Wolf With Benefits Read Free Page B

speaking to me.” She rubbed the side of her nose, an old trick to stymy her tears. “I really don’t want to clean houses or do general maintenance work.”
    The Sullivan family cleaned several houses in Willow Bend, their handyman service proved valuable to the pack from the former Alpha’s residence to the more modest homes. The pack took care of their own and if they ever felt the Sullivans needed more help, another family found a reason to hire them. Spring cleaning, holiday sprucing, or general work like deep cleaning kitchens and bathrooms—anything to keep the family going if word slipped out among the pack that they needed money.
    Hell, Shiloh and her siblings attended college on the money her parents put away from work generated by the pack. Though, he like every other wolf, never discussed those facts with the Sullivans. They had as much pride as any wolf, but their determination to remain human in the wolf pack included avoiding the most obvious connections—like the fact they were pack as far as the rest were concerned.
    “You’ll get a job,” he assured her. Someone in the pack would find work for her. “You have a fancy degree.”
    “For social work.” She drained her beer and he opened a second one for her without waiting for her to ask. They traded bottles, and she sighed. “I’m qualified to work with troubled kids, troubled families…” With a sigh, she took another long pull. Her scent teased him, fresh air with a touch of tangy citrus blended with sea spray and a hint of lily. Her scent reminded him of a world traveler, every time she went away to school and came home, she added another nuance to it.
    Being around Shiloh reminded him of standing on the shore of the big lake with the wind ruffling his hair. Her scent carried freedom with the promise of more. Giving her a squeeze, he said. “So you can work with the kids at the school or around the pack. We have our own issues you know.”
    “Oh yeah, I do know. But we don’t have domestic violence or kids cutting school or...homeless issues. Crisis intervention and community organization from a human for wolves? Not really something I see happening.”
    Giving into his curiosity, he finished his beer before asking, “Is that why you did it?”
    “Did what?”
    “Abandoned all of us to help form an illegal sixth pack?” The question came out a blunt, but he still couldn’t wrap his mind around Shiloh’s rebellious activities.
    “I don’t see it as illegal.”
    “How can you not see it as illegal? You’re Willow Bend. You fostered the violation of laws by Lone Wolves and helped cover…” Shock went through him. “Bleaching the houses. That was you.” Why the hell hadn’t he seen it? The details remained sketchy and on a need to know basis, but Margo mentioned it after their last dinner with her mate before she went to Italy. The Sullivans knew how to clean houses for wolves, how to eliminate unwanted scents and more. Shiloh grew up with them and her family specialized in house and handy work.
    Holy shit. Does Mason know? Choking on his beer, Matt didn’t want to know. It meant Shiloh had done more than support the effort to unite the Lone Wolves on their journeys around the country—she’d also helped them accomplish it.
    “Do you know what social work means, Matt?” The rich hazel of her eyes shimmered even under the sliver of light offered by the waxing crescent moon. “It means we work to better those suffering from social disadvantages—poverty, mental illness, physical disability, sickness, and social injustice. Do you know what constitutes social injustice in a pack? Or in all of the packs?”
    Dropping his chin to his chest, he sucked in a breath. “Shi, stop talking.”
    “Because whatever I tell you, you may have to tell Mason?”
    “Exactly.” He wouldn’t betray his best friend, not for anything in the world. Yet, if his Alpha asked…
    “He knows.” Her admission shocked him. Jerking his gaze to her