Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
“I’ll bet you think you’re clever, don’t you?” sniped a witchy voice.
Riley cast Greta a bright smile. “Actually, I do think I’m quite clever.”
“It won’t last.”
“I’m assuming this is about Tao.” Done cleaning the floor, Riley dumped the wipe in the garbage can and then used another wipe to clean the excess powder from her fingers.
“I heard he moved into your room last week.”
She’d said it as if she’d shrewdly gotten her hands on classified information. “Well, it wasn’t exactly a secret,” said Riley, dropping the second wipe in the trash.
Greta advanced farther into the room, arms folded. “I also heard someone in your flock says you manipulated her boy into shooting his friends. It wouldn’t surprise me if it were true. Not one bit.”
“Ooh, wait a sec while I grab a pen. I just want to add that to my list of stuff I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about.”
Greta’s mouth tightened. “Has Tao asked you to imprint yet?”
Sitting on the plastic chair opposite the rows of washing machines and dryers that were lined up against the wall, Riley lifted her face to the ceiling fan. “Our relationship’s none of your business, Gretchen.”
“It’s Greta. And it is my business, I’m practically his mother!”
“Well, maybe he’d be better adjusted if you weren’t.”
“I wouldn’t be so smug that you have him if I were you.”
Oh, if only the hum and slurp of the washing machines would drown out the old witch. She briefly considered spilling the liquid softener all over the floor so she could watch Greta do an interpretation of Swan Lake. “As much as I enjoy our little chats—”
“If he has asked you to imprint, bear in mind one thing.” Greta leaned forward, smirking. “You aren’t the first he’s asked.”
An ice-cold fist seemed to punch into Riley’s chest. Her raven froze, watchful.
“It’s true. Taryn was the first,” Greta added with utter delight.
Taryn? The crone had to be kidding. Trey would have snapped Tao’s neck like a twig for making a move on his mate. The Alpha male took possessiveness to a whole new level.
“That was back when Trey didn’t know the hussy was his true mate—it would have been better for us all if he didn’t find out. You see, when she first came here, the plan was for her to leave after a few months of faking being Trey’s mate . . . and Tao was prepared to leave the pack with her.”
Speechless, Riley struggled to process what she’d heard. She wanted it to be a lie, but she could see the truth right there in Greta’s eyes . . . eyes her raven wanted to peck right out.
“So be smug all you like, but know that you’re playing second fiddle to Taryn. It’s her he wants as his mate.”
Refusing to reveal any of her pain, Riley shrugged. “Can’t say I blame him. Taryn’s awesome.” The crone jerked back with a frown. “What did you think I was going to do? Rant and rave and kick him to the curb? Oh, my dear, dear Gretchen, you’ll have to do better than that.”
Hearing a buzzer, Riley went straight to the washing machine and pulled open the door. The lavender smell of the detergent hit her face. She breathed it in, using it to calm herself and her raven. Ignoring Greta, she then hummed softly to herself as she began moving the wet laundry to the nearest dryer. Snarling at the dismissive act, the witch finally left. Only then did Riley let her shoulders slump. A wet shirt fell from her shaky fingers. It felt like the wind had been knocked right out of her.
Shock. Hurt. Humiliation. Disbelief. Each insidious emotion curdled in her stomach and made her chest tighten. She pressed down on her breastbone, trying to think through it all.
It was hard enough to hear that Tao had once wanted to imprint with someone. The bitch of the matter was that Riley knew that someone. It was a person she’d spent time with, laughed with, and gotten blind drunk with. And all that time, Taryn had known—hell, the whole pack probably knew—that Tao had once wanted her as his mate. It was humiliating that Riley hadn’t known.
Did he still feel that way about Taryn? She didn’t think so. Riley had seen them interact plenty of times, but never once had she sensed that he yearned for Taryn. But maybe she simply hadn’t noticed it.
Or maybe she was just being paranoid because she was looking at the whole thing through jealous vision. She loathed that emotion, but it wouldn’t fuck off. Had Tao ever kissed Taryn? Touched her the way he’d touched Riley? Somehow she doubted it. Trey surely would have otherwise killed him long ago. That only eased the jealousy a little, though.
Dammit, someone should have told her. Someone should have warned her so that Greta couldn’t have blindsided her with it. And fuck, was Riley pissed with every wolf in the pack for not saying a word about it. But then, she thought, of course they hadn’t told her. They’d known it might have made her feel awkward to cross the pack mate line with Tao, and they were too intent on bringing her and him together.