Free Hunted by Ellie Ferguson Page A

promised to add his birth date to my own tat after I’d healed up some.
    When I stepped out of the bathroom, a grin touched my lips. Leaning against the wall, doing her best to look nonchalant, was Sharon. Despite her expression, I could see the excitement in her eyes and scent it in the air. Well, I guess I couldn’t blame her. I was just relieved she so obviously approved not only of me joining the pride and clan but of becoming her brother’s mate as well.
    Without a word, she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the den. I could hear Matt and CJ talking in the kitchen. Another voice joined theirs, soft but definitely male. Curious, I lifted my head and breathed deeply. Gillespie. Hopefully his presence didn’t mean trouble had already found us.
    “Don’t worry, Finn. He’s just reporting in,” Sharon reassured me before I could ask. She drew me under the light and then moved so she could get a good look at my tattoo. “Damn, CJ was right. This is beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do better and she said that’s because of your drawing.”
    A blush warmed my face. It’s silly, but that drawing had been so much a part of me for so long that it meant a lot to know others appreciated it.
    “She tried asking Matt to see if you’d let her have the drawing--I think she offered to tattoo all your children and grandchildren for free--but he simply smiled and said no one got to keep it but the two of you.”
    If possible, my blush deepened.
    “Now, before we join the others, let me welcome you not only to pride and clan, but to the family. I saw how Matt was drawn to you the moment I arrived yesterday. More importantly, he felt stronger, more in control than ever before. Let me tell you, that’s saying something.” She grinned, her affection for her brother clear. “As his sister, I want to see him happy. As a member of his pride and clan, I’m glad he’s finally found a mate worthy of him and one who is strong enough to keep him from doing anything foolish.”
    “Sharon.” How could I tell her I felt the same way about Matt? It still seemed odd to me. Maybe because she hadn’t been apart from our kind like I had, she understood, where it still felt like an odd dream to me--or one of those sappy movies where the heroine and hero fall in love the moment their eyes lock. Except what I felt for Matt wasn’t love. At least I didn’t think so. That might come later. What I felt was a kind of completion, of being whole for the first time.
    Hell, what did I know? This was all so new to me. Maybe it was love.
    “Sharon,” I said again. “I meant what I said earlier. I feel complete with your brother. I know we belong together. Does being with him, being part of the clan and being his mate help protect me from Michael? It does and I won’t deny it. But that isn’t what matters. Not now. All that does is that I help protect and nurture the pride and clan, that I do what I can to make Matt happy.”
    “Well,” she began, her head cocked to one side, a slight smile tugging at her lips. “There is one more thing you need to do.”
    “What?” Suddenly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
    “Be my friend and, at least sometimes, make common cause with me against my brother.” Now she grinned gaily. “After all, we do have to keep him humble.”
     Laughing, I draped an arm across her shoulders. Damn but I’d forgotten what it was like not to be alone.

Chapter Six
     
     
    The chirping of birds woke me. I swear, if anyone ever needed proof God has a warped sense of humor, all they’d have to do is think about how sadistic it is to create something so happy to greet the morning and then let it sing and chirp and who knows what outside the bedroom window of someone like me. I buried my head deeper into the pillow, wishing for all I was worth for the birds to go away. Unfortunately, they’d accomplished their dastardly mission. I was awake.
    As I rolled onto my side, an arm reached across my waist,