Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“It’s not Hector, but I don’t think you’re going to be any happier about who it is,” warned Zander. “Harley’s mother and uncle have showed up. They want to see her.”
Jesse swore. “Have you told Harley yet?”
“I tried to call her, but she’s not answering her cell.”
“I’ll go home and ask her if she wants to see them. In the meantime, don’t let them in the main lodge.” He didn’t trust them not to steal anything, and he didn’t want any drama Lily caused to touch the pups.
“I haven’t even let them pass the border. I’m keeping them where they are.” Zander hung up.
Jesse jogged to his lodge, not looking forward to ruining his mate’s morning by giving her this news. He’d been extremely tempted to tell Zander to turn the useless fuckers away, but Harley would hate him making any decisions for her, so he—
Kim’s scent.
For fuck’s sake, was the female suicidal or something? He followed the scent to the rear of the lodge . . . and came to an abrupt halt. A growl rattled his chest as rage surged through him in a hot rush. His mate’s hair was a mess, her lip was split, and blood was seeping through the claw marks on her chest onto the torn T-shirt she wore. Kim . . . well, she was unconscious and both gagged and bound by what looked like strips of her own sweater. She also had claws marks on her face and neck like she’d been attacked by a feral alley cat.
Jesse clenched his fists against the urge to rant and rave at what had been done to his mate; he sensed that her cat was very close to the surface and not at all happy. If he released his own anger, it would feed hers. He took slow steps toward his mate. “Baby,” he began softly, “why is she trussed up like a Christmas turkey? Not that I’m complaining.”
“She came at me from behind,” Harley replied simply.
“Ah.” He knew his mate well enough to understand that she therefore wouldn’t have viewed Kim as worthy of a true duel. Harley could really have hurt her if she’d wanted to, but she’d settled for humiliating and mauling Kim instead. That humiliation would run deep for a female as dominant as Kim.
“You should probably call someone to come and fetch her.”
Up close, Jesse stroked Harley’s back, petting the tension out of her. His wolf snarled at the scent of her blood, pushing at Jesse’s skin so he could reach his mate and comfort her. Both he and Jesse silently seethed at the sight of her injuries. They weren’t bad enough to need Ally’s help and, in fact, would probably heal just fine within the next thirty minutes. That didn’t make him feel any better.
He made a quick call to Derren and explained the matter. The Beta assured Jesse that he would get there fast, which was a good thing because Kim then regained consciousness. Realizing her predicament, she muttered something around her gag. With the strength of their kind, she tore her bonds and struggled to her feet, cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” he growled at Kim, reminding himself how wrong it would be to strike a female. “You had no fucking right to touch her! I wish right now I was a lesser guy so I could rip your damn throat out!”
Breathing hard, Kim touched one of the scratches on her face. “She drew blood first.”
He jabbed a finger at the she-wolf. “You were warned not to come back here. You knew exactly what could happen if you did. Or maybe that’s why you came here. Maybe you wanted a fight.”
“You made a mistake choosing her, Jesse. I could have helped you open up.”
Harley tilted her head. “Persistent little bitch, aren’t you? And so very, very bitter.” Harley didn’t know if that bitterness was so intense because Kim had feelings for Jesse or because she simply couldn’t cope with being denied what she wanted. Harley also didn’t care.
“Three years,” Kim said to him. “It’s been three years of nothing from her, and then you claim her. You don’t even know her. Not really. I was there for you at the memorial, but you went to her.”
“You followed me after the memorial,” Jesse realized. He did remember Kim hovering around him, trying to comfort him. He hadn’t thought she’d followed him, though.
“Hoping to wear him down?” asked Harley. “Oh, now that’s just sad and desperate.”
Her flush deepened. “Says the woman who took advantage of a grieving male!”
“Harley didn’t take advantage,” said Jesse. “She took what was hers.”
Kim flinched. “Your true mate died—”
“I never said Harley was my true mate. I claimed her because she’s my choice. I’m hers just as she’s mine.”
“Even though she introduced your sister to drugs? Isn’t that the ultimate insult to Mia’s memory?”