Free Craving the Alpha: Part Three: BBW Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance (Lycan Lovers) by Kate Kent

CHAPTER ONE
     
    “I’ll go see if anyone is out back,” Susan whispered. Clutching the tearful Zach in her right arm, she crouched lower and moved cautiously into the kitchen.
      “How many are out there, Markus?” I asked softly. “Maybe we could talk to them and tell them we would never hurt anyone.” Markus lifted his head slightly and looked out the window. “It could be ten or more.”
    I took a quick peek and ducked back down. They probably could not see us in the darkness and we couldn’t make them out too well either. They were just shadowy shapes against the moonlight. But from the angry noises they were making, it was obvious they were treating this like a witch-hunt … and we were the witches.
    “Markus, Kristen,” Susan called out softly from the kitchen, “I don’t see anyone out back. Do you want to try and make a run for it?”
    I glanced over at Markus. I could barely make out his face but I could sense the tension and stress in his body. God, I wished I could hold him, comfort him, and make everything better.
    Markus pressed his strong hand against the small of my back. “We don’t have much choice,” he whispered. We started edging along the wall towards the kitchen.
    “Wait, Markus, the duffel bag—it’s got our money and clothes in it.” We had so few things we hadn’t bothered to unpack when we arrived at Susan’s, and the bag upstairs held all of our possessions.
    “I’ll go get it. Hold on.”
    Marcus quickly crept up the stairs to grab the duffel while I waited nervously in the darkness.
    “Got it,” he said returning as he hefted the bag over his shoulder. He took my hand and we stooped down moving into the kitchen.
    Susan was crouched in the darkness, holding Zach by her side with one hand and his lunchbox in the other. “Take this,” she said, handing it to Markus. Markus looked at her quizzically. “I grabbed it off the counter. It’s Zach’s lunch for Ms. Nancy’s,” she added, referring to the summer program for children that Zach attended a few times a week. “I had already packed it for tomorrow. I threw in some other food that was on the counter too.” As she spoke, she reached up to the kitchen table and pulled her pocketbook down to her side. She pulled open the zipper, removing her wallet and started taking bills out.
    “You’re going to need a place to stay and more food,” Susan said, tucking a few bills in the side of the lunch box. “It’s not much, but it’s all I got. It should help you get by till you get on your feet.”
    “We can’t ta…” Markus started to say, but I interrupted him. “Markus, we will find a way to pay Susan back. We need it.”
    “Thank you, Susan, from the bottom of my heart. Your kindness has…”
    “You can thank me later. There’s no time to waste,” Susan interrupted. “You’ve got to get out of here. You will need to find a place to stay tonight and go from there. You can’t stay in Waynesboro; head north to Chambersburg.”
    “But what about you and Zach?” Markus asked.
    “It’s not us they’re after. We’ll be fine.” She added firmly, “there’s no time for discussion. You have to get going!”
    Markus sidled over to the kitchen door and peered into the gloom. He tapped lightly on the glass in the door, pointing to the dark shape of a house nearby. “We can cut through the neighbors’ yards. After we get away from this area, we will shift and run to Chambersburg through the woods. Are you ready, Kristen?”
    I took a deep breath. My body was trembling but there was no time to think. I just had to do it. We just had to do it, together.
    “Let’s go.” Markus grabbed my hand and eased the door open gently. “Thank you, Susan. We will repay your kindness.”
    “Mommy, Markus is taking my lunch box!” Zach cried out.
    “Yes Zach, shhh,” Susan said, putting a finger to her lips. “Markus needs to borrow it. Remember, sharing is caring; you want to share with Markus, don’t