Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
She memorized the word and then returned to the grimoire, tracing each line as she read. “Okay. Here’s something.” Her chest tightened.
Caidrik took another turn and checked the rearview mirror, his gaze scanning the empty, snow-choked road behind them. “I don’t think anybody will come after us until tomorrow, at least until light. A lot of the enforcers are still out dealing with the Ravencalls and Ghostwind,” he murmured, sounding like he was creating battle scenarios in his head.
She glanced at him. “We’re not going to fight the whole pack, Caidrik.” Tension wound through her, sharp and exhausting. “That’s no way to live. Even if we did survive it.”
“You’re not fighting anybody,” he retorted, hands sure on the wheel as the car pushed deeper into the storm. “How’s the silver in your system?”
“It’s still there.” She could feel the metal slugging through her veins. “I thought maybe us mating would help it dissipate.”
He chuckled without the sound of humor. “You might need to give it more than one day.”
Fair enough. “Let me take it word by word,” she muttered, already knowing she was totally screwing all the rules. The car jolted again, suspension groaning, and she braced her elbow against the door as she copied down the passage she thought dealt with chastity. Her handwriting wobbled with every bump. When she finished, she stuffed the grimoire back into the pack and returned to the notebook.
She found the word chastity. Good. All right. She could do this. She slowed herself down and started translating the words one word at a time, forcing her mind to stay on the page instead of spiraling ahead. Finally, her eyes needed a break, so she looked out at the trees blanketing them. “Where are we going?”
“I have a cabin,” Caidrik said. “Nobody knows about it, including Bulwark. We can hole up there for the night and then figure out our best move.”
She looked up and over at him, really looked. His shoulders were tense, posture forward, like he was already braced for impact. “Do you think Bulwark actually has a chance of becoming the Alpha?”
Caidrik shook his head. “I don’t know, but Bussy sure seemed to think so. The asshole has a point. It’s our word against his.”
Her throat tightened. “About what happened on the cliff? He tried to kill me.”
“Yeah. I’ll take him out. Regardless.” Caidrik glanced down at the grimoire before returning his focus to the road. “Does the book say what happens to the pack if there isn’t a challenger left standing?”
“I don’t know,” she said grimly. “There’s got to be a way out of this. I just don’t know what it is.” She reached across the console and took his hand, threading her cold fingers through his heated one. “We’ll figure it out. How far is this cabin?”
“About an hour. I’d say we should just shift and run in wolf form, but we can’t just leave the grimoire here. It’s too important to the pack, at least until those laws are changed. However, if I do order you to shift, you do it. I’ll consider it life or death.”
“I know,” she muttered. She wished she were at full strength. She wasn’t even close.
Her thoughts kept circling back to the pack. Bulwark was selfish and cruel. He’d burn everything if it meant winning. There had to be a way to stop this. She dropped her gaze and forced herself back to the notebook. Finally, she leaned back and read the words again, slower this time. “I found the passage.” Taking a deep breath, she read:
Chaste they stand till trial be done,
‘Til Alpha’s breath is duly won.
Spill seed or touch ere judgment’s made,
And pack shall hunt the oath-betrayed.
He winced. “Spill seed? Are you fucking serious?”
Her eyes even hurt. “At least it rhymes?”
He grunted. “I’m not sure what it means.”
“I think it means we’re supposed to be killed,” Nadia said as she kept reading “But wait. There’s more.” Dang it. She didn’t know these words yet..
“Oh, great,” he muttered. “It probably explains how they’re supposed to kill us.”
She shook her head. None of this was believable, but ancient laws were ancient laws. Why hadn’t her father bothered to change these?
They reached the cabin not long after. Caidrik turned off the road onto a barely-there trail, branches scraping the side of the car hard enough to make her flinch. Emily would be furious. So much for the paint job. The trees thinned, revealing a dark shape pressed against the rock, half-swallowed by shadow and snow.
“It looks like it goes into the rock,” she said.
“Yeah. It’s hidden.” He cut the engine and kicked open the door. “Wait for me. I’ll make a trail for you. The snow’s up to my chest out here.” He jumped down, circled the rig, and opened her door. “Forget it. I’ll just carry you.”