Free The Swan Who Flew After a Wolf by Scarlet Hyacinth Page A

might be simply because of the conclusions they’d drawn
    from what little she had told them. They stayed out of the
    conversation, but watched the exchange with avid, curious eyes.
    “I used to be,” Paris’s mother said tensely. “Not anymore.”
    “Did something happen?” Daniel asked, his voice concerned.
    “You know you can go to the elder with any problem you may have.”
    “No.” She shook her head. “Hal would expect that, and he’s
    already after me and Paris. Here’s the thing, Mr. Wade. Before I was
    mated, I did something reckless. I went out, like one last night of
    freedom, with the girls. We went to this bar, and there was this
    handsome guy brooding there. We talked, and one thing led to
    another…Next thing, I know, I’m pregnant with a child not fathered
    by my future mate.”
    Paris’s mother sighed. “I admit what I did next might not have
    been the best thing. But what choice did I have? I was afraid. So I
    pretended Paris was Hal’s son. Hal isn’t my true mate, so we never
    had the mind link that allowed him to see into my thoughts. So no one
    suspected anything, at least I didn’t think so. I believe, in his heart,
    Hal always knew, because he never treated Paris like he would a son.
    He was different with our other kids.”
    There was undeniable pain in her voice now. She loved his
    brothers, and in a way, Paris cared about them, too, even if they’d

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    only ever been mean to him. At the same time, he was well aware that
    if things had been different, Paris’s mother would have stayed behind
    with the pack and abandoned him to his fate. He suspected she wished
    she had aborted him when she had the chance. But he couldn’t explain
    that to Daniel, so he remained silent.
    “At any rate,” she continued, “Hal knows for sure now. I think he
    feared what people would say if it came out, but he doesn’t seem to
    care anymore. But the worst thing is that…Before we left, he tried to
    kill both me and Paris. That’s why we’re afraid to go to the elder. Hal
    would be waiting.”
    “I see,” Daniel replied. There was no judgment in his warm eyes,
    just concern and understanding. “And I take it you’ve come here to
    find Paris’s real father.”
    At this, Paris finally intervened. He couldn’t help but be just a
    little excited at the thought of meeting the man who had sired him.
    “Yes. His name is Anson. Anson Wright. Could you take us to him?”
    Daniel’s complexion went pasty, and Paris didn’t think that was a
    good sign. “What is it, Mr. Wade?” he inquired. “Is something
    wrong?”
    “Well…Err…It’s just that Sonny is busy now. With his mate.”
    “Mate?” Paris’s mother repeated. “But that can’t be. He’s
    supposed to be my mate.”
    Paris gave his mother a shocked look. That was bullshit, and
    something she had never once mentioned to him. If she wanted to
    play the role of the victim, that was just fine, but getting between two
    people who loved each other was an entirely different matter.
    At this point, Paris knew his mother quite well, and he could
    easily see through her lies. She didn’t want a mate. All she wanted
    was a reason to justify why she’d held onto a lie for twenty years, to
    be accepted and considered a powerful werewolf female again. Anson
    Wright might not be an Alpha, but he had an important enough
    position, which would do in current circumstances. And while Paris
    could understand her motives, they didn’t justify separating mates.

    The Swan Who Flew After a Wolf
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    Vowing to discuss this with her soon, Paris decided to address the
    first matter at hand. His mother had told him Anson wasn’t mated, but
    that was obviously not true. Paris didn’t think Daniel would lie since
    the squirrel had no reason to.
    “I thought he didn’t have a mate,” he said, confused.
    “It’s a recent thing.” Daniel rubbed his eyes in a gesture that
    conveyed tiredness. “We haven’t exactly advertised