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)
“What’s the pack like?” he asked. “Austin seemed confident that I wouldn’t be bothered, but alphas only tend to know a fraction of what goes on in their territories.”
“It’s a new territory that has a lot of might within it. Normally, sure, people would want to see what you were made of, but we are under constant threat and we’re always training. We always have new people challenging in. We’re always changing and perfecting because we’re growing at an insane rate. No one has time to bicker and fight. No one bothered me, and I was there early, when it was still chaos. Now it’s a machine. Not to mention, Jessie will vouch for you. She’ll probably take you under her wing, and that’s a big back off sign to the others. If you want a place to live your life, that is it. It’s a nice community if you can stand all the various creatures.”
John let out his breath silently. The troubled Barazza boy, who hadn’t even been able to help himself, was now here to help out a notorious alpha that no one wanted darkening their doorsteps. It was poetic, in a way. They’d both been heavily featured in the rumors, John for being the meanest, baddest of them all, the king of the hill, and Austin for being a downward spiral. They’d been on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Still were, except now Austin was climbing up onto the throne while John had tumbled from grace. Was apparently rumored to be dead.
He huffed out a laugh, shaking his head. These people seemed expressive, and John had gotten used to being more open to almost fit in with Dicks and Janes.
“This sounds too good to be true,” he finally said.
Sue pushed up to standing. “That’s just because you’ve been living a half-life for the last handful of years. On the surface, it’s a town, like any other. Dig a little deeper and you realize it’s a harbor for strays. An outcast put it on the map, and a magical house and its Jane stands in the middle. The strength of the territory is in its ability to bring all the misfits together. I recommend visiting, if nothing else.”
He walked off without waiting for a reply. He was trying to help, like the alphas. He’d gotten a hand, and he was reaching back to help someone else.
Being in a pack again, even a weird one by a different name, made him nervous. Memories of his trials as an alpha, of his hardships, of all the bloodshed rose to the surface. Then all the rejections he’d gotten as he tried to start over. The suspicion about his motives, the teams of people trying to bring him down or chase him out.
He didn’t know if he had it in him to try again. He didn’t want to clutch hope and have it dissolve in his hands.
Then again, he was living a half-life. He didn’t mind solitude, but it would be nice to have friends that didn’t want something from him. People around him that weren’t trying to get something. These people seemed to genuinely like being together, and they even got along well with the basajaunak. It was a community, even if a small one. He wanted that. He’d always wanted it. The chance to have it was ripped away early.
“Hey.” A woman with spiky hair that almost looked green in the low light bobbed her upper body as she walked over. “Hi.” She offered a wave, stopping in front of him. “You’re the guy we came here to find, right?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, I thought so. They said you know your way around this wood.”
“Yes.”
“Cool. Are you into practical jokes?”
He paused, not having expected anything from the conversation, but still thrown for a loop. “What?”
“Practical jokes. Do you do them on people? Do you like that sort of thing?”
He frowned at her. He had no idea where this was going. “No?”
“Oh, good.” She drew her hand across her forehead. “Phew.” She pointed at the ground next to him. “Do you mind if I sit there?”
He looked at the spot as his mind tried to catch up. “No, go ahead.”
“Thanks.” She plopped down. “Woods freak me out. I always seem to get lost in them, and the basajunk like practical jokes. Did you know they can literally go invisible in the trees?”
She looked up at him, her eyebrows high and her eyes exaggeratedly rounded.
“Yes,” he responded.
“Well, I didn’t! I’ve never seen ours do that.” She made a frustrated gesture with her hand. “Not ours, but the ones in our crew. You know what I mean. Anyway, one of them came to get me out of the car and lead me here. This was when you were talking to Austin and Jessie. I thought it was one from our crew, so I didn’t think anything of it. Halfway here it disappeared!”