Free Voracious by Jenika Snow Page B

with the two of them, but was it love? She had never known the emotion and didn’t know if what she felt was that. Just the thought of them not with her left a hole in her heart.
    Did love cause that kind of pain?
    “It’s okay, Dalia. We aren’t going anywhere. What we have is something that doesn’t happen every day. Sammy and I have an infinite amount of patience and know that when you are ready you will feel just as strongly as we do for you.” He kissed her hand again and stood. “You need to eat before the food gets cold, though.” He smiled—all straight white teeth.
    She felt his gaze on her. Alric watched her, his expression soft. “Aren’t you going to eat, too?” she asked.
    “Once I know you’ve had your fill I will. There is plenty so don’t worry.” He brushed her cheek with his thumb, and she felt her flesh heat.
    Since first meeting them Dalia had felt like Alric was the more aggressive male of the two. Whereas Sam seemed to be more compassionate and in tune with his gentler side, Alric’s alpha male roared through from the very beginning. But right now he seemed so soft toward her, so attentive to her needs.
    Would she ever get used to being treated like this?

Chapter Twelve
     
    Something had woken Dalia up, but as she lay in the dark she couldn’t hear anything. The feeling of dread crept inside her until she felt on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. She reached out, searching for Sam. After dinner Alric had switched places with him. They had lain on the bed together, his big arms wrapped around her. One of them was always with her, and she hadn’t felt more love than she did when she was with them.
    She hadn’t seen the wolf shifter again, the one who had said his name was Jackson Holler of the Holler pack. They hadn’t heard of his pack before, but that didn’t mean anything. There were so many shifter packs in Colorado and the surrounding states that keeping up with all of them was impossible.
    She was alone in bed now.
    Dalia slipped from the bed then grabbed a robe and donned it, covering herself even though she wore a bra and panties. She listened again, wondering what had woken her but still heard nothing. A sense of dread and foreboding washed through her. She knew that feeling all too well. She’d been living with t her entire life.
    The only sound that penetrated the darkness was the sound of her beating heart as it pounded through her ears. Something wasn’t right. Dalia didn’t need to have her acute shifter senses to know that. She made her way toward the door and opened it. The first thing she noticed was the frigid temperature in the living room. It pierced through her robe. She gripped the lapels together and peered around the doorframe.
    The front door was open, and a light sprinkling of snow blew in through the opening.
    The firelight cast shadows throughout the room. She rounded the corner and stopped, her heart jumping to her throat. Someone sat in front of the fire, and a tingle of dread raced up her spine. The light cast shadows, but she didn’t need to see him to know who it was. As if he sensed her presence he stood and turned around.
    The expression on Clay’s face was one of concealed amusement, but then he glanced up and down her body and that look was replaced with raw fury.
    “I see you wasted no time being another wolf’s whore. Or should I say two wolves, little bitch.”
    The sound of his voice was like a bullet to her heart. Fear instantly slammed into her, and she shook. Where were Alric and Sam? Were they okay?
    A wicked breeze blew through the doorway, and she shook harder. She looked around the room frantically, praying to the heavens that Clay and his followers hadn’t hurt them. The room had been destroyed. There were several pieces of furniture knocked over, pictures askew on the wall, and broken glass on the floor.
    How the hell hadn’t she heard any of this?
    Dalia searched her surroundings frantically again, needing to make sure