Deadly Mates (Deadly Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page B

cramped space.  For the last five minutes Chris and Tommy had been chatting with me as if Dominic weren’t there, and Dominic looked as if he were about ready to snap. 
    I scrubbed at my face and leaned back in my chair, stretching my legs out in front of me.  “Yep, Dominic’s graduating this year and Jared’s a year older than me.”
    Tommy grunted.  “He looks like a pup.”  He cut a quick look at Dominic.  “How long have you been in the pack, kid?”
    “Two years,” Dominic said, his tone more hostile than I would have liked, but I guessed I couldn’t really blame him.  They were being dicks.  He pushed off of the counter and headed to the cupboard, pulled it open, and grabbed four mugs, setting them on the table, before pulling out a chair and taking a seat.
    “And Jade, the alp ha female, she’s only eighteen?”  Tommy asked, his tone calm, friendly even, as if we were old friends just catching up.  He switched off the burners and began dishing out scrambled eggs onto the plates that were lining the counter.
    “She is,” I said, keeping my tone just as friendly.  I knew what they were doing.  Trying to loosen me up.  Looking for the foothold.  They were under orders to stay and help me out, and they were looking for a reason to do just that.  I probably should have told them that they would be sticking around for a bit, but honestly, I was kind of enjoying watching them sweat a little.
    “So every pack member in a position of real power is under twenty -one.”  The coffee pot rumbled and spat out the last of the brew.  Chris reached for it, pouring himself a cup.  He took a deep drink before glancing over his shoulder.  “You ever heard of anything like this before, Tommy?  Because I sure as hell haven’t.”
    “Nope ,” Tommy said, as he made his way over to the table, juggling the heaping plates of eggs and bacon, and passed them out.
    “Ray replaced all the enforcers with newly turned werewolves,” Dominic offered.  “He ran his last beta out of town, too, when I was turned.  He wanted people he could mold, ones that didn’t know any d ifferent, didn’t know pack law.”
    “Huh.”  Tommy sat down, grabbed his fork, and shoveled in a large mouthful of eggs.  His forehead creased, a sharp V forming in between his eyes, as he tried to make sense out of what Dominic said.  We ate in silence for a long moment before he said, “And you’ve let your head enforcer move in with your mate.”
    “She’s not my mate.”  The words felt like gravel on my tongue.  I hated how screwed up this whole situation was.  I figured I deserved it all, but really, Jade was taking this too far.  Yeah, I’d hid things from her and lied to her, but right now she was screwing with the delicate balance that I’d created within the pack and whether she knew it or not, she was on the verge of shattering it completely.  We were supposed to be a team and her ignoring me wasn’t showing a united front.  It was making the pack nervous, and a nervous pack of werewolves was really not something either of us needed.
    Tommy waved a fork at me.  “She’s the alpha female, which makes her your mate.”
    I rolled my eyes and let out a long, windy sigh.  “According to her, it doesn’t.”
    “You know what I’d do?” Chris said casually, as if he were just making small talk and not trying to give me advice.  “If I was the alpha, I’d force that enforcer out of her house.  You said they aren’t mated.  There’s really no reason why they should be living together.”
    “I don’t know about that,” Tommy said.  “If she’s as hard headed as I hear, she’d probably just follow him.  I’d send him out of town; get him away from her altogether.”
    I groaned.  I was way too tired to play this friendly chat game.  “Guys, I know what you’re doing.  I’ve watched you work with Dad long enough to know what this is, so cut the small talk crap.”  I snagged the coffee pot