Free Jared (River Pack Wolves 3) - New Adult Paranormal Romance by Alisa Woods Page B

commanding form. He was almost big enough to be a shifter, and a nagging doubt tugged at Jared’s mind. Was it possible? He seriously doubted it. There were plenty of alpha males in the human population who weren’t alpha because of their wolf nature. Which Jared actually counted against them. Wolves were more pure in spirit than humans—at least, Jared’s wolf nature was the good side of him, as far as he could tell. It was his human hands who had done all the killing, and humans who had given him the orders to do it. Humans made war; not wolves. Packs only fought when a member was threatened. It wasn’t as if there weren’t dark wolves—there were—but usually it was the human side corrupting the wolf, not the other way around.
    No, the Senator wasn’t good enough to be a shifter.
    “They’re a hidden menace among us,” he was intoning, to murmurs of agreement in the crowd. “They’re overrepresented in our criminal elements, they hide in the shadows, and by their very nature, they’re dangerous. They don’t reason or think the way humans do—they make blood vows within their packs and revel in their aggressive, animal nature. It’s not entirely their fault, I understand that. They can’t help being born what they are. But that doesn’t erase the fact that they’re a danger to the law-abiding citizens of our country.”
    The crowd cheered, and the Senator paused, obviously relishing their adulation. His words made Jared wish he had pulled the trigger. But the look on Grace’s face—a scowl that grew darker with each line of the speech—reminded him why he didn’t. If only he could convince her that she could stop all this. He’d seen enough of her already to know she was strong, and she had a purity of heart about her—her wolf was hard to contain, and that brought out her righteous side. The question was whether she would be strong enough to stand up to the alpha male in her life—her father. Jared could see the dynamic: the Senator dominated everyone around him, including his daughter.
    The man was still droning on with his speech. “The time is coming, my friends, very soon. We need to do something about this, take action that will ensure the safety of the good people of Seattle and Washington. Your numbers here today are heartening to me. You’ve taken time from your day, your lives, your work in making this country strong, to show your support for keeping it that way. I want you to know that I am on your side. And in the days to come, I hope you’ll be on mine.”
    The Senator was wrapping up—thank God—but the crowd seemed far from ready to be done.
    Nolan was clapping along with everyone else. He leaned over to Grace. “Do you see this?”
    She nodded. “Do they really believe all this stuff?”
    Jared whipped his attention to her.
    “Hell yeah, they do,” Nolan said. “I took half this speech straight from the online sites where they rant about this stuff all the time. It’s what the people believe, Grace, and remember… we represent the people.”
    “What happened to doing what’s right?” She was scowling at the crowd, not even looking at Nolan.
    “What’s right for who?” He pulled back and gave her a frown. “I’m all for protecting the people—if they’re innocent. Shifters aren’t innocent bystanders in this, Grace. They’re involved in the drug trade, weapons dealing, who knows what else. They’re legitimately dangerous. You wouldn’t let convicted criminals run around in the streets, would you?”
    “I’m not saying that, and you know it, Nolan.” She turned her scowl on him.
    Nolan’s determination faltered. He leaned toward her. “It’s what your father wants, Grace. And I want to keep my job.”
    She gave him a pinched look, but Nolan dropped his gaze and moved across the stage toward the Senator. He was already walking down the three steps into the crowd to shake hands.
    Grace stayed where she was.
    “He’s kind of an asshole,” Jared