Free The Lamb Who Cried Wolf by Scarlet Hyacinth Page A

introduce herself. Instead, she just met Brody’s eyes and smiled shyly. If she thought she was fooling anyone with her demeanor, she was sorely mistaken. Brody knew she-wolves, and they were foes to be feared.
    At last, his father answered his question. “You will part ways with the lamb. We will take him back to his town and drop him there.”
    “But he is my mate,” Brody protested. “You cannot be serious.”

    The Lamb Who Cried Wolf
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    “I’ve already thought about that.” His father gestured toward the female wolf. “This is Roxanne. She’s agreed to help us out in this unpleasant situation. If you do have a bond with the lamb, claiming her should help you break it.”
    Brody gaped. His father couldn’t be serious. Matings couldn’t be broken just like that, especially not between true mates. He realized his family didn’t truly believe Carson and he were bonded in every sense of the word. And as he looked into his father’s eyes, Brody understood that the man would never accept it. If he tried to explain it now, Carson would end up dead. There was no other choice than to accept his father’s supposed generosity.
    To his surprise, before he could answer, Carson pushed past him and faced the gathering of wolves. “No. No way. I won’t allow it.”
    Brody sensed how difficult it was for Carson to go against his nature and stand up for himself in front of a pack of predators. At the same time, however, he noticed the wolves’ immediate reaction upon seeing Carson put himself in the center of attention. Their nostrils flared and a sense of greed and anticipation filled the air. Carson tensed but didn’t back down. “I won’t allow it,” he said again.
    Brody’s father looked at him. “Brody, decide now. I’m not discussing this with your lamb. You know your options. I’m waiting.”
    Yes, Brody knew his options, and only one of them would allow Carson to get out of here unscathed. “All right, Father,” he told his sire. “You win.” He felt sick to the stomach as he turned to his mate and said, “Carson, you and I are predator and prey. This was nothing more than a huge mistake.”
    Brody actually felt Carson’s heart break. “But, Brody,” Carson protested through their connection, “there has to be a way. You can’t break our mating. You can’t tie yourself to her. We belong together.
    That’s what you said, remember?”
    Yes, Brody well remembered what he’d said, but his promises meant nothing in front of the odds they faced. “Well, I was wrong.

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    Scarlet Hyacinth
    Don’t talk to me through this bond anymore. It’s off-limits starting now.”
    Truly, he’d been a fool to ever consider a mate bond with a lamb.
    Lambs were his lunch, not potential lovers. They lived in different worlds, and as much as it hurt, it was better to break up now than pay the price later.
    He stepped away from Carson and joined his father. The bitch took his hand, and Brody allowed it. “I want to see him safely off to his town before I do anything else,” he told his father.
    The older wolf didn’t protest. “Of course. I’ll give the orders now.” He clapped Brody on the shoulder. “Congratulations. You made the right decision.”
    Brody nodded, even if he felt numb inside. Whatever he might have claimed to his father, the connection with Carson remained there, as strong as ever. Once Brody bit Roxanne, however, it would be tainted, strained, or perhaps disappear altogether. It was the only known way to eliminate a mating, though, by replacing it with another one. Still, the mark of the first mating never went away, and the severing of the bond would affect Brody forever. The only thing that reassured Brody was that sheep did not mate like wolves, and Carson would find someone else with ease.
    The emotional pain that came from Carson didn’t dwindle, however. The lamb allowed the wolves to manhandle him, never once protesting, as if lost in a dream. His eyes remained fixed on Brody, so