Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“Marcus, good to see you.” Standing, Stone clasped his hand. “Always a pleasure to see you, Roni. I hear that you’ve mated. Congratulations. It’s good to see a couple that actually suit.”
Shaya winced at the sharp dig, though she looked amused. “Dad . . .”
Tone indulgent, he asked, “Yes, baby girl?” She just shook her head.
Nick, from where he was leaning against the wall, scowled at Roni. “You invited him, didn’t you?”
Roni shrugged innocently. In the beginning, she hadn’t been too sure about Stone, since he hadn’t been very pleasant to Nick. But then Roni had come to learn a few things about Stone: One, he absolutely adored his daughter, and Roni could like anyone who loved Shaya. Two, he was a tough motherfucker with the soul of a predator, and Roni could respect that. Three, he actually liked Nick . . . he just also liked fucking with him.
Basically, Stone’s problem was that Nick hadn’t immediately claimed Shaya. And Nick’s problem was that Stone was . . . well, Stone. The human was an alpha in his own way, and he liked to think of himself as the “main man” in Shaya’s life. Of course, Nick was very much opposed to that idea, so he didn’t like Stone being around. But since Nick always found the time to irritate her, Roni wasn’t above getting a little payback. Pranks didn’t work on Nick, but a condescending father-in-law who believed himself to be the most important figure in Shaya’s life and persisted in calling Nick “kid”? He certainly pushed Nick’s Alpha buttons.
In response to Nick’s question, she replied, “I thought it would be good if Shaya had someone tough with her when we invaded the site. If Brunt gets out on bail later and gives us the info we need, we could actually need to leave tonight.”
“You thought I planned to leave her unprotected?”
“No, but I figured it would be nice for her to have her dad around anyway, so I thought Stone could stay for a few days.”
“A few days?”
Stone sank into the porch swing, arms draping over the back. “You don’t mind, do you, kid?”
“Of course not,” Nick replied through his teeth. His eyes flared with the promise of retribution as they settled on Roni.
Sliding his hand around to rest in the crook of Roni’s neck so he could massage her nape with his thumb, Marcus asked Stone, “How’s your mate?”
“Dying. That was her diagnosis this morning, anyhow.”
Shaya rolled her eyes, groaning. Gabrielle Critchley was quite the hypochondriac.
“She also informed me that she doesn’t want a big funeral. She’s picked out a dress, wrote down what flowers she wants, and even made a CD of the music she’d like to have playing.” He shrugged. “She’s nothing if not organized. So, Marcus, I hear my daughter’s mate put up a bit of resistance when you pursued Roni.”
“Just a little,” said Marcus.
“But you didn’t let it stop you, I see.”
“Not once I’d made up my mind to have her.”
“That’s good. Some males don’t hesitate in going after what they want.”
Shaya closed her eyes. “Dad . . .”
“Yes, baby girl?” Again, she just shook her head.
Suddenly the back door flew open, and Eli stepped outside holding up his cell phone. He pointed at Roni. “You! That’s was evil, Roni!”
She double-blinked. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
“Does your cruelty know no boundaries?”
“What did she do?” chuckled Marcus.
“Take a look. Take a long look at who you’ve mated.” Eli tossed his cell to Marcus. “Total. Fucking. Bitch.”
As his mate continued to brush off her brother’s insults, Marcus found himself looking at Eli’s Facebook profile while Nick, Shaya, and Stone peeked at it over his shoulder. Eli—or Roni pretending to be Eli—had posted on his wall at four-thirty in the morning: “I’ve got an announcement to make. I’ve found my true mate. Yep, turns out my mate was under my nose the whole time.” Under the post was a photo of a naked Eli curled up in bed . . . with a grinning Kent spooning him.
Shaya clapped a hand over her mouth, but she couldn’t hold in the laughter. “Oh, Roni, you didn’t!”
Nick gawked at Roni, his eyes glinting with humor. That humor disappeared when a laughing Stone slapped him—a little too hard—on the back. “Your sister’s ruthless. I like that.”
Shoulders shaking, Marcus threw the phone back to Eli and snuggled tighter into his mate, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I see now that I got off lightly.”
His expression pained, Eli continued ranting at Roni, “Do you know how hard it’s been, thanks to the last stunt you pulled, for me to convince people that I’m not actually gay, and it’s just you messing around?”
“Calm down, Eli,” interjected Shaya. “I’ll bet half those ‘friends’ aren’t really your friends anyway.”
Eli looked at her like she was dumb. “You think this is just about my friends list? Did you not notice how many times that announcement has been shared on Facebook?” He turned his glare on Roni. “I’m now known on a global scale as a gay, submissive, kinky, mated male recovering from an STD!”