Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 99285 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99285 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
“We do this on my terms, Cian. You’re in my territory. I’m all for helping you, and trust me, I get it.” I stared into his eyes, saw them glow, knowing mine flashed red. “I. Fucking. Get. It.”
All the Lycans were riled up at this point, shifting on their feet back and forth, the energy in the room growing exponentially. My boys were also getting worked up, the scent of testosterone and aggression heavy in the air.
“We’ll do this in a couple of days. Okay?” Of course I phrased it like a question, but it really wasn’t one. He and I both knew that.
He exhaled and ran a hand over his face, glancing over at Odhran, who looked like he was ready to argue and go toe-to-toe with me, but the stern expression on his face kept the Lycan in check.
And hell, if Odhran pushed, I probably would’ve let them go and just followed after. Now that I’d found my own mate, I knew the turmoil and rage Odhran felt. Because the very thought of someone taking Kayla from me had all sorts of psychotic, murderous feelings rising in me.
Even more so than normal.
But if we really wanted to take down this bastard organization, we had to be smart and work as a team. And if the Lycans went there now, they’d do something stupid. They’d use their strength and their animals to have a lot of bodies dropping to the ground.
“Yeah. Fine. Two days tae get everything in order.”
I nodded slowly, and Cian lifted his hand to gesture for the wolves to file out. I stood and watched them leave, Bear butting his head against my thigh until I reached down and scratched behind his ear.
Kane whistled when the last Lycan left. “Why are Lycans so fucking moody?”
“Their animals are feral on the regular,” I said without pause and then looked at Kane and Sebastian. “Then again, aren’t we all fucking primal creatures?”
The rest of my team were off to the side, their faces expressionless, each one of them ready for… whatever the fuck I needed them to do. Mayhem, menace… murder. For the next twenty minutes I went over all the logistics, all the plans on what the next steps were.
Once all that was settled I whistled for Bear to follow as I left the warehouse and headed straight to my female.
9
Kayla
I wouldn’t have been surprised if Salvatore thought there was something seriously wrong with me in choosing Sinner as our non-date/first-date destination. Because who the hell picked a nightclub for that?
We’d arrived at the same time, waited in line for only ten minutes, and now here we were, at the bar and waiting for drinks after we’d woven our way through the club.
Honestly I shouldn’t have come out tonight, but I had this awful habit of feeling bad about things I had no control over, and things that I didn’t need to feel guilty about. And flat out turning down Salvatore, not only with him being Sasha’s cousin but with him being genuinely nice during the small amount of time we’d spent together, and me trying to change the way I thought and how I felt… I knew I had to do this.
And as we kept glancing at each other and me giving awkward smiles—or maybe that was just me that thought they were awkward—the more I sat here, the more I wished I would’ve just told Sasha to politely decline.
Salvatore leaned in, and just as he was about to say something, his warm breath brushing against my ear, the bartender set our drinks down in front of us. I had opted for something nonalcoholic, a Shirley Temple of all things.
I took a deep breath. “I—”
“I know you’re not interested,'' he said before I could get one word out. I lifted my glass and took a long drink, but it went down the wrong pipe at his no-nonsense tone, causing me to sputter for a moment.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, my eyes slightly watering. He gave me a tight smile, not one that was judgy or uncomfortable, but one that seemed accepting.
“Caught you off guard.” He chuckled and lifted his beer up, taking a long pull. He set the bottle down but kept his fingers around the base, and for a moment I didn’t know how to respond.
Had he been able to read me that easily? Had I made things that weird and uncomfortable in the twenty minutes we’d been inside the nightclub?
He leaned in close again, and the scent of his cologne, which was pleasant and subtle, filled my nose and masked the slight aroma of sweat and alcohol that permeated the air.
“Thank you for humoring me though. And this was probably for the best anyway, seeing as I won’t be staying in the States long.” He pulled back, and his smile was genuine and gentle. He shrugged. “I guess all I saw was the moment and not the bigger picture, and guarding your heart is understandable.”