Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37136 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37136 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
It had been a while since Will had laid eyes on Henry’s muscular, tattooed form. The alpha was graying at the temples now more than ever, and his hair had grown out to his shoulders, so two silver streaks framed his face.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Henry said. “I need this stink off me.”
He disappeared into the shower with the note. Will saw the gleam of a tear in the dominant older wolf’s eye and knew that he did not want to be seen having all kinds of emotions. Henry would be reunited with Lorien soon enough, and that was sure to be passionate. Will tried not to think about romance, love, mates, or anything of that nature. He had already decided that the rest of his life would be lived as a lone wolf. He would eschew all matters of the heart and refuse romantic contact. Maddox’s betrayal cut deep.
He was hungry. He heard Henry start the shower and knew it wouldn’t be long before the pack master was rushing them out the door to the next rendezvous, where he and Lorien would be reunited.
There was a box of toaster pastry on the kitchen counter. Will gravitated to it immediately, but recoiled when he saw that there was a note on that too. It was not marked for Henry. It was marked for him, in Maddox’s curling script. After a second he picked the box up and tossed it in the trash. He’d rather go hungry than depend on Maddox for anything, even a pastry snack.
Henry came out of the shower, refreshed, clean, and with hope for the first time in a long time. Being captive to a vampire coven had been particularly galling for him, not to mention worrying. He had a pack to worry about, a pack that had been without their alpha for so long he was certain he would have been replaced by now. He wondered who the pack had chosen. He wondered if he was still mourned, or if he had been mourned at all. The latter thought was borne of the darkness of captivity, and he knew better than to let it feel like truth. It was all too easy to feel abandoned and forgotten when trapped in an enemy’s lair. He had told Will this fact many times, but Will did not have broad enough experience of life to understand that his suffering did not mean he was hated or irrelevant.
The conversation immediately turned to the creature that had attacked Gideon. They had not had a moment to discuss the thing before now, but Henry was very curious as to how Will had taken the discovery that his mother still lived, in a manner of speaking.
“We owe our freedom to the woman who attacked Gideon.”
“Holy shit,” Will shuddered, still naked. “Did you see her?”
“I saw her,” Henry growled. He was not pleased by her existence per se, though they were obviously beholden to the creature who had attacked Gideon and provided them the opportunity for escape.
“She’s supposed to be dead.”
“I think she is dead,” Henry said. “I think whatever she is now is something beyond my comprehension. A librarian might have some sense of what she is, but given the library exploded when Gideon woke, I have little hope in the relevant tomes being intact.”
Will went a flippant route. “So my mom, who dumped me in a dumpster as a baby, is a zombie now. Cool.”
Henry frowned at Will’s complacency as they both pulled on casual clothing. “It’s not cool. It’s a powerful magic. It’s an old magic. Maybe even older than Gideon. We really need to find a librarian.”
“You got some books you need to return?”
“We need to understand what’s happening here. You don’t understand, people don’t come back from the dead in any form other than vampires, and she’s no vamp. She’s something else. She’s powerful. She’s vengeful. She’s protective of you.”
“She’s a mom,” Will said, though he said it mockingly. “And the two kids she actually kept are dead, one way or another. Which means I’m left. It’s a bit fucking late for amends. She’s dead, and I don’t give a fuck anymore. I don’t care about her, or him. Or the other him. I’m sticking to the plan. I’m going to find my father if he’s still alive, and I’m going to go deep into the woods, deep enough I don’t see another person again until I’m old and toothless.”
“You can’t run away from this. All of this is happening because of you. Gideon woke because he’s jealous of you. Your mother was killed because she’s your mother. Don’t you see? This is going to hunt you down, pup. You can’t run from it.”
“Don’t call me that. That’s worse than whelp. After the last few months, I’m done with being talked down to.”