Owned by the Wolf (Marked Mates Book 1) by Jinx Neale

Author:Jinx Neale [Neale, Jinx]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stormy Night Publications
Published: 2017-07-07T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

The barbecue was held at a campsite, owned by the pack, on the other side of the mountain. Janet had told Faith how the kids enjoyed sleeping outside under the stars. A huge fire burned in a pit in the middle of the site. The barbecue grills were set to one side, alongside several picnic tables, burdened with bowls of potato salad, coleslaw, and sweet potato casserole. Alec held court at the grill, expertly flipping steaks and pork chops, which scented the air with the mouth-watering aroma of cooked meat. Faith finished setting out a platter of deviled eggs and looked around. There were around twenty pack members gathered tonight and spirits were high. A few children chased each other around the fire, under the watchful eye of one of the young men, whom Janet had placed in charge.

“Poor Max. They’re running him ragged,” Brock observed as he came to stand by Faith. Zane had left her to check on supplies.

“He looks like he’s enjoying himself,” Faith said.

“Yeah, Max loves kids. We all do. Wish we had more of them running around.”

Faith considered the book she had purchased that afternoon. “Are there restrictions on bearing children?”

Brock shook his head. “In a wolf pack, only the alpha male and female produce cubs. We’re not like that. But don’t make the mistake of thinking we’re just like people, because we’re not.”

Faith watched the children leap and run with a fluid grace that wasn’t human. “I see that.”

“Wolves mate for life.”

Faith nodded. “I think I read that.”

“We take in outsiders, to strengthen the pack and to increase mating opportunities. For example, Clara comes from Minnesota.”

Faith wasn’t going to touch that. Not when Clara was studiously ignoring the heated glances that Brock kept sending her way.

“But how does it work? Are you structured like a wolf pack?”

Brock seemed happy to answer her questions. “Each pack has an alpha pair, like Mom and Dad. Pack property is owned collectively by the pack, but the alpha has the final say in any dispute.”

“Like the CEO of a corporation.”

“Pretty much. Except a CEO isn’t likely to tear the throat of his opponents.”

Faith suppressed a shudder. She couldn’t forget they were shifters, no matter how human they might seem.

“When the alpha steps down, the next strongest male takes over the leadership. In our pack, that’s Zane.”

“Sounds about right,” Faith muttered, tearing her eyes away from the fire, where a pretty blonde girl sipped a beer, laughing up at Zane. She was so not jealous.

Brock surveyed the blonde with an appraising eye. “That’s Melinda Dawe. She’s always had a thing for my big brother.” He shrugged. “Nice ass, but that laugh would shred my last nerve after a while.”

Faith giggled in appreciation.

Brock flashed her a grin. “That’s better. I was starting to think you didn’t enjoy my company. As that is statistically impossible, I was worried about your mental health.”

“Statistically?”

“Four out of five women would date me.”

“And the fifth?”

Brock looked across the clearing, where Clara was helping hand out the hamburgers.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.