Free A Wolf's Mate by Vanessa Devereaux

would probably
offer him advice. He’d never been good at taking that. He knew what they’d say—the
group, its secret, safety, and survival came before his desire for this woman.
    He
stopped and howled. A nearby wolf pack howled back. So easy for the wolves that
weren’t shifters. It had been so easy when they’d been their own planet and
everyone was a shifter.
    Ava
had revealed she had feelings for him. They’d crossed that line. Casual dating and sex, heading toward potential
mate and things getting to the point of no return where he’d have to sacrifice
the group’s interest over his own. A wolf waited a lifetime for this and
nothing was going to stand in his way. Truth was he was hurtling toward forty
and he wanted a wife and he wanted to be a father.
    He’d
left her suddenly and she probably thought what a jerk he was. Fucked her and
then split. What sort of asshole did that to a woman?
    Okay,
he’d done that more times than he’d cared to remember. But this was Ava. He
began running again, heading toward the safety of his car. It was a beautiful
night and he wished she could experience it with him. The stars and the full
moon. He stopped and howled again before slowing turning back into his human
form.
    He
leaned over and got his breath back. He’d obviously run too hard because he
actually had a stitch in his side. Despite the beautiful night, it was
freezing. He grabbed his clothes and got into the car, hearing his cell phone
ring.
    Nick
reached across the passenger seat and grabbed it. He looked at the caller ID
and saw that it was Maisey.
    “Hi
Maisey,” he said.
    “Can
you make some of your famous chili and
bring it for supper tomorrow?”
    “Sure,
no problem.”
    “And
you’ll need to pick up Ava because she doesn’t know how to get to our place.”
    His
heart beat faster just hearing her name mentioned.
    “When
did you invite her?”
    “Earlier
today.”
    “You
think that’s a good idea? I mean if she’s watching us.”
    “That’s
why I’m inviting her. I want her to see how normal we are and that way she’ll
think we’re human.”
    “I
guess that makes sense.”
    “Is
something wrong?”
    “No,
why?”
    “You
don’t sound your usual confident self.”
    “Just
a bit tired that’s all. Working too hard.”
    Maisey
was his business partner. Both she and Lucas had become good friends to him but
what he felt and what was going through his head he had to keep to himself. If
they thought that maybe he’d choose Ava over them, well, he couldn’t blame them
for stopping him, doing what they had to.
    “Okay,
see you and Ava tomorrow around six p.m. and don’t forget the chili.”
    ****
    Ava
didn’t feel in the mood for yoga, but
she’d paid for six lessons so she was going to drag her butt along to the
class. She watched as Maisey showed them the pose. The girl was a born yoga
instructor and Ava wished she could get into at least half the positions she
showed the class. Guess that’s why they labeled it advanced. Ava did her best
to try and copy her but instead wasn’t concentrating and lost her balance and
fell on her ass. Maisey looked over at her.
    “You
okay?” she asked.
    “Fine,
really,” said Ava standing.
    “Take
a deep breath and come up out of the pose and stretch your arms up.”
    Ava’s
body ached just a tad today. She thought back to last night and the massage
table. Her pussy pulled recalling all the wonderful things Nick had done to
her.
    “That’s
it for this lesson,” announced Maisey.
    Ava
grabbed her water bottle as Maisey walked over to her.
    “Did
Nick tell you he’ll be picking you up to bring you for dinner at our place?”
    Nick.
Her heart beat faster at just the mention of his name. He hadn’t said anything.
Well, he still hadn’t called her.
    “No,
I haven’t spoken to him since last night and he didn’t mention it.”
    “Probably
before I called him. He’s making his famous chili. You’ll love it.”
    Ava
smiled. Maisey was such a