Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
“I did, and I understand that my father needs access to the mine. He also wants me safe and thinks, deep down, that you’re the key to that.” Yet that would leave her father vulnerable. “I don’t think so.” Her gaze drifted to Jackson’s jawline and the shadow of stubble on his skin.
“We’ll see.” He shifted gears as the truck bounced over a rut, drawing her attention to his muscled forearm. The air between them thickened. “Maybe you’ll decide to stay.”
She shook her head. “Not a chance. We had one kiss and that’s all there’ll ever be.” That summer night at the lake when they’d met up as teenagers. Every once in a while, enterprising and rebellious teenaged wolves arranged a party outside of all pack territories where they all snuck out and had some fun mingling. There had been two such parties in her youth, and she’d only made it to one of them, where she’d met Jackson for the first time. He hadn’t become the Alpha yet, so they were just two kids goofing off. They’d had a lot of beer.
Tons of it.
“You told me your secret wish to write romances.”
She smiled. “You told me your secret wish to fly fighter jets.” Then he’d kissed her. She’d fallen for him in a matter of hours. “Then your father died.” Weeks later, really.
He turned onto a paved road, still blanketed by trees. “No fighter jets for me.”
That must have been difficult. “I’m sorry.”
“I’ve read your books.”
She sat back, surprise stilling her. “You have?”
He lifted one shoulder. “Yeah. You’re a great writer. I don’t usually see the bad guy coming.”
“Usually?”
He snorted, then looked at her and sobered. His gaze lingered on her lips before he turned back to the quiet road. “Yes. Usually. The sex is hot, too.”
Silence settled between them, thick with tension. Emily pressed her lips together, her pulse quickening as the memory of his gaze lingered against her skin like a phantom touch. She had to change the subject. “Why is the council on you so hard to find a mate?”
Jackson glanced at her. “I’ve had two mines sabotaged the last month, and the council is noting that I’m not protecting everyone. I’ve had a contract I need to meet in two weeks for us to have enough funds to support the pack. Thus, I need to at least look like I’m settling down while I find the asshole and kill them.”
What the heck? That’s why he wanted her in town for two weeks? To provide a distraction? “Why didn’t you just say so?”
“And let your father know I’m not protecting my people well enough? He attacked the second he caught wind that the Copper Pack was weakened. He’d own the entire pack if Erik Volk hadn’t stepped up to be their Alpha.” Jackson eyed the darkening clouds outside. “Please. While I’m sure he doesn’t believe the story of my wanting you to matchmake for me, I think he wants me to seduce you. To mate you so we have that connection between the packs. The guy thinks he’s going to live forever and isn’t worried about a replacement Alpha.”
“Right.” She shifted uncomfortably, her pulse still uneven. Her father wasn’t stupid, but like many Alphas, he failed to see his own mortality.
Jackson sighed. “I need to tell you something.”
Dread trickled down her spine. “What?”
“Your father offered me another option—to mate you with the promise that in thirty years or so, when he needs someone else to take over, either you or one of our children do so.”
She blinked. Rapidly. “Are you joking?”
“No.”
Anger flushed through her, but she could see the rationale behind the offer. “Even if I thought that a good idea, which I do not, I would never send my child to fight to the death with Victor. Ever.” Like Vic would wait that long, anyway.
“That’s what I told your father,” Jackson said quietly.
At least that was something. To everyone else, it appeared as if they’d all gone along with the idea of her helping Jackson find a mate. Now, she knew both her father’s and Jackson’s true motivations, but neither knew hers. She would find those doctors. Her chin lifted. She liked that.
The trees began to thin, and Jackson drove through a wide granite archway carved with elegant wolves in mid-howl and the name Granite Hollow etched into the stone. Multiple balloons in black and blue colors had been strewn along the arch with the words “Welcome Home, Emily,” plastered onto a board in bright letters.
Jackson sighed.
Emily’s mind went blank. “Um.”
He drove beneath the arch. “My pack is looking forward to my mating.” Beyond the arch lay a picturesque mining town that seemed untouched by time.
Stone buildings lined both sides of the main street, their façades crafted from granite in shades of silver-gray and charcoal. Ornate wrought-iron lanterns hung from lampposts, casting a warm glow as twilight approached. More blue and black balloons had been hung from several areas. “Blue and black?”