Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“You know,” he said thoughtfully, “Cyra might’ve been the hardest fight, certainly one-on-one, but she wasn’t the most pain I’ve ever felt. That honor goes to the spell that closed off the cave where you met Dave. Do you remember? It burned off an entire layer of skin. Not blacking out was a miracle. I still have nightmares sometimes.”
I did remember, and I had blacked out. I’d been out for a day or two while he’d gotten up and kept going. His pain tolerance was legendary, and the fact that it came from a hard life before this choked me up. Still, he was here now. It had all led to this. I said as much.
“Yes, and I’d do it all again to be sitting beside you right now, taking in this somewhat decent day in a desolate part of North Carolina while Edgar hides in the foliage staring at everyone.”
“What?” I looked around and saw Edgar. He was standing in the middle of a bush with the leaves of a tree branch framing his upper half, doing just as Austin had said—staring at everyone, his gaze unblinking. It was incredibly creepy. “It must be a joke. There are levels to weirdness and that one just doesn’t exist.”
“He’s created an entirely different plane of weirdness,” Austin agreed.
“And for some reason, Drex thought he was as dangerous as Cyra.” I shook my head slowly. “Joke is on him.”
“Joke is on all of us.”
6
Jessie
An hour later, Indigo gave the all-clear to move Drex to his bed. His wounds had mostly healed, and there was no danger of them ripping open if he took it easy. He’d protested when she’d refused to let him walk until she’d released the binding, letting him feel the pain, and then he’d yielded to the stretcher.
Vessa, the beta, approached, wearing her suit and jewelry and a wary expression.
“Alphas,” she said. Austin stood, and I joined him. “As you know, Alpha Ashvale will be detained for some time further. He would like to speak with you, however. We invite you and your pa—convocation to stay with us. All of them, the gargoyles and ba—“ Her voice caught, and she cleared her throat. “Excuse me. The basajaunak, your remaining shifters. Everyone. We mean you no harm, and we believe you will honor your word and present no harm to our pack.”
Her words ended in a pregnant pause.
“Listen, I’m really sorry about that basajaunak thing,” I said. “They think of us as family, and they can get a little extreme when they believe their family is in trouble. But they’re good now. They know to stay calm. They’re lovely, honest, and nice to have at BBQs. Shifters, especially, generally love them—“
Austin touched the small of my back. Humor colored the bonds. I was babbling, and he thought it was funny.
My teeth clicked shut.
She cleared her throat again. “We’ll have a cook-out this evening in your honor, and tomorrow, if Alpha Ashvale is well, we can go over some details he’d like you to know. However, we also understand if you’d rather stay at the motel.”
“You have accommodation here for all of us?” Austin asked. “The basajaunak will likely prefer to stay outdoors, but we have a large party.” He glanced around at the remote location.
“Yes, we have room,” Vessa said. Again, with the pregnant pause.
I fidgeted. I didn’t know what was expected, and I couldn’t read her well enough to fill in the gaps. This was getting awkward.
“Forgive me,” Vessa said, letting me off the hook. “We are extending a lot of trust here, and ask, above all, for peace. Whatever surprises you find in our territory, they are benign. There is no danger to you, but we ask that you give Drex a chance to explain. After what we witnessed this morning, we are assured that our well-being is solely in your hands. We ask that you keep that in mind.”
“I am in-trigued,” Fred said from behind us in her scratchy voice. She’d sneaked closer without me realizing it.
I glanced back. She was sitting in the backseat of the Jeep with her phone in hand. Our eyes met, and she reddened.
“Niamh said I might as well come along,” she said, “and that you wouldn’t be mad about it, and even if you were, you’d get over it. And then all the Big Feet—Big Foots?” Her flush deepened. “Sorry, I’m not supposed to call them that even though that whole thing blew my mind! Anyway, they showed up, and now we’re all welcome, so I figure I’m good, right? Except in the woods. I’ll get lost in the woods almost immediately. Please don’t leave me in there. I will definitely die.”
I raised a brow at Austin.
“I heard her sneaking closer before I felt her,” he explained. “I figured you’d find out eventually.”