Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
One wrong move might spook my mate or force her chain to act, so I remained still.
Her body angled slightly toward me, even though she was trying not to show it. The mate pull hummed between us as a final male joined us.
He strode into the clearing with the kind of presence that told me he was an alpha. Power rolled off him in thick waves, but it wasn’t something I was unused to since my alpha was a grizzly.
His gaze landed on my mate first. Something soft flickered in his eyes before his expression hardened to granite. Then his focus snapped to me.
“Alara, behind me.”
I was as pleased to learn my mate’s name as I was pissed at him for ordering her away from me.
She stepped back until her shoulder brushed his arm, but her chin tipped just enough that her gaze stayed on mine.
I inclined my head slightly so she knew I understood it wasn’t meant as a rejection of me.
The alpha planted his feet, his shoulders squared. “Identify yourself.”
“Booker Redmond,” I said evenly. “I’m a wolf shifter with the Wilderness Pack, about three hours from here.”
Several of the males bristled. One let out a low, warning growl.
The alpha’s eyes narrowed. “You’re far from home.”
“I didn’t cross your boundary.” My gaze flicked to my mate again. “Only came close when I scented my mate.”
A sharp ripple moved through the chain, and Alara sucked in a tiny breath.
The alpha’s gaze slashed to her, then back to me again, his expression hardening even more. “You claim my sister?”
I didn’t hesitate. “I’m hers as much as she’s mine.”
His jaw flexed. “You weren’t invited here.”
“Fate extended the only invitation that matters.”
One of the lynx shifters took a step forward, his fists clenched. Another mirrored him. The semicircle tightened with lethal precision.
Alara opened her mouth, but her brother lifted a hand, and she fell silent.
“Leave. Now.”
My wolf snarled inside me, slamming against my ribs, demanding I stand my ground. Take my mate.
I shook my head. “Can’t do that.”
“You won’t get a warm welcome on Nightbriar soil,” he warned.
My gaze shifted back to Alara. The mate bond thrummed like a pulse under my skin.
“Walking away would hurt even more.”
Alara was mine, and nothing on this mountain would keep me from her.
3
ALARA
The walk back to Nightbriar felt longer than it ever had, even though we were on a familiar path carved into the side of the mountain. Caelan kept himself glued to my side, silent and vibrating with tension.
Behind us, four males surrounded Booker in a loose but unmistakably restrictive formation, ensuring he didn’t get close to me.
“Hold on a second,” I murmured before darting to the side to snag my dress from the tree I’d left it hanging from earlier.
A growl rumbled up my brother’s throat as I stepped into the soft cotton and slid it on under Booker’s shirt. A second one followed from my mate when I went to remove the oversized shirt so I could give it back to him.
“Keep it.”
I wasn’t thrilled about the female members of our chain seeing him bare-chested, but my lynx purred at the idea of wearing something that smelled like him. “Okay.”
Even with the distance between us, I felt Booker. His presence tugged at me with every step, a steady pulse beneath my ribs that was as constant as breathing. I’d never felt anything like it before.
I risked a glance over my shoulder. Booker walked with the kind of restrained power that made it impossible to look away. It wasn’t just the mate pull that made me feel that way.
At six foot four, he was taller than any lynx shifter I’d ever seen, with broad shoulders and a muscular chest. His dark brown hair was shaggy, falling into his eyes in a way that made him look both wild and devastatingly handsome. They were blue with a ring of gold flickering at the edges, and his jaw was shadowed with scruff.
I’d never cared about a man’s looks before, but one glance at Booker sent heat rolling over my body. Desire was finally more than just a word to me. I was experiencing it firsthand, and I didn’t want to lose the feeling. To miss out on a lifetime of passion just because my brother was overprotective and our chain didn’t like outsiders.
The cliff we called home finally appeared through the trees. Usually, the sight eased something inside me. Today, I wanted to grab Booker’s hand and run far away together.
Caelan must’ve sensed my urge to flee because he gripped my elbow and lengthened his stride, guiding me inside.
“We’ll sort this out,” he murmured, low enough only I heard.
My inner lynx bared her teeth at him, uncaring that he was my alpha. As far as she was concerned, there wasn’t anything to sort out because Booker was my mate.