Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 165618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 662(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 165618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 662(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Alas, for him, since she was still dead set against him dropping the spell (another female devoted to her mission), they were living together but sleeping in separate bedrooms.
I was hoping what happened between Tanyn and me happened to all of them.
That being, with the pull of their fated mate muted, they fell in love with each other because they fell in love.
And then they could let their fate bind them forever.
I knew how that felt, and it was highly recommended.
I stopped at the box shelves and hooks at the back door.
I wound my scarf around my neck, slipped off my slippers and slid my feet into a new pair of boots (yes, I bought the other pair that caught my eye the first time I was here—I was me, I did this kind of thing), and bent over to tie the laces. Next came the snow goggles I pulled over my head and all the way down to my neck. Only after they were in place did I don my knit hat, tucking my hair in it to keep it away from my face. I ended this with tugging on the beige below-the-knee puffy jacket with the thick collar of fake fur, zipping it up, and finally, there were my mittens.
I headed out to see Bain standing beside the SnowSprint he’d pulled up. He was holding the bouquet of flowers I’d secreted into the storage compartment on the jet we took from the mainland.
Before we arrived, Tanyn had offered to teach me how to pilot one.
I’d refused.
Eventually, I’d get there.
But for now, if I didn’t know how, it meant I had to press close and hold him tight, because if we headed into the tundra, he’d have to pilot.
“Ready?” Bain asked.
I’d noticed in the very brief time we’d been there that Bainon was a huge fan of the SnowSprint. He took one out immediately, doing daredevil shit that I hoped didn’t give Tanyn any ideas.
“Just to note, I’d like to get there in one piece,” I told him.
His white smile spread against his tan skin.
Seriously.
How Aleece could hold herself back was a total mystery.
“I’ll pilot like a grandma,” he assured.
“See that you do,” I harumphed.
He handed me the flowers, pulled up his goggles then tugged the gator over his mouth.
I gave them back, positioned my goggles, and readjusted my scarf to cover the lower half of my face.
See?
I was learning.
Again with the switch of the flowers so he could get on.
Juggling the bouquet, I got on behind him.
And off we went.
It was still a rush to speed across the snow.
It was just less of a rush because I was doing it with Bain and not my Tanny.
Bain didn’t maneuver any tail flips or launch us over any tall drifts.
He just jetted us to the lynx pen.
When we got there, I spied Hurley and Avie loping beside Tanyn as he headed toward the gate of the pen.
He lifted a gloved hand to hail us.
I was glad to see the male put on gloves.
I was getting used to the SnowSprint, but not enough to let go of Bain to lift my own hand to return his greeting.
Bain stopped us just beyond the gate, next to Tanyn’s Sprint, and shouted over the engine, “Yo!”
As a reply, Tanyn jerked up his chin.
I swung off the Sprint.
“Thanks, Bain!” I yelled over the noise.
Another jerk of a male’s chin (yeesh), and when I stepped away, he rounded Tanyn’s Sprint, I turned and watched him launch himself over a tall drift, the Sprint shooting up in the air, before aiming itself down the other side and disappearing.
Again, yeesh.
By the time I turned back to Tanyn, he was outside the gate.
Hurley raced to me.
Avie stayed close to Tanyn.
He’d come to greet us when we arrived at Sigil that morning, but although he tolerated me, he was Tanyn’s cat.
When Tanyn arrived at me, he put one hand to my waist and touched his bare nose to my covered one.
“All good?” I asked after he pulled his face away.
My voice was muffled by wool.
“The new placement is getting his bearings,” he replied.
He was referring to an injured lynx that had been placed there only a couple of days ago.
I smiled through my scarf, something Tanyn couldn’t even see in my eyes due to the goggles covering them, so I said, “Excellent.”
“Uly commed,” he told me.
Oh boy.
“What did he have to say?” I asked.
“The latest blood tests of our prisoners still show the agent is present,” he replied.
Damn.
Would that stuff never leave their systems?
“That’s incredibly long lasting,” I bitched.
“The chemists aren’t surprised by that. They said there were properties in it where they hypothesized this would be the case.”
They did say that.
It was still irritating.
“Though, they think they might be closing in on something that would counteract it,” Tanyn carried on.