Free Savage Betrayal: Savage, Book 2 by Shelli Stevens Page A

time you left this bar with a chick. Certainly had to be before that whole rescue op on the feral shifters.” Larson paused, his eyes narrowed. “When we freed Grace.”
    Shit, it hadn’t been that long. Had it? Dismay and unease had Darrius shifting in his seat.
    “I think whatever you’re feeling toward Masterson is probably just you needing to take the edge off.” Larson jerked his head to the right. “Look there. The pretty blonde seems like she’d be willing to help.”
    Darrius didn’t miss the way his alpha’s voice had lost its lightness, but now took on an edge. A warning that reiterated it would be a bad idea to get involved with Grace.
    Maybe Larson was right. Maybe if he spent the night with another woman, it’d ease up on this sudden need for Grace. Right now he felt like a shaken bottle of soda with the cap still on.
    Darrius glanced back at the table of girls, and sure enough the blonde was watching him with extra interest. She was his usual type. Why was he even hesitating? Any other time he would’ve been brushing up on his seduction skills in a heartbeat.
    You’ve got this. He forced himself to give her a slow smile and waited.
    She giggled, whispered something to her friends, and then stood up to make her way over to him.
    “You know, Larson,” Darrius muttered, feeling more confident by the moment, “I think you might just be on to something.”

Chapter Seven
    Grace stared out the kitchen window into the evening darkness, replaying all aspects of her day. It took the whistling of the kettle to jerk her back to the present.
    She moved away from the counter she had been leaning against and plucked the kettle from the hot stove.
    Her first day back had been both cathartic and a complete nightmare.
    It had felt so good to be back into her normal routine. To be with her team and feel their love and support—whether she deserved it or not. They’d invited her for drinks after work, something pretty common in the past. But she’d turned them down.
    She’d already planned to go see Jocelyn, but if she let herself admit it, she also wasn’t quite ready to face sitting across from any of the guys in a social setting. She wasn’t ready to shoot the shit or get back to normal. Did she even know what the hell normal was anymore?
    Stifling a yawn, she already envisioned the evening ahead of her. A book, a blanket and the couch. Perfect.
    She loaded her tea ball with leaves and set it steeping in a mug of hot water before making her way to the bathroom.
    Grace angled her body so she could lift her T-shirt and see her back in the mirror. The pale skin was unmarred. After Hilliard had tackled her out of the way of harm, pushing her against the car, she’d had a dark bruise running up her spine.
    Nodding, she allowed her shirt to fall back into place. That was another perk of being a shifter. Her body healed fast. So fast that scars were a rarity. Though some injuries took longer than others to heal.
    She flinched as she almost felt the sting of a whip against her back. Some images from her captivity during the experiments were easily remembered, some not quite as much. Which she realized she should probably be thankful for.
    As she left the bathroom, she froze, hearing the sound of the front door handle turning.
    Even knowing the only person who could easily get on her property and into her house, she still braced to fight. The tension didn’t ease until her sister stepped inside a moment later.
    “Oh, so you are here.” Aubree smiled tentatively and closed the door behind her. “I called several times, but there was no answer.”
    No, there wouldn’t have been, because she’d been avoiding all phone calls since this afternoon. Guilt pricked lightly, because she knew better than to cut her sister off that way—unintentional though it may have been.
    “I’m sorry, I put my phone on vibrate and it’s been in the bottom of my purse.”
    Aubree crossed the room to hang up her coat. Her slight