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)
Marcus had noticed that Roni did that a lot—abruptly blurted out a completely useless fact. At first, he’d thought she did it in an awkward effort to be friendly and make conversation. But he’d quickly come to realize that she did it to make people go away. It worked. They immediately pegged her as someone weird and boring, or they would feel as uncomfortable as she did.
Marcus wasn’t going to fall for that. Besides, all that intelligence was kind of hot, especially when she slapped him down with it. “Really?” He fingered the ends of her long ash-blonde hair, admiring the natural, loose curls. “Your brain is like a sponge. I like that.”
Roni cast him an odd look. Why was he looking at her like she was . . . interesting? Roni wasn’t interesting. And now he was smiling at her again. Her wolf wanted to lick every inch of him, which was just downright annoying and pathetic. Okay, Roni could agree with the animal that this male who had fought at her side was strong, solid, and deliciously dominant. But allow Marcus to sense that? Not a chance.
She straightened her spine and gave him a dismissive wave of the hand. “Why don’t you go play with Betty Boop?”
“Betty Boop?” he chuckled. “If you’re talking about Zara—”
Oh, yeah, she was talking about Zara. Curvaceous, elegant, graceful, she was everything that Roni wasn’t.
“—that’s very much over.” There was only one female he wanted.
“Well, then . . . go play with the treat you’re presently sampling and—”
“You have the cutest nose.” He lightly tapped it with his finger.
Unbalanced by his unexpected compliment, Roni shrugged past him and marched off. And her nose was not cute. Marcus easily caught up to her and stayed at her side as they advanced through the network of tunnels that made up Phoenix Pack territory. The ancient cave dwelling had been modernized beautifully, and the Alpha female had long ago branded it “Bedrock.” For that reason, Taryn often referred to her mate as “Flintstone.”
Roni had only taken a single step into the crowded living area when suddenly a dainty body wrapped itself around her. Roni puffed various streaks of blonde hair out of her mouth.
“You stopped them from taking my son,” sniffled Taryn. “Thank you.” It was the third time she’d thanked her.
Trey stood behind Taryn. His arctic-blue eyes were wild, manic, and his large form was fairly vibrating with anger. “If you ever need anything—anything—it’s yours.” The rest of the Phoenix Pack nodded their agreement.
“We’re in your debt,” said Greta, though she didn’t look happy about it. In fact, her gaze narrowed dangerously as it took in how closely Marcus stood to Roni.
Trey’s somewhat neurotic grandmother was very possessive of “her boys”—those being Trey, Tao, Dante, and the four enforcers, Marcus, Trick, Ryan, and Dominic. As she was convinced that every unmated female was determined to claim one of them, she made a distinct effort to frighten them away. Of course it hadn’t worked with Taryn or the Beta female, Jaime, but Greta persisted in trying to make their lives difficult.
Not sure what to do with all the attention or the body still curled around her, Roni threw Marcus a pleading look.
Smiling, Marcus took pity on Roni, satisfied that she had looked to him for help. “Taryn, why don’t you find Roni a place to sit? She could have a concussion.”
“Of course.” Taryn led Roni over to the armchair on which Dominic sat. “Move it.”
“I’m hurt too, remember,” he griped. “None of you even praised me for intervening between two fighting wolves.”
Taryn rolled her eyes. “It’s not exactly uncommon for Trick and Ryan to get carried away when sparring. You only had a few bruises. Most of them had healed by the time you walked through the door.”
“A few bruises?” Dominic rose from the chair. “My chest had so many black patches, I looked like a Holstein cow. And I don’t care what you say, I had internal bleeding.”
Trick shook his head at Dominic. “Could you be any more dramatic?” When he noticed that Marcus had perched himself on the arm of Roni’s chair, Trick arched a brow. Then a taunting smirk surfaced, deepening the claw marks on Trick’s cheek. For as long as Marcus could remember, Trick’s favorite pastime was tormenting people. He thoroughly enjoyed teasing Marcus about Roni’s apparent indifference to him. Asshole.
Roni stiffened as Shaya, Nick, and Derren entered the room. She suspected a lecture from her brother. Within seconds, Nick’s nostrils flared as he scented her. Then his eyes fixed on Roni and darkened. Yep, a lecture was coming.
Nick strode toward Roni, his face like thunder. “I can’t believe you put Shaya in danger like that!” Rage seeped from him—a rage so acute that it seemed to thicken the air. It made Roni jump to her feet and put her wolf on high alert. The Phoenix wolves immediately gathered behind her, and Marcus pressed up against her side. What was that all about?