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)
Cain
She looks at me with big eyes. “Where I come from, my bloodline, my father… none of that is who I am. At least, I hope it isn’t.”
That response makes me stop for a moment. I have been doing what the pack wants me to do, what Linus demanded I do. I have been trying to track down her heritage so we can place her in the tapestry of our kind.
I have done everything besides simply get to know her.
“Kira,” I say, “it’s time I took you home.”
I take her by the hand and lead her out of the stinking, dilapidated hovel she fled to out of a sense of duty. She is loyal to a fault. That is something I know about her. Something other than the color of her pelt or the humbleness of her origins.
The helicopter is still waiting. I leave Bardo to his job. He is not alone. I came with several dozen pack members, knowing that there was trouble afoot in this little town that time and the law seems to have forgotten.
Kira
I remember the first time he took me in a helicopter, how he held me in his lap and made me feel so incredibly safe. That was before I ruined things, broke his trust, made myself look terrible in front of his pack, and generally destroyed the best thing that ever happened to me.
He’s come for me, but I know this is not what he wanted from his mate. He expected better. He deserves better. As he leads me out of my aunt’s house, tears start to course down my cheeks. I don’t deserve him. I’m not good enough for him. I’ve disappointed him once, and I know I will do so again and again.
I follow him meekly, feeling deeply ashamed. I try to sniff the tears back, hide how I am feeling because I know nobody has time for my dramatics, but it is so hard. I get into the helicopter meekly, trying to keep my face turned away from Cain. The last time we were in one of these, he held me close, and this time sitting in a seat next to him feels like a rejection even though he is literally saving me from the mess I was in. If not for Cain, I would still be sitting in a cell, hoping the police didn’t process me and send me to jail for real.
I’ve narrowly avoided one of the very worst outcomes possible, and it’s all because of him. I owe him so much. I owe him even more than I owed my aunt all those years. My entire life is a debt to others.
As the helicopter takes off, I try to make some apologies.
“I’m sorry I took the money from your wallet. My aunt called and told me my cousin was in jail, and…”
He cocks his head to the side and looks at me with disbelief. “You think I spent weeks hunting you down, then flew a helicopter across several states to recover a few hundred dollars? The helicopter costs over a thousand dollars an hour to keep in the air. This is not about money.”
“What is it about?”
“You,” he says. “It will always be about you.”
His words sound almost sweet, but his demeanor is so displeased that I can’t interpret it in a comforting way.
“I’m sorry,” I whimper.
We don’t talk much on the ride back to Denholm. The helicopter is a very noisy means of transportation, and even with the headsets, it’s easier to stay silent. I’m still so absolutely suffused with guilt, I can’t bear to look at him, let alone speak to him.
The flight is a few hours. A lot quicker than my big bus journey took. There are snacks and water to indulge in on the way, which is nice. I am being looked after incredibly well, and I am grateful for it, though I still feel an ongoing sense of not deserving any of it. It seems like an accident of birth that made me his mate. An act of luck and fate. Neither one of those things have ever been particularly kind to me. Maybe it’s all turning around.
The second time I see Denholm is even more impressive than the first. I appreciate it all the more now, knowing how large and lavish the place is. This is effectively a castle, and I am sitting beside the king.
We land on the roof, and for a second time, Cain escorts me into his ancestral home.
It’s much quieter this time. The conclave is over. I assume some people have remained behind to run the place and take advantage of the shelter it offers. Denholm isn’t just a big fancy house. It’s also a safety net for the pack, I think. On my first visit here, I noticed older people who would be struggling in the outside normal world who clearly live here and are taken care of.