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)
“I know. The agreement is that when Philip needs to step down, if he doesn’t have another heir, either one of our kids or I become the Alpha.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You’d become the Alpha of the Slate Pack.”
“Yeah.” He didn’t want to, but he would.
“What about your pack?”
It seemed obvious to him. “Then our kid could step up in our pack.”
She shook her head. “That’s great, but what if my dad doesn’t have a few decades?”
Jackson exhaled. “Couldn’t Victor lead for a short time?”
“No. Victor’s as bad as you’ve heard. Worse, maybe.”
Jackson’s pulse ticked up a notch. “Define worse.”
“He’s put more than one female shifter in the hospital. I know of two.” Her fingers twisted the blanket’s edge. “We don’t have domestic violence laws, but…we probably need them.”
“So, nothing’s happened to him?”
Emily’s jaw tightened. “Oh, no. My father and his Enforcers beat the ever-living hell out of him. Both times.”
“Both times?”
She nodded. “The last time, I think he barely survived.”
“Good.” Jackson’s hands clenched against his knees. He forced himself to relax. “What about the females?”
“They stayed away from him. And he stayed away from them.”
“Because of your father.”
“Yeah. Dad made it clear that if Victor came within a hundred yards of either female, he’d kill him.”
The fire popped softly, throwing shadows against the walls. Victor might have learned caution, but a temper like that never stayed buried for long.
Okay, so they did have some decent laws. However, the idea that somebody like that could step up as Alpha was unthinkable.
“I could offer to combine our packs, but—”
She was already shaking her head before he could finish the sentence.
“I know,” he said. “That wouldn’t work.”
It was becoming common practice to fold smaller packs without full-blooded Alphas into larger ones. But for two powerful packs like theirs, merging would be chaos. Their different traditions, Alpha bloodlines, and pack dynamics would create internal war instantly. And outsiders would seize the chance to attack. Not to mention the fact that their territories were way too far apart.
“I can’t believe the Ravencalls have actual missiles,” Emily said.
Jackson allowed her to change the subject, needing time to think as well. “There are underground trafficking networks moving weapons around the world that human governments haven’t caught up with. Plus, getting anything across the southern border has been easy in recent years.”
Her gaze sharpened. “Do you have missiles?”
Since she’d been telling secrets, he would, too. “Of course, I have missiles. I’m sure your father does, too, Em. Every once in a while, you need to show that you can do more than bite to protect your pack.”
“Oh,” she murmured. “I’m feeling much better.” Her gaze swept over him with a look that sent heat low in his gut.
“I’m glad.” He meant it, though his muscles coiled with restless energy. The urge to shift and burn it off clawed at him, but her presence anchored him. Leaving her right now? Not happening.
She drew in a breath. “I made a decision tonight, Jackson.”
His attention sharpened. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“I think it’s a good thing,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“I’ve decided to live.”
He blinked. “That’s a good thing, sweetheart. I figured that was already the plan.”
“No, not like that.” She dropped the blanket and stood, each step deliberate as she closed the space between them. His heartbeat thudded faster with every inch she crossed.
“I’m tired of half living and waiting,” she continued. “I don’t know if I’ve got a week, a year, or a century left. I hope for centuries. But right now, I’m going to live each second like it might be my last. Because it could be.”
Her words landed heavily between them. The air seemed to thicken.
“What does that mean?” His voice emerged as a guttural growl.
She moved close, her gaze steady as if daring him to look away. Slowly, she swung one knee over the outside of his thigh, then the other, settling her weight on him, straddling him. His brain misfired as heat shot through his veins.
Her hands found his shoulders, fingers curling into the worn fabric of his shirt. Leaning close, her breath brushed his cheek, warm and sweet with the scent of huckleberry tea and bourbon.
His pulse hammered against his ribs.
“I’m tired of wondering about this, Jackson. I’m not agreeing to mate you and still haven’t figured out how that could even work. But we have right now. Do you really want to miss out on even one night together?”
Her lips found his, soft and warm and deliberate. No hesitation, no holding back.
Fire shot through him so fast his breath hitched, and he wrapped his arms around her before he could think better of it. Logic, reason, and hell, the whole world, ceased to exist the moment her mouth touched his.
Chapter 23
What was she doing? Emily Nightsom had never needed to make the first move with a male, not once in her entire life, and now she’d done it twice. She kissed Jackson as he sat there like he was trying to give her space, as if he thought she needed it. She didn’t. She was done with space. Done with wondering. And she was beyond tired of worrying about dying.