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)
The acrid scent of burning wood filled the air.
I took a step back, and my hand stopped smoking, as did the tree, but when I looked at the spot where I’d touched on the tree, there was a small circle with what looked like dried blood inside it, and it matched the one currently seared onto my palm.
“Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to venture out into the woods alone?” a grumpy male voice barked behind me.
I turned and grimaced. Jasper, the same man who seemed to perpetually smell like he’d taken a dive into a taffy container and forgot to shower. “Sorry, I thought I saw something, my mistake.”
“‘The woods are lovely dark and deep…’” He quoted Robert Frost with a half-smile. “You should probably get back to the inn. It’s too easy to lose your way.”
“What about you?” I asked.
“I know these woods.” His face tightened as he exhaled an annoyed breath. “After all, Benjamin owns them.”
I blinked in surprise. “All of them?”
Wait, wouldn’t that mean he could help me search for my mom? Or give me more answers?
“Yes, all of them.” He breezed past me. “It’s about to rain again. I’d get a move on.”
“But—”
He was still walking deeper into the woods.
“What about you?”
“I need the rain. I need the woods. And I’m not the one trespassing,” he called back and then disappeared behind a tree.
Sure enough, a big fat raindrop made its way onto my cheek, and weirdly enough, when I turned around, I noticed I’d ventured at least fifty feet from the parking lot, not the few steps I’d first thought.
I glanced at the tree one last time and finally made the trek back to the parking lot, getting soaked with each step as I walked back to the inn.
I was completely drenched by the time I made it into my room and yet again exhausted when I collapsed onto my bed.
The throbbing in my hand had stopped the minute I left the woods, but the circle was now burned onto the palm of my hand like a bad omen.
I told myself that it was a coincidence.
Just like I told myself that it wasn’t weird to touch a burning tree.
Just like I told myself my alarm clock didn’t cause sexy dreams about Benjamin.
I’d been around weirdness all my life.
I just hadn’t realized that it could get any weirder.
Welcome to Orca Cove.
Chapter Nine
Benjamin
Oregon Coast, 1664
“Benjamin!” Mother ran toward me as I held open my arms; her forest green hair hung down her back in a braid of flowers. I’d been fishing for the last two days, and she always worried I’d drown even though that would be impossible for a Wells. “You’re home!”
She collided with me in a hug and kissed my cheek, her amber eyes flashing gold before returning to normal.
“Missed you too.” I grinned, and then my smile fell when I realized what she was wearing, it was the ceremonial dress: a simple white with a matching coverlet for her head and large sleeves that almost covered her hands.
I felt my knees weaken. “Why are you dressed for a ceremony?”
Her eyes lit up with some might take as excitement when really it was trepidation. I knew her well. I was her favorite. The youngest. “Because she’s here! She’s finally returned, and you know what that means! It’s your turn, Benjamin. You’ll finally meet your match.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to say I already had, but mother was so excited and nervous that I knew saying that would just make things worse.
She reached into the pocket of her skirt, then grabbed my hand, placing the ruby ring against my palm.
“Moth—”
“It’s yours.” Tears filled her blue eyes. “And soon it will be your bride’s. Now hurry and get dressed. It’s a full moon, and the gods are smiling down on you!”
My stomach tied itself into continuous knots as she spoke, and when she returned to the house, I nearly sank to my knees and roared in anger.
The Matchmaker wasn’t supposed to be back for another century.
Why now?
“I thought I had time,” I whispered to myself.
I thought we had time.
I thought maybe I would be forgotten.
Skipped over.
But I wasn’t a peasant—I was more prince than pauper, the soon-to-be ruler of my entire clan—and one day, the Spring Court would call my name, and I would gain a crown on my head. I would be protector of the orcas, protector of the lands we’d been given, guardian of it all.
And in order to unlock my family’s centuries of power—I had to be matched.
I sucked in a sharp breath when I heard footsteps behind me.
I would know her footsteps anywhere.
Her breathing.
Her smell.
The very way she carried herself without having to look.
I knew because she was mine.
She would always be mine.
“You heard,” I whispered, hanging my head.
“I did.” Her voice was like a jolt to my heart.