Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
My encinta. The woman carrying my youngling. My heart stops. I freeze. “Tabitha is there?”
“Indeed. Unless you’re saying you’ve impregnated another—”
“No.” Is he mad? Tabitha is the only woman I truly want. “Is she all right?”
“Shaken and bleeding a bit. Small wound. But she’ll be right as rain in no time.”
Relief stronger than I’ve ever felt pours through me. Something in me died when I feared she’d perished. Now? My protective instinct awakens with a vengeance, along with others. Desire. Possession. Need.
I bark into my mobile. “I’m on my way.”
“No need to rush home. She’s lovely. I’ll be happy to take care of her in your absence,” Nathanial drawls.
I know precisely the sort of “care” my father means. “Touch her and you’ll answer to me.”
The menace in my voice is unmistakable. Part shout, part growl. Pure warning.
My reaction is somewhat baffling. I’ve never been possessive of a woman—any woman—until Tabitha. Before her, females were interchangeable. After we met, I did my best to put on an indifferent front, but pretending I no longer wanted her was futile.
One kiss, and I ached for her. Only for her.
Now I’ll have the opportunity to hold her again. Except…she’s all but pledged to another.
The realization is crushing, but better for her. For our youngling. I’m caught up in this war; I probably won’t live long. If I recklessly claimed her now, who will care for her and our child after I die for this cause?
They’re better off without me. But until then, I’ll protect her with my last breath.
“You needn’t yell.” My father sniffs, clearly affronted.
Right now, his feelings aren’t relevant. I must reach Tabitha. “Make sure she stays put.”
I don’t wait for a reply, just ring off and scan her family’s burned, bloody bodies again. I’m haunted by Tabitha’s mother, face frozen in a permanent, silent scream. Her ending was violent but quick—far better than the alternative.
The woman despised me for impregnating her only daughter, said I didn’t deserve Tabitha, that I’d ruined her chances of an advantageous mating. Naturally, her parents were relieved when Sean Blackbourne, nephew to the head of the magical Council, agreed to Call to Tabitha.
Older and well-connected, Sean seeks a companion and heir after his previous mate passed to her nextlife. He will make Tabitha a steady mate and be a dependable father to the coming youngling. To protest the match would have been selfish, so I swallowed my pride and wished her well. That was the last time I saw her—over two months ago. God, I’d give everything to turn back the clock, choose differently. But nothing will change the fact that her parents were right.
I turn to Bram. “Help me transport her family to my house.”
“Tabitha is there? Alive?” When I nod, Bram grimaces. “She’ll be far too grief-stricken to see their bodies now.”
Does the wizard think I’m daft? “I wasn’t planning to display them, merely prepare them for burial.”
“Very well.” Bram hoists her father and middle brother in his grasp. I lift her mother and eldest brother and close my eyes, focusing on home. Moments later, I find myself in my gardens, freezing in the December chill. Carefully, I lay her family out inside the gazebo, protected from the elements.
Bram appears beside me and lowers the corpses in her arms to the ground. “Why would Mathias attack the Lowerys? They had no sway on the Council, no foothold in magical politics. They weren’t influential in any way. They’ve never lifted a wand to fight. Hell, they didn’t so much as say a cross word publicly about Mathias. The attack on their estate seems…odd.”
He has a point, but impatience chafes. We’ll continue this discussion later. Right now, I need to see Tabitha more than I need my next breath.
“I haven’t a clue,” I toss over my shoulder as I trek toward my house.
Bram follows. “Mathias never does anything without a purpose. In agreeing to mate with Sean Blackbourne, Tabitha was to align herself with his ally. So…why destroy them? Tabitha’s father was no crusader, merely a historian. The information he collected is public to magickind. But by the looks of the ruins, Mathias wanted something from the Lowery estate—badly.”
Indeed. And I’ll get to the bottom of that mystery—once I’ve seen Tabitha.
My heart pounds overtime as my steps pick up pace. Suddenly, I’m running, coming blessedly closer to clapping eyes on my beautiful Tabby. I need to see for myself that she and our youngling are safe, alive, and well.
I wrench open the back door and charge inside. The air leaves my body in a rush. There, Tabitha stands, waiting.
Relief crashes through me so powerfully, my composure threatens to shatter. She’s alive. She’s here. Standing in my home, whole and breathing. My gaze devours her, traveling from her face down her body, lingering on the gentle swell of her abdomen where our youngling grows. Still safe. Still protected.