Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 118860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Tomas wanted to tell her that he thought she was magic. That she was an unbelievable being, and he was grateful she was his personal miracle. He couldn’t do those things because she had her attention once more completely centered on the jaguar, and the cat couldn’t know he was taking up even a tiny portion of her mind. He knew that would be a trigger for the animal. She would believe that the Carpathians were controlling not only Solange but Sarika as well.
The cat was nearly weeping, and Tomas felt the burn of tears behind his eyes. That had never happened to him before. Not ever. It was just that he was feeling the animal’s pain amplified by what Sarika was feeling. That compassion and heartache for the lost jaguar.
I can imagine it feels that way to you, especially since there was no consulting with you. You two always found answers together. You always discussed where you would go and how you would handle problems. I see that so clearly, and I feel your sorrow for what you believe to be betrayal.
It was—is—betrayal unless he took her without her permission. Carpathians can take over anyone’s mind. See into their thoughts. Direct their actions. That’s what he’s done. It has to be, or she wouldn’t have left me.
That hurt, any way one looked at it. Tomas knew that, to some extent, Sarika felt the same way. That he was taking over her life. That he made decisions that affected her without getting her consent or talking it over with her. The worst of it was he knew it would happen in the future. When it came to safety and health, there would be no arguing. His duty was to protect her, and that was one of his greatest strengths—that instinct. His protective and extremely loyal nature. Those shared characteristics had always bound his brothers to him and kept all of them safe throughout the centuries.
His name is Dominic Dragonseeker. Are you aware of him? Deliberately, Sarika named him.
Tomas knew she was paving the way to make Dominic an ally. He didn’t see it in her mind; there didn’t appear to be any master plan, but he was beginning to know his lifemate and the way her brain worked out strategies. This mess required careful handling. Over the years, the wounds the cat felt had deepened and were thoroughly entrenched in her mind.
He is the enemy. I have studied everything about him.
Has he harmed Solange? She poured purity into the question. Not alarm. She asked it with that same calm serenity. No judgment. Just a thought-provoking question the jaguar would have to answer.
There was hesitation. The jaguar wanted to condemn the Dragonseeker, but it was clear that the animal was trying to be fair. To cooperate. That was a testament to Sarika’s abilities. She didn’t take over the cat with her power; she simply provided the animal with calm. There was no confrontation. Just acceptance of the jaguar’s feelings. Tomas found himself feeling that same empathy and acceptance of the animal, despite the threat it presented not only to Sarika but to an unborn child.
He has changed her.
Did he? Or did Solange repress her feminine side to be the great warrior you helped develop? You said she was forced from a very young age to become a fighter. You are female. You have needs as a female. She might have set those needs aside, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel them. Can you recall those times? She must have shared with you when she felt vulnerable. You were her beloved counsel and friend. You were her only family, the one she trusted to always have her best interests at heart. She trusted you to want the best for her. Did that mean she only confided in you about battle tactics? Help me to understand Solange’s life. Her way of thinking.
Again, gentle pleading, as if Sarika believed the jaguar would always have understanding of Solange and would want what was best for her. Not what was best for the cat, or the two of them together, but what was truly best for Solange. In essence, the cat had acted like a mother, not just a mentor.
Sarika was able to convey those things to the jaguar because she seemed to genuinely have faith in the animal. Tomas was astonished at her patience and gentle guidance. She didn’t try to push whatever she thought onto the animal; she waited for the jaguar to come to its own conclusions.
The jaguar was silent for a long time, and Sarika didn’t interrupt her thoughts. She stayed quiet, respectful, just waiting.
She was very much afraid to show she had any vulnerabilities. She didn’t want the shifters to ever see her as a woman. That scared her. She was royalty and the only hope for the female shifters in captivity. If she didn’t rescue them and get them away safely, she knew those women were doomed to lives of torture and rape. She couldn’t afford to be soft or vulnerable. She couldn’t chance being attracted to a man.