Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 129691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Alex couldn’t imagine what a mind-fuck it would be to know that your true mate—the person who was meant to love you and make you feel whole—was such a sick son of a bitch. Bree could have become bitter. Resentful. Cynical. She could have spent her life raging at fate. She hadn’t. She’d point blank refused to let the matter define her.
“The hyenas seem convinced he’s alive,” Alex went on, “so I’m not so sure they’ll just slink away. It really all depends on how badly they want to contact him.”
“Anyone who’d seek out someone like Paxton can’t be good news,” said Vinnie. “He was bad right down to the bone. Even when he was a kid, it was obvious that something was missing in him. He never played or laughed. He just watched—all quiet and subdued. Does Bree have any idea at all what the hyenas want with him?”
“They didn’t say. I guess it’s possible he wronged them in some way, or maybe they want to hire him to get rid of someone. He was, after all, very good at killing.”
Vinnie rubbed at his jaw. “Do you think Paxton could be out there somewhere?”
Alex shrugged. “I can’t think why he’d drop off the radar—he’d need money to survive, so it makes no sense that we’d hear nothing about him if he is alive.”
“Lone shifters are vulnerable to attack,” Tate cut in. “But Paxton always had a strong sense of self-preservation. What do you think?” he asked his brother.
Luke shrugged. “I think he would have surfaced by now if he was alive, even if it was just to contact Bree, his parents, or siblings.”
“We don’t know that he hasn’t contacted his family,” said Alex. “If he asked them not to say so, they wouldn’t. Only Bree would have said something—she has no time for him.”
Luke conceded that with a tilt of his head. “We should ask the Cages if any hyenas have approached them. It makes sense that they’d try to speak with Paxton’s relatives.”
Alex slid his gaze back to his uncle. “I want to be informed immediately if the hyenas are seen around here again. I told Bree to call me if she sees them. But she’s more likely to call you just to be contrary.”
Vinnie tipped his head to the side. “You do realize she can take care of herself, don’t you? Neither she nor her cat have ever lost a fight—they’re both merciless little scrappers. She also has some omega tricks up her sleeve.”
True. Just as omegas were able to extract a person’s emotions, they could also amplify those emotions, causing said person debilitating psychic pain—an ability they were only permitted to use in self-defense. “That doesn’t change that she’s under my protection,” said Alex. “So if she does contact you about the hyenas, or if you hear from someone else that the assholes are close, I want to know about it.”
Vinnie regarded him in silence. “All right. But be assured that we won’t let anything happen to her. She’s family to us. Plus, she’s good at keeping Elle out of jail. I need her around for that alone.”
Alex gave a satisfied nod. “Do you know what caused the rift between Bree and Mateo?”
Vinnie shook his head. “She doesn’t seem to have told anyone what happened—not even Elle. I did push Bree to tell me, but she wouldn’t.”
“She wouldn’t tell me either.”
“To be fair, she’s not obliged to. I’m her Alpha, but that doesn’t give me the right to know every detail of her life. You, well, you’re just the cousin of a mate she’ll never claim, so it’s no more your business than it is mine.”
His beast growled at that. Alex felt a muscle in his cheek tick. His uncle stared at him, daring him to argue; daring him to admit that Bree meant something to him. Vinnie saw far more than others did. It was one of the things that made him a great Alpha.
Rather than play his uncle’s game and give him the satisfaction of a response, Alex pushed to his feet. “Remember to call me if the hyenas show.” Ignoring his cousins’ probing stares, he headed out the kitchen, made his way downstairs, and then left the store.
Alex walked down the busy street, heading toward the barbershop. As he approached the place, the smell of spicy aftershaves swept over him. The shop stayed open later than most other businesses on the street, but it was due to close soon.
Through the large window, he could see that Mila was cleaning her station while her coworker, Evander, stocked shelves and her boss, Archie, talked with none other than Mateo.
The moment Alex pushed open the door and stepped inside, Mila looked up. She smiled and said, “Wow, you respected my wish for you to visit me like a normal person rather than turning up at my bedroom just to mess with me. Careful or I’ll think you might be starting to like me or something.”