Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“What’s on your mind, son?” Klaus asked.
“Nothing. Just remembering what this was like when I was a kid. Running around, gathering the wood. I used to love it.”
His father laughed at this. “Ah, as a grown man, you’re going to hate it. It’s a job that needs doing. I don’t want the pack to get cold this coming winter.” He stopped and took a deep breath. “It’s going to be a cold one. I can sense it.”
Dex thought about Casey. After the kiss they shared, he walked her back home. Every window in her home had been dark, and she had no choice but to climb up the back to her bedroom window. He’d waited until she was safe in her home, and then she’d given him a wave, blew him a kiss, and he left.
All night long, he had a fucking hard-on that had taken multiple strokes to get rid of. He’d even tried a cold shower, but nothing stopped his raging erection. Eventually he did get to sleep, but by then, it was time for him to get back to work.
“Dad, what is going to happen with Casey?” Dex asked.
Klaus turned toward him. “Nothing. Why?”
“She’s worried that she won’t be able to join the pack,” he said.
“Casey will always be pack, son. You know that.”
“What if she doesn’t turn?”
“Then she doesn’t turn, and come the full moon, she won’t change into a wolf.”
“You know what the pack is like,” Dex said.
“The pack is a lot more accepting than you think. Only a few little young shits who think they know best have caused her a problem. I know for a fact she is very much loved by everyone in the pack.”
“And what about her position as my mate?”
Klaus looked at him. “Are you willing to accept it?”
“I’ve always accepted it,” he said.
Klaus raised a brow.
“I did, I just don’t want to scare her,” Dex said. “I’ve always known.”
“Do you feel it?” Klaus asked.
“Yeah, I felt it years ago.”
“That is what is going to make your mating unique. Some people don’t know who their mate is until after they are mated.”
“Was that the way for you and Mom?”
“Yes,” Klaus said. “I was always drawn to your mother, but never like when we finally transitioned, and as you know, we share the same birth month, so our joining came at the same time.”
Dex did know his parents had been together from the moment they transitioned into wolves. He also knew his father hadn’t been with another woman. His parents had been young sweethearts.
He, himself, hadn’t been with anyone else. He was a virgin, and he knew Casey was as well.
“Will Casey know I am her mate?” Dex asked.
“That I don’t know, son. You’re going to have to ask her how she feels.”
Dex gripped the back of his neck after he helped his father stack the chopped wood. “I can’t ask her that. She is already stressing out about this. Is there anything we can do to help her?”
“Time,” Klaus said. “She needs time.”
“Can you not call on her wolf?” Dex asked. “I know you can force wolves to change.”
“That is a punishment, Dex. If I call on her wolf, it is going to be painful. Even more so than if she allows the transition to happen on its own.”
Dex took a deep breath. “So, all I’ve got to do is wait?”
“Yeah, that is all you can do. Wait it out.”
He couldn’t help but think about the old witch at the secluded cabin on the edge of the forest. “What about … magic?” Dex asked.
“No, you do not go to Lucinda about this.”
“Why not?”
“Because Lucinda will not meddle with pack business, and you will have a price to pay. Trust me, there is no magic in this world that would be worth that price.”
“What about for the protection of humans? You paid that price,” Dex said.
“Yeah, I did,” Klaus said. “Do you want to know what price was paid?”
Dex didn’t know what price his father paid. The pack thrived. They were safe.
“How many brothers and sisters do you have?” Klaus asked.
He didn’t have any.
“On the month you were born, we had hunters in the forest,” Klaus said. “Nothing seemed to be going right for your mother, with the pregnancy. She could only run, and one of the days she went running, heavily pregnant with you, she was naked. The men heard her, and then tried to go hunting. I took care of it. I always took care of it.” Klaus continued talking as he walked outside. “I knew hunters and humans were going to be a risk to us all. Lucinda moved onto the edge of the forest. She had lost her coven, and she wanted the protection of the pack, which I granted. I went to her, and she warned me that the cost of doing magic is … pricey. It affects you in ways you are not expecting.”