Cherished: True Mates Book 5 (BBW Wolf Shifter Romance) (A Craggstone Paranormal Romance) by Olivia Arran Page A
Authors: Olivia Arran
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happy, truly I am, but it’s like I said, double the worry. Hopefully, once Bert has been dealt with we can enjoy a time of peace and I can learn to relax a little. Kara keeps nagging at me, telling me I worry too much.”
Crisis averted, we glanced down at Bert who still lay sprawled on the floor. Sean was sitting on top of him, probably crushing the man’s ribs, his ears pricked as he stared at us.
“Can I trust you to take him back and put him with the others until the trial?” James asked, his face creased with concern.
I hated the fact that he even had to ask, that I had given him reason to doubt me, but I couldn’t blame him. “You can.”
“Back to your usual effusive answers I see,” James said, grinning, then slapped me on the back.
“Will you let Ana know I’ll see her back at the house?” I wanted to say more, but what? I didn’t know.
“I will.”
“She’s petite, with long dark hair, dark eyes, and a gorgeous plump ass, not that I want any of you looking at her ass. If you do, I’ll have to kill you.”
Gregg arched an eyebrow at my detailed description. “From the sounds of it, Ana is quite the woman.”
“She is, and she’s mine.” I wasn’t sure when I’d actually come to that conclusion. Sure, I’d thought it earlier, but then doubts had crowded in, making me second guess my resolve. Now I knew for sure. Human or not, she was mine. Maybe I had Bert to thank for that, not that he’d be getting anything but a pounding from me, if he was lucky.
Sean jumped off his dad, and giving me a quick bark, shot off into the night.
I pulled the older man up onto my shoulders, shifting his weight until it felt comfortable. It was always a bit harder to carry a dead weight, but I’d had plenty of practice. The trick was not to think of them as a person, more like a sack of potatoes.
Nodding at the remaining two men, I set off at a jog, setting a path for the packhouse, one that didn’t intersect with the rendezvous point.
There was no need for either Ana or Josh to see me carrying Bert.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ana
I collapsed on the bed, the soft mattress bouncing under me as I stared at the ceiling.
I was free! I still couldn’t wrap my head around it, having checked over my shoulder the whole journey through the forest, half expecting Bert or one of his men to appear.
But James said Bert had been captured, and I believed him. Kara’s mate was a handsome man. I could see why she was smitten and he appeared to be just as smitten with her, if the way he swept her off her feet the second he got back was anything to go by.
And she was pregnant, her secret given away by the tender way James had stroked her stomach, and the look in her eyes as she held his hand still, just for a second, a secret smile passing between them.
I’d had to look away, grief threatening to overwhelm me.
But I had Josh. I turned my head, still unable to believe he was here, lying beside me with a similar look of exhaustion on his face.
“Time for bed?” I murmured, watching as he fought to keep his eyes open, his long lashes flickering in a losing battle. He had a room next to mine with an adjoining door. It was as far away from me as I could bear, but he deserved his own space. Probably needed it after everything that had gone on tonight.
Picking him up, I carried him into the next room and pulled back the comforter, ready to put him down.
Just one more minute, I promised myself as he snuggled his head against my chest, his arms curling around me, fingers clutching at my T-shirt.
Breathing deeply, my heart started to unclench, the constant worry of being caught and taken back finally starting to release its hold.
“Is he asleep?”
The deep voice startled me and I jumped, panic consuming me.
“Shhh, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” A side lamp switched on illuminating Oliver in the doorway. “I knocked but I didn’t want to knock too loud, you know, just in case he was asleep.” He
Crisis averted, we glanced down at Bert who still lay sprawled on the floor. Sean was sitting on top of him, probably crushing the man’s ribs, his ears pricked as he stared at us.
“Can I trust you to take him back and put him with the others until the trial?” James asked, his face creased with concern.
I hated the fact that he even had to ask, that I had given him reason to doubt me, but I couldn’t blame him. “You can.”
“Back to your usual effusive answers I see,” James said, grinning, then slapped me on the back.
“Will you let Ana know I’ll see her back at the house?” I wanted to say more, but what? I didn’t know.
“I will.”
“She’s petite, with long dark hair, dark eyes, and a gorgeous plump ass, not that I want any of you looking at her ass. If you do, I’ll have to kill you.”
Gregg arched an eyebrow at my detailed description. “From the sounds of it, Ana is quite the woman.”
“She is, and she’s mine.” I wasn’t sure when I’d actually come to that conclusion. Sure, I’d thought it earlier, but then doubts had crowded in, making me second guess my resolve. Now I knew for sure. Human or not, she was mine. Maybe I had Bert to thank for that, not that he’d be getting anything but a pounding from me, if he was lucky.
Sean jumped off his dad, and giving me a quick bark, shot off into the night.
I pulled the older man up onto my shoulders, shifting his weight until it felt comfortable. It was always a bit harder to carry a dead weight, but I’d had plenty of practice. The trick was not to think of them as a person, more like a sack of potatoes.
Nodding at the remaining two men, I set off at a jog, setting a path for the packhouse, one that didn’t intersect with the rendezvous point.
There was no need for either Ana or Josh to see me carrying Bert.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ana
I collapsed on the bed, the soft mattress bouncing under me as I stared at the ceiling.
I was free! I still couldn’t wrap my head around it, having checked over my shoulder the whole journey through the forest, half expecting Bert or one of his men to appear.
But James said Bert had been captured, and I believed him. Kara’s mate was a handsome man. I could see why she was smitten and he appeared to be just as smitten with her, if the way he swept her off her feet the second he got back was anything to go by.
And she was pregnant, her secret given away by the tender way James had stroked her stomach, and the look in her eyes as she held his hand still, just for a second, a secret smile passing between them.
I’d had to look away, grief threatening to overwhelm me.
But I had Josh. I turned my head, still unable to believe he was here, lying beside me with a similar look of exhaustion on his face.
“Time for bed?” I murmured, watching as he fought to keep his eyes open, his long lashes flickering in a losing battle. He had a room next to mine with an adjoining door. It was as far away from me as I could bear, but he deserved his own space. Probably needed it after everything that had gone on tonight.
Picking him up, I carried him into the next room and pulled back the comforter, ready to put him down.
Just one more minute, I promised myself as he snuggled his head against my chest, his arms curling around me, fingers clutching at my T-shirt.
Breathing deeply, my heart started to unclench, the constant worry of being caught and taken back finally starting to release its hold.
“Is he asleep?”
The deep voice startled me and I jumped, panic consuming me.
“Shhh, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” A side lamp switched on illuminating Oliver in the doorway. “I knocked but I didn’t want to knock too loud, you know, just in case he was asleep.” He
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