Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
I still hadn’t managed to get around to taking a chance and asking Henri if he knew anything, mostly because I had barely seen him since the incident with Dom over a week ago. From comments Randall and Franklin had made, I was pretty sure there had been some kind of staffing issue at work that had kept him away and working odd hours, but it wasn’t something for me to worry about.
What was on my radar, and deserved to be there, was the expression on the elder’s face as he stood in the laundry room.
That was another thing I’d noticed the same day as his golden jewelry. I had always assumed Franklin might be in his seventies, but the more time we spent together, the more I realized that he couldn’t be. His hair was graying, that was for sure. There were lines at his mouth and eyes, but not as many as a man his age would typically have.
While he was thin, he wasn’t what I would call skinny either—not like my dad, who was in his late seventies and had been lean as far back as I could remember.
It had made me reconsider how old Franklin could be. And hadn’t Matti said something about him not having aged much since he’d lived here? It could be good skincare and good genes, but….
“Ah, yes,” Franklin answered, everything about him still radiating unease. He tried to smile, but it just put me even more on edge. Like when someone tells you there’s good news and bad news, but the good news is really just slightly better than the bad news. “We’re in the middle of a slight emergency, Nina.”
“We?”
“Yes.” He plucked at the sleeves of his button-down striped shirt, and I watched how steady his hands were, though his face said otherwise. “I need to apologize for not giving you more notice, but the leader of the Alaskan community contacted me five minutes ago and explained he’ll be at our gates in five minutes.”
I couldn’t feel my legs anymore. I wasn’t even sure I felt my eyelids either, but I somehow blinked. There must have been a rock in my throat, because when I tried swallowing, nothing happened at first. I had to try again. “He’s going to be here in five minutes?” I finally squeaked. Hadn’t he told me and Henri that we would have notice?
There’s no reason to freak out.
The only way anyone was taking Duncan against his wishes was over my dead body.
That thought actually made me feel a little better.
“Yes,” the elder confirmed, still pulling at his sleeve—the same one that covered his secret bracelet. “They gave me no warning. Under normal circumstances, we could turn them away, but I fear we would offend our visitor….”
He trailed off for a reason.
If we offended him, he might not come back. If he didn’t come back, then I’d be one step short of ever finding out the truth about my boy. And he deserved to know for his own sake. For his own identity.
If anything had been made clear over the last couple months, it was that knowing your magical heritage might not be necessary, but it might save a little bit of heartache along the way.
Duncan could grow up and be whoever he wanted to, but I didn’t want the mystery that had weighed me down for half my life to do the same to him.
Not if we could avoid it.
And no one was taking my donut, dang it.
“What do you say?” the elder asked, watching me closely, tugging at his left sleeve.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him fidget so much, but I didn’t have the mental capacity to worry about him at the moment.
On numb legs, I reached deep inside of myself for strength—thinking of Agnes facing down her asshole dad, remembering Shiloh trying to stand up to the Jenny Greenteeth in his own way, and I thought of those bogeymen risking their balls trespassing on werewolf land, on Henri’s land to get what they wanted—and I set my chin. If they could put themselves in uncomfortable situations, so could I. “If they’re here, they’re here. Let’s do it.”
Franklin’s eyes narrowed just the tiniest bit, but he nodded back seriously. “We’ll meet him outside.”
My arms joined my legs in the numb department as I followed him out. I tried to get my body under control on the chance that whoever was coming could smell my emotions. Fear wasn’t for the weak, but I needed to put up the best front I could and show that there was a reason why I’d been picked to care for my boy.
Without doing any pinching.
With my opposite hand, I toyed with the bracelet on my wrist. I rubbed my finger over one of the beads. Did I leave it on or…?