Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
“I don’t.”
“Your eyes are laughing.”
“How can eyes laugh?”
“I don’t know, but yours are cracking up.”
Mia held up two placatory hands. “Ghost would never read a book like that to the baby, he had to have been messing with you. He probably hadn’t read a single word from the book until he saw you start to wake.”
“Didn’t look like it to me.” With an indignant huff, Ella rested her hand on her slightly swollen belly.
“You’re not gonna be able to hide that bump with baggy clothes for much longer,” remarked Mia.
“I know.” Ella sighed. “That’s when I’ll have to be real careful. Stuff travels fast through the demonic grapevine, so the news of my pregnancy will spread like wildfire. And considering I’m often seen with Viper, people will be quick to assume he’s the father. Not all will like it.”
Ella was already well-protected—she was never alone outside the compound, and she now drove the brand new and much safer vehicle that Viper had bought for her. But the Black Saints would likely step up the security around her even further when her pregnancy became common knowledge.
Some demons would be unbothered by the baby being half celestial. Others? There would be those who were merely concerned or wary. However, there’d be demons who would be downright rude and unfriendly to Ella, as if she’d betrayed her race by procreating with ‘the enemy’.
A part of Ella chafed at being so coddled, but she accepted the overprotective security measures for the sake of her child—and also because they made her demon less tense. Having been claimed by Viper also seemed to have settled something in her demon.
A phone beeped, making Mia dip her hand down the pocket of her jeans. Fishing out her cell, she frowned. “It’s Joe.”
Ella felt her brows knit. “Why would he text you when he can just telepath you?”
Mia exhaled heavily. “He finds telepathy intimate, so he’ll avoid talking to people mind-to-mind when he’s unhappy with them.”
Hello, man child. “What does he want?”
Mia angled the phone so Ella could the read text: Can we talk?
Ella wasn’t exactly in a ‘let’s forgive Joe’ frame of mind. However, there was the little problem that a lot of physical distance between anchors could cause them issues psychically. So Ella wasn’t going to urge Mia to ignore Joe’s request. Besides, it wasn’t her decision to make.
As such, Ella softly asked, “What are you going to do?”
Mia rubbed at her throat. “What I want to do is tell him to wait awhile before we talk again. None of the recent conversations we’ve had have really helped our situation. But I want it resolved once and for all. Before all this, we never had a single problem. I would never have imagined we’d be where we are now.
“The person he’s been lately … it’s not him. It’s a hurt, defensive, guarded version of him. We can all get twisted up inside when we’re in pain. I don’t like knowing he has to feel very alone right now. You’d be the same if it was Luka.”
Yes, Ella would. And so she knew … “You’re going to respond to the text.”
“Yes. I have to know if he finally means for us to move forward.” Mia typed out a response and then showed it to Ella. It read: Depends what you want to talk about. Lately, it’s never been anything good. “Do you think that was a little mean?”
“No,” Ella assured her. “I think you needed to make it clear that you acknowledging his message doesn’t mean he isn’t still firmly in the dog house.”
Another beep came. Mia angled the phone so Ella could easily read the text as well. It simply said: I deserved that.
Mia snorted and typed: Yeah, dude, you did.
I don’t want to fight, we’ve done enough of that. I can’t claim my head is on straight yet—it’d be a lie. I need time. But I want us to at least be on good terms. I hate that we’re in a situation where I hesitated to telepath you because I wasn’t sure you’d welcome it.
Ella hummed. “He’s saying all the right things.”
“Yeah, but he does that. And each time I think, hey, maybe he’s really done being an ass, he proves me wrong.”
Another message came through: I’m outside the Black Saints’ compound right now. You don’t have to let me in if you don’t want to, but can you at least come outside and talk to me through the fence? I want to be able to apologize to your face.
Ella stilled. “Wait, he’s here?”
You don’t have to come alone, he added. You can bring someone with you if you want.
Mia shook her head. “I really wouldn’t have expected this. He must genuinely mean to apologize. Though that doesn’t mean we won’t end up bickering again. Would you come with me? I just think he’s less likely to start an argument if there’s someone else around.”