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)
Dawn turned to Andie. “I want you to know that you’re not the only person here who’s had problems with humans—not by a long shot. Being without a pack, pride, or whatever it may be means that loners are vulnerable to other shifters and humans. People often assume that a shifter would only be a loner if they were cast out by their Alphas. Not always. Some are runaways, others are in hiding, and many are simply lost after the death of their mate. Many loners here will be able to relate to your situation.”
Makenna tilted her head at Andie. “How did you become a loner, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Andie cleared her throat. “I was adopted by humans as a baby. My parents didn’t know what I was. When they realized, they kept me.”
A bell suddenly chimed, and Dawn smiled. “Time for lunch. You should eat with us.”
Minutes later, they claimed one of the plastic tables in the school-like cafeteria. Gwen was surprised to find that the food wasn’t bad. Thankfully, Andie seemed to enjoy it. When they headed to the water fountain after they’d eaten, Gwen asked her quietly, “Well, what do you think?”
“It’s restful here,” replied Andie, her voice just as low. “I didn’t expect that. It’s kind of nice not to be looked at with scorn for being a loner.”
“It’s got to be a hell of a lot better than the cabin in the marsh, but if you don’t want to stay, that’s fine.”
Andie twisted her mouth. “My cat likes it here. She’s intrigued by all the strange scents, not nervous. I didn’t expect that.”
“Why don’t you give it a trial run?” suggested Gwen. “Stay here for a few days, see what’s it like. If you can’t settle here, if you want to come back to the marsh, all you have to do is call, and I’ll come get you.”
Andie’s face softened. “You really would do that, wouldn’t you?”
“I would.” The girl had been through enough. Reaching the water fountain, Gwen filled a plastic cup and passed it to Andie before filling a cup for herself.
Andie rolled back her shoulders. “I’ll stay, give it a shot.”
“I thought you might.” And Gwen was glad, because she liked the shelter too. It was clean, secure, and well run. The people looked relatively relaxed.
Andie leaned into Gwen. “I wasn’t gonna say anything but, um . . . taking on Zander? Bold move. He must be a handful.”
Gwen’s mouth curved. “He has ways that compensate for that.”
Andie chuckled. “I’ll bet he does.”
“Aw, look, Andie’s smiling,” said Makenna, sitting beside Zander at the table. “That’s a good sign.”
Zander’s gaze had been on Gwen. He liked to watch her. Liked to see her big eyes light up. Liked to see that lush mouth curve, and watch how she used those elegant hands as she spoke. Liked knowing he was the only one who touched her.
He didn’t like that she was wearing a shirt that covered his mark, but he suspected she’d done it so that Makenna wouldn’t tell tales to his pack. He’d told Gwen that he didn’t care if they knew, that it was likely Derren would have told Nick anyway. But she clearly hadn’t been convinced.
“I think it’s likely that Andie will stay,” hedged Bracken.
“Me too,” said Dawn. “I’m relieved. She’s been through a lot, and she deserves to finally feel safe.”
“She does,” agreed Makenna, taking a little peek at Sienna Rose, who was now being held by Ryan. “Gwen’s cool. I have to say, I wasn’t sure if I’d like her.”
Zander couldn’t help but frown, affronted on Gwen’s behalf. “Why?”
“Her name’s Gwen.”
And that explanation was apparently supposed to make sense to him. “So?”
“So I know three other Gwens, one of whom is Ryan’s mother—I can’t stand any of them.” Makenna shook her head in distaste. “I don’t associate the name with anything good. Personally, I think it’s odd that I know several Gwens; it never struck me as a popular name. But now there’s yet another Gwen. Odd, right?”
Because she already knew people by that name? “I have an uncle called Ryan, an old pack mate named Ally, and my great-grandmother’s name was Dawn.”
Her eyes widened. “Really? Weird, huh?”
“No.”
Ryan grunted, seeming amused, but Makenna just rolled her eyes.
At that moment, Zander’s cell phone beeped. He fished it out of his pocket and saw that it was a text message from Nick: “Make sure you stop by on the way to Oregon. Shay won’t stop whining that she wants to meet Gwen.”
Tucking his phone back in his pocket, Zander looked at Bracken. “Nick wants us to make a pit stop at our territory so that Shaya can meet Gwen.” Although the Alpha female was good at getting her way, Zander hadn’t thought she’d win this one.
Bracken’s brows raised slightly. “Well, that’s a surprise. Gwen’s not only an outsider, she’s an outsider who happens to be a human that’s currently in the kind of trouble he wouldn’t want on our doorstep.”