Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87502 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87502 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
His face fell and I could see genuine sympathy in his eyes.
"I’m real sorry, lady Jamison, but I can't."
"Jimmy—"
"I can't," he repeated, shaking his head. "Harris ordered that you be kept locked up."
The words made me feel sick. So Harris was running the Pack now and other Alphas were listening to him, even though the Alpha Challenge hadn’t even been held yet. If he was in charge, I really was in trouble.
Feeling desperate, I tried a different approach.
"Then tell me about Kor. Is he all right?"
Jimmy shifted uncomfortably and his eyes wouldn’t meet mine.
"I don't know. Honest, I don’t."
"You must know something." I took another step toward him. "Please. Is he hurt? Is he alive? At least tell me that!" I heard the edge of hysteria in my voice and tried to tamp it down. “Please, Jimmy—I need to know.”
At that, he finally nodded.
"He's alive, all right. Harris made sure of that."
The relief that washed through me was so powerful that I almost started crying.
"Thank the Goddess,” I whispered brokenly. “At least he’s alive.”
"He is, but that's all I know," Jimmy said quickly. "I swear it. Nobody tells me anything."
"Where are they keeping him?" I pressed, hoping for even a tiny bit more of information.
But he only shook his head.
"Don't know."
"Please, Jimmy."
"I don't know."
I could tell he was telling the truth, and my shoulders slumped.
"Then…what's going to happen to us?" I asked. “Do you have any idea?”
Once again, his eyes wouldn’t meet mine.
"I don't know exactly," he admitted. "But Harris keeps talking about tonight."
"Tonight? What about it?"
Jimmy shrugged.
"All I know is he says he has some kind of plan for you and Kor when the moon rises."
A cold finger of fear slipped down the groove of my spine.
"What…what kind of plan?" I asked, my throat so dry I could barely speak.
But Jimmy was already backing toward the door.
"I don't know. Honest, I’m sorry."
"You must have heard something,” I pressed.
He shook his head.
"Lady Jamison, I really don't know."
And before I could ask another question, he slipped outside and shut the door behind him. A moment later I heard the lock slide back into place.
Then I was alone again.
The hours after that seemed endless. I ate the protein bar because I knew I needed the energy, but it sat like a lump of sawdust in my stomach. The bottle of water was gone far too quickly and after that I had nothing to do but sit and think.
Unfortunately, thinking was exactly what I didn't want to do.
As the afternoon wore on, I became increasingly certain that I knew where I was being held. The sounds drifting through the walls gave it away. Every now and then I heard voices. Once I heard the distant bark of a dog. Later I heard a truck engine and the slam of a car door. By the time the sunlight filtering through the cracks began to fade, I was almost positive I was locked in the equipment shed on the edge of the Moon Glade where the Pack gathered every full moon night to Shift and hunt.
The realization wasn't comforting, but it did give me a small sliver of hope.
The Moon Glade sat roughly halfway between Wolverton Manor and Blackridge. If I could somehow get out, I might be able to make it back home. It wouldn't be easy—I was barefoot and wrapped in a dirty canvas drop cloth and I had no idea how many Pack members were nearby. But if I could get free, I thought I might still have a chance.
The problem was that I couldn't leave without Kor—even if I somehow escaped, I couldn't abandon him.
So instead, I sat there in the growing darkness and worried.
My thoughts kept circling back to Harris Murdoch and what he might be planning. The more I thought about it, the more frightened I became. Harris wanted power more than anything. He wanted to be Pack Leader. He wanted Wolverton Manor. And at one time, he had wanted me.
What if he still did?
The thought made me feel physically ill.
My greatest fear was that he would somehow win the Alpha Challenge and claim me for himself. I could imagine him standing before the entire Pack, declaring that he had earned the right to take me as his Omega, then breeding me in front of everyone to prove his ownership
I didn’t think I could stand that. I’d spent twenty miserable years with Carter forcing me every month to try and get an heir. I didn’t think I could bear having the same situation—or an even worse one—with Harris Murdoch. I literally didn’t know if my mind could take it. I might snap and go crazy and try to kill him or myself. That was how much I hated him…how desperate I was never to let him touch me.
And if that was what he had planned for me, what was Harris going to do with Kor?