Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Nick tensed. He’d been targeted by the leader of the group, who had been a guard in the shifter juvenile prison where Nick had been incarcerated. The guard had had a grudge against Nick for badly injuring him when he’d fought off the bastard’s attempts to abuse him, and he’d wanted to make him pay.
It was no secret that the extremists had targeted Nick, but there was still speculation on how it had ended, considering those particular extremists had mysteriously “disappeared.” That speculation was what kept other extremists at bay. Openly admitting that they had in fact destroyed the humans when they invaded Phoenix Pack territory would be dumb. “Yes. That’s why we moved here. Thankfully, that was the end of it.” It wasn’t a lie, but neither was it the full truth.
Noticing Shaya massaging her stomach, Janice patted her hand. “I really hope you’ll reconsider letting me deliver your baby.”
Shaya cleared her throat. “Thanks again for the offer, but I really want Grace to be there.”
“Wouldn’t you rather have family helping? I know we don’t know each other well, but we have plenty of time to fix that before the birth.”
Kathy nodded in agreement. “Janice is very good at what she does, Shaya.”
“I’m sure she is. But I want Grace.”
Kathy smiled sweetly. “If that’s your decision, honey, I’ll respect it.”
Roni almost snorted at the barefaced lie. Irritatingly, Kathy believed she had the right to interfere in her children’s lives for no other reason than that she was their mother—and that extended to her son’s mate. The amazingly stubborn woman was extremely good at getting her own way, and she never gave up without a fight.
“You know, Shaya, I was thinking,” began Kathy, still smiling sweetly, “you should come shopping with Janice and me later on today. It would be lovely for us all to spend some time together.”
Nick went to object, but Shaya beat him to it. “Thanks, but I have things to do.”
“What a shame.” Janice looked at Roni. “What about you, Roni?”
Eliza’s smile was a little hateful. “You could certainly do with a makeover.”
Roni’s wolf growled, but it wasn’t because of Eliza’s comment—the female was so insignificant, she wasn’t even a blip on her radar. No, her wolf was alert and watchful because she had picked up a very familiar, very yummy scent. Startled, Roni swerved to find Marcus entering the kitchen with Bracken.
Instantly, every female in the room perked up.
First, Shaya got to her feet and gave Marcus a friendly kiss on the cheek, which made Nick growl. Then Kathy urged Marcus into a chair opposite Roni, and placed a huge plate of bacon and eggs in front of him. Eliza vainly adjusted her hair and clothes. To Roni’s horror, her mated aunt plastered a flirtatious smile on her face.
Marcus gave Roni a wide smile—and that strange, almost electric connection between them instantly snapped into place, making his wolf growl in satisfaction. “Hey there, gorgeous.” He almost laughed at the “Quiet, you’re boring me” logo on her camo-green T-shirt. Her wardrobe seemed to consist mostly of clothing that was branded with antisocial wording.
Roni scowled at the endearment. “What are you doing here?”
Refraining from laughing—Marcus wouldn’t have thought it was possible for a scowl to be cute—he took a moment to greet the males . . . even Zander, who he didn’t like for the simple reason that he suspected Zander had a thing for his pretty little wolf.
Leaning toward Marcus, the unfamiliar female said, “I’m Janice, Kathy’s sister.”
Marcus smiled. “Good to meet you. I’m Marcus.”
“I take it you’re a friend of Nick’s?”
“No.” Nick’s expression screamed “outsider.” “He’s a Phoenix Pack enforcer.”
“Nice to see you again, Marcus,” purred Eliza.
Roni would have expected Jesse to be annoyed by his girlfriend’s flirtatious tone, but he didn’t appear to care. Then again, it was hard to tell, really, since the surly enforcer was mostly expressionless. Eliza and Janice blushed at the greeting smile that Marcus gave them. It seemed he had a way with all females, no matter their age.
“You didn’t answer Roni’s question: Why are you here?” grumbled Nick. He stabbed his fork hard into his bacon, and Roni had the feeling he wished it was Marcus. Shaya rolled her eyes, well accustomed to her mate’s antisocial ways. His body was practically fused to hers in an extremely possessive gesture. Roni would have expected it to make the Alpha female bristle, but Shaya seemed to like it, as if it made her feel safe and treasured. Roni couldn’t imagine her own mate treasuring her. The poor guy would most likely feel he’d drawn the short straw.
“I was returning something to Bracken.” In truth, Marcus wanted to get an early start on his “breakdown Roni’s defenses” plan.
“If you mean his newest Call of Duty game, it’s about time.” Roni refilled her coffee mug. “I had it completed within a week.”