Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“May I see him?” Hassen asks.
Georgie turns and points at a pair of tents near the fire. “He’s in the tent on the left there. Go say hello, but don’t go into the other one. Stacy’s taking a nap. It’s…hard on her.” Georgie shoots me a worried look.
God, I’ll bet. Her mate nearly dying and then him not remembering her? With a small baby, too? And all of this other crap going on? She has to be going through hell.
Hassen steps forward, and then hesitates, looking back at me. There’s so much pain and worry in his eyes, I just want to take it all away from him and absorb it.
I reach out and touch his arm. “You go ahead, big guy. Say hi to Pashov. I’ll stay here and talk to Georgie for a minute.”
He nods at me, and I see a possessive flash in his eyes. “I will be back.”
“I’ll be here. I won’t go anywhere without you.”
A ghost of a smile touches his face. He rubs a hand down his jaw, tired, then heads off for the small tent.
Georgie waits until Hassen is gone and then arches an eyebrow at me. “Should I ask?”
“You can, but I’m not sure how much I’m willing to tell just yet.” I’m kind of glad that Hassen’s and my cooties are being mutually silent, because I’m not sure how our resonance will affect things. “Is he still an exile?” I ask bluntly.
“That’s not my call to make,” Georgie tells me. “That’s Vektal’s. It’s his tribe.”
“Yes, but you’re his mate.”
“Yes, and Hassen stole your sister after being warned that exile would happen if anyone did.”
“Yes, and that was a big goof on his end. He knows that, and he’s sorry for it. And I’m sure if you put a bug in Vektal’s ear, he’d be willing to listen to reason and lift the ban on Hassen.”
“Why would I do that? Look, I like Hassen as much as the next guy, and overall, I think he means well. But I think he also showed a criminal lack of judgment.”
“He acts before he thinks sometimes. You know, like when he went into the cave to save Pashov?” I can’t help but throw that back in her face.
“Point taken.”
“Being exiled is killing him, Georgie. He doesn’t have a family—all he’s got is the tribe. Not being able to be part of the team really hurts him, maybe more than most.” She’s not getting it, and I’m growing frustrated with her. I know Georgie’s going to see things through her mate’s point of view out of sheer loyalty. I totally get that, and I’m probably doing the same thing when it comes to Hassen. “He’s proved his worth to the tribe, hasn’t he? And what’s the point in exiling him when everyone’s homeless? Doesn’t that seem unfair? After how hard he works to provide for this tribe?”
Her mouth purses, and she takes Talie back from my arms. “I wish it was that simple, Maddie, I really do.”
“It is that simple. You can talk to Vektal. Make him see things our way.”
The look on her face is hard. “You think my mate doesn’t have enough to worry about? You think he’s not killing himself slowly trying to fix everything for everyone? To be everywhere? To be the leader they need him to be? You think this is easy for him?”
“I know it’s not. It’s not easy for anyone.” I’m not getting anywhere with her, and so I’m going to have to play hardball. If it means getting myself booted out of the tribe too, so be it.
Hassen’s my mate, and I’m going to stand by his side. I think of Lila and feel a little squeeze of anxiety, but I tamp it down. Even if they exile me with Hassen, we’ll find a way to visit each other, my sister and me. We’re family. They can’t pull us apart.
Time to bring out the big guns. “So Hassen found something interesting while we were out,” I say casually as she settles her daughter back in her arms. I deliberately leave out my part in things. I want my mate to get all the glory in this, because I don’t want to muddy the picture. I’m going to get him back into this tribe, damn it.
“Oh?”
“Yup. And you’re going to want to hear about it. It’s a game changer.” And then I wait.
She looks over at me, little frown-lines appearing between her brows when I don’t continue. “Well?”
I cross my arms over my chest and give her a look. “You going to talk to your mate about mine and letting him back in the tribe?”
“Depends on what you found. It’d better be pretty fucking good,” she snaps, and I can tell her patience is at an end with me.
“Toilets, Georgie. We found toilets.” And a whole abandoned city attached to it, but whatever.