Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 44804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Her head turns to face Caleb and she smiles as she says, “You’re going to make such a good father.” She leans away from him and gives me a kiss on the lips before looking into my eyes. “You too, Dom. You’re going to make a great dad too.” My chest fills with a sense of pride that spreads warmth through my entire body. “I got to ride you up here, so I’ll ride Dom back.” She pats Caleb’s chest and gives him a quick kiss on the lips.
“We’re going to be just fine, little one.” I say the words in my head and she meets my eyes, acknowledging that she heard me. I reward her with a quick kiss.
“We love you, baby.” Caleb kisses his mark before he shifts. I follow his lead and shift in front of our mate. She runs her hands through my hair before settling on top of me and gripping onto my fur.
“I love you too. Both of you.”
DEVIN
With my car parked behind Vince and Veronica, I kill the ignition. The rumble fades as he does the same and all that’s left is the quiet, dark night.
Neither of us gets out just yet … there’s a third party we’re waiting on. I check the clock and he should be here soon. It only took a few hours to get here, but I’m already missing my mate. Lev was pissed he had to stay behind, but I wanted him and the Betas to keep our human mates safe.
Vince is attached to the coven and I’m Alpha; this task falls squarely on our shoulders.
I glance in the rearview to see Alec park behind me. There’s a man seated on the passenger side I don’t recognize. I’ve never met him before and I’m not sure I like the fact that he’s here. A heads-up would have been nice. It takes me a second to register that he’s a vampire and there’s another vamp in the back of Alec’s car. I’m not sure why Alec thinks he can trust them and I’m real fucking reluctant to let my guard down.
This surprise isn’t something I would ever expect from Alec. Bristling and already irritated, I message Vince that it’s time.
I shut the door as quietly as I can and wait for him to walk with me to the edge of the gravel path. It’d be far too noisy to drive up the path. It would give our arrival away as well. They’d have plenty of time to bolt, so we’ll be taking it by foot.
Veronica leans against their car, eyeing the fuck out of the two vampires Alec brought. She isn’t subtle and I’m guessing she’s not too keen on the fact they’re here either.
“How many do you think?” I question Vince.
“No clue.” He takes a whiff of the air and adds, “It’s stronger than yesterday.”
“Just the three of you?” Alec’s steps are so quiet I didn’t notice he’d come up behind me. I don’t give that shit away, though. I continue looking down the gravel road and nod before turning to face him.
“I didn’t want our mates to be left alone.”
Alec nods and says, “Makes sense.” He takes a deep breath and motions the two vampires to come over to us.
“I want to introduce you to my allies, Devin.” He stares hard at me while he speaks. Allies? My spine stiffens and my wolf raises his hackles. I suppress his growl. These are not friends. Alec’s lip rises in an asymmetrical grin as my stern response registers with him that I’ve understood his meaning.
“They’re enemies, Vince.” I speak the words calmly to Vince so he can pick up what Alec has insinuated. The fact that Alec confirmed my gut feeling heightens the anticipation for a fight. Vince makes no outward sign that he’s heard me, but I can feel his anger and readiness to rip them apart. He calls Veronica over and wraps a possessive arm around her before murmuring something in her ear. I can’t hear what it is, but the two vampires huff humorously with thinly veiled judgement at Vince’s display of affection.
My eyes stay on Veronica, watching her as she takes in the knowledge Vince is giving her. She narrows her eyes at Vince and takes in a heavy inhale before nodding in understanding. He responds with a kiss in her hair.
“Nice to meet you two,” I begin and wait for Alec to give me any more clues or signals. The plan was easy enough before, but this adds a speed bump I wasn’t expecting and now I second-guess if the plans we had are realistic at all. Has our cover been blown and this is nothing more than a setup? We could be walking into a giant trap for all I know.
“This is Marcus and Theo,” Alec says, pointing to his left and then right. The vampires nod respectively. “Meet Devin, the Alpha of the Shadows Fall pack. This is Vince, and his mate.”