Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
It should be my job. My right. It killed me knowing I may never get that privilege. To share with her the joy of having a wolf within. Of being with a mate who would do anything for her.
I’d watch over her. I’d protect her. At least not up close. I might be relegated to protecting and providing from afar. Begging for glimpses of her, scraps of time with the pup.
Oh fuck.
How would I ever survive without her?
23
BECKY
I didn’t want to be at Audrey’s. I didn’t know where I wanted to be. Certainly not my house where Todd had been murdered. God, he’d had his throat ripped out by that wolf I just saw bleed out in the snow. I never wanted to go to my place again.
I felt as if everyone I knew, everyone I thought I cared about, led a secret life. Todd and his underhanded plans for me. Clint, obviously. Even my best friend knew about shifters and hadn’t said anything. Hell, just the other night, we’d gabbed around Willow’s table about my relationship with Clint, and none of them had said a word. Not Rob when he’d let us in. Not Audrey, Marina or Willow all the time I’d stuffed my face with snacks.
They must have been laughing at me when I left. How did I look Audrey in the eye?
Then there was the whole shifter thing. Holy fuck, I’d never seen that coming. What the hell was that about? Was it just the guys around the ranch… holy shit. Wolf. Ranch.
It was right there all along.
I was so confused. My stomach ached from throwing up twice. I felt like my heart was breaking in two, and my brain was frazzled. I didn’t know what to even think. I couldn’t bear to talk or listen to anyone right now, either.
Boyd pulled up in front of their cute little cabin, extra adorable in the snow, glowing indoor lights making it all quaint and cozy. He hopped out, came around and escorted me inside.
It reminded me of the times Clint carried me about. Fuck.
Audrey rushed to my side when she saw my teary face. She wore black leggings, a hoodie sweatshirt and fleece socks. She was about six weeks further along than me, and her pregnancy couldn’t be hidden any longer. Her glasses were perched on her nose, and she looked at me with her usual frown when she was concerned.
“Becky?” She set her hand on my shoulder. “What happened? What’s going on?”
“Turns out Clint’s been a council enforcer,” Boyd said. “A wolf showed up for revenge—the one who killed Becky’s ex.”
Audrey gasped, and her fingers squeezed.
Boyd sighed before he went on. “He showed up at Clint’s family cabin. Kicked the door in and, from what I understand, planned to kill Becky as payback.”
“Oh my God.” Audrey lifted her hand to her mouth as she studied me.
“She saw her mate shift for the first time. Shift and kill.”
Audrey blinked. “Wait, hold up. What’s a shifter council enforcer?”
She looked to me, as if the shift and kill part was totally normal. Her question confirmed Audrey knew about shifters but not everything.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I broke in, my vision swimming. Really. “I considered you my friend. I mean, girls tell each other important shit. I sure would’ve liked a heads-up that the man who got me pregnant wasn’t a man at all. That my life is now out of a weird horror film.”
“I’m sorry,” Audrey said, regret etching the lines in her face. Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them away. “I couldn’t tell you about shifters in general. It’s the rule. Even if I could, I thought it was Clint’s job to tell you what he is. You two were so new, he was probably waiting for the right moment.” She took my hand and tugged me to an overstuffed armchair. “Here, sit down. I’ll answer all the questions I can, and Boyd will, too. Or he can leave if you just want girl talk.”
She pulled a blanket from the couch and draped it around me.
I sniffed, looked up at the two of them as they loomed over me. Boyd really did look concerned. Not once since he’d come into Clint’s cabin did he have his usual swagger about him.
“He can stay. We still don’t know what the whatever-council-enforcer thing is.”
Boyd sat on the couch facing me although watching as if I might freak out again. Or throw up.
“Are you feeling okay? The baby? No cramping or anything?” Audrey asked, eyeing me now like a doctor.
I shook my head.
“Do you need a snack?”
“She threw up twice,” Boyd told her, and I glared.
“Lemon tea?” she asked.
That did sound kind of good. “Sure.”
Audrey stepped into the kitchen, and I heard her fill the electric kettle and flick it on.