Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“Well, all six boys, not one of them older than sixteen, were hunting a buck, planning to rip it apart when they caught it, which was stupid. I mean, we’re wolves, but we don’t eat raw meat. The kill would have had to be carried back to the main house and… I don’t know. We’re from Manhattan; we have no idea what to do with a dead deer.” Fletcher sighed.
Kids out in the forest pretending to be apex predators. What could go wrong?
“But Evan was going to stop the others. That’s why he was following.”
“Which, again, is why he didn’t pass out,” I said.
“Poor Evan. When the others hit the dirt, he thought they were dead. He came tearing back to where we all were, camping out after running, shifted, and told us the others had all been killed by something he couldn’t see.”
“You’re telling me that you have wolves in your pack who can’t tell if something is dead or alive even when they’re shifted to their animal form?”
No answer.
“Seriously?” I was astounded. “Did someone at least teach them basic skills so they don’t get themselves lost in the forest?”
Still nothing from either of them.
“Are you kidding?”
“Fuck,” Reggie grumbled.
“What you’re telling me is you have people out running around in wolf suits in the mountains and not one of you can actually hunt or track.”
“That’s correct,” Fletcher confessed.
I huffed softly. “Did it occur to you that being out in the middle of nature, it might be a good idea to have everyone know how to survive?”
“Abel was sure our instincts would kick in.”
“I see,” I said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.
“Fuck you, Merritt. We screwed up, all right?” Reggie grumbled at me. “All of that was brought up this evening. We had several kids get lost out there. David Hawes fell into a ravine, another guy rolled his ankle, and we lost Patrice Collins for an hour and finally found her in a ditch. It took five pack members to get her out.”
“Was she hurt?”
“No, just really mad that no one heard her howling or screaming.”
I couldn’t help laughing.
“It’s not funny.”
“It’s hysterical is what it is,” I assured him. “You moved city folk to the country and just expected everyone to know what to do?”
“Abel said—”
“Shifters are still people inside. If the person you are can’t track, then the wolf you become can’t either. How do I know that and your alpha doesn’t?”
Neither of them said a word.
“It’s really lucky that those boys didn’t actually catch that deer, because an enraged two-hundred-pound buck fighting for its life with antlers and hooves could have really hurt them.”
“That has been discussed as well.”
“It’s too bad it wasn’t discussed before.”
“No one was hurt.”
“That’s just dumb luck because they crossed over onto my land.”
“Yes, we know, but listen—once Evan got back, we all got onto our ATVs because we’d already shifted back and we needed to be in human form to help.”
I wasn’t going to argue that they couldn’t have helped in either form.
“Do you know what happened the moment we got the boys off your land?”
Of course I did. “They woke up.”
“They woke up,” Reggie repeated.
“Probably not all at once, right? A couple woke up easy, and maybe one guy woke up screaming and yelling, and another one cried.”
“Yes,” Reggie barked at me. “What the hell?”
“Everybody’s different.”
“It was wild,” Fletcher muttered.
“But they’re all fine now, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“And the alpha’s mate would like a word with me, correct?”
“Yes, she would.”
“Got it.” At least I was up to speed now.
Apparently, after the boys came around, camp had been broken down and everyone had returned to the alpha’s home, which was their meeting house, big house, lodge, whatever they were calling it.
The house, when we reached it, was great, if an enormous log cabin was your vibe. The cedar was a nice choice, as with all the rain we got, wood rot could have been a concern if they’d used something like oak or pine. It had never been my preference, which was why the outside of my home was made of limestone and glass and the inside of opalized wood. But it was big, and they had an enormous deck out front, complete with fans for the summer, and now heaters for the fall, and wide steps leading up from the stone walkway. They had already completed the landscaping outside as well.
When I got out, there were people already there—twenty-four men and a woman. The men had all positioned themselves on the six long stairs, two on each end, and the woman was standing alone at the top, waiting, it seemed, until a tall man, I was guessing six-four, came out of the lodge and joined her. He put his arm out and she took it, slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow as they walked to the edge of the deck. Didn’t want to come down, I was guessing, until they knew whether I was dangerous or not.