Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
She nodded against him.
“He drugged you with Chloroform. I could smell it in your house.”
“My mother?” she asked, fear causing her to stiffen.
“She’ll be fine. He knocked her out too; I suspect before he came for you. She was awake when I saw her.”
“She must be so scared…” Suzette muttered.
“Everyone is, Little one. When we get home, I will send word that you are safe. They will be so relieved.”
She lowered her hand to look up at him, confused. “Why won’t they be there when we get there?”
“They don’t even know where my home is, Little one.” he pointed out, his brow furrowing.
She took in his features for the first time. He was so handsome. He took her breath away. What would it have been like to meet him properly at the claiming ceremony. She might have swooned.
His face softened. “We’re not going to your parents’ home, my Little doll. We’re going to my house. Our house now.”
She gawked at him. Renewed tears fell. Her bottom lip quivered. “You still want me?” Her voice was soft.
He flinched. “Want you? You are my life. My world. Nothing could ever change that. No matter what that man did to you, you’re my mate.” His voice was filled with conviction.
“Where is he?” She suddenly wiggled in his arms, trying to push upright and look around.
“I don’t know. Not here. I followed your scents to get here. He must have left you and gone for supplies. I will hunt him later. For now, my only concern is for you, Suzette.”
It was the first time he’d used her name, and she licked her dry lips to speak again. “What is your name?”
“Brock.” He lifted her fingers to his lips and kissed them. “My name is Brock, but you will call me Daddy.”
“Daddy?” she asked, confused.
“It’s what the mates of all Alpha Protectors call their partners. It’s a term of endearment among my people. We protect the entire Drydus pack in the valley, but we protect our mates fiercely. You will learn to accept that protection, Little mate.”
“Daddy…” It sounded strange to her.
He smiled. “I love the sound of that, Little doll.”
“Why do you call me Little doll?”
He shrugged. “I noticed you sleep with a soft doll baby. Next to me, you will always feel like my own doll baby.”
She stared at him, unable to grasp everything he was saying. So, he had been in her room. He had definitely watched her as she’d suspected.
He held her arm out, pushed the sleeves of her shift up several inches to reveal her mark, and then did the same to his own arm.
She gasped when she saw the matching mark. It shouldn’t have surprised her. She’d known her entire life there was a shifter among the Alpha Protectors who would have a mark identical to hers. They’d both been born with the mark. Like two pieces of a puzzle. They had been destined even before her birth.
As soon as a female was born with the mark that solidified her destiny, a sketch was made of the mark and sent to the Alpha Protectors to be recorded and confirmed. The mate she would be destined to spend her life with was duly informed of her birth.
Suzette could tell Brock was older than her. Most Alpha Protectors were significantly older than their female mates. They had to wait, often decades, for their mates to be born and come of age. “How old are you?” she asked.
“Thirty-seven, Little one.”
Almost twice her age.
He shifted his attention to their wrists, threaded his fingers with hers, and pressed his mark against its twin on her forearm.
Suzette gasped as soon as the connection was made. Her entire body seemed to come alive. Her heart rate increased. She lifted her gaze to his, jaw dropping open, eyes wide.
He smiled at her. “Feel the connection, Little doll.”
She squeezed his fingers where they were threaded together. Strange things happened to her body. The same kinds of things that had happened when she’d touched herself in the early mornings for the past two weeks. But far more intense.
Brock pressed their combined arms against his chest. His breathing was labored as he held her gaze. His heart beat faster. It seemed to be in sync with hers.
“What…” She wasn’t sure what to say.
He lowered his forehead to hers. “It’s powerful.” Finally, he released her. “We’re going home now. I would have given you a light potion to help you sleep in my arms for the trip up the mountain, but I can’t stand the thought of putting you to sleep after what you’ve been through today.”
She shook her head. “Please don’t.”
“It will be a rough journey, Little doll. You need to hold on to Daddy and not let go. It will take us a while to reach my home.”
She nodded immediately. “I will.” She’d do anything to avoid another drug.