Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Still grinning, Bracken explained, “He wants you to wear his mark with pride, not hide it. It’s a shifter thing.”
It was a pride thing, in Gwen’s opinion.
Bracken’s head tipped to one side. “A car’s coming.” He stalked to the door and opened it wide, looking all intimidating as he filled the doorway. “You’ve gotta be shitting me.”
Gwen tensed despite the note of amusement in Bracken’s voice. “What? What is it?” But Bracken loped outside.
Zander crossed to the door. His jaw hardened as a familiar vehicle pulled up outside. “Whose name is the next reservation in?”
“Derren Hudson. Why?” He cursed, and Gwen added, “I take it you know him.”
“Oh yeah, we know him.” And there would be no way that Zander could hide his involvement with Gwen from the couple currently exiting their SUV. Not when Gwen’s mark was clear to see and her scent was all over him.
Gwen stayed behind the desk as Bracken entered with a dark-haired couple behind him. More shifters, she sensed as they exchanged greetings with Zander, who then turned to her.
“Gwen, this is Ally and Derren. They’re the Betas of my pack.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Gwen.” Ally moved to the desk, emerald eyes gleaming. “So, is your B&B haunted?”
Zander sighed. “Of course it’s not.” Even if the place was sometimes chilly and eerie, and even if sometimes things happened that he couldn’t explain.
Gwen blinked at him. “You don’t think it is? Huh.”
His brow furrowed. “What do you mean, huh?”
She shrugged. “I just didn’t think you were the kind of guy who blinded himself to the obvious. It’s okay. Lots of people only see what they want to see.”
Zander’s frown deepened. “I don’t blind myself to anything.”
“So nothing at all has happened here that’s spooked you?” He didn’t answer, and Gwen smiled. “Thought as much.” She turned back to the Beta pair only to realize that they were both staring at the mark on her neck. Busted. Before they could comment on it, she checked them in and slid their key across the desk.
“What floor are they on?” Zander asked.
“Same floor as you.”
“I’ll show them the way.”
Gwen was totally fine with that. “Okay.” She cast the Betas another smile. “There’s a Welcome Hamper and leaflets with all you need to know in your room—Zander will fill you in. Hope you enjoy your stay.”
Ally’s mouth curled. “Thanks.”
Derren looked at Gwen, eyes narrowed, jaw hard. But at Ally’s urging, he followed Zander and Bracken up the stairs.
Blowing out a breath, Gwen turned back to the desk.
As the four of them gathered in Ally and Derren’s room, Zander folded his arms. “So, why are you here?” He sincerely doubted that Nick sent them as backup, given things had so far been uneventful.
“A couple of reasons,” said Derren. “Someone made an anonymous call to the police to say that Harley sells drugs at the club to humans. Even though it’s a club exclusive to shifters and all shifter territory is beyond their jurisdiction, the police turned up anyway. Nothing came of it, but it was a pain in the ass. Our guess is that the anonymous caller was Rory.”
His brother was such a fucking asshole. “You could have told me this on the phone. What’s your other reason for coming here?”
“Nick wanted us to check on you.”
Zander slid a brief look at Ally, who was sitting on the bed, looking awkward. “You mean he wanted Ally to get a read on Gwen.”
Derren’s brow arched. “I’d be surprised by how much that seems to piss you off if her scent wasn’t all over you, and I hadn’t seen that brand on her neck. At what point were you going to mention that you’re involved with the human?”
At no point, really. “There’s no need. It’s my personal business. It doesn’t affect the pack.”
Derren sighed. “Look, I appreciate what the human is doing for the cougar. I respect it. And, yeah, where you choose to dip your dick is your own business. But there are things you don’t know.”
It wasn’t just Derren’s words that made his hackles rise. There was something in the Beta’s tone that told Zander he really wasn’t going to like this. “What does that mean?”
“I asked Donovan to do some checking on Gwen. If you and Bracken were going to spend time out of your lives protecting her, I wanted to be sure she was on the level. Has she ever spoken to you about her parents?”
“I know her stepfather is a drunk who abused her mother.”
“Fucker,” muttered Bracken, who was leaning against the wall.
“He is a fucker,” agreed Derren. “And apparently the woman’s a glutton for punishment because they’re still together, and he still beats her ass. She’s a stripper. The strip bar is owned by Kenny Cogman, a seedy bastard who’s a drug dealer and a big sponsor of the extremists.”