Free To Catch A Wolf: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Wolf Valley Raiders Book 2) by Harmony Raines Page A

know.
    “Howdy, boys,” Colin said as the Merric brothers changed from their wolves.
    “Hello. Thank you for coming to help us,” Cole said stiffly.
    Colin grunted. “Least I can do.”
    “Shall we go?” Riley said somewhat sullenly.
    “Sure. I’ve looked inside. The mine seems stable, so if we move quickly and carefully, we should get to your brother in the next half an hour. Getting him out might be more of a hassle, especially if he is still a wolf. I have some rope.” Colin patted his shoulder where he had a long coil of rope.
    “We are not tying my brother up,” Riley insisted.
    “Believe me, that might be a better alternative to him running off down one of the other tunnels and being lost forever. This mine is deep. Goes a long way underground, with drops into the earth you would never come out of.”
    Riley opened his mouth to speak gain, but Cole patted him on the chest, and said, “Let’s see what happens. We are wasting time here arguing over something that we might not even have to do. Bliss might get him to change back.”
    With that, Colin nodded and walked into the mine, and the rest of them followed.
    Hugo kept up the rear, flashlights lighting up the inner tunnels as they went. Cole and Riley walked in silence, but the animosity emanating from them was palpable.
    As sure as if he was on a walk in the open air, Colin led them deeper and deeper into the mine. The air became musty, and the taste of rust was on his tongue. Wolves did not belong underground, and he longed for the open air and the breeze on his face. He also longed to see Bliss happy, so he kept following, hoping they would soon reach their destination.
    And then they did.
    As Colin turned a corner, he was met by the low growls and snarls of a wolf. An angry wolf. He froze in his tracks. Slowly, carefully, Cole and Riley walked past him, their hands outstretched and their voices low as they tried to comfort and calm their brother.
    Hugo moved to stand by Colin, who was visibly shaken. Neither of them spoke.
    Before them in the dim light, the two brothers tried to calm Sol down, and once they had him cornered, Hugo could hear Cole trying to get him to change. But Sol either couldn’t, or refused to.
    Eventually Cole came back to them, talking low. “He won’t change; it looks as if something hit him on the head. We want to try to coax him out, but it’s going to be better if you two aren’t right in front of him. So if you head out, we’ll follow the light of your flashlights and herd him forward.”
    “Here, have the rope. I still think that is your best bet.” Colin handed the rope over to a reluctant Cole. “Listen, son, the last thing you want is to lose your brother down here. You’ve seen what it’s like. Easy to get lost.”
    “Thank you,” Cole said, taking the rope and walking back into the dim tunnel towards Riley’s flashlight.
    “Nothing more we can do, Colin,” Hugo said. “We need to move so they can try to get him to leave. You’ve done your best.”
    “Would hate to see the boy get lost.”
    “Now we’re alone, Colin, can I ask you again if you know who is going to be the next alpha?” Hugo asked, changing the subject as they walked, mainly to keep Colin’s mind off the growling and snarling behind them.
    “Not exactly. But it will be one of those kids,” he nodded back towards where the sounds of snapping jaws were getting louder. “Their father should have been the alpha of Wolf Valley; it seems to me that it skipped a generation.”
    “And how do they know who it is—how do we know who it is, for that matter?” Hugo asked.
    “I don’t know. But the first thing these boys have to do is get free of their father’s blood oath.”
    “And how do they do that? I know Bliss still struggles with it now. Only the bond between us stops it controlling her completely.”
    “I don’t know that either, Hugo.” Colin shook his head. “They deserve to be happy. I can’t imagine what it must have