Free The Gathering by Lily Graison Page A

thought past the getting Jacob back part. The
fact the boy would come back when Carmen took over the house had
escaped him. He smiled, kissed her quickly, and rolled off of
her.
    Standing, he fixed his pants, and bent down
to pick up his shirt. “Do you want to come down with me or are you
going to unpack that bag?”
    Rayna glanced toward her suitcase before
looking back at him. He slipped his shirt on, wincing when the
fabric slid over his neck. The skin around the bite mark looked
raw, the bruising on his flesh already staining the area in shades
of purple and blue.
    He leaned down over her, nuzzling his face
between her breasts before kissing each one, then the side of her
neck and up her jaw. “Unpack. I’ll be back in a few minutes and
we’ll see how many other places you can find to mark me.”
    A deep, thorough kiss before leaving the room
made Rayna rethink her plan. Did she really want to leave him? She
lay there until her skin cooled before sitting up and crawling off
the bed to find her clothes. She dressed, slipped her shoes back on
and finger combed her hair before turning back to the suitcase.
    The desire to unpack it was strong but she
knew she couldn’t live with only being seen as Garrett’s mistress.
She had no doubt that’s what the others would think her to be. She
could mark him until he was covered in bite marks but the fact
remained, Carmen was stronger, she could take what she wanted and
she wanted Garrett. Unless she was strong enough to fight Carmen
and win, Garrett was lost to her.
    Feeling the anger resurface, she snatched up
the suitcase and made her way to the door. Sitting the bag down,
she walked into the hall, hurried to Mitch’s room and went inside.
Five minutes later, she had the keys to his car in hand and went to
retrieve her bag.
    The pack had assembled in the living room,
every eye on Garrett as he talked. No one turned their head as
Rayna walked down the stairs and around the banister to the hall.
Quickening her steps, she made for the back door, closing it
quietly behind her before running for the garage.
    She wanted to laugh at how easy it was to
just… walk away. No one shouted in protest as she opened the garage
doors. No one blocked her path as she backed out and turned around,
pulling down the driveway. She was heading into town before she
wondered what Garrett would do once he realized she was gone.
    Stopping, she let the car idle as she looked
at what was supposed to pass for the town of Wolf’s Creek. The
buildings stood silent and filled with goods, only no one ever
walked into one to buy anything. No one ever “worked” in any of
them. They were just ghosts, shadows of a life no one here had.
    Putting the car in park, Rayna wondered what
would happen to everyone once Carmen took over the house. Garrett
was still pack leader but she was sure Carmen would get her say.
She wasn’t sure how decisions would be made. Did Garrett have final
word or would Carmen’s little pack of wolves help sway votes in her
favor. Would their pack, the wolves Garrett had been protecting, be
safe from the newcomers? Would Garrett?
    Carmen had wanted control of the pack enough
to kill for it. She’d lured Garrett here in hopes he’d kill
Malcolm. Who would Carmen lure to kill Garrett when he didn’t play
by her rules?
    The thought caused a shiver to race up her
spine. Would Carmen kill him? When Garrett told her he didn’t want
her, that she could help rule the pack but he didn’t want her in
his bed, would Carmen try to get rid of him, too?
    She will.
    As much as Rayna didn’t want to bow down to
Carmen she couldn’t leave knowing she left her mate vulnerable.
Garrett belonged to her, to the wolf hiding inside her flesh.
    Putting the car back into gear, she turned
around in the middle of the road and started back to the house. She
barely made it to the first turn when her headlights flashed on
someone stepping out of the forest and into the road.
    She slammed on the brakes, her