Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
“You’re already planning to step up into that CEO role,” I told him. “I thought Kingsley knew that.”
“He does.”
“So is he trying to get you to hurry up about it, then?”
Austin took a bite, quiet for a moment. “I think so. That’s what I wanted to get your opinion on. I don’t see how I’ll have the time before we need to help Kingsley—assuming things keep progressing like they have been. We need to get your gargoyle team up and running. That’s a priority, especially because we can do it while I make this territory more cohesive. Another priority. A good portion of our new shifters are coming from these fallen packs, and they’re shellshocked. Like Brochan.”
Brochan, whom a lot of people called Broken Sue because of a naming issue at Elliot Graves’s meetup, was new to the pack. He was a powerful alpha in his own right, nearly at or equal to Kingsley’s level. His ferocity, though, was in a league of its own. You couldn’t blame him for that. Mages had come through and wiped out his pack, including his pregnant mate and children. Loss like that left a scar.
He was finding purpose again in Austin’s pack, with Austin’s confident and patient guidance. He’d challenged for beta—and won—soon after arriving home from Graves’s meetup. Mostly, he was thriving. The one exception was the night he’d attempted to drink as much as Niamh at the bar. They’d verbally sparred, and he ended up staggering out in a black mood, leaving her not even a little perturbed. He should’ve known better than to tangle with a Master Grump.
“And you said that Kingsley is seeing the signs of Momar’s people testing the sentries?” I asked.
“Yes. They’re gearing up. We need to be there before they attack.” He speared a piece of fruit. “I want his defenses to appear weak when Momar’s people test them. Then, when they attack, I want to hit back with an offense that will back Momar and his Mages Guild way up. And then I want to unify the shifters so absolutely that the Mages Guild will need to reassess who is really at the top of the magical food chain.”
“And if the other pack leaders challenge you for the title of CEO?”
He smirked, all confidence. “Then they’ll learn what it’s like to be dominated by the meanest alpha in the world.”
My skin pebbled, and my small hairs rose all over my body. The darkness within me rolled and twisted. I met Austin’s burning cobalt eyes and felt the world tilt. Felt myself falling into his gaze, my blood rushing in my ears.
I recognized the ruthlessness in his eyes. I felt in tune with the ferocity behind his words.
I meant to tell him that we’d obviously need to play things by ear. I had to deal with the gargoyles, and he’d have to strengthen his pack, as he’d said. If we had time to make some visits to other packs, great, but we definitely needed to knock out our priorities first.
I meant to tell him that, but instead, all I could focus on was the delicious heat unfurling within me and his strength and power. I was up and ripping off his clothes before I could stop myself. My gargoyle was fueling this frenzy, and I was inclined to let her.
THREE
Later that morning, I stood on the outskirts of a large field. Shifters crowded along the edges, two and three people deep. It almost looked like all the magical people in town had come to watch the challenge.
“Now, miss, let’s go over things again, shall we?” Mr. Tom stood at my side with his hands wrapped up like he was a boxer. He wore a dull green sweatsuit with blue stripes down the sides that looked like it was left over from the seventies, and a white sweatband around his head. To complete the look, he had slung a white towel over his shoulder. I was thankful he hadn’t brought a boombox and put “Eye of the Tiger” on repeat.
“Sure she knows all she needs’ta,” Niamh said from a few paces behind us, standing with the rest of the Ivy House crew, her arms crossed over her chest. “Look at all the space they’re givin’ ya, Jessie. Most’v’um know what they’re about, so they do. They’ve seen ye lose control a time or two.”
Across the field stood the female shifter who’d challenged me. The woman, half my age, waited with her arms at her sides and not a stitch of clothing on her. She was ready to shift and attack. It would have been less intimidating if I knew what animal would be coming at me, but no one would tell me. I had no idea why.
I took a deep breath.
“Honestly, lads,” Niamh went on, “what sorta gobshite challenges the alpha’s mate? What is she hoping to achieve?”