason didn’t know she was alive, she had to let him know. It wouldn’t be fair not to, and she didn’t think she could resist the urge to find him, to go to him.