Full Circle (Central Florida Pack Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

her, his head cocked to the side. "I'm surprised you're in today." It wasn't a statement. It was a veiled question. James excelled at that. He leaned in and sniffed.
    She stuck her chin out. Just because she'd had a crush on Drake since high school didn't mean she would or had to sleep with him. "Why wouldn't I be here?"
    He crossed his arms over his chest. "Funny, I didn't think he'd let you walk away."
    Ria turned and walked toward her desk. James' stare felt like an itch between her shoulder blades. She knew he wouldn't leave her alone until he got an answer that satisfied him. James was like that, a dog with a bone.
    "Who says I let her walk anywhere?"
    Ria spun away from the desk. Drake stood in the doorway, dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a button-down shirt. He took her breath away. She hated the way her body immediately reacted to him. In a rush of panic and retaliation she asked, "Who says that you have the right to let me do anything?"
    James chuckled and moved to her side. She shot him a look and he grinned at her. "I never get between a wolf and his mate."
    She crossed her arms and spat out from between gritted teeth. "Will you two stop? I'm not his mate. He's just horny."
    James laughed and headed to the door. "You just keep thinking that. Good luck." He clapped a hand on Drake's shoulder as he left the room.
    Drake advanced and maintained eye contact with her as he did so. In their world, it was a challenge. If he thought she was going to cower and lower her eyes, he could think again. Instead, she raised her chin.
    "I thought you understood that I didn't want to see you again," she said.
    "I thought you understood that you're my mate."
    She sought refuge behind the desk—not that it offered much in the way of protection from Drake, but at least it was a physical barrier of sorts. It gave her enough of a sense of security that she continued to challenge him. "You and I know that when you mate, you have to mate someone strong. Someone capable of ruling the Pack."
    "And you think you're not strong enough."
    She sat in her chair. "I'm a low-ranking member of the Pack. No one takes me seriously except to make sure meals are out on the table and babies are taken care of."
    "What about the fact that you manage to keep this crew—" He waved his hand toward the window. "—this crew, in line. That's no mean feat."
    She laughed. "It's easy when James is always around to watch my back. There are a lot of guys who don't want a female managing them. Plus, I don't go out in the field."
    "They respect you. You don't bullshit them."
    "No, but what's the use of doing that? They work hard, they get paid, end of story." She leaned back, because at that moment he chose to sit on the edge of her desk, his hand closing over the snow globe she kept there. The snow globe he'd given her years ago. It was the first gift he'd given her at a Pack Circle, the first circle she'd attended after her after her father had died.
    "It's more than that. You take care of the crew, of their families." He turned the snow globe between his palms. "You do the same thing with the Pack."
    She frowned up at him. "I just do what I can."
    He laughed at her, and immediately, she felt defensive. It wasn't as if she set out to take care of everybody. It just happened that way.
    When she said as much, he laughed again. "You have no idea, do you? That's special. It takes a lot of grit to take care of a pack of werewolves."
    "That doesn't make me Alpha material."
    "Do you think being Alpha means you have to stare down every wolf in the vicinity? It means being smart enough to protect and nurture your pack." He slid off of his perch and held out his hand.
    She stared at it, uncertain of what he was asking.
    "Come on, I cleared your day off with James."
    "I didn't ask for the day off."
    "I know, but seeing as you view yourself as human, I decided that I have to court you before I can claim you as my mate."
    She stood, but still didn't take his hand. "I never