Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 65871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
I want to say no, because I want to enjoy my mate’s nudity, but this is an important matter.
“Yes. Tell me.”
“It has been a very long time since any vampire felt comfortable making such a bold attack,” Elena says. “I’d say a good two, maybe three centuries. There was a time the things used to hunt with impunity, but with the advent of modern technology, most of the population has been dormant. There are theories that vampires went to sleep around the time the first cellphone was developed, and have no intention of waking up until after the fall of the current civilization.”
“Grim.”
“Vampires are long-term planners. Their leadership, anyway. There are some who have been walking the world since before recorded history. At any rate, it is obvious that there is a stirring in the United States that could very well spread across the world. These things tend to be trends, if you will. The fact that they attacked a campus suggests they’re becoming emboldened in their hunting.”
“So you think it was completely random? Something that Anya simply happened to be present for?”
“Well, that depends on your view of things,” Elena says, glancing between me and Anya. “According to the guards, she had been drinking a great deal. You are no doubt aware of the fact.”
If I were not so deeply Russian, I might care about the fact that Anya was drinking, but I am not a puritanical American to be scandalized by alcohol. It is common for people of all ages to drink in Russia, and the fact that my mate indulged is not, in itself, a problem.
“Is there any indication they were looking for her?”
“The guards kept her safe, so it is hard to say. According to them, it was a roaming band of relatively young ferals, recently awoken from the 1980s. They’re used to simpler times. There are some indications that they’re continuing to target shifter whelps, those who are yet to make the change.
Our juveniles are at risk from these monsters. It’s very possible that they followed her scent, but couldn’t take her because of the guards, and so took the human young in her stead, redirecting their aggression and hunger.”
“Did you ask the guards what they saw?”
“Very little, sir. They were focused on protecting your mate, and the vampires moved swiftly and silently. Not a scream was heard. They did scent blood once the wind changed, but that was all.”
“Then no real harm was done.”
She frowns slightly. Elena has been trying to raise the alarm about what she calls the vampire problem for years now. She monitors them incessantly: population growth, movements, actions, everything. In my forefathers’ time we used to worry about them more, but vampires have been essentially obliterated as a threat to wolves.
I don’t operate in areas of theory or paranoia. Life in Russia is dangerous, and life as an alpha is also perilous. I do not startle at shadows, or concern myself with threats that do not yet exist. A man in my position, and a wolf of my stature, must keep himself grounded.
“She could have died, sir,” Elena says, realizing that she is losing me.
“The guards would never have allowed it.”
Elena’s lips thin slightly. “The guards also reported that she attempted to evade their guardianship. She was sneaking out. She could have been killed, sir. You could have lost your mate before you claimed her.”
“What point are you trying to make, Elena?”
“She is the alpha female she-wolf of the Volk Khishtnik pack, and she could have been killed through her recklessness before a single heir could be produced. She is reckless, and you do not seem to mind. She needs to be disciplined.”
I look down at the sweet, sleeping girl in my arms, the one who just gave me everything of herself, who surrendered her virginity to me like the gift it is, and whose scent I am absolutely covered in. I cannot imagine disciplining her. I have in the past, of course, but she is quite literally changed now. She has assumed her full female form.
“Don’t soften now, Alexei. You’re one of the most ruthless alphas ever to rule this pack. You don’t have to do it publicly, but she needs to know she can’t disobey you.”
I respect Elena greatly. She is one of my most trusted advisors, and there is a possibility she is right about the vampire situation, but there are limits to how freely she should speak to me, and she just stepped over that line.
My eyes flash, and my voice drops into a growl.
“I don’t need to be told how to handle my mate, Elena.”
“Of course not,” she says, immediately submitting. “My apologies. I did not mean to presume to tell you what to do. I will leave you to your flight.”
She withdraws quickly and respectfully. I let her go.