Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“At present? No. It was a bluff. But if they pushed me?” He thumbed through the documents. “I’d come up with a way.”
“You won’t have to,” Broken Sue growled. “If they threaten Jessie or us, no one will be leaving that party.”
ELEVEN
Jessie
My deep crimson, plunge-necked dress hung to just past mid-thigh. A little black sweater hugged my shoulders, and I had on a simple strand of pearls that didn’t at all go with the outfit but would be expected by Matt and likely worn by his fiancée. I didn’t intend to stand out at this dinner beyond the “loud” color I was wearing. I didn’t want Camila to feel like she was underdressed or her jewelry was outclassed. I remembered what it was like when I was in her shoes. If I dressed up, Matt would reproach her for being underwhelming in otherwise sparkly company.
Not that he’d ever let me buy expensive jewelry. It was only now that I realized he’d essentially set me up to fail and then blamed me for it. Hopefully he was a lot more lenient in his expectations with her.
My hair was in a loose curl, not the French twist I’d often worn to these things with him, and my nails weren’t polished. He’d notice that.
Shrugging it off, I did a final check in the mirror, wishing Nessa or Mr. Tom were here to offer a final yay or nay. I knew Austin would be fine with whatever, but Matt had exacting standards. I’d never been able to get it right when I was married to him and wanted to knock it out of the park now that I had been cut loose.
Why was this whole situation wreaking hell on my nerves? It was nuts. I should’ve been over all of this and worried about the very real dangers converging on us, but something about being back here, in this city and his circle again, had shoved me back in time. It was becoming hard to again crawl my way out of the expectations that had hemmed me in for half my life.
A knock sounded at the door. Tristan stepped in a moment later, sweeping the room with his gaze before finding me at the mirror.
“You look lovely, Jessie,” he said, and I knew it was entirely for the purpose of support. He’d always been upfront that female fashion mystified him. He’d had to learn men’s fashion, but that was as far as he planned to go.
It made the sentiment mean that much more. Like when Edgar inquired after the food Austin made me. My team was exceptional in their kindness to me and each other. I was truly fortunate.
“You okay?” Tristan asked, walking over. “Need a hug? We’re dressed.”
“No, no.” I blotted the corner of my eye. “Thank you for saying that. I’m just grateful, that’s all. We have an awesome team.”
“We do.” He leaned against the wall next to the mirror. “It’s rock solid, both in power and in unity. You and Alpha Steele have created something amazing here. You two lead how you’d want to be led, with genuine hope and heart, and people can feel it. The fact that you’re trying to bring other packs and cairns under your umbrella setup rather than conquering them is…heroic.”
“How is that heroic?”
“You’re making yourself a target. If the mages kill you two, they kill the organization. They kill the power.”
I let that sink in for a moment, looking at the reflection of my blank expression. Memories popped up like champagne bubbles.
“I was always going to be a target,” I said, smoothing my dress out of habit. “All of the heirs have been. Might as well do something better with my privilege and growing prestige than get presents from kings and eventually be killed by my mate, right?”
Tristan put a large hand on my shoulder. “I can’t take Austin Steele by myself, but if he turns on you, I’d lead a host to take him down. He won’t, not ever, but we’ve got your back if that should happen. And if the magic drowns you and you lose your head and decide it would be fun to try to take him out, then we’d stand in your way. We’ve got your back there, too. Everyone else?” He smirked. “They’ll rue the day they came up against the Dusky Ridge convocation. We’ll make sure of it.”
I put my hands out like a child, gladly accepting his hug now.
“But first?” I said after I’d stepped back. “I have to get through a dinner with my ex.”
“If you don’t mind my asking…” He followed me to the door. “Why did you agree to it?”
I shrugged, walking down the hall. “We got along just fine after the divorce. It’s only lately that we’ve started to clash again. It’ll be good to show Jimmy that we all get along.”