Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Her eyes narrowed further. “I’m not scared,” she blurted loudly. “For such a big bad Dominant Alpha Protector, you sure are dense.”
Arion was taken aback. He dropped onto his ass and set his palms on his bent knees. He didn’t like her tone, but there was a deeper problem here that needed to be dealt with. Now was not the time to discipline her.
“Enlighten me, Little mate,” he said as calmly as possible. “I realize now you are angry, not scared. Tell me why.”
She threw her arms up, letting go of her knees. When she stretched her legs out straight in front of her and set her palms on her thighs, she leaned forward. “You can’t coddle me, Arion. You spent the past week in secret meetings, hiding things from me. Important things. You knew those other wolves were in the area, didn’t you?”
He nodded, not interrupting her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She didn’t let him answer before she continued. “I know I’m young and naïve, but I’m not an actual baby. You can dominate me and enforce your rules and pamper me and feed me and dress me and all those things, but I’m still your mate, and I want you to include me in things.”
He flinched.
“I’m not asking you to tell me every pack secret, but when you’re stressed, I can feel it coming off you in waves. When you’re nervous, there’s a tick in your jaw. I know you want to protect me, but you’re doing me a disservice if you don’t tell me what you’re protecting me from.”
He drew in a breath. Perhaps she was right. His sweet Little mate was not a delicate flower.
She lowered her face. “I never knew there are other packs out there. I never knew there were bears that could threaten us. There are a lot of things I didn’t know. I’ve been sitting here for the past two hours piecing together what I’ve learned. I suspect most of the pack living in the valley doesn’t know about many of the outside threats. That’s why the Alpha Protectors exist, isn’t it? You really do surround the valley and protect the town.”
Arion nodded. “Yes, Little one. That’s what we do.”
She narrowed her pretty eyes and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. “If I’m going to live up the mountain with you, that means I’m at more risk than the shifters in town. There are dangers out here that females in town will never know about. Every mate of a protector is at higher risk.”
“Yes, Bella,” he admitted. “We do our best to ensure your safety though. That’s why you can’t open doors or wander around alone. I will never leave you unprotected. When the Alpha Protectors work, we leave our Little mates all in one place under the supervision of one or two of us.”
“And you thought you could just drop me off at some kind of daycare without telling me why, and I would just blindly accept things without question?”
She really had thought this through. And she was right.
“You’re right, Little mate. I’m sorry. I just wanted you to live in blissful happiness for a while.”
“But life isn’t blissfully happy. None of the threats you face on a daily basis took a break just because you and I mated,” she pointed out.
Arion gave her a small smile. “When did you get so smart?”
She smiled in return. “I went to school until you claimed me, Daddy. I know things.”
He chuckled. At least she was back to calling him Daddy.
She sighed. “I’ll be safer if you don’t keep threats from me, Daddy. If I know the possibilities, at least I can be more careful, keep my eyes open, and be on the lookout.”
“You’re absolutely right,” he repeated as he reached out a hand. “Will you crawl out of that corner so I can hold you, Little mate?”
She narrowed her eyes further and held her ground. She was so petite, but she held herself like half the full-grown male wolf shifters he knew. “You promise to stop keeping important secrets from me?”
“Yes, Bella mine. I won’t be able to share every single aspect of pack business, but I can make sure you know about imminent threats and anything that affects your safety.”
“Thank you.” She didn’t move to come to him yet though. “One more thing.”
“Yes, Little mate?” She was obviously a fierce negotiator.
“Will you spank me now? I’ve been so tense with all kinds of bad feelings inside. I need the release so I can let it go. And then can I have a bottle and then a nap. I’ll even use a diaper and a pacifier.”
He chuckled. “I can give you all of those things, Bella mine.” All of those things and more. She was his life. His mate. His world.