Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“Am I understood?”
There is a murmur of assent, but it is not nearly enthusiastic enough.
“Am I understood!?”
I raise my voice, not in a shout, but in a dominant projection of power.
The response is more vociferous this time, but it is still not what I want to hear. Kira has to hold her own among the pack. That is the long and the short of it. A she-wolf like Isabella is the prototype. Beautiful, bold, dominant. They’ll respect that energy. Kira’s nervous nibbling of sweet treats did not make much of an impression on them.
I needed more time with her. I should never have allowed Abel to rush the conclave. Mistakes are being made. I am being hurried. Hell, I am being manipulated. I have the very bad feeling that this will not go well, and the even worse feeling that I may not have the power to stop it.
CHAPTER 8
Kira
I am trying not to cry.
I am trying not to cry.
I am crying.
I’ve taken off the outfit that now feels like some kind of a fake disguise which everybody saw through immediately, and I’m sitting cross-legged on the bed.
I hate feeling out of place. I tried so hard to appear normal for Cain, but being paraded in front of the pack and then humiliated was too much. She was ruthless, and though I hate how mean she was to me, I think I hate it more that I got the feeling everybody agreed with her. This pack doesn’t care about nature, or love, or personal choice. They want Cain to mate with someone who will produce the right kind of babies for their pack. It’s gross.
I hear a vibration from the nightstand. It takes me a second to realize that my phone is ringing.
I answer it without looking at it. It’s probably one of my roommates wondering where the hell I went, or if they can have the ham salad I left in the refrigerator.
“Mngh?” I greet the caller.
“Channi Colton’s gone and got himself in trouble again. We need you.”
My aunt’s voice resonates through my phone, instantly making my stomach clench and twist in an unpleasant way. I’m back on the farm again, watching the crops burn. Thick smoke is choking me with every desperate breath.
“My new boss has taken me on a retreat…” I start to lie reflexively.
“You said you’d come back if we needed you! Colton’s in jail, and we haven’t got the money for the bail.”
“Can I just send money?”
“We need money, but we need you to come and look after your uncle, too. I need to make sure Colton stays out of trouble, and you know your uncle can’t be on his own for too long. You should never have gone to the city. Family is everything, and your family needs you.”
Guilt swells through me. I know I owe my aunt and uncle a debt I can never repay. They took me in and raised me when nobody else wanted me. I’ve been told every day of my life what they’ve done for me. I know I am going to have to go back.
And I also know Cain is going to be super mad if I so much as leave this room, much less go back to Wisconsin.
“I’ll be there soon,” I tell her. “I need to get some things ready, bus fare…”
She’s already hung up.
And just like that, I have another problem.
I don’t want to tell Cain where I come from, or rather, what my family is like. He wouldn’t understand. He’s one of the richest men in the world, and they are, well, rough around the edges, to say the least. If he met them, he’d realize that I came from what I know his pack would call trash. They already look down on me for my dilute genetics.
I have to go.
He’s going to be angry with me, but maybe this is for the best. I’ve already made a terrible impression, he said as much. Disastrous. That’s the word he used.
I am out of my depth here, and I am not what he thinks I am. I am not a suitable mate. I am not even a suitable door stop for a place like this. I’ve already humiliated myself twice. I know I’d only continue to do so over time.
I put on the most casual clothing I can find out of the selection that was brought from my apartment. Jeans. Sneakers. Ball-cap.
All Cain’s things are here too, of course, including his wallet. I hover over it. My aunt said she needed money, and I need some cash to be able to get home…
I can’t believe I’m doing this.
Cain
When I get back up to the room, Kira is missing. A thorough search of Denholm indicates she is not here, and following her scent leads out through the forest to the main road, where presumably she hitched a ride away from here.