Total pages in book: 202
Estimated words: 193561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 968(@200wpm)___ 774(@250wpm)___ 645(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 193561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 968(@200wpm)___ 774(@250wpm)___ 645(@300wpm)
“Done with me?” she breathes.
“You don’t run from me. You run; I chase. I chase and maybe even punish. The size of your wolf? Believe me, mate, I run faster and would catch you every time.”
I set her on her feet a few paces away by her shoes so I can squat, grab them and stuff them into the backpack. I lift her up again.
“Please, Greyson, I need to get home,” she protests.
“That’s where we’re going.”
“M-my home.”
Before I’m able to calculate it, I growl at her and clip, “Should’ve stayed in that fuckin’ cell and claimed you there.” I squat and grab the discarded t-shirt.
She tries to shrink but I grip her tighter.
“We wouldn’t be dealing with this shit right now if you knew who you belonged to.”
I take a fortifying breath and glare into her frightened eyes.
“I’m pissed right now, but I will not hurt you. Don’t be afraid of me physically harming you, ever, because it won’t happen. It’ll be a different kind of punishment you get from me, though believe me it’ll count. Waking up and finding you gone is not on, babe. Gimme until we’re home to cool off and then we’ll work this out. But do this again and it’s a problem.”
I break into a run, moving fast despite being in human male form and carrying her.
I know she doesn’t trust me. She doesn’t understand the gravity of our connection despite being shifter, which is an indication of her old pack being fucked. But she’s about to understand. Because I’m about to take her home and do what I should’ve done within minutes of scenting her. Claim her and make her mine. Show her who I am, who she’s gonna be to me, and how she’ll be treated as my mate.
7
Stacy
It takes a while to get back to Greyson’s house, and the anger coming off his skin is practically visible as he moves quickly through the early morning fog.
He’s not speaking, just running, jaw tight, eyes flashing to and fro between brown and silver and glittering angrily. And I’m just holding on and willing my heart to slow down a little. It feels like it could leap straight out of my chest at any moment.
I’m achy and tired. I’ve been in my wolf shape twice today and my body isn’t used to that. Plus, that walk was way longer than I bargained for, and it was fraught with stress about whether Jimmy would be at the motel, whether anyone had suffered due to my disappearing, and not just that… thoughts about the Arcana Falls village, the pack, the trouble I’ve caused them so far, and most of all… Greyson. The way he spoke to me. The way he touched me. The words he spoke. The things it does to me.
What’s going to happen when we’re on the other side of the door to his home? He’s so angry. Maybe even angrier than when he first caught me after I shot Tyson Savage.
My thoughts of terror are interrupted when a woman calls out, “Mornin’ Grey!”
She’s elderly but extraordinarily fit for her age. She’s bent over some flowerbeds with a little shovel.
“Congratulations! Hello young lady. Welcome to the pack,” she says. “I’m Claire.” She rises to standing and smiles wider.
I attempt a friendly wave, but drop my hand when Greyson’s angry gaze snaps to my face.
He’s definitely angrier than when he first caught me.
“Claire,” he returns halfheartedly and continues until he’s at his door where he squats, lifts the giant gift basket while adjusting me in his arms before he manages to twist the doorknob. Once inside, he slams the door and sets everything down other than me before angrily twisting the lock.
“I can walk,” I try.
But his eyes cut to my face and the fury there makes me drop my gaze and clamp my mouth shut.
He clenches and unclenches his jaw while climbing to the top level and taking me straight into the bathroom adjoined to his bedroom.
It’s a beautiful space. The most beautiful, spacious bathroom I’ve ever had the pleasure of being inside. Two sinks. A big shower alcove that could fit four men. There’s also a large, deep tub.
I thought my bathroom at the motel in Drowsy Hollow was spacious, and it is compared to the closet-sized one at home, but this bathroom is three times the size of the motel one. And the water from the taps in here comes out not just clean, also odorless. It wasn’t bad in the motel, but there was a slight bleachy scent. This water here in Arcana falls is the best water I’ve tasted in my life.
I wanted to snoop in the many cupboards and drawers when I used it after he first brought me here, but I resisted that urge. Other than the black and white checkered floor and tile, everything else is gleaming white instead of the yellow of the bathroom at home. Yellow due to age as well as being the golden color that was in style when the home I live in was delivered. Or stolen, knowing my father.