Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 129756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 649(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 649(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
His smile widened, flashing a set of gleaming white veneers. “My name is Emmet Pierson. I’m an attorney.”
Well, fuck. This was just what she damn needed. Someone had snapped photos of her and Dominic together when they were walking down the street yesterday, and those photos were uploaded to the internet. Dominic—who was currently at the deli across the street getting them lunch—hadn’t been happy about it, concerned that Pierson would see the pictures and then target her in some way. She didn’t care that the bastard had approached her; she cared that Dominic would feel responsible.
Picking up on Mila’s agitation, her cat sat up straight. Hopefully he didn’t start talking smack about Dominic, because the feline wouldn’t handle it well. The last thing Mila needed was her eyes flashing cat, giving away that she wasn’t human.
Feigning ignorance, Mila echoed, “Attorney? Am I being served papers or something?”
“No, nothing like that,” he assured her. “This isn’t a legal matter. I was hoping you and I could talk. There’s a coffeehouse just across the street.”
Like she’d go anywhere with this asshole. “That’s not possible, I’m afraid. My next client will be arriving soon. Why don’t you tell me what this is about?”
He cast a glance at Evander, who was stacking shelves and looking for all the world like he wasn’t paying them a lick of attention, but she knew the male cat would be listening to every word. She also knew he’d leap on the fucker if Pierson proved to be a physical threat. Well, Evander would try. Mila would get there first.
“It’s regarding my daughter, Rosemary. She is a latent shifter; her inner wolf has been in a deep sleep all her life.”
Mila tilted her head. “I didn’t realize latent animals slept. I thought they were just unable to surface.”
Pierson’s smile went a little hard around the edges. “That is only in some instances.” He smoothed a hand down his black suit jacket. “Two articles were recently posted online about her devastating circumstances. Have you not read or heard of them?”
“I don’t keep up with the news. It’s all sad and depressing.”
“True enough. I will give you a quick rundown of the situation. Rosemary’s husband divorced her when she was unable to conceive a child, so she was already in a fragile emotional state when she came across her true mate. He could have made her so much better. Instead, he made her worse. Rejected her for being unable to shift. She tried to commit suicide.” His breath hitched just a little too dramatically. “She’s doing better. She started talking again, although she doesn’t say much and still spends long periods of time simply staring at the wall.”
Struggling to keep her tone even, Mila said, “While I sympathize, I’m not sure how this relates to me.”
Pierson took a deep breath and straightened the lapels of his jacket. “It has come to my attention that you are involved with a male shifter from the Phoenix Pack.”
“Dominic, yeah.”
“He is Rosemary’s true mate.” He threw out the sentence like it was a bomb, and her cat predictably rumbled a menacing growl, lashing out with her claws. “He didn’t just reject her, Miss Devereaux. No, he swept her off her feet and formed a true-mate bond with her. Then he threw her away. Perhaps it was all a game to him, or perhaps he couldn’t stand the weakness that she possesses as a latent shifter.”
It was becoming harder and harder not to pop this guy right in the face. Silently encouraging her cat to stay hidden, Mila said, “It doesn’t make sense that Dominic would ever hold prejudice against latent shifters. His Alpha female was once latent.”
“Then it was simply a game for him. He hasn’t even visited Rosemary since she tried to kill herself. Hasn’t expressed an ounce of remorse and refuses to admit that she’s his true mate.”
“And you’re sure that she is?”
Pierson’s eyes hardened. “Rosemary recognized him as hers.”
Mila shrugged. “It’s not uncommon for people to make that kind of mistake. They can confuse infatuation with—”
“It was no mistake,” he clipped, his tone leaving no room for argument. But Mila got the feeling that he very simply needed to be right. Needed to have someone to blame other than himself for what had happened to Rosemary.
Lifting her chin, Mila said, “I’m sorry, but I find it difficult to believe that Dominic would ever do the cruel things you’re accusing him of. Plus, if his animal was truly mated to another, I doubt it would accept my presence in his life.”
Pierson took a step toward her. “I came here to give you a friendly warning. This is not a man—if you could even call him a man—that you should want in your life. To him, women are objects. Toys. He has no respect for them. And he’ll hurt you just as he’s hurt others. If you have any sense, you’ll get rid of him.”