Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
“If you feel that way, why did you agree to come help me today?” I ask, exasperated.
“Because I figured you’d get busted for breaking and entering and need someone around to bail your ass out of jail.”
“I guess you were disappointed to find out she had roommates, and I didn’t need to break in,” I mutter, walking around the vehicle to get into the driver’s side. Sean jumps in the passenger side about the same time and once we’re settled, I start the vehicle up.
“Yeah, that’s it. Excuse me if I’d rather have my buddy busted on a B&E instead of something much worse that might expose us all,” Sean growls under his breath.
“You haven’t found your mate yet. Once you do, you’ll understand,” I promise him.
He just snorts, clearly not believing me. I put his warnings out of my mind. I have Grace’s stuff. Now, I just need to go make my apartment look like she’s lived there for a while. Once I do that, I’ll take some of her things to the hospital.
Ettie took her deodorant and personal items yesterday. I felt like a moron because I hadn’t even thought about doing anything like that. I’m sure Grace would much rather have her own stuff. As I packed up her tiny room, I took note of the brands and things. I’ll make sure to buy new for when she comes home to our apartment.
Our apartment.
Just those two words fill me with happiness. That’s another emotion that was foreign to me before I saw Grace. That’s why Sean doesn’t understand. If he’s lucky enough to find his mate someday, he’ll know. That’s when he will understand.
Grace should get to come home tomorrow. I’ll begin to show her how good we are together—how we are meant to be. That’s what I need to concentrate on.
That and how to keep Scar from finding her.
Grace and I are mates. It will work out. It did for Leo and Ettie, and they had obstacle after obstacle in their way. Grace and I don’t have nearly as much between us.
It’s all going to be fine…
I hope.
10
#7
(STARK)
I wanted time with Grace, but she was sleeping. I left Sean there to watch over her. I spent an hour walking through the hospital, hoping to catch the stench of Scar in the area. The antiseptic and medicinal odors were too strong. By the time I left, people were looking at me like I was insane.
Honestly, I might be.
Finding my mate gave me an infinite high—even with her running away from me in terror. Knowing that I’m having to lie to her doesn’t sit right. I resent it. If you add in the fact that Scar is lurking around here and my mate is in constant danger, you get a man on the edge. It’s getting to me so much that I did something I swore I’d never do. I reached out to brothers who turned their back on the rest of us. I’m not sure they will agree to help, but I know there is only so much Sean, Leo, and I can do. We need help. Our numbers are few and the threat is too great.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Sean’s not happy with my idea, but Leo is coming to the meeting with me today. I think he sees the necessity merely because he has a mate to worry about, too.
“This is hopeless,” he grumbles as we pull up to the edge of the Silver Run territory.
Castle Mountain is facing us, and I admit it is beautiful here. This is the land that Six and Eight chose to claim as their own. It’s hard on both of us to be here. We were all family. It was us against everyone else, fighting to survive in a world that was completely alien to all of us. The way our two brothers left drew an invisible line between us. It was as if in their eyes we were enemies. They choose to lump us in the same category as Scar or Draven. They see us as monsters, which I find ridiculous since they have the same nature running through their veins. They can view us differently all they want, but they’re wrong. I don’t believe for a minute that I’m a monster. I believe that I was made to love and protect Grace. That’s it.
We pull up into the clearing and I shut the engine off. We get out, our doors slamming shut within a mere second of one another. The noise echoes and bounces off the mountains surrounding us. There’s a chill in the air. It’s cold enough that it feels as if your lungs burn with each inhale. We meet in front of our vehicle. It’s a little annoying that the others aren’t here, but not completely unexpected.