Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Philip stepped forward. “What most of you might not know is that you can compete to become the Alpha and refuse the, ah, mating to my daughter. Bring us all into the current times right off the bat.”
Solomon nodded, his eyes lighting. “Yes. When you introduce yourself to the pack, please say you, ah, deny the trophy? That way we can avoid the obligatory sit-downs right after we finish here. Then Nadia may leave with her family.” He nodded at Philip. “As you know, once the challengers declare, our current Alpha and his family must leave the territory until a new Alpha is decreed.”
Emily sucked in a breath.
Nadia gently brushed her elbow along Em’s. They’d argued about this already. She’d be left alone.
“Um, the, ah, trophy can leave if nobody wants a, er, trophy. So please deny the trophy now.” Solomon glanced down at the book. “That’s the language here, but I’m sure you can find a better way to say it.” He smiled at Nadia as if he were helping her.
She might kill him, too. Well, if she knew how.
He faltered and looked out at the field. “Left to right, please.”
“Bulwark McGregor.” He stepped forward, at least six and a half feet tall with dark hair and darker eyes. “From the McGregor family that was kicked out of this pack two hundred years ago. I’m the Alpha of the wandering Ghostwind Pack, and I’ll bring over a hundred strong members into this pack when I take over.” His gaze swept her. “I do not deny the trophy.”
So much for that idea. Dread slithered through her. “I’m no trophy,” she snapped.
Caidrik snorted.
The ass.
The next male, also over six feet with brown hair and light brown eyes, took a step forward. “Dax Moontel, former member of the Granite Pack. Left to find my way a long time ago and am ready to lead now. I have nearly a hundred wolves who will join with me. All wanderers wanting a home. I’ll take care of this one.” His eyes sparkled. “While I don’t deny the trophy, I plan to fully woo her before she decides to commit to me.” His smile held charm.
She smiled back, her face freezing. Her blood wouldn’t flow as hot as needed until the silver left her system.
The third male stepped forward, this one with dark and tousled blonde hair that contrasted with his intriguing green eyes. “I’m Luca Cross, current member of the remaining Ravencall pack, which has around one hundred members. Two hundred of our members joined the Granite Pack, as you may know. The rest of us, strong fighters, are willing to join this pack under my leadership.” His words and tone remained formal, but his eyes blazed. “I also don’t deny the trophy and plan to charm her into mating me once I become the Alpha.”
Huh. Wooing and charm. Well, that was better than the guy who’d knifed her.
“Isaac Pembroke.” The fourth man said. “I’ve been a mercenary my entire life and have fifty wolves, all excellent soldiers, ready to join under my leadership. It’s a good mix of experienced fighters, younger ones, male and female.” He had burnished brownish-red hair and blue eyes, as well as a barrel of a chest. “I deny the trophy and would never insist a female mate with me as part of a contest.” He gave a half-bow. “Nadia, I do apologize on behalf of the entire male species.”
Amusement ticked through her. Now that was a male. She smiled. Perhaps Caidrik would follow his lead. For some reason, she held her breath as she turned her attention to him.
He kept her gaze and hers only as he stepped forward, steam cascading off him in the cold weather. “Caidrik McGregor, a descendant of the Slate Pack McGregors, who were banished eons ago. I don’t have a pack or soldiers to bring in with me, and I don’t require them. I’ll make this pack everything it needs to be in order to survive and then thrive.” He gazed at her, taking a moment. “And I won’t be taking a trophy but a mate.” His words burned through the icy air. “You will be mine, Nadia. That I vow to you.”
Chapter 2
The pack really needed to update these ridiculous laws. Nadia stood in the empty house and let the thought settle as she listened to the quiet all around her. Per the archaic rules, Emily and Philip had left the territory, and their absence pressed in from every side.
It surprised her how quickly the space had changed once they were gone. She had never expected family to root itself in her this deeply. Her mother had been dead for years, and her father and sister were still new to her. They were working on having good relationships. Even so, the hollowness in her chest was unmistakable, a steady ache she couldn’t shake. But these trials? Thinking about them made her steady herself against the urge to laugh hysterically.