Free Protective Instinct by Katie Reus Page A

all she’d been through. Having a bondmate made all the difference though.
    At that thought, some of the darkness lurking in Teresa’s mind resurfaced to dig at her. Clawing away at her and making her doubt herself. As she slid out of the SUV she expected to see Ryan getting out with Aiden but Aiden was alone. She frowned when Aiden gave her an almost guilty look.
    “He said he had to take care of something,” Aiden muttered, looking sheepish. “Got out at the gate.”
    The words sent disappointment spiraling through her. Maybe it shouldn’t bother her, but it seemed weird that he’d just disappeared like that without saying anything to her. The past two days had been strained between them though, with very little physical contact. After three months of nothing but that, she knew it was hard on him too. She knew her packmates had picked up on the strain between them. It had been obvious and had made for some awkward times.
    “I don’t know why I’m continually surprised by the stupidity of your gender.” Erin looked at Aiden, her lips pulled into a thin line as Larissa smothered a smile.
    He held up his hands, his expression affronted. “Hey, I’m not the stupid one.”
    “Right now,” Larissa murmured to her mate.
    Normally the comment would have made Teresa laugh but she couldn’t even muster a smile. She just left the parking structure and headed home. She wanted to see her sisters.
    Once inside her home, she inhaled the scent of her family and jasmine tea someone was making in the kitchen. Rosa, if she guessed right.
    “Rosa?” Teresa called out as she slid her boots off by the front door.
    “Kitchen.”
    “Where is everyone?” she asked as she entered and found just Rosa.
    Her sister looked different somehow. Her face was practically glowing as she turned one of the knobs on the stove to off. “Natalia and Gloria are at December’s. How are you? How was the trip? Ana told us that it might have something to do with vampires.”
    “Yeah.” She’d explain all that later. “What’s going on with you?” Teresa pulled down two mugs, both adorned in blueberries. She handed one to her sister.
    A flash of pleasure then guilt flickered across Rosa’s face. “Rafael wants me to move in with him.”
    “That’s great…isn’t it?” She wasn’t sure what the conflicting emotions rolling off her sister were right now, was finding it difficult to pin down one scent.
    Rosa sighed before pouring them both drinks. “We’ve only kissed but we’ve been talking a lot since he and his packmates moved here,” she said as she sat at the sturdy table near the window.
    Teresa joined her, wrapping her hands around her warm mug. She blocked thoughts of Ryan, wanting to focus completely on her sister. “Is he pressuring you or something?” What she knew of the alpha shifter she liked, but her sister was a beta. There were definite differences between them. Sometimes it was just a physical difference, but in Rosa’s case she was physically weaker and had a softer, more submissive personality.
    To her surprise, Rosa snorted. “No. If anything I think he’s been extra careful because I’m a virgin.”
    Teresa nodded. All three of her sisters were virgins, which wasn’t so out of the ordinary for their age as shifters, since they were all in their late twenties/early thirties. She certainly wasn’t a virgin, but she was decades older than them. “So what’s the deal then?”
    “I love him. I know that. He’s talked about mating and bonding, though I told him we needed to wait on the bonding. It’s just…what if all this build up, all this time we’ve spent getting to know one another doesn’t transfer to the bedroom?”
    “Then you take it to the shower. Or the floor.” Teresa couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips.
    Rosa blinked then burst out laughing. “Am I being stupid?”
    “No. I get the fear, but I’ve never known love and attraction not to translate to great sex. Not for