Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
“Compelled or called?”
Darius held up his hands. “There has been no compulsion on my part. My visions started months ago.”
“How is this possible?” Her whole body shook like a leaf. “I’ve not had any symptoms, and he’s… not like us.”
“There are always exceptions to the rules, child—”
“This is horse shit!” Dane snapped. “Since when are there fucking exceptions?”
“Easy,” Lazarus warned with a staying hand. “This shadow-wolf does not want trouble, Dane.”
“Fuck him! Grace, you do not have to go with him.”
“Grace,” the Bishop said in a much calmer voice, which she responded to. “An unexpected calling is no less righteous. If it is God’s will, it is your sacred duty.”
She looked down, tears shimmering in her eyes. “I know my purpose.”
“Then you must honor it.”
Dane’s body vibrated with uncontainable rage. “Gracie! Don’t listen to them! Eleazar, what the fuck are you telling her? This is not your goddamn purpose, Grace. You don’t even recognize him!”
He might not be a full-bread immortal capable of a calling, but he’d dreaded this outcome long enough to learn how these things work. This jacked-up, dog-looking mother fucker was not part of her destiny.
“You have a family waiting for you at home.”
“Now, she has a pack. That’s all she needs.”
“A pack? Fuck your pack!”
The wolf growled, and Lazarus clasped a hand on Dane’s shoulder before he could take another step. “Excuse my friend.”
The wolf curled his lips, then sniffed the air and smirked.
“What the fuck are you grinning at?”
His fanged sneer stretched wider. “They don’t know, do they?”
Dane jerked his arm, but Lazarus’s grip was unbreakable. “Know what?”
“What you are. They think your immortal half is like their bloodline.”
The blood rushed from his face. Gracie looked at him with deep concern. Dane couldn’t speak. He wouldn’t lie, but he also couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“Should I tell them?”
He looked to Lazarus, who had protected and accepted him. And the Bishop, who—despite their differences—gave him a safe place to live and advocated to keep his sister alive. Was this the last time they’d look at him like a normal person? The moment they pieced together his draugr roots, they would view him as a parasite.
His stare returned to Grace. He didn’t want her to know. It was bad enough he was already a half-breed. He couldn’t bear to become anything less in her eyes.
The wolf’s stare followed his, and understanding dawned. “I see.” He closed the distance, softening his stare as he looked into her confused eyes. “It’s Grace then?”
“G-Grace. Or G-Gracie,” she stammered.
His smile gentled. “Gracie.”
The wolf looked back at Dane triumphantly, challenge in his cold green eyes. One wrong move, and he had the power to ruin him with only words. Turning back to Grace, he held her stare.
“I want you to open your mind, Grace. You’ll find me there.”
She looked nervously at Dane, then the Bishop. Eleazar nodded. Gracie shut her eyes and swayed. The wolf steadied her.
“Tell me what you see, min pärla?”
Her breath hitched and her lashes fluttered open. Tears filled her eyes as breath rushed past her trembling lips. “I don’t understand.”
“What has you confused?”
“I…saw you, but I can’t read you.”
His smile fell and his brow creased. “Try again.”
She closed her eyes in concentration. Lifting her hand, he pressed her palm to his chest. “I’m here. My mind is open to you.”
Her frown deepened, then she blinked and shook her head. “There’s nothing.”
“Because he’s a shadow-wolf,” Lazarus explained. “They’re unreadable to immortals.”
Darius frowned. “My pack brothers will explain it to us. Perhaps there is something to be done.”
“No way,” Dane argued. “If she can’t read you, there’s no calling.”
“Dane.” The Bishop’s tone carried heavy warning. “What did you see, Grace?”
“I…” Gracie glanced at the Bishop then back to the wolf. “Us. It was hazy, but he was there. We both were.”
“Where, child?”
“A castle hidden deep in the Alps, buried by long winters and protected by cold winds. I saw stone walls and lavish tapestries. The scent of fire and fur.”
“Yes,” the shadow-wolf agreed. “Winters are long, but the privacy is cherished and our blood runs warm. There are plenty of acres for hunting, and the locals rarely bother us.”
Was anyone really buying this?
“What about my family?” she asked and Dane gaped at her. “My possessions…”
When the shadow-wolf closed his hand around hers and she didn’t immediately pull away, Dane knew they were in trouble.
“My family will become yours, min pärla.”
“Your family will be happy for you, Grace” the Bishop assured. “And your belongings can be shipped.”
Any doubts she might harbor hid beneath a mask of duty and submission. She lowered her stare and nodded. “I trust that God has chosen this for me.”
“Has everyone lost their fucking minds?” Dane snapped. “Dude shows up, kills without question, and we’re just going to stand here and let him kidnap Grace?”
“He killed Cerberus, Dane. This man is not our enemy,” Lazarus reminded.