Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
She lifted her brow at me.
“That was my first time,” I told her, because for some reason, that seemed important. “His first time, I mean. My first time witnessing him do that.”
Her gaze dipped to my hard length.
“This is a result of you, uh, checking things out.” I motioned to her fingers.
She dropped her hand. “Sorry, I just didn’t know that was a thing. I mean, I wondered after the first shift, but . . . It makes me wonder what they were actually doing on their hunting trips in the woods when they came back without a kill.”
“Usually it’s only when the female goes into heat.”
“Am I in heat?”
“No, you’ll know when you are. I guess maybe true mate pairs do it any time? I don’t know. I hadn’t heard.”
“Surprise,” she muttered, lifting her fingers to look at them again. “Do I need to . . . Does that count as something that’ll get me pregnant?”
“Yes. It’s a wolf form originating from a human mind and body. Our shifted forms aren’t actually animals, they are humans with magical shape alteration. If that makes sense. Same heart, same liver, stuff like that, just different placements. Same semen.”
“Huh.” She went about getting dressed. “It is kind of remarkable how curious I have not been. I never even thought to ask more about shifting and stuff.”
“You never thought you’d do it, so why would you ask about it?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
I couldn’t help myself—I pulled up her hand slowly and sucked her two fingers into my mouth. They were just as sweet as I was expecting, and her eyes flashed with sudden desire.
“Because he’s hot and not even remotely as hairy,” she whispered, moving in close and tilting her head for a kiss.
“You realize you’re talking out loud, right?” I murmured against her lips.
“Yes. My wolf was saying some very dirty things when your wolf was going at her, and now I just kind of want to keep everything above board for a moment. I just want to be a little more public about thoughts and feelings for a short time.”
I laughed and pulled away, heading to the place where I’d set my clothes. “Now I’m curious, but fair enough.”
“It’s too soon to talk about.”
“I understand.”
“Maybe I’ll say some of those things to you later tonight. Then maybe it won’t be so weird.”
“I support that decision.” After getting dressed, I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the head. “I heard what happened. Finley filled me in.”
She sagged a little. “I probably shouldn’t have chased him. She said you’d be mad.”
“I’m not mad.” And I wasn’t. Scared for her safety, yes. Angry at myself for failing to keep danger away from her, absolutely. But I couldn’t fault her for what Finley deemed were good instincts. I wouldn’t want the inverse to be true. “I would like to ask you to stay out of the towns and villages, and especially the city, until I can get everything set up, though. There are too many holes in our—”
“Of course,” she said. “But this wasn’t your fault. It is nearly impossible to lock down a whole kingdom. The people shouldn’t be penalized for my troubles.”
I walked her back to the castle. “I won’t be locking things down—I’ll be setting up better guards and patrols. That drunk shouldn’t have been able to urinate up against a shop after such loud and drunken behavior in the tavern.”
Finley had knocked him out before helping Aurelia, and my people had dragged him back to the castle to lock him up for public indecency. Tomorrow he could clean up his mess and do a little community service to atone for his crime.
“It was long overdue. I’d gotten complacent, having spent too much time chasing Granny’s drugs. The people like to feel safe. They’ll appreciate my providing that for them. The criminals . . . Well, I couldn’t give two shits if I fuck up their day.”
She bumped into me as we walked toward the castle steps, a pleasant hum in the bond.
“My whole life, I’ve longed for that,” she said softly as the guard at the entrance looked us over. His eyes snapped straight in acknowledgment of who we were before he opened the door. “I’ve longed for that kind of protection. Granny traded me for it by using me. She gave me what I ultimately wanted, but in a roundabout way—you. Because of her, I got you.”
Her voice drifted off as I scanned the interior of the castle, checking to make sure everyone was in their correct places. All the stationed guards inclined their heads at me.
We wouldn’t need such extreme protocols after Granny was taken care of, but this was a very good test for any problems in the future. Given the sort of splash the dragons were making in the markets and with other kingdoms politically, I had a feeling we’d eventually need it.