Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“You have a lot of balls in the air, it sounds like,” Rhea said, taking a sip of her beer. “A lot of pieces and moving parts that you didn’t grow up learning how to manage.”
He toggled his hand at that. “The gargoyles aren’t so different from the shifters, once you get over the stubbornness and cultural differences. They appreciate strong leadership and an organized structure. And remember, I’m not doing all the heavy lifting. My betas, Tristan and Brochan, handle a lot of the details. Tristan takes what I do on the ground and alters it for the air. Brochan handles a lot of alpha duties that I can’t get to.”
“And Jessie’s crew?” Drex asked.
“Are managed by Jess.” Austin took a sip of his beer. “I have no idea how, and if I tried, it would blow up in my face. She has a way of dealing with them, and it works. They are messy and chatty and incapable of the sort of structure shifters present to the world, but…it works.”
Drex drummed his fingers on the table, his eyes narrowed as he surveyed Austin. “You are not at all like the generational alphas I’ve met.”
“No,” Fenric said in a grunt. “Not even a little bit.”
“I was trained like one,” Austin said. “I was taught by my mom and then my brother and guided by my grandmother. I have all the privilege a generational alpha does, including the large bankroll.”
“True.” Rhea studied him, too. “But that’s where it ends.”
“I told them about the rental vehicles I had stocked for your crew.” Drex stilled his fingers but continued to assess. “You never complained about that Jeep.”
“I thought the options were odd, but they worked. And that Jeep…” He shrugged. “I have a similar one back home. It’s nearly as beat up.” He allowed a smile, thawing to match the others. “Make no mistake, when it comes to flaunting my assets, I am well able.”
“You’ve lived without means, even if you had the safety net,” Selene said.
Because Austin hadn’t thought he’d deserved that money. It was inheritance, so he’d kept it, but he’d always intended to give it back to Kingsley’s family, the rightful alpha. Austin hadn’t risen to his potential, and so he didn’t think he deserved the boons that came with it.
It was only now, when his intention was to provide for Jess and make his territory and therefore fortune grow, that he felt comfortable spending it. Investing it. He still hoped to return it someday to Aurora or Mac, whoever needed it more, so that they could start their lives independently.
“I had my reasons,” he said simply.
They didn’t press.
“You aren’t as rigid as a generational alpha, either,” Derrick said. “I think we were all surprised by that.”
Drex spread out his hands. “Jessie’s speech clued us in to how much you are trying to get accomplished in a dwindling time frame. It’s a huge undertaking that would normally take years. More than that, it would take negotiations with some of the more powerful alphas, meetings and platitudes, shows of power—and that’s just shifters. We’re all in, you know that. Now we are trying to fill in the gaps of what we’ve heard and what is right in front of us. I hope you don’t mind.”
Austin put up his hand in a “go for it” gesture before answering Derrick. “I used to be just as rigid as you would expect. When meeting my brother and his friends, I put on that hat. But gargoyles have a very loose culture. They joke and tease and make fun. Basajaunak as well, in certain ways, if you follow their somewhat odd rules. Jess is a past Jane, and she is incapable of hiding—“
“Anything,” Drex cut in with a smile. “She is incapable of hiding even a stray thought. Sometimes that is refreshing. Sometimes it really isn’t.”
Austin grinned and relaxed a little more. “We tried to teach her but…it was thought by most that she’s better as she is. She doesn’t lie and doesn’t hide truths. She’s an open book, and she’s new to all this. It’s better people see that she’s worried about killing them, rather than it coming as a surprise.”
“That freaked me out, I’m going to be honest.” Derrick blurted out a laugh. “At first I thought she was full of it, but once I realized she wasn’t, I would’ve backed down if it wouldn’t’ve made me a coward.”
“And now you don’t care if you’re called a coward,” Selene teased. “You’ll back all the way down and right out the door.”
“Truth.” Derrick laughed harder.
“Then Jess’s crew is…” Austin shook his head. “They don’t make sense in the best of times. They are so incredibly odd you wonder if you’re dreaming. So, to integrate all these different characters into one territory, it took—takes, I guess—patience and a very open mind. I am working the shifters to be a little looser in mannerisms and a little less volatile. I’m compromising with the gargoyles to reduce some of the brash stubbornness and taunting. The basajaunak…kinda just do what they want. Jess deals with them. They’ll attack me where they’ll excuse her.”