Strange Lake Falls Panther (Strange Lake Falls Series Book 4) Read Online Free

Roxanne teased her. Samantha was a very sweet young woman. She had long light brown hair and long legs. Roxanne envied her those legs. The girl was gorgeous and also very smart. She was currently a college junior, which meant that she would be graduating early, in just another year. She had a birthday coming up soon and would be twenty. Looking at someone so truly young always made Roxanne feel her age.
    Sam laughed. “I am. I’ve been studying for finals and that always makes me hungry. You’re coming in late tonight. Did your date go that well?”
    Roxanne snorted. “It went that bad. The guy was like an octopus, hands everywhere.”
    “Sorry. I’ve had dates like that. So you had him drop you off early?”
    “No, I bailed on the date. Took off to spend some quality alone time with myself. I would still be out if Ric hadn’t called me to come home.”
    Sam passed close to her on the way to the table and stopped. She leaned over and sniffed. “Are you sure you were alone?”
    “Yeah, why?” Roxanne tried to keep her breathing even.
    “You might want to go take a quick shower before you see Ric and Mary. I’m not judging, but you don’t want the scents I’m picking up to be picked up by those two.”
    Shit! “Let me shower. Could you stall for me if they come looking?”
    Sam sat down and waved her to go. “Go on. I’ve got this covered. You might want to add some perfume because for some reason I can really smell Connor on you.”
    Fuck and damnation! Roxanne took the stairs closest to the kitchen. She raced upstairs and down the hallway to her bedroom, which fortunately had an attached bathroom she shared with Sam.
    She grabbed spare clothes and dashed into the bathroom. She used Sam’s shampoo because it had the strongest scent. She scrubbed her skin until it pinkened. Why hadn’t she noticed that she had Connor’s scent on her? Maybe she had gone there so many times over the last few years that she had just gotten used to wearing it without a second thought. Had his mother Mary noticed it? Shit, if Sam could tell, then Mary could. This was not good.
    She finished up and put on her clothes, not bothering to try to dry her hair. Ric was not the most patient Alpha. She ran out of her room and back down the stairs. She looked at Sam, still eating the biggest sandwich she had ever seen. Sam, mouth full, pointed in the direction of the parlor.
    Roxanne hurried into the parlor and found Ric nibbling on Mary’s neck. These two couldn’t ever keep their hands off of one another. At times it was a bit uncomfortable to be around. She softly cleared her throat.
    Ric pulled away, not looking happy about being interrupted. Mary blushed and didn’t meet her eyes. It was an awkward situation for both her and Mary, but they had still managed to become friends.
    After their mating, Roxanne had planned to return to her old pack, but when Ric and Mary invited her to stay, she had accepted their hospitality. Now she wondered if maybe it was time to finally leave.
    “You took your time getting here,” Ric growled at her.
    “Ric, calm down.” Mary patted his arm, keeping his temper under control. Thank God for Mary.
    “Sorry, Alpha. I wanted to take a quick shower first.”
    Mary gave her a sympathetic look. “The date didn’t go well?”
    Roxanne shook her head. “No.”
    Ric sighed. “We already knew that. Your date called the council to complain, and then the council called me.”
    “I’m sorry, Alpha. I just don’t feel anything for the men that the council has sent. My wolf won’t respond to any of them.”
    “I hope I’m not out of line here, but could something be wrong with your wolf? Like, is she sick or something and can’t scent the males?” Mary asked. She was still new to pack life and didn’t understand all the wolf nuances. Roxanne came further into the room and sat in a chair across from the Alpha pair.
    “No, my wolf is very healthy. She recognized Ric but knew he was not meant for us.