Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Elle placed the final pancake on the plate and was about to pick up the tray holding four plates when the door crashed open.
Lewis, one of Brandon’s top wolves, came crashing through the door.
“Are you the only two here?” he asked.
Layla dropped the syrup. The glass jar smashed sending syrup all over the floor. Elle ran to her side.
“What are you doing in here?” Elle asked, getting nervous in his presence.
“Answer my questions, human. Are you the only two people in here?”
Elle looked at Layla, who shrugged her shoulders.
“Yes, we’re the only two in here.” He charged in their direction and grabbed both of their arms.
“Follow me,” he said. The order seemed ridiculous as he dragged them both into the main area of the diner. Several of their customers watched as they were pulled to where Brandon sat. Elle cringed as his black eyes gazed at her and then at Layla.
“They were the only two in the kitchen, Alpha,” Lewis said.
“Bring one of them to me,” Brandon said.
Elle cringed and was forced to follow as Lewis thrust Layla’s wrist against Brandon’s face. She watched as the alpha inhaled Layla’s scent.
“It’s not her.”
Layla was pushed aside. Elle let go of the breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. Her wrist was thrust under Brandon’s nose. She hadn’t seen him since she’d moved to Grace Hill. He’d glared at her, and she’d vowed to stay out of his way. Her vow was stupid considering the small town, but she’d succeeded in steering clear of him until now.
Brandon inhaled her wrist. In the next moment, he pushed Lewis away, grabbed her wrist and bit down into her flesh. His canines were sharp as they sank into the flesh of her wrist. She screamed as the pain pulled at her. She’d never felt anything so agonizing in all of her life.
She fought to get him to let go.
Layla tried to get to her. Lewis stopped her friend with an arm around her waist.
“Mine,” Brandon said with a growl to his voice.
Everything went black.
Chapter Two
Brandon caught her in his arms. Her blood coated his tongue. The taste of her was amazing. He’d never had anything so good in his mouth. The need to claim her rose within him, as tasting her blood was not enough.
“What have you done?” Layla asked, screaming at him. Lewis held her back.
I’ve found her. I’ve found our mate.
His wolf purred in agreement. From a young age, Brandon had always talked to his wolf and felt a connection with that side of him.
“She’s human, Brandon,” Darcy said.
Staring down into Elle Smith’s face, Brandon understood the feelings he’d had when he first met her at sixteen. His wolf had waited until she was of the right age before claiming. Their laws were sacred, and no one claimed a mate younger than twenty-one. Brandon did a quick calculation and knew she’d turned twenty-one this year. He frowned. Most of the pack celebrated everyone’s birthday, but he couldn’t recall Elle’s birthday coming up.
“No one breathes a word of this,” he said to the room. Everyone in the diner was a member of the pack. They all nodded in agreement.
“Tonight’s the full moon, Alpha. You’re not going to keep her safe like this,” Drake said.
Brandon glared at his beta. He didn’t need to hear any of the problems that having his mate come to him on the night of the full moon meant.
“I’m taking her to my home. Is there a back entrance I can take her?” Brandon asked. He lived at the far end of the town, which lay next to the forest.
“You can’t take her,” Layla said.
Lewis muttered in her ear. The other woman sobbed. “Go through the kitchen,” she said.
“You stay and talk with Daisy, Lewis. None of this leaves the diner, understood?”
Once everyone agreed, Brandon carried her out toward the kitchen. Darcy and Drake flanked him as he made his way up to his home. She felt amazing in his arms. The blood from her wrist dripped onto the floor as they went.
“You’re going to have to bandage that up,” Drake said.
Apart from those words, nothing else was said.
Brandon kept staring down at the woman destined to be his. Her short brown hair was caught up in a ponytail. Some hairs had escaped framing her face. He’d seen beautiful hazel eyes as she stared at him in shock and then in horror. Brandon wanted to see those eyes staring at him with lust and pleasure.
Her heart-shaped mouth called to be kissed. His lips tingled with the need to see how her lips would feel against his own. He pushed the craving aside. Drake opened the door and Brandon went straight upstairs, placing her on his large bed.
Lori wasn’t around, which he was thankful for. Now that his mate had entered his life there would be no other woman for him.