Protective Instinct Read Free

wolf clawing at him, wanting to know who the hell was in his female’s home. Just as quickly he realized who the male was and opened the door. In a few steps he was in the living room and found Aldric in front of the fireplace, working on getting a fire going. The room was a mix of modern and country, or country chic as Teresa’s sister Natalia said. Whatever the hell that was.
    Ryan nodded at the male, not surprised to find him there since he’d been spending a lot of time with Natalia the past few months—which meant he was at the sisters’ home all the time. As far as anyone knew they weren’t actually seeing each other, but they were clearly close friends. “Where’s Natalia?”
    “Right here, cowboy,” she said, stepping back into the room with two beers in hand. “We’ve got beer in the fridge if you want one.”
    He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Nah, but thanks.” On instinct he looked up, as if he could somehow see through the damn ceiling to Teresa’s room. She hadn’t answered his texts or calls and when he’d gone to the main house Ana had been cagey about her whereabouts. That wasn’t like Ana, so he’d come here to find her. He needed to see Teresa with a desperateness that didn’t exactly surprise him. The urge to simply touch her, to run his fingers through the waves of her long, dark hair and see her equally dark, amber-flecked eyes flash with whatever emotion she was feeling at the moment.
    “So what’s up?” Natalia asked, collapsing on one of the leather couches closest to Aldric. She crossed her legs and took a sip of her beer as she watched him with an almost amused expression.
    As if she didn’t know why he was here. “Where’s your sister?”
    “Which one? I’ve got three.”
    He gritted his teeth, but forced himself to remain calm. He knew she was just messing with him. “The one I plan to mate.”
    “Mate? Hmm, doesn’t ring any bells. Can you be more specific?”
    “She’s gone with Rafael to look at some property a couple hours north. They left not too long ago,” Aldric said without looking up from the fire.
    “Damn it, Aldric.” Natalia nudged his back with a sock-clad foot. “Thanks for ruining my fun,” she muttered sulkily.
    Ryan ignored her and pinned Aldric with his gaze. His wolf swiped at him as he tried to digest what Aldric had just said. Teresa was off site with an unmated male? She hadn’t called or texted him to tell him either. What the hell?
    The male glanced over as a small fire started, then stood. “He’s a good male,” Aldric said. “She’ll be safe.”
    Rafael was also a single , alpha male, and according to some of the females in the pack, ‘so pretty to look at’. Not to mention he’d seen the way Rafael had been sniffing around the sisters’ house lately. Maybe that fucker thought Teresa was free and now planned to make his move. Over Ryan’s dead body. His jaw tightened as he tried to find his voice. “Does Ana know about this?”
    Natalia snorted. “It was her idea.”
    His gaze snapped to hers and he knew his wolf must be in his eyes because a wave of tension rolled off her, the sensation sharp and stinging. As an empath he sensed emotions even when he didn’t want to. Normally he could lock it down pretty tight, but right now he was grasping at his control, trying to get his shit together.
    Instead all he could do was picture that GQ-looking bastard with his female. “How long will they be gone?” he growled.
    Now Aldric stepped forward, all protective wolf as he moved fluidly in front of Natalia. Ryan wanted to roll his eyes but couldn’t manage even that. It wasn’t like he’d ever hurt a female. “They’re staying the night. You want the details, ask your Alpha.” The underlying bite to his words had Ryan’s hackles rising but he tamped all his anger back down because it wasn’t aimed at either of them.
    “I’ll see you guys later.” He left without waiting for a response. As he stepped outside he