Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
At this point, Jayce didn’t really believe anything happening had to do with Drow—the rogue bear. It seemed unrelated. But there was no way to be sure.
The amount of trust Jayce and the rest of the Alpha Protectors had extended toward the bears was tremendous, but with the arrival of so many mates who could verify with near certainty that the trust was not unfounded, everyone felt more confident.
The bears couldn’t do anything without the knowledge of the newly mated females. They couldn’t have a conversation out loud or even telepathically without one of the wolves listening in. When they ate, Rylee smelled it. When they moved, Amber saw it. When they spoke, Molly heard it. When they made decisions, Khloe had a flash of their intentions. Leah was having dreams. Olivia could speak to them telepathically when they visited. And Suzette had recently developed an odd sense of touch. When she set her hands on things, she could see who else had been there across time.
The only recent mate who had no powers anyone could discern was Jezebel, and Jayce was sure she worried every day that something would change, and she would suddenly find herself with new abilities. It was unnerving for her and for everyone.
What was Sienna’s role?
Jayce hated not knowing. That was the worst part. He wanted answers and solutions. Strange visions of a bear pressuring her made no sense to Jayce. The oddness was compounded by the fact that Surge denied being aware of the scenario Sienna had described.
“Daddy?”
He shook himself out of his thoughts and leaned her back to look into her eyes, pasting on a fake smile. “I’m sorry, Little one.”
“It’s going to be okay,” she said calmly.
He furrowed his brow. “I know, Baby girl. Everything will be fine,” he fibbed. He had no way of knowing that, but he wanted to sound confident for his mate.
She shook her head. “No, I mean it really is going to be okay. I know it.”
“What do you mean, you know it?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know how, but I know everyone is going to be safe soon, and the threat will be gone.”
He forced himself to smile. “I certainly hope so, Little one.”
She grabbed his face with both hands. “Daddy, I mean it. I know it.”
She was so adamant that he couldn’t dismiss her yet again. “Okay, Baby girl. I believe you.” He really did. He took a few deep breaths and forced himself to center. His mate knew things. He had to trust that if she sensed everything was going to be fine, it was.
“We need to go,” she said as if she was suddenly the voice of reason. “They’ll be waiting on us.” Was she saying that flippantly, or did she know it from some weird sixth sense? It didn’t matter. Either way, she was right.
Jayce stood and set his precious mate on her feet. He guided her to the nursery and toward the closet to pull out a red dress and matching leggings. He figured if anything happened that caused her to shift in the middle of their travels, he would easily be able to spot her.
Hurrying, they were outside minutes later, ready to go. He was concerned. His new mate had very little experience shifting, and she had never gone for a run. This was so far out of the ordinary that he wanted to tip his head back and howl loud enough to shake the mountain.
That wouldn’t help at all, though, so he took a deep breath and nodded toward Sienna. “Go ahead and shift, Little one.”
She closed her eyes and let the shimmer take over. Moments later, she stood next to him, her gorgeous black wolf taking his breath away.
There was no time to waste, so he shifted next to her and took off, keeping his pace slow enough for her to keep up while she got her bearings. As soon as she could pick up the pace, he trotted faster.
It didn’t take long to reach Elias’s house. Jayce came to a stop just outside the clearing and shifted back into his human skin. Sienna did the same seconds later, and then he swooped her off her feet and kissed all over her face. “So proud of you.”
She giggled. “Daddy…” Every time she used that endearment, his heart raced. The single word was music to his ears. He’d waited twenty-eight years for his Little mate to join him and call him Daddy. She was here. She was his. He prayed nothing happened to destroy his happiness.
Hoisting her up on his hip, he headed toward the front of the house. Everyone was arriving from different directions and gathering outside in the clearing. All the recently mated couples were joining the group, plus a few of the elders—Talon and Owen.
The two older Alphas approached.