Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 128413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
You were her greatest pride.
Remi’s entire body stiffened at the memory of Auden Scott’s whispered words. “No. But I knew what she thought.” He let the cub put small paws on the edge of the table so the boy could peer at Angel. “I just didn’t believe her.”
Angel reached over to tug on the cub’s ear, making Asher emit happy sounds. “She’d be so proud of you, Remi. For the pack you’ve built, the family you’ve created for all of us—this asshole included.”
With that, Angel pushed away from the table to head off for his sleep cycle. Pretty standard for the tiger. He could only do so much emotion before he had to hit the cutoff valve. Remi knew some of why, but he had the feeling that perhaps Angel had told his mother all of it.
As for Remi…
He touched the mobile comm he’d put on again today. He’d started wearing it more often after his encounter with Auden Scott. Wasn’t that a kicker, that it had taken a Psy with haunted eyes and an uncanny way of staring into forever to make him accept the final gift his mother had ever brought for him?
Chapter 7
RainStone: 27 survivors, including 12 minors, no alpha, no sentinels. Seniormost-ranking survivor a young maternal; she has advised the Peace Accord Resettlement Board of the survivors’ unanimous decision to join the new amalgamate pack, SkyDawn.
Any remaining RainStone funds to be added to SkyDawn’s. RainStone lands to be surrendered to the trust in return for a compensatory addition to SkyDawn’s newly assigned territory.
Transfer signed off by the Resettlement Board in conjunction with all adult survivors of RainStone (see appendix 21C for documents).
—Handwritten entry made in August 1781 in the Changeling Historical Codex, maintained by the Peace Accord Land Trust
“COME ON,” REMI said to the escapee in his lap. “Let’s get you back to your table.”
After chatting with the pajama-clad family, he exited out onto one of the canopy walkways. This early, the world was rich green and darkest gray shrouded in diaphanous mist. Light glowed from the windows of the aeries that perched in the branches of the massive trees that formed the heart of his pack, a scattered string of jewels.
RainFire’s small size and disproportionate number of young members was why the aeries remained snugged together in this area, multiple homes perched in the branches of each tree—trees that had been planted long ago by another pack. RainStone hadn’t survived as a pack after the Territorial Wars, but it had left the gift of these incredible trees for the future.
It had felt right to incorporate part of the old pack’s name in theirs.
Now, he used the high walkways to do the rounds, greeting those who were awake, and ensuring that those who slept were safe. Peace reigned, the only sounds that of the light morning wind—and the quiet movements of leopards on their own business, their bodies whispers of stealth in the mist.
After spotting motion inside the large plas-enclosed activity area that they had on the ground, he jumped to the forest pathway with feline grace and made his way inside.
“Remi!” Little Jojo, her fourth birthday soon on the horizon, ran in his direction.
All glowing brown skin and the yellow-gold eyes of her leopard, her face bearing clawlike markings on the right-hand side of her face, she wasn’t wearing her favorite purple corduroy overalls today.
She asked her doting aunt to make a bigger version of her most treasured item of clothing each time she outgrew a pair. He had the feeling he’d one day be seeing an adult Jojo in the same overalls.
The idea made him grin.
Today, however, she’d chosen a sparkly black jumpsuit with golden paw prints all over it. He knew she’d chosen it because Jojo had been opinionated about her fashion choices since the day she could make those wishes known. Her sneakers were a matching gold, her curly black hair pulled into lots of tiny knots all over her head, each knot anchored with a golden hair tie.
“Miss Jojo.” Grabbing her racing body before she could run headlong into his legs, he threw her up into the air.
The cub shrieked with laughter before settling into his arms, her legs at his hip, one arm around his back and the other lifting up in a questioning motion. “What’s up?”
Man and leopard both grinned. “I should be asking you that. It’s dawn o’clock. Why are you awake and playing?” The play area was otherwise deserted of children, though three adults and one juvenile were making use of the climbing frames—and had no doubt kept an eye on Jojo.
“JD’s babysitting me,” she said with a huge smile. “No rules for Jojo!”
Remi glanced over to where Jayden a.k.a. JD—age sixteen—was making his way up the climbing frame. “I guess that’s the prerogative of a big brother. He do your hair?”