Wolf Unbound: Aspen Valley Wolf Pack Read Free Page A

weren’t you? She’s a lost cause, like I’ve said. She’s been promised to him since before Simon was named Beta. Only reason they’re not mated yet is because she’s human. The mating is different between a human and a shifter, you know? We can’t go around biting humans like we can our own kind. I’ll let you in on a little something. Her refusal to mate him right now is our gain and his downfall. However, I doubt she’ll be able to hold him off any longer.”
    “Well, if there’s no consent, why was she being pursued and forced like that?”
    “Her family owes a debt to the Montagues, so they’ve benefited from Simon's money already.”
    “And let me guess? She doesn’t want to go through with it.”
    “You’ve got it. Us wolves mate humans every day and, unfortunately, sometimes those reasons are business-driven. But that’s neither here nor there. Simon's choice of a mate isn’t what concerns us right now. Truthfully, I hope she fights it until we get a hold of Simon. If she doesn’t and moves ahead with the mating, she’ll be a widow. There are more than a handful of us that wants Simon dead and gone for good. So, will you help us make that happen?”

Chapter Two
    I t was settled .
    According to the agreement her father had entered into over a decade ago to save the tavern, Autumn North would be mated to Simon Montague, Beta of the Cross City Wolf Pack. She had successfully prevented having to go through with the arrangement by avoiding Simon altogether and hoping that he’d come to grips that there was nothing she could or would do for him to make him happy or better off.
    Quite frankly, she wanted nothing to do with the man. After running around the country, bedding every woman in sight, and testing the waters, Simon had suddenly decided to expedite the mating. She wasn’t having any of it, and would do any and everything in her power to have the agreement annulled, but Simon was more powerful than she realized—in both the human and shifter communities. His decision to rush things before she could afford a good lawyer had come right after her dad’s death. And coincidentally, full ownership of the tavern had transferred to Simon.
    Autumn pushed the phony-looking documents with suspicious-looking contract terms back across the table to Simon and his cock-eyed lawyer.
    “I’m not agreeing to this,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s been changed. The terms have been altered.”
    “What you don’t understand, Ms. North, is that it can’t be canceled?” the lawyer replied. “We can negotiate the terms, which is what we’re doing here, but nothing involving the mating or marriage will be nullified.”
    “This is bull! All these years, this…” she threw her hands up “…whatever you want to call it could have been done and over with and I could’ve made arrangements to purchase my tavern back and gotten on with my life.”
    Like dating and finally committing to a man of my choosing. Of course, she didn’t add the last statement. Her love life or lack thereof was none of Simon's business.
    “Simon's a very busy man, Ms. North. I’m sure you understand that and our rules. You’ve been living with a member of our Pack for years now.”
    Autumn rolled her eyes.
    Simon smiled widely. He reminded Autumn of a Cheshire cat.
    “And let’s not mention my duty to my Pack,” he added. “Things have been chaos for us over the past few years and I had a duty to focus on that more than my own mating. Truthfully, I wasn’t certain how this mating could be beneficial, but now that I understand my grandfather’s vision—who was once Alpha of the Cross City Wolf Pack—my focus has been renewed.”
    Bullshit.
    “Does your other duties include frequent visits to the local strip joint and whorehouse up the street from the tavern? Isn’t that where your focus resided not too recently?”
    Simon gave her a sheepish look. “I—”
    Autumn held up her hand. “I don’t even want to know