Tessa, Vampire/Werewolf Romance, (Standalone) (Shadow Creek Shifters Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

world. This vampire thing has her tail spinning out of control. I’m not involved in any way about her decision, I assure you. That’s all I know, really. I’ll pick up the children after school.”
    Raphael left before Katlyn said anything else. He had no idea why Tessa wanted to leave for sure, but he could understand it. It was obvious Katlyn wouldn’t allow Tessa to find her wings if she stayed at Shadow Creek. He just didn’t want to be put in the middle of anything that would pit him against Brendan and Chase. If Tessa made the decision to leave, it had to be hers alone to make.
    * * *
    Tessa enjoyed the hot spray of the water over her scorched skin. Her body was encased in sweat when she awoke and she had a knot in her stomach that wouldn’t go away. She dreaded meeting with Paige later that night. It was her against Paige, Brendan, Chase, and Katlyn. She didn’t like the odds as they were certainly not stacked in her favor. She was just resolved that she needed to make the move, and soon. The longer she stayed there, the harder it would be to leave.
    Dressed in black jeans, shirt and knee-length boots, Tessa made the trek to the main house. It seemed like it took an entire day to get there since she so dreaded it, but really that walk only took five minutes, perhaps ten with the way she was dragging her feet. She didn’t know how it would go, but she expected she’d have to battle for her freedom, which she shouldn’t even have to do. It should be a given that she’d want to branch out on her own.
    Paige greeted her at the door and she smiled slightly in greeting. “Hello, Paige.”
    “You look like you’re going to a funeral. I assure you, it won’t be anything like that, Tessa.” She gave Tessa’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’m in your corner.”
    That relieved Tessa a hundredfold, but what she was most concerned with was Katlyn and how she might feel. All she wanted to do was find herself, but she wasn’t cold-hearted enough not to think of her best friend. They had been through a race to Wyoming to escape the Shifter Patrol that was after Katlyn. Tessa wasn’t about to allow her friend to go that far solo. She was more of a friend than she had ever known and she wasn’t willing to lose her, even if it meant staying. Tessa just hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
    Tessa walked through the great room with a huge stone fireplace. The vaulted ceilings were far over her head and she admired the smell of leather from the furniture. There was a fire and Tessa stopped when Paige made a detour, tossing in another log. When she was satisfied that the flames licked upward, she led the way into the dining room where Brendan, Chase, and Katlyn were already seated, enjoying steak, baked potatoes, and bowls of salad smeared with ranch dressing. It was the type of meal Tessa would have enjoyed, but since she was turned, nothing tasted as good as blood.
    “Have a seat, Tessa. I have a rare steak for you,” Paige said.
    The chairs in the dining room were plush and that at least made Tessa comfortable, even though she felt amongst a roomful of sharks.
    Paige returned with a plate of rare steak, blood pooling on the plate beneath it. When it was set down, Tessa put a finger in the blood, sucking on her finger and enjoying the metallic taste. It wasn’t lost on her that Katlyn’s face paled at watching her. She’d always gotten woozy at the sight of blood, like that time when Katlyn had tried to stanch the flow of blood when Tessa had cut her finger with a boning knife. Tessa massaged the scar on her finger at the remembrance of that painful incident.
    Tessa jarred herself out of her thoughts by saying, “Thanks, Paige.”
    Paige nodded as she sat. “Eat up, everyone. It’s not many times that we’re all here together for dinner.”
    “Where are the babies tonight?” Tessa asked.
    “Angus is babysitting,” Katlyn responded. “They really seem to love him.”
    “Well, he is a gentle soul. I hope one day