Free Lesser of Two Evils by K. S. Martin Page A

“Like
watermelon?”
    Kerry’s eyes widened and she
grinned.. “No, but I will get some seeds for you, sweetie. I like that, too.”
    “What’s this one?”
    “Lavender. It keeps the bugs away
and it’s good in tea when it blooms. It’s very soothing. I will harvest its
flowers and dry them to put in my drawers. I make sachets in the fall. They
smell nice.”
    Kerry heard a bloodcurdling howl
then. “What the hell is wrong now?” Thelma straightened and looked back toward
the houses, her eyes sharp and glittering. Kerry stood and scanned the field
they were in and the street with the houses lined up. A wolf, silver-gray,
streaked across the grass toward them.
    “Connor.” Thelma snapped at him,
“What in the devil is wrong with you?”
    He shifted and stomped over to
Kerry. “You! Come with me!” He grabbed her arm and dragged her from the garden.
Kerry tried to get loose, but his grip tightened and he tugged her forcefully,
dragging her toward the house. She saw why when they turned the corner of the
two-story white colonial with dark green shutters. Ethan was stalking toward
them. He looked angry, and Kerry tried harder to get free. His eyes were full
of fire and on her. Connor jerked her forward within a few feet of Ethan. A
fist flew past her and met with Connor’s face. She felt the air shift as it
whizzed by her cheek and heard the crunch of Connor’s nose.
    “That’s my mate you’re hurting,”
Ethan growled.
    “You said to find her. She wouldn’t
come.” Connor let go of Kerry to wipe his bloodied face with his hands.
    Kerry bolted and ran inside the
house. She raced through the living room and down the hall to the bedroom. She
darted inside her closet and sat in the corner beside her duffle bag.
    When Ethan finally found her, she
had her knees drawn up to her chest and her face buried in her tear-soaked
hands.
    “Hey,” Ethan said softly and pulled
her hands away. She kept her eyes squeezed closed. “I’m sorry he scared you.”
Ethan’s fingers skimmed her upper arm lightly. It was bruised, she was sure.
She hadn’t looked, but Connor’s grip had been crushing. He sat down beside her.
“We’re not having a good beginning, are we?” He put his arm around her and
pulled her into his side. “I’m sorry. I thought that you had taken off again. I
was…upset. Why didn’t you say that you were going to work in the garden?”
    Kerry was silent for a long time,
but he waited for her sobs to subside. His hand rubbed her arm, and he kept her
against him.
    “I heard you on the phone and it
sounded like Alpha business. I didn’t want to interrupt, but I was bored and
I’m not allowed to hunt or draw. You said that Thelma had a garden, so I went
there.” She sniffled. “She won’t want me to help anymore. I’m too much trouble,”
she finished softly.
    Ethan scoffed. “Sure she will.”
    Kerry shook her head. “He scared
her, too, and when he dragged me out I stepped on one of her plants. I think a
lavender. Now I don’t have anything to do.” The tears started to roll again. “I
feel like a prisoner. I want to go home.”
    He squeezed her closer. “I can’t
let you do that.” His voice hardened. “We’re mates. You stay with me.” She
sighed, feeling her body deflate. “Thelma will let you into the garden, and
Connor will never put his hands on you again. I promise.” Ethan got to his feet
and picked her up, carrying her to the bed. When he put her down, she scurried
away.
    “Please don’t make me,” she begged.
Ethan’s brow furrowed. “Please, I don’t like it.”
    Ethan cleared his throat. “You
don’t like what? What is it that you don’t want to do?” His hands clenched at
his sides and she gulped nervously. “Tell me.”
    “I don’t like…sex.” She finished
the sentence with a whisper. He exhaled heavily and stomped from the room
without saying a word. Kerry rolled herself into a ball on the bed and thought
about what had just happened.
    She thought