Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103681 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103681 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
It wasn’t until Makenna felt her nails digging into her palms that she realized how tightly she’d clasped her hands. Forcing them to relax, she asked, “Did they say why?”
“One claimed to be unable to offer any further financial aid. The others gave no explanation at all.”
“Either Remy paid them off or intimidated them into withdrawing their help.”
“I should have seen it coming.” Dawn sighed, her gaze unfocused. “It’s such an obvious way to make it difficult for me to run the shelter.”
“That’s not all,” said Madisyn, sitting on the sofa, her expression hard. “Some of the residents were fired from their jobs.”
Makenna blinked. “Fired?”
“They were posing as humans,” Madisyn said. “Their superiors were ‘alerted’ that they were shifters, and apparently those particular humans don’t want our kind working for them.”
Restless with manic energy, Makenna began to pace. “Remy had to have exposed them.”
“But how would he know their names or where they work?” asked Dawn.
Madisyn bit her lower lip. “We know he has people watching the shelter. Maybe he also has people following the residents who leave each day for work, learning everyone’s patterns.”
“But why have them fired?” Dawn shook her head. “It seems such an indirect form of attack for someone so angry with us.”
“It is indirect,” agreed Makenna. “So much so that you’re thinking it probably has nothing to do with him. That makes this extremely smart. Think about it, Dawn. A huge way that you make a difference is by helping loners get a job so they can financially support themselves. Without that, they can’t afford to move into accommodations of their own. Ask yourself what would happen if a lot of the residents couldn’t afford to leave.”
Dawn swallowed. “The shelter would become too full at some point, and I’d have to turn people away—especially since I no longer have as much funding as I did before.”
“Exactly. That would mean the number of lone shifters living on the streets would build and build. The shelter wouldn’t seem to be making much of a difference anymore. Also, loners living on the streets tend to stay in their animal form so they can better defend themselves. The humans would notice wild animals roaming around, and they wouldn’t like it—particularly the people who started that petition not so long ago.”
“The council wants peace. If Remy can present himself as the answer to my problems and the end of any trouble, they may very well agree to give him what he wants.”
“And we could accuse him of being the one to cause the problems,” said Madisyn, “but he’s attacking the shelter in a way that doesn’t actually look like an attack. The council would ignore the claim.”
A knock at the door made Dawn’s head snap up. “Come in!”
Zac strolled into the room. As he took in their solemn expressions, he blanched and every muscle in his body tensed. “They’ve found me, haven’t they?”
“No, sweetie,” Makenna assured him. “This isn’t about you. Remy’s playing games.” She noticed he was carrying a small bag. “What you got there?”
He cleared his throat. “My stuff. Ryan will be here any minute. I told him on the phone that, um, I’ve decided to join his pack.”
Dawn brightened. “That’s fantastic news!”
Madisyn did a little clap, but her smile was strained. “Zac, that’s great! And totally the right decision.”
Doubt crossed his face. “Yeah.”
Makenna put an arm around his shoulders. “Don’t second-guess yourself. I know you think it’s selfish because it could bring your old pack to their doorstep, but it’s not. Being there for each other is a pack thing. The Phoenix wolves consider you one of theirs. Ryan won’t let anything happen to you.”
Zac nodded. “I know. I trust him.”
She smiled. “I’m proud of you. It’s not easy to trust another person when you’ve been betrayed by those who are meant to look out for you.” Trusting Dawn and Madisyn had been hard for her in the beginning, but they had earned that trust with their kindness and patience. The truth was that she also trusted Ryan. She just didn’t trust the situation. She didn’t trust that smashing the barriers between them would reveal anything other than that Ryan was not her mate. Then what? He’d leave her life, and she’d likely never see him again.
Her chest tightened at just the thought. But if it turned out that they weren’t mates, it was exactly what would happen. Her wolf didn’t worry about that; she saw him as a permanent fixture. But Makenna knew how loyal Ryan was. He could view choosing another female over his mate as betrayal . . . and there was a chance that Makenna simply wasn’t his mate.
It would be fair to say that that didn’t mean Ryan would leave her. There was the whole imprinting option. But she knew from her research into his family that his extremely unhappy parents had imprinted on each other, that they’d always had a turbulent relationship. Such a thing could make a person determined to wait for their true mate, couldn’t it? And she just couldn’t shake the feeling that his true mate simply wasn’t her.