Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“And you’re just now telling me this?” Aengus roared. “Do you know the penalty for taking blood from an immortal?”
“Torture, death.” I nodded. “I’m aware, so why would Jasper risk it?”
“Why would Jasper risk what?” Luna strolled into the room, very much smelling like sex, even though I could tell she’d taken a shower and used soap. It was impossible for her pheromones not to seep through her pores and float toward me with an intensity that nearly knocked me off my feet.
“Deep breaths,” Aengus said in an undertone as my nails dug into the arms of the chair, piercing the leather. “Ben and I were just discussing the monsters in the basement. Apparently, Jasper’s been a very bad boy, and I’m truly curious why he would risk his life and his immortality…”
Luna’s eyes bugged out of her head. I almost laughed out loud, only because I knew that look. It never changed; she was trying to process, and the only reason she was probably able to even manage the load of crazy information was because of how strong she was—how strong she’d always been. “Phew, um, okay, I’ll just try to ignore all the elephants in the room and channel my inner book genius to figure his motive out. You just need to think about the man himself. What means the most to him? What does he want? What drives him? As a reader, that’s what intrigues me, the why, that’s how you get the story. We’re all driven by something—lust, money, power… love.” Her eyes filled with excitement as they flickered away from mine. I loved her like this. Alive. “So, what does Jasper want?”
Aengus held up his hands. “He has money. As for power, he has plenty of that, considering he’s worked with our family for centuries. So that leaves us with lust and love.”
“Two very different emotions.” Luna frowned and started to pace. “What exactly did you find in the basement?”
I opened my mouth and shut it again.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her.
I just didn’t want her to see the bad sides of our kind, the negative, the bloodthirsty monsters who stopped at nothing to get what we want. I knew that she would eventually regain all her memories, but for now, I figured any more shock would cause more damage than good.
Maybe Jasper had been bitten and was trying to find a way to revoke the werewolf curse?
“You’re thinking awfully hard,” Aengus muttered.
“Sorry.” I stood and started to pace, just like Luna, and then an idea formed. “Aengus, can you still do a sleeping spell?”
He rolled his eyes. “Blindfolded, why?”
I grinned, ready to pull him in for a hug. “Jasper should be here in the next twenty minutes. His schedule’s like clockwork. Can you—”
“Already on it.” He rubbed his hands together as little flickers of blue flame lit up like he was making his own electricity.
Luna’s eyes locked on the sparks. “Can I do that? Or, I mean, original me? Old me? Sorry, it’s weird referring to myself like—” She waved her trembling hands. “That.”
I pressed my lips together in an effort not to smile at how adorable she got when she was uncomfortable. I wanted to kiss the red on her cheeks, then bury my hands in her hair and make promises I had no way of keeping.
For having only repressed memories and a few hours to process, she was doing lovely—but that was Luna. Lovely to her very core.
“Actually…” I cleared my throat. “You liked to make ice and were extremely good at snowball fights.”
She laughed. Gods, I could spend a lifetime hearing her laugh and the way it filled a room with its warmth. “Sounds about right…”
I wanted to tell her that I would do anything to see her throw her head back and laugh while she formed snowballs and chased me.
Back when things were easy.
Back when our love hadn’t started a war.
Back when our love wasn’t cursed.
I shook my head. “Luna, you’ll go with me down into the basement. Two heads are better than one. Aengus, you join us once you’ve enspelled him.”
“Done.”
The sound of the front door closing at least ten minutes later had us all looking up from our books, and Luna gave me a curt nod and pretended to fall asleep in her chair.
I was immersed in my book, or so it appeared, while Aengus hid behind the door waiting for Jasper to come in.
Two knocks sounded, and then Jasper was poking his head in. “Did you need anything before I—”
The sparks exploded in front of his face, and then he was slumping over. Aengus caught him before he hit the floor and chipped a tooth. “I’ll take him to his room and see you guys in a few minutes.”
“Great.” I tossed the book down. “How long do we have?”