Free The Reluctant Wolf: A Paranormal Romance (Werewolves and Shifters) by Susan G. Charles

Chapter 1
    It was a cold and windy February Georgia night. The kind everyone was warned to stay inside out of. It was just after dark and the snow was starting back again but at least it was nice and warm here inside the mission center, filled to the brim with people with no other place to go. This particular mission center worked specifically with the very old or those getting away from an abusive situation of some sort so it had a very different vibe than most. There were some kids here tonight too but no healthy men under the age of fifty – except for staff members.
    Bailey straightened up from bending over the gray haired old lady she had been talking to for the past half hour, who happened to be lying on the cot next to the wall. She pulled the cover up over the woman, tucked it in a bit and then stretched her long arms above her head. Her back popped and it actually felt good.
    She smiled, looked at her watch and then bent down again, whispering slowly to her new friend to explain that it was time for her to get off. The old lady smiled absently at her, reached out to grasp her hand and say a quick “Thank You”, and with that Bailey waved goodbye, then turned to leave.
    She’d been helping out at this particular mission center, speaking to the people here and getting to know them all, for a few years now. Her main mission in being here was really simple – she was looking to help those people that were very sick, but couldn’t afford medical care of any kind. As a single woman who had long ago been in an abusive relationship of her own, she vowed to help others when she finally got out.
    After years of abuse herself, she found herself hidden from her captor’s grasp one day and took that opportunity to escape. She had to leave family and friends behind but she never looked back. She was her own number one caretaker she had come to realize over all that time and thanked the Lord everyday that she had no children to share her abuse with.
    Now that she finally had made it out alive and in one piece for the most part, she made it her mission to repay all those who had helped her in the past, by helping others like her – and especially those in worse situations. Pay it forward was her motto. But payback was right up there too!
    There was a little more to it than that, but when it came right down to it, Bailey just felt it was her duty to help the unfortunate. She had always loved helping others and was a great people person. Turns out, she possessed an unusual gift too that she loved to share, yet needed to keep secret from everyone. In fact, not even her family knew about her ability – but she could heal the sick or injured.
    Her special gift made her feel like her life had a purpose when she healed the less fortunate. As it was, her “patients” didn’t even know it was her who made them feel better, which was exactly how she wanted to keep it. She felt if anyone knew of her ability that she would have been lifted up as some sort of angel, or perhaps even a devil of some sort, and she didn’t seek that kind of attention. In fact, she wanted just the opposite. She liked flying under the radar, nice and low key. And she wanted to keep it just that way, for fear of her past finding her present.
    No, her mission was not to gain fame or fortune – all she wanted to do was sit with the sick, holding their hands, or stroking their arms, talking to the old or abused while her powers had time to work their magic. She enjoyed the anonymity of her current position and healing those that had been forgotten or simply tossed aside. Her payment came in the form of smiles, interesting conversations and returned health to the ill. And that was exactly the way she hoped to keep it.
    Tonight, though, her shift was over. As she wiggled into her favorite warm, down filled coat and flipped her dark brown curls over the collar, she pulled a scarf tightly around her neck and put on her favorite winter hat as she got ready to