Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Instead, her lips twisted into an almost sneer—she was too pretty to truly sneer. “We had one kiss when we were teenagers. You can’t seriously consider that created anything between us.”
It had been the best kiss of his life, and undoubtedly, hers, too. Yeah, they’d been fifteen, down by a river with a bunch of shifters, and he hadn’t called her afterward. But he couldn’t. His pack had fallen apart when his father died, leaving him to take over as Alpha far too young. “I wouldn’t mind seeing how you kiss as an adult, sweetheart.”
Pink bloomed across her high cheekbones. Satisfaction warmed him. He’d put color in her face. She’d been too pale for his liking when he arrived. No doubt from shock upon discovering the existence of her new sister. Still, Emily had always made it clear she didn’t want to step up as the Alpha of her pack. Jackson needed a mate—more than Emily realized. So, what was the problem? Besides Victor.
Philip Nightsom sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Jackson, I rescind the offer. Emily has decided to step up as Alpha of the Slate Pack when I decide to retire in about a century.”
The guy didn’t have a century. Jackson cocked his head, staring at the stunning blonde. “You’ve changed your mind?”
“I have,” she said, meeting his gaze directly. “Duty binds us all, Jackson.”
He smelled just a hint of lemon. Was she lying? If so, she was good at it. “I could enforce the agreement. We had it, and you know it.”
“No,” burst out of both Emily and Nadia at the same time.
Jackson smiled. Together, they were fricking adorable. The height difference made them even cuter.
Suddenly, the wind shifted. The hair on the back of Jackson’s neck rose. In unison with Caidrik, he turned toward the opposite tree line as they both caught a scent.
Philip’s head jerked up.
A crash exploded from the front of the mansion, and wolves barreled through the home and onto the veranda, glass shattering in every direction. More wolves bounded out of the forest. The storm had masked their scent, and they’d arrived from downwind.
“Fuck.” Jackson shifted instantly, muscles bunching into his wolf form as he leapt into the air toward the threat. The Ravencall Pack. He could smell them. Emily shifted beside him, her silver-blond coat gleaming, even in the rain. The others shifted behind them.
Jackson reached the leader first and collided with him, teeth and claws tearing into flesh. Fury flowed through his veins. Blood splashed his muzzle, and the tang of copper filled his senses.
Caidrik ripped through two wolves on Jackson’s left, jaws clamping down on their throats until they crunched. Philip lunged past them with his Enforcer on his heels, slamming into another attacker. The Enforcer snapped bones with brutal efficiency.
Emily fought beside them, swift and agile, her smooth coat flashing through the chaos. Nadia moved in tandem with her sister, fighting hard with no true tactics. Had the female never been trained? Caidrik stayed close to Nadia, guarding her flank with lethal precision.
The storm lashed around them, rain blurring the battlefield and turning it slick with mud and blood. Jackson locked jaws with another wolf, rolling and biting until the enemy went limp. Snarls and yelps echoed in the air as the fight raged on.
Emily took down a light gray wolf with a swift bite to its throat, then spun to help Nadia, who had two wolves circling her. Emily lunged, teeth flashing white in the dark, and dragged one of the wolves down, her claws raking its side.
Then Emily slowed. Her movements became less fluid, more sluggish. A wolf clipped her, and she stumbled, just enough to let another attacker slash her flank.
Jackson’s wolf roared in fury.
She bared her teeth at the next enemy. Nadia leapt to her sister’s defense, biting and clawing until the wolf fled into the forest. Caidrik closed ranks beside Nadia, the massive black wolf tearing into another attacker as two more barreled out of the woods, aiming toward the sisters.
Jackson finished off the last of his opponents and charged toward Emily. The scent of her blood hit him like a punch to the chest. He lunged at the wolf attacking her, jaws locking around its throat as they crashed into the mud. The creature twisted and snarled, but Jackson clamped down harder, bones cracking between his teeth until it stilled.
He paused and looked around.
Fifteen wolves lay dead or dying in the rain-soaked clearing. The air reeked of blood, wet fur, and ozone.
He shifted back to human form, chest aching as he rushed to Emily’s side. His hands found her shoulders as she shifted back, collapsing against him—pale, bleeding, and nude. Blood streaked her skin, the gashes along her ribs deeper than they should’ve been. Although the wounds did begin to heal in front of his eyes.