Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 68699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
A tall beauty slipped into the chilly room, rubbing her mittened hands together. It only took the woman a second to spot Claire lounging on her couch. "You should not be here."
"You always were such a cunt. You know that, right?" Claire snarled back.
"That is a big word coming from you, little girl." Cocking her head to the side, blonde hair moving like a waterfall behind her, the Alpha changed her snarl to a provocative purr. "Do you have any idea how much you're worth?"
"Don't get too excited. He won't pay you… Shepherd hanged the last batch that brought me in, Maryanne." Claire looked at what had once been the smartest girl she knew and saw a stranger. "Fact is, he takes offense that anyone would expect payment for returning what's his."
Shoulders tight, Maryanne eased closer, eyeballing every corner of the room. "Did anyone see you come in?"
"No."
"That means at least three people did."
Claire let out a breath. "My face was covered and I'm sure you can smell for yourself that I am nothing special right now."
Full lips smirking, Maryanne lifted a handful of Claire's hair for a sniff. "True…"
Claire took Maryanne's hand, the hand of what had been her closest childhood friend, and held it. Large eyes pleading, she whispered, "I need your help."
"No."
"Why?"
Maryanne pulled her fingers free and sauntered off. "You have no idea what these guys can do to you, Claire. Whatever you did, just find a place to hide and wait it out… but don't drag me into it."
"Actually, I do know what they're capable of," Claire spat at Maryanne's back. "I'm pregnant with Shepherd's child."
"Fuck me!" Maryanne spun in horror, staring down at the diminutive Omega's belly.
"I wouldn't, remember," Claire teased, trying to mimic the mischief of their youths. "You were all over me during school. That's why we aren't friends anymore."
"Shut up, bitch." Maryanne laughed, unable to suppress a wolfish grin, "You wish. It was Patrick Keck that I wanted to fuck… and I did. Often."
"Then you disappeared. You were my best friend and you never even said goodbye." And that had hurt a great deal. More so, because Claire knew Maryanne had been capable of so much more than the mayhem she'd accomplished. "I read your file. Is it true you broke into the Archives?"
"Several times… only got caught once. Shoveling pig shit for a year was worth it. You have no idea how much some folks will pay for something as mundane as forbidden, tattered books."
"How did you get in?"
Maryanne licked her teeth and motioned to herself in a sweeping gesture. "This girl's got skills."
Claire grew serious. "And I need them."
The woman edged closer, trailing her fingers down Claire's tangled black hair, cooing, "You can't afford me, sweet pea."
"I know. Which is why I hate to do this." Claire looked for a moment like she might lose her nerve, but she drew a deep breath and began. "The Omegas are locked in the Undercroft. I need to set them free, and you're going to help me or I am going to tell Shepherd you laid a hand on me. He will rip you to pieces, because I'm not only carrying his child… we're pair-bonded."
Maryanne turned full Alpha. "I WON'T FUCKING DO IT!"
"You will."
The blonde paced towards the window, checking for the twentieth time for a sign of trouble. "Goddamn you, Claire. Goddamn you and your pointless humanitarian bullshit. You always were a goody two-shoes when we were kids; it was disgusting then and it's even more pathetic now."
"But I was never a pushover." Claire took Maryanne's arm, her expression one of desperation. "I am sorry, but I need you. I need the skills you have that I lack. If you do this for me I will never bother you again."
A deadly look came with the question. "Why not just ask your mate?"
"He's the one who locked them up." Claire pushed her hair behind her ear and stood her ground. "Like you, he's blind to what is right and wrong."
Maryanne cursed. She raged for hours, trying to talk Claire out of such madness, but the outcome was inevitable. Maryanne Cauley had no choice, and she knew it.
They fought over the plan vehemently. There was no time for reconnaissance, the pair blind to what may or may not be waiting. Diversion was one thing, but what Claire intended was insanity. But it could be done, Claire knew it in her bones. She could make it work. She had to, because if she did not give her all, risk everything, then nothing would change.
In the end, it was a shot in the dark at best… suicide at worst. But Claire, it seemed, had come to the right woman.
Maryanne Cauley knew the Undercroft—she knew entrances, she knew secrets—and though she refused to speak of why, it was obvious that once upon a time, Maryanne Cauley had been disposed of down in that dark place.