Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
“Cas.” I rose to my knees again. “Look at me.”
His tail swished, but he remained fixated on Reaver.
“I don’t think he’s going to do that,” the draken said.
I shot Reaver a quick look of warning. “You really need to learn how to knock.”
“I did.” He started to lift his arms but stopped when Casteel growled. “Neither of you answered.”
I almost pointed out that that should’ve implied we were busy, but I needed to get Casteel under control before explaining basic manners.
A sound came from Casteel, reminding me of steam escaping a thin fissure. He was…
“Stop hissing at Reaver,” I ordered, drawing in a shallow breath. I stretched forward and placed my hand on Casteel’s side. He stiffened as my fingers sank into his fur. Gods, it was dense and… “Your fur is soft,” I whispered, feeling the shiver of muscles beneath my palm as I slowly drew my hand along his side. “Really soft.”
His torso vibrated as a low, humming sound radiated from him.
My eyes widened. “Are you…purring?”
He was.
That was good…and cute. It was also what I heard when he drank from me.
Fucking gods.
Focusing on him, I opened my senses and found his mark. There was something stronger than his pine scent and the citrus-in-snow scent of his blood. There was the spice scent—the wild, lush spice scent.
My heart, which was already pounding fast to match his, skipped a beat. The scent had always been there, but it had really only been an undertone until now. Now, it made me think of how his movements had always reminded me of a large feline.
I filed that piece of information away and opened the connection between us. Casteel? You know Reaver. I kept petting him. You can’t attack him just because he tends to barge into chambers.
Other than the ear movement, he gave no indication that he’d heard me, but the pathway was open.
The sound of footsteps reached us, and Casteel lifted his head, sniffing the air. I focused on the connection.
Cas, look at me. You need to look—
“Emil?” Reaver yelled over his shoulder, breaking my concentration. “Do not come in here. Casteel is being particularly catty right now.”
The footsteps stopped.
“I was wondering what was up with all the shouting.” Emil paused. “Is he a cave cat again?”
My head jerked up in disbelief. “You knew he could shift into a cave cat?”
From the depths of the chamber, Emil stumbled over his words. “Uh, yeah. And he probably wants to eat me again.”
“Why would you want to eat Emil?” I demanded in a voice that was part whisper, part scream. “And why did I not know about this?”
Just as I caught a glimpse of auburn hair, Casteel leapt.
I snapped forward and wrapped my arms around him. His weight dragged me to the edge of the bed before he broke my hold and landed on the stone floor with a surprisingly soft thud. I fell forward, my hands smacking down on the wooden board at the foot of the bed—the deeply scratched board.
Gods, his claws were sharp.
“Motherfucker.” Reaver stretched his neck from side to side as the ridges of scales appeared in his flesh and deepened in color. “We don’t have time for this, but if you want to do this, then we’ll do this.”
“No one is doing anything!” I crawled forward. “Stop! Stop it right now, Casteel Hawkethrone Da’Neer.”
I don’t know why I thought using his full name would make a difference.
It didn’t.
Casteel shifted his weight back and launched himself.
I reacted on instinct, throwing my arm back as I summoned the essence.
“What the—?” A flicker of shock swept over Reaver’s face a second before he skidded across the floor.
Reaver crashed into Emil as the door slammed shut before them.
Casteel landed heavier this time, a foot from the door and right where Reaver had been standing. A deep, guttural snarl of frustration erupted in a roar as he lunged and slammed into the door.
I scrambled off the bed—
He whipped around, a lower, deeper growl rumbling from him as my eyes locked with silver orbs streaked with shadow. The fine hairs all over my body rose.
My muscles locked up as a different kind of instinct tried to take over—one that warned me I was in the presence of one of the deadliest predators—
Wait.
“Fuck that,” I muttered, my spine straightening. I wasn’t afraid of Casteel. Ever. Even in this form. Because I was the deadliest predator. A voice that sounded a lot like mine whispered, You really think? I ignored it. “Don’t you dare growl at me!”
He cocked his head to the side, his whiskers twitching.
I took a deep breath but kept my senses open. What I picked up from him was wild—a mixture of frustration and anger tinged with a ferality that reminded me of when he had fallen into bloodlust. “Glad you can understand me. So, listen. You’re still Cas. You’re in there. I know you are. I need you to control yourself.”