Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“No.” The firmness of my tone shocked me. Not allowing him to call the shots, when this was his gig, shocked me more. But sometimes, the willfulness of my gargoyle couldn’t be ignored. That was what I blamed it on, anyway. “I will not sequester my people because they might be judged. Besides, Niamh is probably already in the bar, and Edgar is probably letting loose a hog-tied gnome or commandeering a garden or something, who knows? If you want to hide your shifters, that’s fine, but I won’t punish my people because they’re different.”
Austin studied me. His emotions were turbulent, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking or feeling. Finally, he said, “Fair enough. Let’s shower and get ready. I can’t wait to see Kingsley’s face when we give him that car.”
SIXTEEN
Jessie
“Miss, I really think I should go with you,” Mr. Tom told me as we exited the suite. He’d hung around as I got ready, putting my clothes away and commenting on my choices.
“We’re only going to dinner, Mr. Tom. It’s a family thing. You’d have to wait outside.”
“I am well aware of how family dinners work, miss. I’m fine keeping a lookout.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I said firmly. “Kingsley isn’t bringing any of his people, and neither are we. I’ll call if I need anything.”
Mr. Tom harrumphed but didn’t press me.
“It’s a good thing he can’t read body language, or he might’ve known you’d lied,” Austin murmured as we headed for the stairs.
“It was a little white lie. Kingsley’s only bringing a couple people, and that’s for protection, not as a lookout. Our protection will be casing the whole area, not the restaurant specifically—”
“Face it, you didn’t want him to embarrass you by hanging around outside in his disguise. What happened to not punishing your people because they might be judged?”
“Okay, first…”I held up a finger, then surrendered. “Fine, I’m the one who doesn’t want to be judged, okay? If we’re being watched by the visiting packs, then I don’t want my first impression to be colored by a butler wearing an Elvis wig. Sue me.”
He chuckled as we met four of the weaker shifters in the pack at the main entrance of the building. Alphas always had a team to walk them places during these things, all to show off the pack’s power. No one tended to challenge at a meeting of minds.
“Not Tristan or Broken Sue?” I asked.
“The other packs don’t know how to size up your people. They won’t understand Tristan’s power, not unless they see him in battle. I want to save the power they will understand for a surprise,” Austin explained.
“Ah.” We passed through the doors and headed along the path to Kingsley’s building. Each pack had their own, and the packs together accounted for fifty percent of the reservations. “You allowed my people to wander because it wouldn’t really matter.”
“I allowed your people to wander because I want the only shock to be the shifter power. The weirdness of your crew will hopefully be a boiling frog situation. If the other shifters get it in doses, maybe your people won’t seem so overboard tomorrow…”
“Sure, yeah. Keep telling yourself that.”
He silently chuckled, looser now than he’d been earlier. I suspected it was because of his brother. Kingsley was well respected in this circle of alphas, and it probably gave Austin some assurance to reconnect beforehand.
Kingsley waited outside the door of his building with his mate, Earnessa, and his kids, Mac and Aurora. He had four shifters with them, only two of whom I remembered from his pack.
“Is he doing the same thing?” I asked in confusion.
Austin followed my gaze. “No. He…did some restructuring. They got a surge of new shifters after the battle. He’s been moving things around. James, his old beta, is no longer living in that territory. He didn’t take the firing well. You know what happened to Bruce.”
Broken Sue had claimed his revenge. Bruce was no more.
“Jessie, good to see you again,” Kingsley said, showing me a slight smile. He put out his arms for a hug, and I glanced at Earnessa with unease. “It’s okay,” he assured me. “She knows this is your Jane thing.”
I accepted the hug, then paused to look at Earnessa again. She gave me a quirk of her red lips, almost a smile.
“Hi, Jessie.” She put out her arms as well.
“Oh, yay, we’re a hugging family now.” I gave her a squeeze.
“C’mere,” Mac said with a huge smile, wrapping me in a tight hug as soon as I’d released Earnessa. I wheezed within his embrace.
“Hello again,” I said to Aurora, whose relieved expression and lack of coiled anxiety made me hug her tightly for different reasons. She must’ve worked things out with her dad, which had to be a relief—she’d hated being cut off from her family.