Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Tonight, the twins had gone to sleep in their own beds … or she thought they had. Until she glanced over to her right and saw dark blue eyes looking at her. She knew this cub’s name now, though she could only distinguish him from his brother by his pajamas. “Why aren’t you asleep, Roman?” she whispered.
A sweet, sweet smile, and then he held out his arms for a hug. Heart so melted by now it was just goo, she moved to sit on his bed so she could cuddle him, too. His hair was silky soft and still smelled of the shampoo from that night’s bath, his arms warm and unexpectedly strong.
When he let go, he snuggled back down into bed, blinked sleepily for a couple of seconds … and was asleep with cub rapidity. An adorable little snore escaped him a moment later, had her pressing a hand to her heart. She made sure his blanket was tucked snugly around him, checked one last time on the other three cubs, then made herself leave the room.
A hallway light glowed softly to light her way, but the rest of the house was quiet. Tamsyn had given her the room directly opposite the children’s, so she was soon changing into a sleep tee she’d borrowed from Tamsyn. The rest of her nighttime routine didn’t take long, and her body sighed when she hit the bed.
The bedding was plush and soft, and below the fresh scent of washing powder, it held the scent of the Ryder family. Impossible for it not to, when it was in their home that she slept.
Pack. They were her pack.
Their scent was comfort.
As was his.
The sophisticated, beautiful, dangerous Psy who’d saved her life, then brought her home. Cool and deadly though his scent might be, it didn’t scare her in the least. How could it when she knew beyond any doubt that he would never hurt her? She might not remember their first meeting, but the knowledge of who he was to her was there in their every interaction—and even in the infuriating way he kept on trying to warn her off.
Soleil scowled and turned onto her back to stare up at the ceiling.
Her cat prowled inside her skin, not happy at being so far from him, even unhappier about the fact that he’d walked into the dark alone.
She might’ve lain awake for hours had her body and mind not been shattered after the events of the day; the deluge of joy after the pain she’d carried for so long, it had smashed every one of her foundations.
Sleep crashed over her in a silent black wave.
She bit back the whimper that wanted to escape as her heavy eyelids closed despite her attempts to keep them open. With sleep came the ghosts of all those she hadn’t been able to save. They stared at her with dark, accusing eyes, their faces pale in death and their bodies bloodied and broken.
“I’m sorry.” A faint whisper before her exhausted body and mind shut down, dropping her deep into the abyss.
Chapter 32
Re: Query about the remains of Norah Mercant
As per standard operating procedure for deceased found in such circumstances, she was cremated within two hours of discovery. Her cremains are due for final destruction tomorrow. Please advise if you wish to collect and make your own arrangements for disposal.
—Bureau of Death and Family Notification Services (10 May 2059, 11:02 a.m.)
Re: Query about the remains of Norah Mercant
Yes, we will collect the cremains. A teleport-capable Tk will be arriving at 11:15 a.m.
—Ena Mercant (10 May 2059, 11:04 a.m.)
“Ivan, we have your mother. Would you like to bury her in our private cemetery? The authorities are unaware of it and she won’t be disturbed there.”
“Is she ash, Grandmother? She told me the death guard makes people like us into ash.”
“Yes, I’m afraid it was done before I was ever notified. You won’t be able to see her again. I’m sorry for that.”
“She wasn’t inside there anymore. She was hollow.”
“The respect we give to the dead is not to the hollow shells left behind, but to the people they were in life. And she was your mother. I know you’re angry with her, but that is also why such ceremonies are important: they allow us to create a line between what has been and what is to come.”
“She always wanted to see the sea. She heard about it, but she never saw it. Can we take her there?”
—Conversation between Ena Mercant and Ivan Mercant (10 May 2059, 12 noon)
SOLEIL KNEW SHE was sleeping, but she still couldn’t stop the dreams from unfurling. They always began the same way, with bloody claws ripping away the soothing nothingness of rest, to expose faces and bodies and a world that shimmered gray with fog.
It had been foggy that morning when it all went so terribly wrong.