Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
“But you’re older.”
“You do know I was legal back then. As I am legal now. All wolves turn around their eighteenth birthday.” She sighed. “You know what, forget it.”
“I knew you were legal but that didn’t make it comfortable for me.”
“No one gives a shit about the age difference. We have mated couples with five, ten, fifteen, even twenty, some even thirty years age difference. Age is a number, it doesn’t account for feelings. And everyone is legal.”
Phoenix smiled. “And I guess when you grow up in a pack and you witness matings, seeing two people come together, it is only natural to them.”
Ashley stopped. “You didn’t grow up in a pack?”
“No, I didn’t. I was found wandering the streets when I was five years old. Thrown into a foster home, left to the system. There was not a lot of demand for a sulky five-year-old, and then as I got older, a young kid with a temper.”
“I had no idea,” she said.
He shrugged.
“You have no idea who your family is?”
“Oh, I know who my family is. I found them, hunted them down after I turned eighteen and the nice little surprise I got during the first full moon … that was an experience.”
He heard her gasp. “Oh, my God.”
“Don’t worry. I didn’t kill anyone and I was strong enough to survive, but after that, I had to get answers. So I did. I fought to earn money, and then I started to track down my family.”
“Was your mother part of a pack?”
He nodded. “She was. It turns out she had an affair. I was the result of that affair. Of course, she was pregnant with me before she met her true mate, so she concocted some kind of plan. She gave birth to me, handed me off to some human parents, and paid them to keep me. When she and her mate fell on hard times and the pack did too, the money stopped, and my ass got thrown onto the streets.”
Phoenix looked at her and saw the horror across her face.
“Don’t feel sadness or pity.”
“But you were a kid.”
“I was a moneymaker to the woman.” He shrugged. “I lost value and she got rid of me.”
“That is just so … awful. Nothing like that would ever happen here. At least, I don’t think it would.”
“No, I don’t think it would either.”
Ashley rushed in front of him holding up her hand. “I don’t want you to think this is anything other than … me offering you comfort.”
“You don’t have to do anything.” He stopped as she wrapped her arms around him. At first, he wasn’t quite sure what to do. A couple of the pack had taken turns giving him hugs over the years. He’d always patted them on the back, not exactly sure of the proper etiquette. This time it was different. This wasn’t just any pack member. This was his mate, the woman he truly wanted. The woman he’d rejected for her own good, but now he wanted her more than anything. Slowly, so as not to startle her, he placed his palm flat on her back.
“I’m so sorry for what you had to go through. I couldn’t imagine going through a transition without the pack surrounding me. That must have been awful.”
“I got through it,” he said.
“But that’s the thing, Phoenix,” she said, pulling away. Her arms were still wrapped around him. He loved her touch. “You shouldn’t have had to.”
“Then tell me why you want to leave?” he asked. He knew it was a bad thing to mention as soon as she withdrew from him, but he couldn’t help it. He needed her to see reason.
“Don’t. You know why.”
He took hold of her hand, locking their fingers together. “I know all the reasons but I also know that I’m here now. There’s no reason for you to leave or run away.”
“And you think this is an easy decision for me?” she asked, trying to pull her hand away.
Phoenix refused to let her go.
“Damn it, let go!”
“Talk to me.”
“You hurt me. You don’t even know what you looked like, do you?” she asked. “You were utterly disgusted. You hated the idea of being mated to me. You expect me to just forget about that? It’s been five years.”
“And I grew up and I’ve been living out there in the real fucking world, where a forty-year-old man lusting after a minor, a teenager, is fucking illegal! I get it, with the pack. I get it all, but that doesn’t change who I’ve been.”
He saw the tears in her eyes.
“Damn it, Ashley, please don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying. These are not tears. I will not cry, but I … I can’t just forget.”
“I should remind you, Ashley, you were the one avoiding me. Not the other way around.”
She shook her head. “You would have hated seeing me.”