Total pages in book: 203
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
Her face hardens. “I’m not doing this.”
“You need–”
“I won’t do this!” she shouts.
“It’s fate, Sherry,” my mother says.
“You already knew?” Sher accuses. “The coven has only been coming around since Riley mated. What if this was six months ago?”
“We’d have asked the SCC and they’d have looked into it the way the coven did,” Cat enters the fray. “This has always been my policy as well as that of my predecessor. We have to be very cautious about these things. The coven says you’re carrying an alpha. Alphas don’t get terminated. It’s against our laws.”
“I’m sorry, Sher,” I say. “We’ll figure it out together.”
“This is humiliating enough as it is, Jase. Do all these alphas really need to be here?” she shouts.
“You’re part of the pack. We’re here to support you,” Joel tells her.
She scoffs. “Bullshit. You guys are muscle in case I try to take off and go to a mainstream clinic. Fuck you all if you think you’re going to make me give birth to his kid!”
She’s not entirely wrong. We’re here as a show of solidarity but Joel’s already arranged a security detail for my parents’ house.
“You’re having a son,” Pops tells her. “He’ll be alpha and he could be part of a future council here or maybe he’ll lead his own pack. We’re not sure which yet, but we know he’s got a path ahead of him that’s important.”
“What about my path?” Sherry whispers brokenly. “I can’t be forced to raise Wyatt’s demon spawn! Do you guys have any idea how awful he was?”
“We do,” Grey says gruffly, announcing his presence. “But this child is also part of you, too, Sherry.”
“Oh believe me, I know that. And I’m a joy to be around too, aren’t I? This kid hit the DNA lottery twice, didn’t he?”
Mase adds, “If you’re not able to raise him, there’s adoption.”
She thumps her chest with her fist. “Nobody except maybe that Starling witch at the town hall knows what I went through, how horrible he was. I’ve never met a bigger megalomaniac in my life. Though your mate might come close to knowing, Grey, she doesn’t know what it was like to be considered his personal property. What it’s still like. Probably the only thing stopping me from ending it all so that I don’t have to feel like this is the fact he comes to me in my nightmares telling me he’s waiting for me on the other side.”
“Come here.” I try to hug her.
“No!” She pushes my chest. “All of you failed me.”
“Are you forgetting you were in agreement at the end?” Our father asks.
“So, I deserved what I got. Is that it?”
“Nobody’s saying that!” Mom exclaims.
“Some are saying it and everyone’s thinking it,” she states. “I don’t want to have it. This reminder of him. Reminder of the fact that I’m going to feel like this forever.”
My mother is crying now.
I want to smash something.
Sherry dissolves into tears. Mom rushes to her and puts her arms around her, looking to me and my father to do something.
“There’s got to be a way to fix this, so she doesn’t have to endure so much pain,” Mom pleads.
“I’ll talk to Rikki,” Riley offers. “See if there’s some way the coven can help.”
“How could they help?” my father asks.
“I have a few ideas myself. I just have to float them by my mate to see if there’s a way. I’ll call her.”
Riley steps outside, dialing on his phone. Grey follows.
“We’ll give you guys space. We’re outside if you need us,” Mase says. He, Linc, and Joel leave.
I stay put while Sherry continues crying. So does Tyson.
Ten or so minutes later, my mother leans over. “How’s it going with Bailey?”
Before I can answer, Sherry throws her hands up in the air. “Fucking unbelievable. My life is a mess and you’re worrying about Bailey fucking Blackwood?”
I lean forward showing my sister a menacing side I, fortunately, don’t have to show to anyone too often.
“You watch how you speak her name, how you address her, how you even think about her, Sherry. Your days of bullying Bailey are either over or you’re dead to me. In fact, you best make up for all the shit you put her through. Do you under-fucking-stand me?”
My sister’s face crumbles like I’ve struck her.
My parents wisely keep their mouths shut. Because they know how shitty Sherry has always been to Bailey. For no good reason.
Nobody blamed Bailey for clocking Sherry at Tyson’s wedding, not even our own mother.
Riley comes back, looking at me in a way that I can tell that whatever idea he wanted to run by Erica… it didn’t pan out.
“Can’t get into my ideas until I know if they’re good ones, but we’ll talk some more. Just look after yourself for now, Sherry,” Riley says. “We’ll talk in a few days.”