Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
I hear a ding from the back pocket of Lauren’s jean shorts, and I fish her phone out. It’s a text from Lincoln:
Where are you? Are you okay?
Another spike of misgiving runs through me. Why did he ask that? Is she depressed? Suicidal? What is going on with this enigmatic female?
Lauren looks at me, then her eyes widen and she gasps. “The letter!” There’s a real panic in her voice. “Where is the letter?”
“What letter?”
Her voice raises to a shriek, “Where is the letter from my mom?”
I try to figure out where her mind is. “The paper? The paper that was in your hand when you tried to jump off the cliff?“
“I didn’t jump off the cliff! This huge fucking wolf tried to attack me, and I fell.” She tries to stand up, teeters, and I catch her before she topples. “I need that letter!”
“I didn’t attack you–I tried to keep you from jumping.” I search her pockets, ignoring the surge of lust that kicks through me at having my hands all over her hips, but there’s nothing there. “You must’ve dropped it.”
“No.” She shakes her head vigorously. Her voice sounds strangled “It can’t be gone. I’m telling you, Abe, I need that letter! Let me go–I have to find it!”
I stare at her. This night couldn’t get any more fucked.
If her scent hadn’t turned so metallic, if I couldn’t hear the timbre of tears in her voice, I might be able to ignore her pleas. But she’s clearly desperate.
“What’s in the letter, Pearls? Who is it from?” A ripple of jealousy rolls through me as I consider it might be from a boyfriend back home.
“It’s the last letter my mother wrote to me before she died.”
I go still.
Oh damn. I had no idea her mom was dead. That’s heavy as fuck. I’ve been such a royal dick to this girl, thinking she was so privileged, and she’s suffered a huge loss. Maybe recently. One so much greater than I’ve ever known. One no teenager should suffer.
Against my better judgment, I make my decision. “Okay, I’ll go look for it. But I have to make sure you can’t get away.”
“What do you mean?“
I pick her up and carry her to the kitchen chair. “Sit here.”
“I’m not sure where my choice was in that,” she grumbles.
I strap her to the back of the chair with several lengths of duct tape around her middle.
She looks up at me with narrowed eyes. They’re teal–the color of the ocean where it froths against rocks. “I hate you, Abe Oakley.”
“I’m not your biggest fan either, Pearls,” I say. “But that’s neither here nor there.” I leave her phone by the door where I undress again, my wolf preening when I feel Lauren’s gaze on my body. I turn to look over my shoulder and find her attention trained on my ass. She swallows, and I catch the intoxicating scent of her arousal again.
That particular perfume will be the death of me. I angle my hips away from her, so she can’t see my dick’s enthusiastic reaction.
“Don’t move from that spot,” I warn, knowing full well she’ll probably try everything she can to get free the moment I leave.
“Go fuck yourself.”
The practiced alpha in me can’t help but pin her with a stare. “Do you want me to go find the letter or not?”
A pretty blush spreads across her cheeks. “Yes,” she grumbles.
I cock my head. “Yes, what?”
Her nostrils flare and jaw sets. “Yes, please.” The words come out through clenched teeth.
I give her a tight smile. “That’s better. Now be good, Pearls, or there will be consequences.”
More of that feminine perfume.
She’s killing me.
I close the door behind me and shift. I can travel faster on four paws, and I’ll be able to scent that piece of paper if it has blown away.
As I run toward the ledge, my mind whirls around what to do. How to handle this.
I need to call my brother, Austin. He might know who I should see, how much it costs, and how it works. From what I’ve heard, the quicker you intervene and get a memory wiped, the less damage you inflict. Lauren will just need a couple hours erased from her mind. It shouldn’t affect that smart brain of hers.
When I get to the ledge, I lower my snout to the earth and sniff. Lauren’s scent is all over the place, but I don’t smell paper. I peer over the ledge and scan the terrain. I catch sight of something white below. It could be a light-colored rock, but it could be the letter.
Since there’s no one around, and I’m in a hurry, I simply leap off the ledge, tucking to roll when I land. It knocks the wind out of me a little bit, but I stand and shake it off. I trot in the location of what I hope is the letter.