Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Centuries of isolation would now come to an end...because even ancient races like theirs had to move with the times.
This was what he had told himself the past week. What he had used to convince the council that he was making a decision for the good of their pack...and not just because this was the only way to get his woman back.
Hexius signed the documents, and Etienne affixed the seal of L’Alliance as its representative.
“Spencer’s asking if you’d like to join us for dinner?”
“Of course.”
“I overheard our wives talking the other day,” Etienne shared. “It seems you and Samira are one of the rare pairs that’s gained telepathic access through mating?”
“Indeed.” Hexius didn’t miss a beat as he delivered his reply, and it was only when he and Etienne parted ways that he allowed the full impact of the other man’s words to sink in.
Telepathic access.
The world seemed to slow down as his blood went cold, and hollowness began to spread inside of him like a virus.
Damn her.
Domenico and Misty Moretti was the first known pairing to establish telepathic access through mating, but even until now, no scientist had been able to unlock the secret behind it. In truth, so rare was this gift that he had never even thought it was possible for Samira and him.
But it was apparently...and rage started to build inside of Hexius as all the memories from the past week came back in a flash.
All of them, dammit.
Samira had heard his thoughts whenever they were together, but she had chosen to hide it from him.
Trust no one but yourself.
Death before surrender.
And let no outsider wrest control of your heart.
He had never told her about those rules. But he realized now that he didn’t have to. She would have read them from his thoughts. And had proceeded to manipulate him from there.
Damn her.
Did she have fun pretending she wasn’t aware of how hard he had been struggling to control his need for her?
He had thought her presence at the training ground that day was unplanned, but now?
And that moment last night—her mumbling “love you” in her sleep. Had that been real? Or just another calculated move in whatever game she was playing?
THE WALK BACK TO THEIR suite took four minutes and thirty-seven seconds.
He counted every step.
Used the familiar discipline to keep his thoughts ordered. To prevent himself from shifting and destroying half the corridor in his rage.
No.
Not rage.
Humiliation.
Even now, it killed him to think that she had heard his every desperate thought and knew his every moment of weakness.
It killed him to know that she had been aware of how he had been struggling over his decision to form a treaty with L’Alliance—
But not once, damn her.
Not once had she told him!
His hand touched the suite door. Inside, he could hear the shower running.
And in the past, such a thought would have his body hard with need in an instant.
But now, it just left him cold.
Because this time he knew the truth about her.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, a thought emerged. It questioned his absolute certainty about her deception. Proposed the possibility that he was jumping to conclusions because of his pride, which had always been his weakness.
It was a very reasonable thought.
But when she emerged from the bathroom that moment, hair damp and curling, and dressed in nothing but his shirt—
All he could think about was how she had to fucking know what it used to do to him, to see her dressed like this, and surely, dammit—
Surely this was yet another ploy to play him like a fool, and all because she had gotten drunk with her power over him and she want him completely enslaved?
Chapter Twelve
I WAKE UP MATED TO the Leopard King, and something is different.
Not just the delicious soreness between my thighs or the way his scent clings to my skin. Something else. Something in my head that wasn’t there before.
How does she do it?
I stir and slowly open my eyes even though a part of my mind is still lost in my dreams—
How does she make me feel these things without even trying?
With the way I keep hearing Hexius’ imaginary voice—
Oh. No.
The moment I see Hexius across the room getting dressed, I know right away I’m completely mistaken.
It’s not a dream. None of it was a dream. But instead everything’s happening real-time...
Because I can hear his thoughts.
Can you hear me?
My heart races as I ask this in my mind, but Hexius only continues buttoning his shirt, and what if...what if he can hear me but he’s not supposed to act like it? I mean, the world of preters is still a mystery to me. So who knows, right? Anything’s possible, and that’s why...
If you can hear me, how about just blink twice?
I stare hard at Hexius, wanting to make sure I don’t miss anything. Since preters are pretty much faster than humans in every way, I want to make sure I don’t miss seeing him—