Free Brink Of Passion (Alpine Woods Shifters) by Sondrae Bennett Page B

got quiet. Laurie had been furious when she’d caught Julie crying in the back stairs at school. It had taken almost half an hour to drag the story out of her.
    “The star quarterback asked Julie out. When she accepted, he told her he would never lower himself to date a filthy freak of a human, and that she should have been put down like the dog she’d never be, when she was first born.”
    Although their mother was a wolf shifter and Laurie and her brothers were all wolf shifters, Julie had been born full human. A rare, almost unheard-of occurrence. Only a handful of full humans born from shifters had ever been noted. Julie had struggled with being different in a town that shouldn’t have been anything but accepting. Kids could be so cruel, but she expected better from a town full of wolf shifters and their loved ones. Laurie and the rest of their siblings had protected her when they could, but Laurie had always found no matter how important the lesson, every now and then people needed reminders.
    “But why the whole team?” Gwen asked.
    “The rest of them laughed,” Laurie stated. Of all the hijinks she’d pulled, that was one she had no regrets over. Even if it had gotten her suspended for a week, and detention for the following month.
    “Good job,” Samantha said. The rest of the women nodded their agreement.
    “I’d never have thought I’d be proud to have a child suspended.” Her mother got up and hugged her. Her own tears threatened when she felt her mother’s on her cheek, but she pushed them down. This was a happy time. Sad, too. But mostly happy. Laurie had found her mate.
    “They better appreciate what they’re getting, or they’ll have the whole town descending on them. We all love you, girl,” Martha stated, leaning down for a hug of her own once her mom pulled away.
    “Well, except maybe Trey Rogers and the high school football team,” Samantha joked dryly, causing the other women to laugh.
    “Good riddance, I say.” Martha gave her hand one last squeeze. “I’ve got to get back to the diner. You take care of yourself. Don’t be a stranger.”
    “I’ll be back.” No matter where she moved, this would always be home. “To visit. I’m really going to make this work,” she added.
    “You better. He’s your partner now for better or worse. Can’t break a mating, so best do everything possible to succeed.”
    Laurie nodded at Martha even as a thread of panic burned in her belly. She still had concerns about how fast everything had happened.
    Gwen took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Of all her siblings’ mates, besides Amber who was still in DC packing up her life for her own move, she was least close to Gwen. They’d never bonded as deeply as Samantha and her. Maybe because Samantha had come to their town emotionally wounded and in desperate need of a friend, or maybe because Samantha worked with her every day at the bookstore. But after having found her own mate and having him turn her entire world upside down, she found a whole new understanding and appreciation of everything Gwen had gone through for Ethan.
    “Alright. On to serious business while I can still think straight.” This seemed like the perfect time for the surprise she’d prepared with the lawyer yesterday. Pulling out the manila envelope, she handed it to Samantha, who took it with a look of confusion.
    “What is this?”
    “Open it and find out.” Laurie stood and crossed to the pay counter to pour herself another margarita from the half-empty pitcher sitting there. She’d thought a lot, debating the facts, before making the decision. She was confident it was the right one, but that didn’t make it any easier.
    She turned back toward the group in time to see Samantha pull the sheet of papers out of the envelope and read the top page. At first, confusion wrinkled her brow, but after a moment, recognition settled in. Her mouth dropped open and her gaze shot to Laurie.
    “Consider it an early baby