Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
She shrugged. “I’m not fooling anyone. I’m not avoiding you.”
“You finish at five tonight, right?”
“Yes.”
“How about you and I go out dancing?” he asked.
“No, thank you.” She hoped to get home, showered, and back out into the forest waiting for Alexander.
“You know, I thought you and I could be friends.”
Layla took a deep breath. “No, what you thought was you and I could have sex. That’s what you said. We’re not mates, you’ve made that perfectly clear, and trust me, I’m a million times happy about that, but I’m not going to sleep with you.”
He tried to pile on the charm but it wasn’t working. “We could do other things than sleep.”
“No, I’m not interested.”
Lewis sat back and smiled at her. “What happened to you having a crush on me?”
She shrugged. “I grew up. Yes, I had a crush on you because you were cute and all that, but I think watching your best friend get mated and seeing what all that means, we’re not meant to be together. For you, it would just be sex. For me, it would mean something, and then one day, I’d have my feelings crushed when you eventually found your mate and I got tossed aside. No, thanks.”
“And you don’t want to have any fun?”
“No, I don’t. I’m not looking for fun, Lewis, so stop trying.”
****
“They’re looking for a five-pointed star?” Brandon asked. “You’re sure?”
“I don’t make a habit of hearing things wrong.”
The Alpha paced the length of the hallway. The scent of garlic was still heady in the air. Raymond was in the corner, his animosity dripping from every pore.
“It could be a trick,” Raymond said.
“Crazy Lizzie wouldn’t trick about this kind of stuff,” Brandon said. “She has been coming and going these past four months, leaving messages, acting even stranger than usual.” He ran a hand down his face. “Why here?”
“Do you have something that has a five-pointed star?”
“No, I don’t even have a clue what it could mean,” Brandon said. “She talks in riddles. Is it a necklace? A totem? Some stupid fucking flower? I don’t know!”
Alexander understood his annoyance. Crazy Lizzie had always been like this.
“We know the five-pointed star is the center point of the Disaster of the Otherworld symbol,” Raymond said.
“Yes,” Alexander said.
“Is that what she meant?”
He looked at the human and Raymond stared back at him. “Do you think one of the cult is here?”
Raymond shrugged. “It would seem the Northern Forest Pack is the center point of war, correct?”
Alexander frowned.
“Between my daughter, Brandon, they focused on this pack specifically. Why?”
He hated to admit the human had a good point. Alexander turned to Brandon. “The human has a point.”
“The human has a name.”
Ignoring the comment, he looked at Brandon. “Think about it, there are many packs, many different sectors much weaker than this one, yet they are focusing here. If what Crazy Lizzie says is true, they’re coming, which means there’s either a great weakness here or a great darkness.”
“If they can tip the scale, they can start the war,” Brandon said.
“Everyone here is accounted for,” Raymond said. “Everyone. You have a thorough process.”
“We didn’t always,” Brandon said, and turned to look at Raymond.
“What do you mean?” Raymond asked.
“My father was a great believer in peace. He also believed that all factions should work together. He had hoped to have a community that not only had wolves, but vampires, bears, the lot. He believed everyone working together made us all stronger.”
“He sounded like an idealist,” Alexander said. He had met a few of them during his time, but the truth was, only chaos would ensue. There was too much history, too much bloodshed had been spilled. There was no way they could make peace.
Vampires and wolves living together in harmony wouldn’t work. Neither would wolves and bears. Certainly not witches and warlocks. Then of course you had vampires and necromancers, which didn’t mix well.
It would be a mess. Adding in humans with attitude and a sense of moral boundaries was a recipe for disaster, for sure.
“My father believed in power and helping the weak.”
“Having a pack full of weak doesn’t keep you strong,” Alexander said.
“Let’s not talk about weak and strong.” Brandon’s hands were clenched into tight fists. The wolf before him was a mess. Having a new mate, a human one, and pregnant with child, he was a wolf in fear.
He’d not seen Brandon afraid. It was a rather unusual sight. One Alexander was a little envious of.
“Do you want me to start bringing in the human families?” Raymond asked. “I want to warn you, it might cause fear.”
“The only thing that matters is the protection of all. Not the fear of a few humans,” Alexander said.
“I need to speak with Darcy,” Brandon said. “He’s the one that’s been handling the petitions of humans.”
“You need to stop anyone else from entering,” Alexander said.