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)
Smiling, Jesse gave her a quick kiss. “I’d have to agree.” He turned back to the scene in the living area, only to frown as Cassidy skidded to a halt in front of Cain.
Then the little girl gave the wolf a bright smile. “You’re here.” Like she’d been expecting him.
Cain’s brow creased. “I’m . . . here.”
“You’re early,” the pup added.
Looking lost, Cain said, “I am?”
“Yep. You’re gonna help me take off my jacket.”
Harley exchanged a confused look with Jesse, who just shrugged. The pup wasn’t even wearing a jacket.
Ally quickly stepped forward. “Cain, meet our little Seer, Cassidy.”
Understanding dawned on his features. “A Seer, huh?” He’d know all about them, having grown up with Ally.
“Nick and Shaya foster me,” Cassidy told him, swinging her arms. “I was staying at the shelter because the human family who adopted me gave me up. They weren’t very nice people and they worked a lot. I like it better here.”
Before Cassidy could tell him her life story, Jesse asked, “Does this mean you’ve finished playing with my mate? Because I kind of want her back.”
Cassidy gave him an odd look. “Dude, she’s right there.”
“Stop saying ‘dude’; you’re four.” Shaya chuckled, gladly taking her daughter from Kathy. “Hello, angel.”
Cain looked at Willow. “Wow, you’re a lot bigger than the last time I saw you.”
Shaya gently squeezed her daughter’s hand. “Aren’t you going to say ‘hi’ to Cain?”
Pulling her thumb out of her mouth, Willow whispered, “I see dead people.”
Shaya gasped and glanced around. “Who let her watch The Sixth Sense?”
Shoulders shaking, Jesse joined the others in shrugging, looking stumped.
“That was creepy,” Cain said to Willow. “Cute but creepy.” When a sociopath found something creepy, it had to be.
With a forced smile, Shaya put Willow on the ground and then turned to Kent and Caleb. “Maybe you should take the girls outside while we finish our conversation.”
Nodding, Caleb stood. “Who wants to hit the play area?” The girls jumped up and down excitedly. Harley stepped aside so that the two males and the pups could exit the living area. That was when Cain got a good look at Harley and froze.
“Cain, this is Jesse’s mate, Harley Vincent,” Ally told him. “Harley, this is my foster brother, Cain Holt.”
“Harley Vincent,” Cain repeated, eyes narrowed.
Chin up, Harley nodded. “That’s right.” She didn’t like the way the male was looking at her. Assessing her. Sizing her up. Her cat’s tail twitched as they engaged in a stare-out.
“Why didn’t you tell your father about all the trouble with Hector?” he asked her.
Harley cocked her head. “What makes you think I didn’t?” The wolf didn’t respond, making her once again wonder if Clive was a player within The Movement after all. She’d still prefer not to know for sure.
“Back to the subject of Hector,” said Ally, frowning at Cain. “Promise me you won’t get involved.”
“I can’t do that,” he told her firmly.
Ally rubbed at her temples. “The Movement has a true purpose. Assassinating assholes isn’t part of it.”
“I never said I’d involve The Movement. But I’m not going to go on my merry way while you’re in danger. Don’t try to downplay this, Ally. There’s no way he won’t suspect your pack is responsible for blowing up his homes. He’s not going to let that go.”
“We know that,” said Eli from the sofa. “But what choice did we have, Cain? He would have sent mercenaries after us when we refused to hand over our territory. Do you think we should have waited around until that happened? Waited for him to bring the fight to us?” Eli shook his head. “The first rule of every fight is to strike first and strike hard; that was what we did. I don’t regret that.”
Neither did Jesse. “This guy blackmailed us. He wants to take our home away. Well, now we’ve taken his.”
After a long moment, Cain sighed and his shoulders slumped as he muttered, “Sometimes vengeance is the only thing we can seek.”
Jesse frowned, pretty positive he’d heard Clive say the same thing once.
“The Phoenix Pack has been alerted that we may need to call on them soon,” said Nick, rolling back his shoulders. “They’re ready for that.”
Cain didn’t look appeased. “What if he hires people to bomb the land?”
Derren pursed his lips. “I don’t think he will. Hector seems to like the up-close-and-personal approach. He likes to witness his victims’ pain too much for him to stay out of it.”
Arching a challenging brow, Cain said, “And if you’re wrong?”
“If we’re forced to retreat, we can hide in the underground storm shelter that we had built a few months ago,” said Jesse. “The trapdoor isn’t easy to find unless you know where to look. We’d be safe there until the Phoenix wolves came to free us.”
“You’d also be trapped until they came for you,” Cain impatiently pointed out.