Free Wolf and Punishment (The Alaska Princesses Trilogy, Book 1) by Theodora Taylor Page B

of him. Hated that even though she’d be hugged up on him when he took her back to the airport, between their jackets and the time it would take to get back to Alaska, every trace of him would be gone from her by the time he called her tonight.
    He thought of his parents, who always smelled of each other, even when they were apart, and he wished with a fervency he had no right to that he and Janelle were mated, that his scent was strong enough to be left on her, even after she showered. He wished for what they’d just done over the past two days to be legal in the eyes of Lupine law.
    Then he berated himself for feeling this way. Not only for that, but also for wanting to tell her how he felt when the only thing of value he had to his name at the moment was his football scholarship.
    So to keep from fucking her against the bathroom counter, and also to keep himself from telling her how deeply he felt about her despite having only known her for less than a month, he told her something else. “I’m a prince, too. Like Rafe.”
    She went very still, before turning to look at him, her eyes wide with astonishment. “Are you… um… trying to say you’re part of the Alaska royal family?”
    He shook his head. “Naw, nothing like that. If I was the official king’s son, you’d probably know about it since you live in the kingdom town, right?”
    “Uh… right,” she said, even though her expression remained on wobble effect.
    “I’m just saying my dad used to head up my pack, and when he died, my brother took over. We call him the Freedom Alpha, but since we’re our own pack, that makes him the king, right? So technically, I’m a prince.”
    Janelle continued to stare at him, saying nothing, as if she were waiting for the other shoe to drop.
    “I mean, we don’t have major dough or even any dough. We all live in trailers and we hunt to survive, but I’m still the prince, yeah? After my dad died, I should have stayed in Alaska and served as my brother’s beta, like my uncle used to do for my dad. But I stayed here because I didn’t want to live my uncle’s life. I wanted the chance to make something out myself, and my pack was pissed when I left. My brother’s the only one from Freedom Town still talking to me. That’s why I don’t go back there for breaks anymore. Not just because it’d be a hassle to fly up there.”
    Janelle had stayed so quiet through the entire story, he became worried she felt the same way about his situation as his pack did.
    But when he glanced up, he saw nothing but understanding in her eyes. “I’m glad you followed your dreams, Mag. So few of us get the opportunity to and I’m really glad you took yours.”
    A knock on the room’s door saved Mag from having to answer.
    “Do you mind getting that?” she asked him. “I still have to put on my mascara.”
    Of course he didn’t mind, but he was a little confused when the uniformed clerk outside the door handed him a medium-sized square box with a FedEx logo on it.
    “This arrived yesterday, but you weren’t here when we came up to deliver it the first time. We wanted to make sure you got it before you left.”
    “Thanks,” Mag said, frowning down at the shipping label. It was from Erico Motorsports and addressed to him, but he’d never been to that motorcycle shop in his life, much less ordered anything from them.
    “Open it.”
    He looked up. Janelle was standing in the bathroom doorway, watching him with a small smile on her face.
    So he opened it… and pulled out a helmet. Sleek and matte black with the name Ducati racing up its jawline. The helmet was so well designed, it seemed to have an engine of its own underneath its triangular red logo, one smoother and much quieter than his Ninja’s. He stared at it, speechless.
    “I thought you might be more open to wearing a helmet if you had a nicer one,” she said.
    “I don’t…” He had to struggle a few times to finish the sentence. “I don’t know how to thank