Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“How could that possibly happen, when you’d be doing your best to lure him away from me? You’ll want his loyalty to be only to you—don’t lie.”
Claudia shook her head. “No, I understand that it can’t be solely to me. But he can still owe me loyalty, just as he could pledge it to my father if he accepted him as his Alpha. I know that Bracken is tight with his pack mates, but I can also see that he seems to hang on the periphery of his pack now. He’s not comfortable there anymore. A fresh start would be good for him and, by extension, good for your relationship. You don’t want him in a place where he’s haunted by memories—good and bad—that will make him think of his family.”
“And your pack will easily accept a feline?”
“We already have a bobcat, so you’ll be around another of your kind. We’re very tolerant of other breeds of shifter. We don’t believe that canines should stick with canines and that felines should stick with felines. That is a narrow-minded viewpoint.”
Madisyn narrowed her eyes. “Tell me this: why are you so determined to have him on your team? He can help your image and scare the extremists that are on your ass, sure, but you don’t need him. Tell me the truth, and then we can talk about whether or not it’s worth us joining your pack.” Calling the she-wolf’s bluff, she skirted around her and went to leave the room.
“I was approached by the marketing team of a major TV company,” said Claudia. When Madisyn turned to face her, she went on. “They’re interested in giving me my own show. It’s an opportunity I’m not willing to pass up. But it will bring me a level of attention that has plenty of negativity attached to it. I’ll need my security team to be tougher and tighter than ever.” Claudia stepped toward Madisyn. “No matter what Bracken says, I don’t believe he isn’t part of the Movement.”
And then Madisyn understood. “You believe that if you have Bracken’s protection, you’ll have the Movement’s protection. Sponsoring them didn’t gain you that, huh?” It wouldn’t surprise Madisyn to learn that Claudia had tried seducing Cain before moving on to Bracken.
“No, it didn’t. Think of it this way. If Bracken’s part of my team, he’s not hunting with his fellow members of the Movement. You won’t have to worry about him going on missions with them. You won’t have to worry that he might one day not come home to you.”
Madisyn tilted her head. “I see it now. You want him in your bed, but that’s mostly because you were hoping you could use sex to control him. To get what you want from him. Only it didn’t work. And his rejection pissed you off, didn’t it?”
Claudia’s lips tightened. “I wasn’t planning to control him with sex. But yes, his rejection hurt my ego—I’m a dominant female, after all. And yes, maybe I wanted to show him tonight what he was missing. But that was dumb and juvenile, and I only cheapened myself in doing it.”
She truly did seem shamefaced by her behavior, but Madisyn wasn’t buying it at all. No, Claudia had realized that making him jealous was fruitless, so she was now trying something else.
“He won’t join my pack for me,” Claudia added. “But he’ll do it for you. And I think you know I’m right—that the best thing for him is a fresh start.”
Madisyn stepped right into her personal space. “The best thing for him . . . is to be away from manipulative users like you. I see you, Claudia. You might truly support the Movement, but you don’t sponsor them out of the goodness of your heart. You might be set on representing shifters everywhere when you go on TV and present yourself as the regular girl next door. But you don’t do it for our kind; you do it because you relish the attention. You’re not interested in Bracken’s emotional state or whether our mating bond fully forms. In fact, you’re probably thinking you can sever the bond with time, since it’s only partially formed.”
Claudia’s eyes hardened. “You’ve got me all wrong.”
“I don’t think so. But I do think you’ll go far in the acting business, if that helps.” Madisyn went nose to nose with her. “Now stay the fuck away from my mate. No more gazing at him, trying to get his attention, or attempting to recruit him for your team. He has no interest in you on any level—”
Claudia barked a laugh. “Oh, he’s interested. Initially, he only turned me down because he was set on making himself suffer, so he deprived himself of the things he wanted. If he hadn’t realized you were his mate—and Lord, he took his time coming to that realization—he’d have eventually come to me.”