Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
He nodded. “Best guess? Your eyes and mine.”
Oh, for goodness’ sakes. The street was cobblestone, slick with a hint of frost, and the air smelled of wood smoke and freshly baked bread, even through the closed windows.
Hawthorne General Store sat to the left, its windows showcasing hand-knit scarves, local honey, and carved wooden wolves. Next to it, Ashwick Hardware displayed everything from mining equipment to antique tools. Across the street, Silver Moon Café bustled with life, the glow of its interior promising hot cocoa and pastries, and a weekly special of: Emily Frosted Cookies.
She gaped. “I have my own cookies.”
His sigh sounded louder this time.
A few doors down, the amber lights of Ironclad Books & Bindery gleamed through frosted windows, as the silhouettes of patrons flipping through books or chatting over coffee were visible inside.
Emily breathed out. “Your town is adorable. Sweet, even.”
“Thanks. We’re off the main drag and rarely get tourists, but once in a while, we have a festival and sell wares to the humans. Maybe once or twice a year.”
Sounded like fun. Emily’s people rarely interacted with humans.
As they passed Granite Hollow City Hall, a grand building constructed from polished granite with carved columns and arched windows, Jackson slowed. Its clock tower, crowned with a copper wolf’s head, stood sentinel over the town. Flags bearing the Granite Pack’s sigil, a silver wolf against a dark stone backdrop, fluttered from the entrance.
On the sidewalk, a female in a long wool coat paused mid-stride, her eyes lighting up as she caught sight of the truck. She waved wildly, her smile widening as Emily waved weakly back.
Beside her on a bench, a male with a weathered face and a thick scarf around his neck lowered the newspaper he had been reading, his gaze tracking the vehicle with glee. He slapped his knee and then waved.
“My goodness.” Emily waved back, gratified when his grin grew. “They do want you to mate.”
“Yes.” Jackson sighed. “Even though everyone’s on edge from the mine attacks, romance rules around here, and folks like the thought of our packs being connected so closely. Many thought I’d come home with a mate, but I’ve put word out that you’re here to assist me as an old friend.”
She couldn’t believe anybody would honestly fall for that. “They think you’re going to seduce me.” Just like her father did.
“Probably,” he said carelessly. “But I do need you to provide a bit of distraction until I fulfill a big contract and also find the asshat messing with my mines, and in exchange, your pack can extract all the rare slate from my mine. Deal?”
Fair enough. “Yes.”
Farther down the street, two female teenagers leaned against a lamppost, whispering and glancing toward the truck with quick, darting looks. They both had dark hair and lighter eyes. Waving, they ran toward the truck, reaching Emily’s door.
Jackson stopped.
Emily rolled down her window. “Hi.”
“Hi.” The taller girl held out a button. “We made these for you.” Giggling, she turned with her friend, and they ran across the road and into the Silver Moon Café.
Emily looked down at the button that had her picture next to Jackson’s with a red heart drawn around it. “Wow.”
He glanced at the button and started driving again. “It’s nice to be wanted?”
She chuckled. It didn’t suck.
“Now. How about you tell me why you insisted you have free rein in my territory.” He almost phrased the statement as a question. “I understand your father’s motivation, but I’m doubting yours.”
She needed to see his doctor. “I wanted to see your town. You let so few wolf shifters from other packs visit.”
“You’re here to discover state secrets?”
She scanned the quaint storefronts again. “Exactly.” Her gaze caught on a green-and-white sign that read Family Medicine. She made a mental note of its location. “I heard through the grapevine that your pack is more modern than most. You let younger members go off to school for a while.”
“Grapevine?” Jackson pulled up beside the city hall. “You mean Caidrik?”
“Of course,” she replied. “What did he do for you, anyway?”
Jackson cut the engine. “Worked as a miner. Of course.”
Baloney. But that wasn’t the mystery she needed to solve. “I’d like to know more about the programs that allow your young people to attend college. We need to modernize, and I really like the sound of that.”
“You can speak with Raya,” Jackson replied, his tone casual. “She handles all of that.”
“Who is Raya?”
He sat back in his seat, looking at the granite building outside. “She’s my chief operating officer. Runs the pack’s logistics and business operations. You name it.”
“Interesting,” Emily murmured, glancing out the window, as well. The streets were quiet now, the lanterns’ glow reflecting off the cobblestones damp from the earlier frost. Window boxes filled with evergreen branches and crimson berries hinted at the approaching holidays. Smoke drifted from chimneys, curling against the pale sky as dusk settled in. “I might have to get some ideas from her. If you don’t mind, of course.”