Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Kingsley was glad. It couldn’t have been easy, living like he had been. Barely existing.
“The reason I called,” Aljoe said, “concerns Aurora. I’ve spoken to Austin and Jessie about this as convocation leaders, and now I’d like to speak with you as her father.”
Kingsley frowned in confusion. “What about her?”
“As you know, I’ve been granted a special unit within Jessie’s team. I’ll be leading a team of rogues, some likely to be wild and volatile. Some incredibly powerful. Some reckless enough that they may not work out, or that I will have to continually subdue to ensure they mind their manners. I have experience in handling these sorts of shifters, as you likely know. I’m a generational alpha, but I’ve had to carve my own way using new rules, some based solely on survival.”
“Yes, I am aware.”
“I met Aurora with the rest of them. She offered to be my crutch when learning this team, and still always checks in. She’s as respectful as she is tough, a good combo. It’s a credit to your parenting.”
Warmth filled Kingsley. “Thank you.”
“She also has her fair share of Austin’s wildness in her, yes?”
“Yes. She has better control of it, and she doesn’t lose herself nearly as easily to it, but her grandfather has given her a healthy dose of his power and…wildness, as you said.”
“Ruthlessness. She has the exemplary training I see in Austin—which is how I knew Austin’s base level of knowledge must’ve come from you.”
“She was much easier to teach.”
Aljoe laughed. “As women so often are, right? Not as hardheaded as we are. She reminds me of my sisters.” He paused. “And because she reminds me of my sisters, and because she has so graciously helped me without judgment…and mostly because I see raw talent and great drive in her, I want to help her. Right now, she is stuck in the middle of a large pack. Until now, she has been working her way up, tier by tier, as is usual. Given how the pack is growing and evolving, however, the usual method of elevation is changing. Now people are being assessed for different roles—brains or brawn or both—and challenging into those levels. Austin is handling his own level of chaos.”
Austin didn’t have time for the traditional approaches, and they wouldn’t work anyway. He couldn’t do things by the book, not with danger looming.
“Aurora will get to the higher levels, I have no doubt,” Yazanth went on. “Even at the higher levels, however, her forward momentum will stall. She has the training, but she doesn’t have the experience. Some of the shifters challenging in have seen a lot of action. They’re here because they know trouble is brewing—they’ve seen it—and they want to do something about it. They want to fight, and Austin is promising them a front-row seat. Usually, in a generational pack she’d start handling some of the duties. She’d get her feet wet and start working on that experience. She’d command under your umbrella. That just isn’t possible here, for many reasons.”
“I told her that. I explained in detail and I tried to force the issue. She won’t budge.’”
“I know. She has fire. She wants the fight, just like those experienced shifters. She saw what was at stake, and she wants to be part of it. I respect that. It’s why I’m here, after all. And so, here is what I would like to offer her, but I want your approval to do so. I would like to stand in as her pseudo-father. Or her pseudo-brother if that is more preferable. Her grandpappy, whatever. I’d like to resume the training. She would be in all the strategic meetings with me, have greater access to the experienced shifters, the betas, and she would get guidance and explanations. She could start to gain experience under my umbrella. She’d also get coached by my sisters and have them as an outlet when trying to deal with me, if she needs it. I can be tough. I’m sure you’ve heard. I don’t think it is anything she can’t handle, though. Not by a long shot.”
Kingsley froze with his beer halfway to the end table. His stomach erupted in butterflies, and he could do nothing but blink stupidly. He never could’ve guessed in a million years that this was why Yazanth Golden Fang was calling him.
No wonder Austin hadn’t warned him. Kingsley was surprised his brother hadn’t set up a camera to catch his reaction.
“I realize the danger of my setup will be significant,” Aljoe went on, “but while Aurora lacks battle experience, she excels one-on-one. I’ll teach her greater access and control over her beast, which will expand her power, as well as a few tricks to increase her power that I learned along the way. I have zero concern about her safety. No more concern than where she is now.”