Free Mated for Keeps Boxed Set: a BBW Werewolf Shifter Romance (The Lost River Pack) by Alexis Wilde

voice smoothed over her skin, eased warm hands through her wolf’s fur and edged into the muscles she hadn’t realized had turned to iron somewhere along the way. Her body ached.
    Her wolf indulged in the sound of Nico’s laughter, in his presence, in ways she’d never felt before.
    The man wasn’t anything like Victor. She’d felt Victor’s power—been flattened by it.
    Could Nico stand up to that?
    Very gently, his hand curved over her cheek. “You’re exhausted,” he said, sympathy obvious—and delivered without a shred of judgment. Like it was okay to be tired. “I promise, Natalie. You’re safe here. Whatever you need, however you need it, we’re here for you. Okay?”
    To her horror, tears pooled in the empty place behind her fatigue.
    Nico stretched up on his toes, still crouched in front of her, and pressed his lips to her brow. They were warm, soft. When he stood, he did so with a fluidity that put her more in mind of a cat than a wolf.
    Every instinct warned her not to test this man. What he may or may not lack in power, he’d more than make up for in lethal physicality. She’d have to be terminally stupid not to see it.
    And yet? She trusted him.
    Because he’d promised her she’d be safe?
    God, she was too easy. So easy that her body had latched onto the concept of bed and started hungering for clean sheets, soft blankets.
    Dreamless sleep.
    “Show her to her room.” Nico padded back around the couch and toward the door he’d come in by. “If you need anything in specific, Natalie, let us know.”
    Clothes, mostly. Maybe her own toothbrush? Natalie wasn’t sure. She’d never really been allowed to ask for things. The Yellow Canyon Pack provided necessities to those who were useful.
    What was she meant to do to be useful? How would she be expected to earn her keep?
    “I’ll escort you to your door.” Ben offered her a hand. It hovered just inside her peripheral vision, large and steady. Palm up.
    Natalie fought back a wave of panic as it gripped her, sank claws through her throat. Her heart.
    Clamping her teeth against the urge to chatter them, she slipped her hand into Ben’s and let him pull her from the sofa. He held her hand even when she’d found her feet, guided her out of the den and through the halls without letting her go. Every footfall carried with it an echo of her fears—what was she meant to be to these strays?
    She thought she’d covered this angle, thought she was ready, but with her mating heat eased to a tired simmer, the rest of her brain was overcompensating.
    What should she offer to earn her place?
    Ben halted outside of a door, one of several lining a bright, airy hall. The long rug underfoot was thick and plush, patterned in soft browns and greens. He let go of her hand, nodding at the door. “We’ve all got rooms here, but they’re usually empty. This one’s yours.” His voice scuffed against her nerves. Settled over them like cooling salve.
    She took a deep breath.
    When it shuddered, his dark eyes snapped to hers. Held.
    Natalie almost jumped out of her skin when his large hands come up to frame her face. “What’s wrong?”
    Could she say? Her heart hammered in her chest.
    Ben’s thumbs rested against her cheekbones, fingers brushing her hairline with infinite care. His palms were warm, rough like she’d come to expect from most werewolves, but gentle. Cautious with her, like she was the fragile type.
    No one ever treated her like she was fragile.
    Her fingers slipped around his wrists. “I don’t…” She hesitated. “What should I do?”
    Ben’s lips quirked. “For the moment? Sleep. Get your strength back. There will be food when you wake up. As much as you want.”
    “But for what? ” she asked, a ragged note of fear she couldn’t stop.
    His smile faded. His eyes banked, but when she might have expected a sudden shift to aggression, Ben’s fingers eased through her hair. Pushed the tangled mass away from her face. “For nothing,