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)
“I wish I hardly saw Reggie,” Fletcher muttered before returning to his self-guided tour of my library. “I can’t wait until he’s mated so the lovebirds can live together.”
Darting back to the kitchen, I went to my tea cabinet and opened it up. “Okay, what kind of tea would you all—”
“You say you’re not a witch, Merritt.” Narah sounded odd, and when I turned to look at her, she was pacing on the other side of the island. “And yet you speak to ghosts and dispel them, you sent a wave of power through that room today that put us all on the floor—”
“Not Cole,” I reminded her.
“No, I…can’t think about that right… But Merritt, you somehow got rid of all those bodies last night, so why wouldn’t Abel jump to the logical conclusion that you could bury a corpse on our land while we slept?” She shouted the last part. “You need to start talking, because I’m tired of waiting for answers!”
Evan was exhausted, utterly dead to the world, and that was the only reason she didn’t wake him. It also didn’t hurt that he was on the other side of a five-thousand square foot space.
Fletcher heard, though, and he came down the stairs fast from the second floor, skidding to a halt back in the kitchen, standing so he could go to either one of us, whoever needed him. Abel stood beside his son, both of them unsure of me.
Everyone was silent and tense as the seconds ticked by, so of course it was then that the kettle started to whistle.
I looked at Narah. “Did you still want tea?”
She huffed out a breath, threw up her hands, and sat back down on one of the barstools, looking utterly miserable. “Yes, please.”
“Do you want me to read you everything that’s in this cabinet, or does a pumpkin cinnamon chai with cream sound good?”
“That one sounds perfect.”
Abel, Justin, and Fletcher sat down, and I began steeping the tea.
“I’ve lived here a long time,” I told Narah. “Not my whole life, but a long time. In all that time, I’ve learned how to do things.”
“Like speak to ghosts,” Narah stated.
“Yes.”
“And your grove is somehow magical.”
I took a quick breath, because the truth, for many, was hard to hear. “I have several members of the fae on my land, and they make it magical, yes. It’s not me, it’s them.”
“You’re telling me that you have magical beings who live on your land?”
“Yes.”
A minute went by in silence.
“You’re insane,” Justin said flatly before standing up and starting to pace, glancing over at his mother. “He’s insane. I can’t believe you wanted me to…bind him to me when he’s crazy.”
Sometimes I didn’t pay attention.
The first time I’d seen them, at The Bower, had not been the first time they’d seen me. And yes, Fletcher, as well as Justin, had admitted that to me, but perhaps they’d been in town even longer than they’d told me, surveying, figuring out where they wanted to live. It was easy to see, with very little reconnaissance work, that I did a lot for the town. Through my restaurant, I funded places that served the community, and The Bower was a focal point. More than anything else, it meant I was successful, which translated to me having money. When they’d seen I was alone, I became the perfect candidate to join their pack. A lone wolf in need of a mate.
“I don’t expect you to take him as your mate,” Abel told Justin, continuing their conversation like I wasn’t there. “We can’t actually have that. You need a mate to lead the pack with, someone strong and capable like your mother, as well as having children. Certainly, I haven’t funneled so much pack money into you, your schooling, how you’re dressed, how you carry yourself, the contacts you’ve made, the network you’ve acquired through lucrative deals for us and other parties for you to now tarnish that with any assignations that would not meet societal standards.”
That was me. I was what would not meet societal standards. Abel could not have been any more clear, as he glanced at me before returning his gaze to his son.
“But I’m well aware that you have other…needs, and having Merritt to satisfy those, to serve you in the capacity of companion, is a very good choice.”
“He thinks there are fairies on his land.” Justin gestured wildly at me.
I had fae, not just fairies, but I suspected that distinction would be lost on him.
“Merritt,” Fletcher began, “I’m so sorry. I thought Justin’s intentions toward you were honorable and—”
“You will be silent,” Abel snarled at Fletcher. “Your allegiance is to me, first and only. Do you want Justin to make you more agreeable?”
“No, Alpha,” he rushed out.
I was confused about what was happening. Everyone seemed very comfortable speaking plainly in front of me about what they all wanted, and in Fletcher’s case, about what he was sorry for, and that was strange.