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)
Reaching for her phone, she hit the speed dial for Nadia.
“Hello?” Her father’s voice sounded groggy.
“Oh, crap. Hi, Dad. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I was calling Nadia.”
Philip sounded like he fumbled for something. “Oh. This is her phone. It was by the sofa.”
“Where is she?” Emily asked.
“I don’t know,” Philip murmured. “I fell asleep. The house sounds quiet. Maybe she went to get dinner.”
Emily didn’t like her father being left alone. Hopefully, Miliki stood somewhere near, but she didn’t want to insult her dad by asking. It was one thing to be ill from silver, and quite another to need a babysitter. “I was basically calling to see how you were feeling.”
“About the same.” His voice softened. “Em, you need to stop worrying. Take care of yourself.”
“I am,” she said. “I’m feeling better already.”
But was she? Her lips still tingled from Jackson’s kiss, and she wished he’d hurry home, but did she feel stronger? Not really.
“It’s only been hours, not even a full day yet,” Philip said gently. “Give yourself time. Maybe when the moon is full next time, you’ll sense a difference.”
“Dad, you guys really need to bring in new members to the pack. My illness should teach us that, if nothing else.”
Philip sighed. “I know, sweetheart. But Victor’s adamant against it. In a couple of weeks, if he survives the trials, his word will be law.”
She gulped. “What are these trials, and is there any way we can make them more difficult?”
“Emily.” Her dad barked out a laugh, sounding more like himself. “You’re not really trying to become the Alpha, so I can’t tell you about the trials. Unfortunately, we can’t make them more difficult. Though I appreciate the thought. That little bloodthirsty side of you has always reassured me.”
She watched the fire. “Reassured you? How so?”
“You’re smart and strong. I always want you to be safe,” he said, then yawned loudly.
She bit back a yawn of her own. “I’ll let you get back to sleep,” she said. “Have Nadia call me when she gets home, okay?”
“All right,” Philip said. “I’ll leave her a note. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” She set the phone down on the table. Man, she was thirsty. Standing, she walked through the hallway to the wide kitchen, searching the cupboards until she found a mismatched hodgepodge of glasses. She poured herself water from a pitcher in the fridge.
Jackson at least needed matching glasses.
Curious now, she opened the other cupboards and found that nothing matched anywhere. The contents weren’t antiques, either. It looked like he’d just picked up a bowl, plate, or cup during his wanderings and tossed it in the cupboard. Wait a minute. She recognized the plate with small violets around the edge. And the platter with little wolves. She’d been given cookies on each. So pack members had brought Jackson meals on different plates, and he’d kept them. Her heart warmed. There was something charming about the idea that his cupboard held patterns from many of his pack members.
A small ding echoed from the other room, and her heart started to race. That had been the alarm deactivating.
Jackson had returned much faster than she’d anticipated.
Finishing her water, she set the glass down and walked as slowly and as dignified as possible out of the kitchen and down the hall to the gathering room. Once there, she paused, blinking, trying to understand.
The front door was wide open, snow blowing inside.
She looked around. Nobody was there.
Her heart pounded harder—and not from excitement this time. Shock zapped through her. She had to get out of there. A hood instantly slammed over her head, the smell of garlic permeating her senses.
“Damn it!” she yelled, swinging as hard as she could with a closed fist. She hadn’t smelled anybody. The illness even took that away. A muffled “oof” sounded, and then pain flashed through her skull.
She saw lights and explosions of color, then dropped to the floor, her knees hitting hard enough for pain to ricochet up her hips.
Jackson’s face filtered through her mind.
Where was he?
The wolf inside her tried to awaken, and she focused everything she had on shifting. Her bones stretched, her tendons gathered, and then—
Her energy sputtered out.
She still couldn’t shift.
And right now, she couldn’t even see.
The back of her head ached, and she could feel blood sliding down her neck.
Darkness claimed her.
She awoke as something rumbled beneath her. Cold seeped into her bones, but all she could smell was garlic. She tried to move her hands but found them tightly bound behind her back. Fury burned through her veins, but the ache in her head was too much. Her stomach rolled as she slid sideways.
Oh, God.
This wasn’t a car trunk. Not this time.
She was in a helicopter.
Her knees ached. She tried to say something, anything, but no sound emerged. It was like her mouth had been stuffed with cotton. Pain flashed through her head, stealing her focus.