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’s gaze darkened. “He was going to attack you with his crew. I saw it when I walked in.”
“I thought that at first but then second-guessed myself. He’d riled me up.”
“You were riled up because he was about to take you on in an unfair fight in a bar full of patrons. I saw it, Austin. I don’t know what he said beforehand, but I know what I saw when I walked in. He’s gone lawless.”
“I’ve heard stories.”
“We’ve all heard stories, which can mostly be shrugged off, but this is another level. Did he really kill that guy?”
“He didn’t hold the knife, but he knew about it. He’s probably influenced by all the power around him and has never dealt with this level of aggression before. You did because you grew up with me. He’s led a mostly peaceful existence. You’ve said yourself: my territory is wound up. I am wound up, as is my mate—when she gets going, anyway. We’re combat ready, and we’re experienced. Invite in all this extra power, and he’s spiraling. I’m guessing at that, but…”
Kingsley shook his head. “Can’t be allowed to continue. Something has to be done.”
“Yeah, no shit. The thing is, what I want to do to him, and what you think is wise, are probably very different.”
“C’mon.” Kingsley turned toward the others. “Let’s talk about it.”
Drex stood to the side with his original alpha friends, two more than Austin had met in Drex’s territory. A few middling alphas had been invited, and a handful more early generational alphas. They all definitely wouldn’t fit for dinner. Austin hadn’t even ordered enough food.
“Austin Steele, the mate of the hour.” Drex stepped forward with a grin, his hand out to shake. He wasn’t holding back his expressiveness.
Austin shook his hand. “Hey. Sorry I haven’t had time to speak to you personally.”
“You’re busy. You nearly had the war conclaves are known for. Or so I’ve heard.”
He grunted, and then the meaning of Drex’s words dawned. “Ah. Is that why I’m the mate of the hour instead of the man?”
Drex’s smile grew. “Not for that, but I guess that would work, too. I don’t see Yazanth—Aljoe now, right?”
“Aljoe.”
“Where’s he?”
Austin glanced at Aljoe’s sisters, standing near the bar. Only Nina had actually watched the fight, but all of their eyes were lit with humor.
“He decided he was tired of the company of alphas,” Austin said flippantly. “Something about the terrible jokes.”
A few people huffed out laughs. More of them were showing a modicum of expression than they otherwise would in a situation like this. He wondered if that was because of the original alphas or because of the territory. Maybe Austin himself. He was far less guarded than any shifter he knew. Except maybe Aurora, who’d found facial expressions and never looked back. At least in mixed company.
“You did well today.” He nodded at the other man. “Very. I don’t think anyone saw it coming. You’ve got some new moves.”
Drex laughed. “You made a mockery of me. I had to get serious.”
Austin greeted the alphas he knew from Drex’s territory and met the new ones. Then he went about meeting the others from the growing network.
“Alpha,” a woman said, inclining her head at him. “You’ve got an original setup here. I didn’t see how it could all work together until a thunderbird was chasing me down the street, spitting lightning at my heels.”
“I had a garhette slap me, kiss me, and tell me I needed to dye my hair black.” The man’s—Ron’s—lips twisted to the side. “I didn’t know what to do.”
“And now you have black hair,” one of the guys said.
“Looks great,” a woman said, and everyone chuckled (or the equivalent).
“I’ve actually gotten a lot of compliments,” he murmured.
“It’s hard to say no to that breed, but they are a huge asset.” Austin signaled for a drink. “Or so my mate keeps telling me. She is also hard to say no to.”
“They are a huge asset,” Kingsley said. “My pack loves them. We get visits often. And so is your mate. Jessie shone today.”
“She shone?” A woman arched an eyebrow. “Did you see the battle with the mage? The hunched one who very clearly doesn’t want to be out in public?” She shivered. “How can you fight against him? How can you fight against an army of them? I see now what Kingsley has been trying to explain.”
“Yes, that’s the issue.” Kingsley nodded at everyone. “That has always been the issue, something I was forced to understand by Austin and his team.” He turned to Austin. “What about these mages that breached your territory boundary?”
Austin took a sip. “They’re lurking. Gathering information. You remember the drill. We’re not totally sure what they’re after. At the moment, we’re watching them watch us. We’ve had the conclave to worry about. We haven’t had the time to devote to this new threat. Once the conclave is done, the breach will be our chief priority. Mages in general will be. We need more on our side.”