Cherished: True Mates Book 5 (BBW Wolf Shifter Romance) (A Craggstone Paranormal Romance) Read Online Free PDF

That was what I had been trained to do, not being sidelined, babysitting women.
    Grunting, I jogged around the edge of the house, following the tree line back to the rendezvous point. Checking behind me, Luis gave me the okay signal, bringing up the rear. The women were straggling, their faces white with fear, their breathing ragged at the rapid pace I was setting, but we were running out of time. If Bert somehow managed to overpower the Colstone Pack…well, we needed to get the women to safety.
    One woman stumbled, clutching her swollen belly, pink dotting her cheeks. She stopped, sucking in deep breaths, waving her hand for us to keep going.
    “Oliver—”
    Before Ana even had the chance to finish her sentence I released her hand and ran back, scooping the struggling woman off her feet and cradling her as gently as I could manage. “We keep going. All of us,” I ordered, jogging back to Ana.
    I glanced down at the woman in my arms. She was too pale. “How far along are you?” I asked, dreading the answer.
    “Thirty-eight weeks,” she huffed out, her mouth twisting in pain.
    Shit! “Are you in labor?”
    Ana ground to a sudden halt. “What the—? Catherine! You’re in labor?”
    Catherine shook her head, and my heart started beating again. “I don’t think so. Just cramps.”
    “Why didn’t you say anything?”
    “Because I wanted to keep my baby.”
    Sweet Mother of All! I wanted to kill every single one of the bastards, rip them apart with my bare hands. I caught Luis’ eye, and from the look on his face he felt exactly the same.
    We were nearing the others when a high-pitched scream pierced the air. Ana skidded to a stop, then without a murmur darted off in the direction of the noise.
    I knew where she was going. The children.
    I looked down at the woman in my arms, then back at the sight of my mate tearing off across the clearing.
    Fuck!
    Without checking with Luis I tore off through the trees, my heart thundering in my chest.
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
    Ana
    I knew it was Josh. A mother couldn’t mistake her own child’s cry, even if that child had been ripped from her and kept at arm’s length for most of his life. I had to get to him, and protect him somehow.
    I forced my legs to go faster, arms pumping at my side. The dormitory building where they housed the children was just ahead. I was nearly there.
    Glancing over my shoulder I couldn’t decide if I felt relief or disappointment that Oliver hadn’t followed me. If he’d followed you, you would have been tackled and taken down by now. It wasn’t like he could have just dropped the pregnant woman onto the ground and followed me. He wasn’t that type of guy.
    Bert would have, the thought crept into my mind.
    Bert wouldn’t have been carrying her in the first place! I corrected myself firmly.
    Out of the corner of my eye I saw a huge wolf darting out from around the corner of Bert’s shack. Stumbling, I fell to one knee. Dragging myself back up I locked eyes with the beast.
    Friend or foe?
    When he didn’t move and just stared at me, his head cocked as though trying to puzzle me out, I took a slow step back, not daring to take my eyes off of him.
    Glass splintered behind him, a large man crashing through the small opening and landing on the ground a few feet away from me. This man I recognized. He was one of Bert’s men.
    Shaking himself off, he staggered to his feet, noticing me for the first time.
    “What the fuck are you doing out of the house?” he growled, taking a menacing step toward me.
    The wolf snarled from behind him, his hackles raised, his ears pinned back.
    Bert’s guard whirled around, his head bobbing back and forth, trying to keep us both in view.
    Friend then.
    “You might come in handy, actually.” The words had no sooner left his mouth before he was lurching toward me, meaty hands grabbing for my arm.
    I hadn’t come this far to fall at the first hurdle. “Get the fuck away from me!” I screamed and kicked out my