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)
Tears overflowed as the enormity of this news threatened to pull me under.
I blew out a breath. “Yes, please.”
It was time to get on with my life.
He nodded, and I felt his power reaching into me, taking hold. A flash of panic froze me up. This felt wrong, unnatural. It almost felt intimate, but in a violating way, slithering through me. I was used to Weston’s power, not this. I wanted his delicious feel, not a stranger’s.
“What the—”
The man windmilled his arms as he fell backward. It was only then that I realized I’d shoved him.
“Oh my—I’m sorry!” I stepped forward, reaching out to catch him. He’d hit his desk, though, then toppled over it.
Hadriel bent over in a fit of hysterical laughter.
“It’s not funny,” I told him, hurrying to the desk. “Gods, I’m so sorry. I panicked. I’ve only ever felt the alpha—beta, I mean—Weston! I’ve only ever felt Weston’s power like that, and feeling yours tripped me up. I’m so sorry! I think I’ll just have him grab my animal, if that’s okay. I’m sure he’ll do it.”
“Oh yes, he’ll do it. Let’s go.” Hadriel reached for me, still laughing.
The village head picked himself off the ground slowly. His eyes were wide. “You’ll have a bright future ahead of you, young lady. A real bright future. I’ve never seen someone without their animal move so fast.”
“Uh, thank you. And again, I’m sorry.” I offered an awkward wave as we left his office.
“At least he wasn’t mad,” I muttered, looking over my shoulder as Hadriel guided me out. The man was straightening his desk while watching us leave.
“He’s probably wondering who you are, given you use the beta’s first name so casually and know his power so intimately.”
“He’d probably be shocked to find out.”
“He definitely will,” Hadriel said, and for some reason I couldn’t put my finger on, I didn’t get the impression he meant because of my affiliation with Granny.
We walked in relative silence back through the center of town to rejoin the group. We passed the spot where the wolves had cornered the intoxicated man from earlier. The man remained under his blanket. It didn’t look like he’d moved at all, which was what I’d expect if he was left alone. An aging woman sat on the ground by his head, her back bowed, sightlessly looking at her feet. It was so sad to see her waiting for him, worrying as he lay stuffed under a blanket after a display of wild behavior from unlawful drug use for all to see. I hated being responsible for that. I hated my part in tarnishing the people of this lovely little village with the kind village head.
I crossed her way without thinking, stopping beside her and putting a hand on her shoulder.
“I’ll fix this,” I said, the enormity of my situation still churning within me. This moment felt monumentally important. Helping her, everyone Granny had affected, felt more important than anything else in my broken, tattered life. If I had to beg the dragons to postpone my punishment, possibly my death, I would more than grovel. “I will fix this, I promise.”
Tears leaked out of the woman’s eyes. She didn’t ask who I was or what I’d fix, just nodded gratefully.
My head was in a fog as we walked out of the village, my thoughts swirling as I ruminated over the product, about the coating. I’d need to learn how to create it so I could develop something to dissolve it. I needed to render it ineffective, both as a poison and as an addictive agent. The dragons already had an idea about the latter, but it needed to be better, work faster. It needed to be cheaper—free, if possible.
Weston stood at the tree line, leaning against a trunk, watching as we approached. His gray eyes were laser focused on me, and suddenly I couldn’t help but feel everything crashing down around me. The emotion churning inside me bubbled up, and before I even realized it, I was running at him, hitting his chest with my fists, crying angry tears. I was behaving like one of those women I’d read about and always thought was ridiculous, but I got it now. I wanted to hit him but not do any damage. I wanted to be incredibly dramatic, to flail around as I wailed, forcing him to crush me to his chest. I needed him to make me be still, to calm me, to contain me. I couldn’t handle it on my own, not this. I didn’t want to.
“It’s okay,” he said softly, his strong arms around me, his cheek on the top of my head as he rocked me gently back and forth. “It’s okay. Shh, shh, shh,” he cooed, as if trying to comfort a child. And maybe he was. The part of me that hurt worst of all was my inner child, the one who’d mistakenly loved the caretaker who had been hurting me all along.