Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
She looked toward her mate as Drake, Darcy, and Lewis came forward.
“That’s Layla,” Lewis said. “But it states she’s human.”
“And immortal,” Darcy said.
“With the ability to control the five symbols,” Brandon said.
“What five symbols?” Drake asked.
“That’s not all. She could read this prophecy. In fact, she translated it.” Elle handed them the book and picked up the notepad, reading Layla’s words. “And so it shall be that the modern Alpha of the Northern Forest Pack, shall find his mate, and she must be human, as the fate of the world rests on her shoulders.”
“That’s what it says?” Brandon asked.
“That is what Layla read.”
“She can read ancient texts?” Drake asked.
“No. That’s the thing, she said it was in plain English. What the hell is going on? Are you trying to scare me? Layla is my friend but I have no idea what’s going on. Did you figure it out last night?” Elle asked, looking toward Brandon then Darcy.
Both men looked a little confused.
“You two did go to Layla’s house, right? That’s what you said, you had to talk to her parents about their petition to join the Northern Forest Pack.”
“We got there,” Darcy said, and then rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t remember.”
She looked toward Brandon. “Do you?”
“Nothing.”
“What is going on?”
****
Layla didn’t know how she had gotten to the edge of the lake, only that she now stood looking down at the water.
She and Elle used to come here all the time. She loved to be in the water, but in the last few months, life had gotten a little crazy. Elle had gotten mated and pregnant, not to mention the little fact of a cult intent on destroying them all. So, it wasn’t a good time to go out swimming.
She wiped at the tears that kept filling her eyes. Why would they play such a mean trick? What did they get out of it? Layla frowned. There had been nothing weird or difficult about the books. No strange language. It had all been clear for her to read. None of it made sense to her.
The sun began to set and she tilted her head to look up into the sky. The full moon was long gone.
“You’re upset,” Alexander said.
She spun around to look at him.
“I’m scared.”
“Why are you scared?” he asked.
“Because, I don’t know what’s happening.” Looking at him now, she thought about what she read of him. “You had a wife.”
“In my previous life. You’ve been to the files?”
“Yes, I’ve been to the files and it said you had a wife and a son.”
“They are long dead.”
“Were you in love?” she asked.
“No.”
This made her frown. “But if you had a wife, then you must have been in love.” It made no sense to her for him to not be in love with the person he was meant to spend the rest of his life with.
“Marriage wasn’t about love, not back then. It was about power, money, greed, and having an heir. My wife was nothing more than a business transaction. At the time, I had no choice but to sleep with her, because that’s what was done.”
“Is she still alive? Did you change her?”
“No. I didn’t love her, and she is long dead, as is my son. He grew up to take over my estate, meet a wife of his own, have children, and he helped to continue the family line.”
Layla wiped the tears from her face, hating that she felt so helpless.
“And you didn’t love her.”
“I have never loved a woman,” he said.
She rubbed at her chest, hating the pain his words had caused. “Right.”
“Layla, you look … panicked.”
“There is a section on me,” she said.
“Layla?”
“How can that be possible? A section in this book on me when I’m human. I’m not a wolf or a vampire. I’m not any kind of being but there’s a passage about me in one of the books. Why?”
Alexander opened his mouth, about to speak, but then his gaze moved past her shoulder and Layla felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Spinning around, she saw it, a creature with burning red eyes. His teeth seemed to glint in the darkness, as if they were glowing themselves. It was a large being.
“No!” Alexander yelled and Layla gasped as something was thrown across the lake. She didn’t move fast enough, and cried out as it hit her in the gut.
The moment she screamed, she threw her hands out. The lake seemed to suddenly lift up from its resting place, and then plunge forward.
Chapter Seven
Alexander carried Layla into Brandon’s house.
Her parents had arrived as Layla had pulled the lake from its resting place and thrown it against the creature. He doubted she even realized that she’d killed the threat. The creature had been a wolf, but it had gone rogue, feasting on human flesh, and making it mad. The five-pointed star had been inked onto its chest—the same markings Layla possessed.