Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
I scrolled to Kace’s number and hit call.
He picked up on the second ring. “Booker.”
His simple greeting grounded me more than I expected. “Hey, Kace.”
“I’m assuming this isn’t a social call.”
“It’s not.” I leaned back against the wall, staring at the closed door like I could sense my mate through it. “I found her.”
“Your mate?” he accurately guessed.
“Yeah.” My voice came out rougher than before. “She’s a lynx shifter. And her chain is especially territorial since she’s the alpha’s sister. He has me contained in a guest suite until he figures out what to do with me.”
Kace let out a low hum. “Dealing with an overprotective male in your mate’s life is something I can relate to.”
“With Larissa?” I was already with the Wilderness Pack when Kace met his mate, but I spent enough time visiting my parents in Timber Ridge that I’d met her father a couple of times.
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “Humans don’t have alpha instincts, but Link didn’t need any to make it clear I would be earning the right to be with his daughter. And instead of a pack, he had the Silver Saints MC at his back.”
“I’d happily face off with a motorcycle club right about now,” I grumbled.
“That bad?”
“I don’t think Alara’s brother is going to be completely unreasonable,” I admitted with a sigh. “Protective, yeah. But he treated me more like an outsider than a true threat.”
“I get it. A lynx chain won’t take a wolf mate lightly, but I can’t see them outright rejecting fate either. That’d go against everything that makes us shifters.”
Filled with determination, I straightened. “Then I’ll just have to figure out a way to prove myself.”
“Damn straight,” he agreed without a hint of doubt in his voice. “We’ll need to handle this with respect. Show them you’re not there to challenge their authority—just to claim your mate.”
I didn’t miss his use of we. “So you’re coming.”
“Of course,” he confirmed. “You might not be an official member of the Timber Ridge pack anymore, but you’ll always be a part of it as far as I’m concerned.”
I knew deep down that he felt that way, but it was good to hear, especially under these circumstances. “Thanks.”
“I’ll coordinate with Keane. We’ll come together.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” I asked. “You showing up alongside a grizzly alpha might be read as a threat.”
“Not if we approach correctly,” Kace countered. “As a dual-alpha delegation there to send a message—you have strong backing, so your mate will be safe with you.”
There was only silence after we hung up—and the faint hum of Alara tugging at me through the bond.
Backup was coming, and I wasn’t leaving this mountain without her.
5
ALARA
Morning light spilled over the cliffs, but it did nothing to ease the tension coiled tight inside me. I’d barely slept, not with my mate so close but so far away at the same time. I had gone to bed in his shirt, needing to be surrounded by his scent. But every breath reminded me that he was out of my reach. Booker was as far away as he could be while still under our roof, under guard by my brother’s order.
I wrapped my arms around myself and headed down the narrow path between the dwellings. Usually, the early hours were peaceful, but not today. For me, and apparently, also the members of my chain.
“I’m just saying,” a voice hissed from around the bend. “Maybe he’ll try to steal her.”
My lynx snapped awake, bristling beneath my skin. She was so angry that it felt like claws scraping along my bones.
I froze where I stood, anger flashing through me before I even fully registered their words. It hit me that they were talking about my mate.
I stepped forward, keeping to the shadows just long enough to hear the second whisper.
“If he does, the alpha will have no choice but—”
“That’s enough.”
My voice cracked across the space before I even decided to speak. Both males jerked around, their eyes widening when they saw me standing there, no longer willing to pretend I hadn’t heard every poisonous word.
Their mouths opened, but I didn’t give them the chance to explain or apologize. “Booker isn’t here to hurt anyone. So unless either of you saw something you haven’t reported, stop spreading lies as though they’re facts.”
They murmured quick apologies and scattered down the path, but the damage was already done. My chest felt tight, and fury coursed through my veins.
I exhaled, trying to steady myself, but that extra little sense of mine stirred before the air even left my lungs. A faint distortion rippled across the settlement, like someone dragging a cold finger along the back of my mind. Not from the gossipers—they’d been anxious, not deceitful. This was more like a shadow slithering at the edge of my awareness.
The sensation faded before I could fully grasp it, leaving me cold enough to wrap my arms tighter around myself. My lynx paced inside me, unsettled.