Single Wolf Female (Midnight Liaisons) Read Online Free Page B

card. No numbers were assigned, and there were no pictures. Usually they were issued by the alpha of the pack upon birth, and you received a new one if you left packs. I only had the one, and it was tattered and worn after being in my wallet for 24 years.
    Jackson Wilder’s card was fairly new, the edges still crisp with plastic. St. James Pack, South Carolina , the ID read. Issued in 2008, which made me still with concern. Wolves could be made by a bite instead of born into shifting, but they rarely ascended to higher than beta. On a hunch, I slid my finger under the ID and met the grainy feel of an older slip of paper behind it. “You’re not a new wolf?”
    He shook his head, the amazing smile (and dimples) disappearing. “Left for new ground a few years ago and met with the St. James pack.”
    An alpha joining an established pack? That couldn’t have gone smoothly. I replaced the card and snapped the wallet shut, then held it out to him. “So why’d you leave them?”
    “A fire,” he said, boyish face serious once more. “All died but myself and Dan.”
    I swallowed. “Dan?”
    Oh no. Was my new, pretty alpha…gay?
    And why was that disappointing? If he was gay, I’d be safe from his attentions, after all.
    Another car door shut, and my eyes flicked to the handyman truck even as I reached for the shovel once more. A boy slid away from the passenger side, lanky and uncertain. He was tall, but that was all he had going for him. A bit too thin, with haunted eyes and pale hair. He gave me a faint smile as he moved to stand behind Jackson.
    Ah. Not gay. Just had a kid with him in his pack and hadn’t left him behind. I understood that.
    “Dan,” Jackson pronounced. “I brought him with me. He’s the only living member of the St. James pack.”
    “Other than you,” I corrected.
    “Other than me,” he repeated.
    I waited for the smile to return, but it didn’t, and I felt a little disappointment. I liked that smile. It had put me at ease. Oh well. At least he wasn’t gay. For some reason that made me happy, even as it filled me with anxiety. I stared at them both, wondering what my pack would think of two more males to be added to it? Trina would be thrilled, but Holly was shy. She’d be nervous.
    “So…what are you doing?” Jackson gestured at the fire behind me.
    “Burning my underwear,” I replied.
    Dan flushed and looked at the ground. Jackson just grinned. “Couldn’t wait for tomorrow?”
    “Not when it was sopping wet with some other guy’s leavings, no.”
    His eyebrows raised and he shifted on his feet, the tension returning to his body. I recognized the tension. Possessiveness. Strange to see it in someone I’d just met a few minutes ago, but I guessed that meant he was staying. And that I should explain exactly what had happened.
    I handed the shovel to Dan. “Can you handle this? I’ll show Jackson what the other guy did to my kitchen.”
    Dan nodded and took it immediately. He was clearly not an alpha. With my shovel in hand, he began poking at the fire and sending up a shower of sparks.
    I glanced over at Jackson, then headed for the back door of the house. “Come with me.” I kept my face impassive as he followed behind me, and I held the door open. “Oh, and welcome to the Savage pack.”
    “Nice place,” Jackson murmured as he entered the house.
    I flushed in embarrassment at his words, seeing nothing but dirty laundry and even dirtier dishes piled everywhere. Dead flowers on every inch of table-top. God, I was a wreck. “We’ve been grieving,” I said sharply, more sharply than I’d anticipated. “I haven’t had time to keep house.”
    He nodded, and placed his hand on one of the wooden beams scattered through the large, messy living room and I flushed uncomfortably. Perhaps he hadn’t been talking about the state of the house after all. As Jackson’s gaze moved over the furniture, I snatched up a dirty sock laying over the arm of a chair.
    “Is it just you that