Temptation (Journal of the Wolves of Spruce Hollow) Read Online Free PDF Page B

when she was little because I worried about Aspen spilling the beans about our pack. But Aspen had really taken to Sorcha and grew to love her like a sister over the years.
    There was no way I could take that away from her.
    Aspen looked cute today with her curly hair piled up in a messy, upswept bun and a little plaid skirt. Her legs were still skinny with youth and hadn’t developed into the shapely legs of a full-grown woman yet. She was still way too delicate and fine boned and I found myself wondering for the millionth time if maybe fate had somehow got it wrong this time around?
    How was a tiny little thing like Aspen supposed to take on a hard and panting, full grown male Were in the sexual grasp of a mating frenzy? I had no idea, but I found myself constantly prying her with food and encouraging her to eat more in an attempt to put some meat on her skinny little frame. The last thing I wanted to have to worry about when the time was right, was physically hurting her.
    Aspen crossed the street, pulling Sorcha along with her as I walked back to the Jeep Cherokee. I didn’t want her to know that I’d been watching her. Things were already awkward enough between us, as she grew older and matured into a full-blooded hormonal teenager.
    I knew she was becoming more and more aware of a connection between us. I could see it in the way that she looked at me now. Gone was the look of doe-eyed innocence, only to be replaced with the hungry look of desire and longing.
    I could hear her before I saw her as she walked into the garage bay and called out greetings to Caver and Griff. I knew she was looking around for me but I continued working and didn’t let on that I’d heard her come in.
    “Hi Roan, whatcha doing?” she called out enthusiastically, her face lighting up with an infectious little smile as she spotted me by the Jeep. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t help but smile back at her. She was so bubbly and full of life, which was surprising due to the life she’d been forced to endure before she came to live with the pack.
    I refused to look up at her and continued working. I knew what she wanted as her mother had already called me before school was out for the day and given me a head’s up.
    Because I was Aspen’s mate, Valerie deferred to me for pretty much everything relating to Aspen and her care. I was completely responsible for all decision-making and paid Valerie “child support” every month for acting as a mother figure to Aspen and giving her a place to live until she was old enough.
    “Umm, I’m working Aspen. What does it look like I’m doing? What do you want?” I said irritably.
    I knew what she wanted from me and I was not looking forward to it. I found it harder and harder to just let her be a kid, the older she got.
    She was extremely interested in boys now and they were very interested right back. How could they not be? She was beautiful. Thinking of young boys looking at, kissing or touching her made me feel extremely jealous and irritable.
    “Well, um, there’s a dance coming up at school and I asked Mom if I could go and she said to ask you. So, can I Roan, huh, please can I?”
    She had so much hope shinning in her beautiful green eyes; I couldn’t even look her in the face. I wanted to say ”No, absolutely not Aspen,” but I knew it would crush her, so I tried to a gentler approach.
    “What kind of dance is it?” I asked as I continued working. “It’s the Christmas formal,” she said excitedly, clasping her hands and bopping up and down.
    I continued working, taking the lug nuts off the Jeep with the impact wrench, still not making eye contact with her.
    “So it’s a dress up dance. What kind of dress are you going to wear and will you be going with a date?” I asked in as bored a tone as I could muster. “I don’t know yet what kind of dress. I guess I could wear the one that I wore to the Christmas brunch at the Alpha’s last year. And no ones asked me to go yet