Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Maybe not the dolls, though. Some things just crossed the line.
Austin’s eyes fluttered open, the cobalt blue so beautiful. He focused in on me for a moment before closing his eyes again and scooting closer. His arms tightened, and he laid his head on my chest, his face against my cream silk nighty.
“Morning, baby,” he whispered, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
“I love you,” I blurted.
I could barely see his lips tweak up at the corners. “Love you too.”
I ran my fingers through his unruly hair before smoothing the pad of my thumb across his forehead.
“I should probably get going,” he murmured. He didn’t move.
“You haven’t had any breaks. You’re due a lie-in. Or a lazy Sunday.”
“Today isn’t Sunday.”
“A lazy Wednesday, then.”
He laughed softly before rolling away from me. “It’s not Wednesday, either.”
I let my hand fall on his side of the bed, still feeling the warmth as he sat on the edge and ran his hands down his face. “Aurora is challenging for placement today,” he said. “It’ll be a tough challenge for her. A vicious fight, most likely. I’ve let Mr. Tom know to put it on your schedule.” He turned back with a weary sigh. Austin definitely needed a day off. “You need to start preparing yourself to watch grisly challenges. You’re going to witness them when we meet the other packs.”
I sat up, watching him. I didn’t voice my concerns, as I knew my misgivings about what he was saying showed in my body language. It wouldn’t be random pack members I’d have to watch—it would be Austin. Maybe Broken Sue. Probably Tristan. It would be the cream of our pack that the other alphas or betas would challenge and try to dominate.
That was the issue that had stopped Kingsley’s efforts. If he’d had to meet those challenges, there were a few he didn’t think he could beat. And if he did, it would be tough going. The hope was that Austin could win those fights, but that hope was anything but a guarantee.
I’d get challenged as well, but only once by each pack, as I would make an absolute spectacle of my challenger. My gargoyle was already spoiling for a battle just thinking of Austin being in danger.
His gaze traveled my body, landing on my hands. He didn’t reassure me. It was time I got used to the harsher realities of shifter life.
I took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then nodded. “It’ll be fine,” I said, because someone had to reassure me. “They’ll see the need for a unified front. Only a fool wouldn’t after what happened at Kingsley’s.”
He shook his head and pushed up to standing. “I have a bad reputation among alphas, and my brother has a vested interest in me. We’re family. The alpha network assumes he’s trying to protect me, which isn’t unreasonable. Half the alphas don’t believe any of the stories are true, including the extreme danger Kingsley’s territory faced.”
“What?” My brow furrowed. “But…the entire town can vouch for it.”
Austin went to the dresser and took out his daily uniform, jeans and a white T-shirt. “They don’t want to hear it. They want to put their heads in the sand and pretend life doesn’t have to change. Once dominance is proven, shifters will listen, and then they’ll come around—but until then, they’ll approach this a lot like the gargoyles did. Remember? They didn’t want the new kid on the block to have more status than they’ve spent their lives building. It’ll be the same here. They just won’t hold out as long to face reality.”
Yeah. The freaking cairn leaders. All but one of them refused to admit my power or grant me status. The lone leader who’d joined the convocation was powerful, but the others still ignored me. It was frustrating as hell.
“Well.” I pulled the covers away and swung my feet over the edge of the bed. “We’ll show those shifters that we can handle them.” I hesitated. “You will, at any rate. I still can’t get Indigo to stop tripping over nothing and bowling down the rest of the Ivy House crew. I’ll probably get the first challenge out of the gate.”
He grabbed a pair of socks and sat with me on my side of the bed. “Your gargoyles are organized and pristine. Tristan has that down. The Ivy House crew will be ignored or looked down upon—at the start, anyway. Once the packs realize the rumors they’ve heard are true, they’ll come around. We really do have a phoenix, we have the basajaunak, and our thunderbird is awe-inspiring. Once they see the proof for themselves, they’ll give you some grace, I have no doubt. No, I’ll raise the most contention. It’s about my past versus my present. The packs view stability like the gargoyles do—they want to make sure I can foster it. They want to make sure I can lead. That I won’t drive a pack—or this convocation—into the ground. They don’t trust me. I’m going to have to prove that they can and should.”