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)
She leaned forward, pulse racing. “You do?”
“Dr. Gwen gave me the results first.” His smile widened. “The mating’s working. Your blood shows that the genetic mutation is repairing itself. The recessive gene that caused the illness is no longer active, and your DNA markers are stabilizing. Essentially, the combination of my Alpha genetics and the mating process is correcting the mutation at a cellular level.”
Emily exhaled slowly, absorbing the words. “I thought so.” Relief and joy warmed her from the inside out.
Jackson glanced around at the room’s other occupants. “You’re all the walking wounded.”
Caidrik snorted from his post. Bruises still shadowed his neck and side, and he moved stiffly from being hit by the truck, but he kept close to Nadia, his attention rarely straying from her. Apparently, when Caidrik took on a task, he took it seriously.
Emily found herself wondering who he really was and what his story might be. He didn’t seem like the kind of male who stuck around for long.
A wave of energy stirred the air, sharp enough that Emily stiffened, and Jackson did the same. Power brushed against her skin, tugging at her senses.
“Philip Nightsom, come out, please,” a voice called from outside.
“Ah, crap,” her father muttered. He stood with a soft groan, dressed in slacks and a golf shirt instead of his usual suit. Gripping his cane, he limped toward the door. “I figured this was coming.”
Emily glanced at Jackson. “We need a plan.”
“My pack will contract to protect yours once I have enough members. I’m adding as we speak, and someday I can take over here if needed,” Jackson said. “I don’t know if your members will want that.”
It was all they had.
Together, they stepped onto the porch. About thirty-five pack members stood on the snowy front lawn, mostly heads of families and soldiers. Their breath puffed white in the cold air, eyes somber with expectation.
Raul Nelson stepped forward. A sturdy man with a miner’s build and weathered hands, he was both a foreman and a respected town leader. His gaze swept across the gathered pack before settling on Philip.
“We need an Alpha,” Raul said firmly. “And we need a plan. What do you have?”
Philip tossed his cane back into the house. “We’re going to reach an agreement with the Granite Pack for an alliance of protection. This will be just until I regain my strength.”
A low rumble started in the crowd.
Raul shook his head, his jaw tight. “I’m sorry, Philip, but no. The four packs are separate for a reason.”
Emily’s hopes crashed. What was she going to do? “I’ll step up as the Alpha.” She didn’t dare look at Jackson. “I’m no longer ill, and I can fight.”
The crowd stirred again, their murmurs blending into a steady hum of dissent. Raul raised a hand, silencing them as his gaze settled on her. His eyes and voice were not unkind, but they held truth. “Emily, you mated the Alpha of the Granite Pack. Your allegiance has to be to him. It can’t be to us. We need someone who’s fully committed to our pack.”
“I’m in,” Philip said, though his voice trembled with fatigue.
Raul’s sorrow was unmistakable. “Philip, you won’t be well for quite a while—if ever. We all know the Ghostwind Pack will come rumbling. We’ve already been approached by Bulwark McGregor.”
Nadia gasped, her breath sharp. “That asshole stabbed me in the back.”
Raul ducked his chin. “I know. But he has Alpha blood in him, and he’s strong. They’ve been adding to their pack. If he brings the Ghostwind Pack in, they’ll take over and protect us.”
Emily stepped forward, her pulse thudding painfully. “You know that’s what they want. They don’t want to be part of a pack. They want to rule.”
Raul shook his head slowly, and many of the pack members dropped their gazes to the snow-covered ground.
“I’m healthy,” Nadia said, her voice firm. “And I’m not mated. I’ll step up as the Alpha of this pack.”
Raul stared at her for several moments, his gaze serious. “Nadia, we all like you a lot, but you’re not a fighter.” His gaze flicked toward Jackson and the other outsiders. “You wouldn’t survive the trials. You know that.”
Emily stiffened. “You know about the trials?”
Raul nodded. “Yes. Every over a hundred-years-old knows about them because we were alive when Philip took over. But we’re all sworn to secrecy until a new Alpha wants to take over.”
“I’ll still try to survive any such trials.” Nadia lifted her chin.
Something inside Emily twisted and broke. She couldn’t let her sister go to her death. Neither of them fully understood what the trials entailed, but she knew one thing: Nadia had spent her life farming, not fighting. Emily could not let her die trying to save the pack.
Raul shook his head, his voice heavy with resignation. “We’re going to accept Bulwark’s offer of the Ghostwinds protecting us if he becomes our Alpha. I don’t see that we have any alternative.”