Free Younger Daughter by Brenna Lyons Page B

met an alpha outside her own family that she got along well with. Maybe accepting a lower-ranked mate was a good thing.
    My family won't approve of this. That was admittedly a problem, but what could she do about it?
    Who says I have to do anything? Aurora smiled. Which male or males to accept was ultimately the female's choice, though her family might voice opposition. It wasn't like she was in Talia's shoes. She wasn't expected to take the highest ranked twin males around.
    I have a choice, and damned if I'm going to let anyone take it from me.
    Especially not when that choice involved a delicious male like this one. His hair was as dark as her fathers', though his eyes were more dark gray than brown.
    In fact, he looked more like her siblings than she did herself. Aurora looked like her paternal grandfather and—reportedly—like her maternal grandmother. Since Aurora had never met the latter and had no urge to do so, she'd long ago decided to take that on advisement from her family members who had met Florence.
    Good riddance! It was much more pleasant to think about the male she'd met that night.
    He wasn't as tall as her fathers were, little more than half a head taller than she was herself. Though all wolves were muscular, his physique said he worked hard at his trade, which was more than passably appealing to her.
    Aurora had never cared for lazy wolves and tended to do a lot for herself, something that drove Marietta mad on a daily basis.
    She breezed back into her suite of rooms, on top of the world, making plans for seeing him again.
    Him. I don't even know his name yet. And he doesn't know mine. Maybe I should use my nickname. It was a good idea.
    "Oh, Koukla." Marietta sighed. "You're filthy."
    "I'm sure you walked barefoot in the dirt when you were my age. I'm sure you watched the stars, flat on your back on the cool earth." She smiled sweetly and headed for the bath. "Besides, it washes off."
    "Dinner?" her servant offered.
    "Steak? I'll eat when I get out of the tub." Though it was unlikely Marietta would scent the male on her, Aurora wasn't taking any chances.
    "Very well."
    That easily, she escaped scrutiny. It won't be as easy once we scent each other.
     
    * * * *
     
    Nolan maneuvered the John Deere Gator down the paved garden path and toward the area he would be working on tonight. Though one part of his mind was focused on the pruning and planting he'd planned for this first evening, another was wandering.
    To her. Haunting memories of her scent had him searching out the same on the breeze.
    Not yet.
    Even so, his cock was half-erect in anticipation of seeing her again.
    He stopped the Gator at the Rhododendron bushes, cast one last look around for her, then dismounted with a sigh. She isn't here.
    Of course, that didn't mean she didn't want to see him. She might have been caught entering the Regina gardens...or leaving them the night before. She might have been roped into first-year duties she hadn't anticipated. She doesn't have my name, so there's no way for her to let me know if she can't make it.
    Whatever the case may be, I can't do anything about it now. I have work to do.
    In moments, Nolan was lost in his work, pruning the bushes, humming to himself as he worked.
    "That doesn't look wilted."
    He tipped his head back and met her gaze, offering a smile. "It's not. It's too densely packed here. It will choke itself off if I don't prune a little."
    "Ah. I see." She folded herself onto the path, where she would have a good view of what he was doing but wouldn't be in the way. "Sorry I'm late. My mother called, and I got caught up in the conversation."
    Nolan went back to his work with a nod. He'd be late for his evening work if his mother called. She didn't, but only because she knew his schedule.
    "How do you know which branches to prune and which to leave?"
    "That comes with experience. It's not so much a number but how they crowd and push each other, whether or not the individual leaves will get