Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
When morning finally dawned, I opened my eyes to bright light coming through the curtains. Beau rolled to his back with a groan as I climbed out of the bed and walked over to the window. Outside was a blanket of white. Snow covered every surface, making the entire property look like some kind of wonderland.
“Too bright,” Beau grumbled as he walked up behind me, kissing my bare shoulder. “Ah, snow. No wonder it was so cold in here last night.”
“It’s gorgeous,” I murmured, leaning back against him.
“You’re gorgeous.”
Rolling my eyes, I stepped away.
“I’m sure I’m a regular beauty queen this morning,” I said dryly, pushing my hair away from my face.
“I like it,” Beau said easily, moving to his dresser. “You look thoroughly fucked.”
I let out a surprise bark of laughter. “I’d say that’s accurate.”
Something had changed between us, but we were still careful of each other as we got dressed and ready for the day. Beau let me brush my teeth alone. I didn’t stay to watch as he put his clothes on. By the time we were ready to join the rest of his family in the main part of the house, a strange tension had built. It wasn’t uncomfortable, really.
As we made our way downstairs, I realized what it was. After the day before, when we’d shown each other all the little broken pieces that we normally hid, neither of us knew how to behave. It would’ve been funny if I’d known how to handle it.
“Sounds like everyone’s here,” Beau murmured.
I paused. I wasn’t ready to face them yet.
“I’m going to go check out the snow,” I said, trying to smile. “You go ahead.”
Beau searched my face. “Okay. Wear a coat.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied, giving a halfhearted and very dorky salute.
He watched as I grabbed my coat out of the closet by the front door, but by the time I had it zipped, he’d disappeared into the kitchen.
It was cold as hell outside, but I welcomed the chilly breeze on my face as I sat on the porch swing. Beau hadn’t mentioned the lack of mating heat, and I wondered if he was as worried as I was. Nothing in our relationship had been normal, that had become startlingly clear, but the fact that I didn’t feel the physical urge to be in his presence already? It scared me. If the heat was gone, then what the hell would hold us together?
“Do you mind if I join you?” Helen asked kindly as she stepped out of the house. “I love the snow.”
“It’s pretty,” I agreed as she sat down in a chair a few feet away.
“I wanted to apologize for yesterday,” she said immediately. “Sometimes, when my mate gets something in his head, it’s hard to dissuade him.”
“Sounds like a man,” I granted.
“And Vampires are worse,” she joked. “Especially the old ones.”
“What’s considered old in Vampire time?” I asked curiously.
“I’m sure it’s different for everyone,” she mused. “But I think it’s safe to say anyone born before the Europeans reached this continent.”
My laugh came out wrong, and I ended up choking, coughing for a moment before I got it under control.
“When we tried to explain yesterday,” she said softly. “About our souls reincarnating, I hadn’t considered the fact that your experiences would shape your feelings about that differently than we’d intended. I was raised to believe that reincarnation was just another part of life, and so…”
She shrugged.
“Knowing that Mordecai had known the life before mine, however briefly, was a comfort to me. A sign that I was on the right path.”
“You didn’t feel like second choice?” I asked, the words tripping off my tongue before I could stop them.
“No,” she replied in surprise, frowning. “It is the same choice.”
“But the woman he met before you was different,” I argued. “She didn’t look like you or act like you or—”
“Why should that matter?” Helen asked curiously.
“It’s not the same choice.”
“Our souls are matched, Reese,” she said gently. “There is no better match for me than Mordecai, no better match for him than me.”
“Or the woman he met before you,” I retorted impatiently. “Maybe she would be a better match.”
“You’re speaking of Beau. Why would you think such a thing?” Helen asked, aghast.
“Because he loved her so much he couldn’t even talk about her.” I shot to my feet, the swing jerking behind me. “I’m supposed to compete with that? I don’t even want to compete with that.”
The woman beside me made a noise of dismissal in the back of her throat.
“Sit,” she ordered.
I dropped back down.
“I still believe you’re viewing this in the wrong way,” she said shortly. “Your soul is a match for his. Two pieces of a puzzle that fit together flawlessly. Nothing else is of any concern.”
She lifted her hand to stop me when I opened my mouth to argue.