Free Axel by Jessica Coulter Smith Page B

is,” Whisper said.
    “Do you think you can convince them to come with us? We have an SUV waiting at the end of the drive. It might be a little cramped since we didn’t realize how many of you there would be.” Axel glanced at the other women and found them watching the exchange with interest. “I know there are M.C.s out there who harm women, but we aren’t one of them. We have an agreement with the wolf pack in Ashton Grove that any women who are rescued will be given a place to live and can join the pack if they wish.”
    The woman looked at the others before swinging her gaze back toward Axel. “They’re human. Because of me, they know what shifters are, but I don’t know that they would want to live with a bunch of them. Especially some horny wolves.”
    Axel couldn’t help but smile at her description of the canines. “The alpha is a good, honorable man. He would see that they were taken care of. You, too, if you wish to go with them.”
    For some reason, his beast didn’t like the idea of her moving in with the wolf pack, surrounded by all of those eligible wolves. They’d even picked up some other shifters along the way, like the tiger, Cain. If Axel’s beast was ready to claim this small woman, he would imagine others would be lining up for the chance as well. His cat slashed at him with its claws, showing its displeasure at the thought.
    She placed a hand on her hip. “And where else would I go?”
    With me. The puma inside of him was pacing as he stared down at the small woman. Axel couldn’t explain his need to take care of this small female, but he felt it like a punch to the gut. Maybe watching Viper pair off with his new mate had fucked with his head. It wasn’t like Axel couldn’t have any woman he wanted with just a crook of his finger. Hell, he could have several at one time, and all it would take was a simple smile. Why would he want to fuck that all to hell by claiming a woman as his own?
    “We’ll get the lot of you back to the clubhouse,” Ghost said. “Then figure things out from there. If y’all want to go to the pack, we’ll call the alpha and set it up. If you want to return to your families, we’ll help make that happen.”
    The woman looked up at Axel and he nodded. “Whatever you need, we’ll take care of it. As of this moment, you’re free.”
    She gave him a saucy smile and stuck her hand out. “I’m Amelia. Amelia Jaurez.”
    Juarez? He shook her hand and sniffed at her again. “What exactly do you shift into?”
    “I took after my dad. He’s an olingo.”
    Axel’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “A what?”
    “Olingo. We originate from South America and are similar to kinkajous.”
    “That’s the cat-like ferret looking thing that likes trees, right?”
    She gave him a disgruntled look.
    He lifted his hands. “Sorry, didn’t mean to offend.”
    “I guess the easiest way to show you would just be to shift.”
    The words were no sooner out of her mouth than her body shimmered, contorted, and then began to sprout thick, brown fur. When her transformation was complete, she’d turned into a small mammal about fifteen inches long with a tail longer than her body. There was a band of yellow fur around her neck and darker rings around her tail. He had to admit, she was pretty darn cute.
    She let out a series of chucking sounds and sniffed around his boot. Axel crouched down and held his hand out to her. She sniffed and then licked his fingers. With a smile, he stroked her dense fur before encouraging her to shift back.
    “That has to be cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” Whisper said, earning a baleful glare from Amelia.
    “Call me cute again and see if I don’t bite off something important next time I shift.” She folded her arms over her breasts and then looked down at her body before meeting Axel’s gaze again. A flush crept up her legs, across her belly and breasts, and then settled in her cheeks. “I don’t suppose you have some extra clothes,