Desired by the Pack: Part Two: A BBW Paranormal Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

was the one out for a time. Coming face to face with him now was awkward, and even more awkward because of the weirdness between them.
    He stopped pushing the cart and pointed a finger at her, like nothing had changed in their relationship. Like neither of them were keeping secrets where they’d never done so before. “You need to call them and go home to deal with this.”
    He referred to Beck and the Guardians alpha pack, of course.
    She focused on the v-neck of his skull-and-crossbones printed scrub top, hoping he wouldn’t see the longing she felt. “I’m fine. It just caught me by surprise. I lost track of the days.”
    “Go home, Jan. You look like you’re going to collapse where you stand.” He didn’t pull any punches with his words, but his tone was kind.
    But she didn’t need anybody’s kindness. She needed to survive the coming Heat spell with her dignity and her will intact. “I need to work. It distracts me.”
    Nothing like the troubles of an understaffed, over-crowded nursing home to dampen the hormonal fire that would soon tear through her.
    “If you don’t go home on your own, I will call them to come get you.” Prince started pushing the cart again. As he drew even with her he stopped again and added, “Do not be punched in when I finish this round.”
    She finally met his eyes and saw the concern she dreaded. Worse, she saw hunger. That gave her pause. Prince had never responded to her hormonal shifts before. As a man without the ability to change, he was the equivalent of a supernatural eunuch. He was right. If he sensed her upheaval and responded, she had to remove herself. She wasn’t safe in her condition.
    “Don’t call.” She swallowed. “I’ll go. Just don’t call.”
    “You should deal with this the right way. It’ll help.”
    Shaking her head, she made her muscles function well enough to head for the elevator. “It’ll only make things worse.”
    “Beck--”
    “Needs someone else,” she shot over her shoulder, cutting him off before he could say anything else. Prince sighed but didn’t correct her. What could he say, after all? She was not wrong. An alpha wolf needed a female who could lead alongside him and birth his heirs.
    She wasn’t willing to risk her life to be that female, even though her heart wanted exactly that.
    Forty-five minutes later, after masturbating behind the steering wheel in order to take the edge off her need and ensure she wouldn’t accidentally drive herself into a tree on the way home, she stood outside the farm house she’d bought with a small inheritance. She and Prince had shared the big house for nearly three years. She didn’t want to sell it or disrupt Prince’s life, so money would be tight while she paid mortgage and rent from Colorado.
    She would miss the house and the wide-open plot it sat upon. It had snowed while she was out of town. Now moonlight reflected off the ice covering a day-old layer of snow. January shivered as she spotted several sets of wolf tracks punching through the ice, a trail that started at the tree line and ended at the salted edge of her walkway.
    “No,” she whispered.
    At the foot of the steps that led up to the porch, she stopped and looked at the tracks again. That many prints meant more than the regular night guard had turned up, which meant they were here for more than watching her borders. One set pierced the snow apart from the rest, but didn’t come all the way to the house before it seemed to double back on itself. Frowning, she scanned the tree line, looking for a glimpse of Anders’ silver coat. She thought she saw a streak of something ghostly-white on the fringes of her vision but when she turned her head, the phantom was gone. Inexplicably, she had an urge to race across the snow, following the pale wisp of spirit. What she wouldn’t give for the chance to run with her wolf.
    A rumble of masculine laughter rolled from the house and short-circuited January’s system, banishing the