Free Batch (Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Desired by a Dragon Book 2) by Terra Wolf, Hailey Storm

later.”
    Silas stood and stepped toward me until inches separated us. “Do you have something going on with my little sister?”
    I lifted my gaze to meet his and said the words I’d wanted to for so long straight to his face. “Yeah, I do. I think I love her, man.”
    A smile shifted across his face, surprising me. My body tensed because I wasn’t sure if he was about to sucker punch me or crack apart like a madman. When he reached out and patted me on the back, I wasn’t sure what to think.
    “About damn time you came around,” he said, grinning.
    A flush of adrenaline tingled through me and I was forced to exhale a shaky breath. “What did you say?”
    I knew there was no way he’d said what I thought he had. Silas had told me years ago to never screw with his little sister’s heart. In fact, I remembered him saying it more than once.
    “I said, it was about damn time you admitted your feelings for my sister. The two of you need to stop screwing around and just be together. What’s holding you back?”
    “You knew about them?” Violet asked before I could say anything.
    “Of course I did. Batch and Scarlet have had a thing since we were kids.”
    “How did you know? I always thought I did a pretty good job of hiding it,” I said.
    “No. You sucked at hiding it. And my dad was the one who pointed it out to me.” Silas grew quiet as the memory of his late father surfaced in his mind. He’d died a few years back in a battle against a hunter. It was another reason why we were so close—because hunters had stolen our parents from us. “He knew after a few weeks of you being with the tribe that you and Scarlet had a strong connection. He pointed it out to me when we were around ten or eleven years old, and since then I’ve been waiting for you two to admit it.”
    I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. All this time I thought he’d disown me if I admitted to having feelings for his sister. “Then why did you tell me to never screw around with her? You made it sound as though you hated the thought of her dating one of your friends.”
    Silas laughed. “I did, didn’t I?”
    “Yeah, you did.” I narrowed my eyes at him, not understanding what was so damn funny.
    “I was giving you hell.” He slapped me on the back. “Now, back to Dylan.”
    Anger rushed through me at the mention of his name, and I cleared my throat. “Dylan was subdued for a while. Scarlet managed to gouge him in the stomach before passing out.”
    “Good. I knew she would never go down without a fight.” Silas’s eyes drifted to his little sister and pride swirled through their bronze color. “Have you come up with any suggestion as to how we can remedy the situation? Dylan is human, isn’t he?”
    “Yeah, he is, but I think I have a solution.”
    I told him everything Becky said about Dylan and how she thought he knew what Willow Vale really was about. I even mentioned how she’d been willing to help in whatever way she could before I told him my proposal.
    “Let me get this straight.” Silas situated himself in the recliner. “You want Becky to go to Dylan’s apartment, call the cops, tell them he attacked her and she was forced to defend herself with a kitchen knife?”
    “Yeah, I think it might work. If he’s been in on the whole shifter thing for a while people have probably thought he seemed a little off, which means they’ll probably believe he went batshit crazy and attacked someone.”
    “I agree with Batch,” Violet insisted. “I think the whole Becky thing could work. As long as she’s willing.”
    “You have her number?” Silas asked me. I nodded. It was still on my cell. “Then call her and see if she’s game.”

Nine

Scarlet
    M y eyes fluttered open . At first, I wasn’t sure where I was, but then the familiar furniture put my mind at ease. I smoothed my hands along my face as I forced myself into a sitting position, wondering why I was in my living room on the couch. The sight of my