Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Austin looked at me, waiting for an answer.
“Why is it up to me?” I whispered, trying not to move my lips. “I don’t know what’s going on. Is this dangerous? I’m not in a balanced headspace for danger. If he attacks, I might level the building, who’s to say? I have a few new crazy spells that haven’t seen the right type of practice but are itching to be used. It would be a mistake to let me get cornered.”
I hadn’t had a chance to practice some of the most dangerous spells because I didn’t have Sebastian. He’d always ensured I stopped myself from causing the kind of destruction that couldn’t be walked back.
My emotions wobbled. I missed him and Nessa, missed Nathanial. My beast sensed an opportunity and tried to feed my rage and need for vengeance.
I took a deep breath, willing patience, as Austin watched me silently. Why were his eyes glittering like this was funny? It was making us look bad.
“Seriously,” I whispered through my teeth. “Dangerous isn’t a strong enough word for me right now. You know this. This shouldn’t be my call to make.”
His lips stretched into a smile, totally unlike him when dealing with other strong shifters.
“Let’s go,” Austin said, sliding his arm around me.
“Okay, but…” I looked back at our people, suddenly worried they were trying to lure away the magical person and make good on the threat they’d issued when they surrounded us.
“It’ll take a force much larger than this to take us down, Jessie,” Tristan told me. “We’re good.”
Austin and I followed Terence and two of his shifters through the door. A lobby area was simply furnished and the door at the back led into a few rooms, all of them outfitted like offices. We took the one on the left, the office decently sized, with two chairs in front of an oak desk and a bookshelf lining the back wall.
Terence took the leather chair behind the desk, and two of his shifters filed in and stood near the door.
Butterflies fluttered in my belly as I took one of the chairs facing the desk, waiting for Austin to take the other.
“I can assure you, Miss Ironheart,” Terence said as he made himself comfortable, “the last thing I would want to do is challenge shifter celebrities.”
“My brother has been spreading word of what happened in his territory, I see,” Austin said, leaning back and crossing an ankle over his knee. He stretched his big arm across the arms of our chairs and rested his hand on my thigh. It didn’t seem completely professional, but nor did his slouching in the seat like a playboy. I had to assume he knew what he was doing.
“Very much so, yes. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you. He’s giving the heads-up that you two plan to organize the shifters under the umbrella of a convocation, is that correct? Encompassing not just shifters but other magical creatures like gargoyles? And the…basajaunak, another thing I didn’t believe until tonight. That seemed like the tallest tale of them all.”
“Correct,” Austin replied. “We were letting the dust settle on the battle before we took our next steps.”
“I see.” Terence leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the desk. “Let me tell you how things work in this territory. We exist because we keep our heads down. Any shifter pack that tried to organize in the Los Angeles area in the past was pushed out, whether by political means, business, or just plain force.”
“By mages?” I asked.
“Correct, by mages. In order to play their game, you need to have some serious connections and savvy, and most shifter packs do not. Not like they do.” He spread his hand across his chest. “We do not. Instead of encroaching on their monetary territory, I purposely chose a small suburb and have contented myself with smaller businesses, like that coffee shop. I do not reach for more territory, I do not try to make political friends, and I stay under the radar. By doing that, I’ve mostly avoided notice.”
“Mostly?” Austin asked, the word laced with a growl.
“I’ve received threats now and again, usually telling me to back off on the acquisition of one business or other. And I have. I gave them an olé as I did so. I let Dick police handle their laws, and my people coexist with zero flashiness. No pulling alpha in coffee shops, that sort of thing.”
“I was about to be hit on,” Austin replied. “I was trying to defuse the situation before Jess got involved.”
“Ah.” Terence surveyed me for a moment. “I see. Be that as it may”—he leaned back like he was suddenly tired—“I respect what you’re trying to do with this convocation. I know quite a few people who are excited about it, and not just because they want an organized way to push back against the mages.”