Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
That surprised her but only because they hadn’t discussed it before. It made sense. She couldn’t imagine him leaving her alone. Heck, he rarely left her alone in the bathroom let alone the house.
Leah turned her attention to the three women watching her. They looked slightly nervous.
Olivia spoke first. “I want to get to know you, but I’ll have to do it another time.”
“Of course,” Leah responded. “We’ll do something another time.”
Olivia headed toward the front door.
Elias hurried over to open it. He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Do not step off this porch for any reason, understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I mean it. I know you want to help, and we will all learn to appreciate and accept your help, but this is a matter of safety. Damon will spank your bottom until you can’t sit for a week if you break this rule. If you scent something, you come back inside immediately. I’ll leave the door open a crack. All you’ll have to do is push it open.”
“Yes, Sir. I promise.”
Leah was mesmerized by her Daddy’s interaction with Olivia. Apparently these Alpha Protectors were bossy with each other’s mates, too. It was an interesting dynamic.
Olivia stepped out onto the porch and shifted into her wolf form. She lowered onto her haunches near the edge of the porch, ears perked up, gaze scanning the area.
Elias pushed the door almost closed and turned toward Suzette and Jezebel. “I’m glad the three of you will have this chance to get to know each other, but today is not a day for shenanigans.”
“Yes, Sir,” Jezebel and Suzette said at the same time.
He turned toward Leah. “You can show the other girls your nursery, play a game or something. I’ll make lunch. No plotting.”
Leah was amused. Apparently these women were professionals at naughty behavior, and Leah was more than willing to learn from the pros. Perhaps today wasn’t a good day to implement anything that would get them in trouble since there was a serious threat to the pack, but Leah intended to ask a lot of questions and find out what it meant to be a Little girl to one of these Alpha Protectors.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Leah led Suzette and Jezebel into her room. “According to Daddy, you’ve all seen my nursery before. He said he had very little to do with it because he was in denial about claiming me and let you three decorate and fill it with clothes and toys.”
Jezebel giggled. “That’s true. I guess he’s not in denial anymore.”
Leah shook her head. “No.”
“Were you mad?” Suzette asked.
Leah drew in slow breath as the three of them dropped down to sit on the floor in the middle of her nursery. “No. I didn’t have a right to be mad. I felt the same way. I’ve always been disgruntled about this entire mating process. It infuriated me that I would be forced into an arranged relationship as if I have no freewill.”
“Oh, wow,” Jezebel whispered. “I never really thought about it that way.”
Leah shrugged. “Doesn’t matter what I thought because it’s all true. We don’t really have freewill. Not when it comes to mating. It’s eerie though and kind of creepy.”
Suzette giggled. “You’re right… I bet you’re not happy to have all of us in your house when you’ve only been here a week.”
Leah lifted her shoulders again and let them fall slowly. “I’m kind of glad you’re here because I wasn’t sure what was true.” She pointed at their dresses. “I was leery about believing everyone would be dressed like me. The only thing that kept me from being overly skeptical was the fact that Daddy said you all picked out my clothes.”
Jezebel nodded. “Trust me. We all felt like surely we were the only Littles alive who were forced into a strange new life of deep submission. I was still a bit panicky until Suzette arrived. Luckily, the two of us were friends. We grew up next door to each other. I was relieved when we finally got together and saw that we were in the same predicament.”
Leah smiled. “Well, I’m just as relieved.”
Suzette grinned. “I bet you’d like us to leave now, though.”
Leah inhaled deeply, drawing in her mate’s scent. “Nope. He’s gone into some kind of uber dominant overprotective mode. I don’t think he currently wants to, uh…”
“Jump your bones?” Suzette supplied.
All three of them giggled so hard that Elias showed up in the doorway.
Leah turned her head to look at him. He was so large and imposing. Every time she saw him in a doorframe like that, she got a bit googly-eyed. He filled up so much space she wouldn’t even be able to get past him if she wanted to.
He narrowed his gaze. “What’s going on in here?”
“We’re just talking, Daddy.” She was surprised how easy it was to call him Daddy in front of everyone. She supposed it helped that they’d all called their own mates Daddy, too. After a week, it came naturally.