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)
Rye filled us in on the story of Erica’s perceived transgressions and punishments seven years ago and he understands and can’t hold any of it against her because it wasn’t her that wanted to hurt him. It was the SCC that sentenced her to a harsh punishment of hiding the truth from him. She performed a spell to make him fall for her and they punished them both for it despite the fact that they’re fated to be together anyway. I don’t blame Rye for being so livid. They kept his mate from him for seven years. He mourned and so did she because she couldn’t relieve him of his pain. I know from my conversation with Vivi it profoundly affected her.
On a positive note, Riley is sounding and acting like himself again. Proof that pushing away your mate fucks with an alpha. It’s better that they’ve gone home. Easier to look after everyone if we’re all inside our village.
The past couple days haven’t been great at home though. Stacy’s been in her head, subdued, even more timid. She gets stressed out every time the phone rings or the doorbell dings. I know it’s partly because of what she’s worrying about, but suspect she’s tuning into my mood, too, and that’s not helping matters. Though I’m trying to be patient, being in tune with her emotions is fucking with mine. I’m ready for this shit to be over with, soon so we can get on with building our bond.
Then again, hurdles have gotten in the way of every mating in the council so far so why should my mating be any different?
I’ve been in and out, going for a run with the council brothers in the mornings, I’ve met with the guys at Joel’s a few times as we continue to dig into the Silver Hills pack. We’re keeping vigilant watch on the two entrances into the village – the four corners and the old backroad. We’ve popped a few trail cams up in the woods at some other possible entry points as well and all alphas, betas, council alphas, and retired council alphas are taking turns doing patrols.
The entire situation is frustrating but what’s fucking with me the most is the constant fear pulsing in me from her. It’s messing with me and it’s fucking with my wolf. Two nights in a row I’ve had to purr most of the night to get her to sleep, waking with her when she jolts with bad dreams. If not for the innate need to stay close to her along with the task of trying to get her back to sleep with purring I’d be tearing out of the house in search of her fucking brother. So we can put an end to this bullshit.
She’s beyond distraught that he tried to take out three council alphas. She’s probably scarred from seeing two of her pack’s betas smoldering as charred ash. She’s indicated she’s worried about the state of things for the people back home. And I can’t help but feel irritated when she calls it home, because at my core, my instincts are to make her home with me, and I know her worries have her holding back. I think she wants to give herself completely to the mate bond, but bottom line: she’s damaged. Damaged from living in a fucked-up pack under a tyrant alpha who doesn’t care for his people.
Though she’s distant with a constantly pulsing stress coming at me, she’s trying to dote on me. She’s doing what I imagine is nesting as she cleans the house and waits on me like her life depends on it. While walking on eggshells with me.
I’m used to being able to put others at ease and this is the time that supposed gift needs to work. And it’s not working. The key to that is putting an end to this drama with her brother. And I know down to my gut it’ll be a rocky road ahead.
As for progress with Jared, all he’s told and shown us isn’t much help so far. The settlement of the Silver Hills pack seems to be behind the tall fences of their salvage business. Roughly made fences made of a combination of different sheets of siding and old fence pieces. The scrap metal and car parts yard isn’t currently open for business, marked as temporarily closed with not much motion around the gates, though Jared can scent shifters as being nearby. He doesn’t know how many, doesn’t know much – says it’s a majority of women, and kids as far as he can reckon but the scent coming off the place is foul.
I asked Stacy about the living arrangements, and she shakily drew me a rough sketch map of the place behind those fences, showing a main office, some out buildings, then fences behind the junkyard, leading to some bigger buildings, then squares dotting around a figure eight layout where the pack member homes are. Beyond that are some more outbuildings and storage sheds, a fence line around the back. Jared said he sent a drone over and had to get it close because of structures and piles of scrap metal and tarps over areas, making it hard to see anything besides junk from that view, but his drone went dark. Homing didn’t work to get it back, so we figure they must have gotten their hands on it.