Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 128380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“Don’t whine,” Ingrid told him. “It’s unattractive on a grown man.”
Three males materialized, none of whom were pride members. Or cats. Or sane.
Alex’s uncles.
“Deke,” boomed Isaak in greeting. “You look well,” he said in his thick Russian accent, patting Deke’s back.
“You claimed mamba, I hear,” said Dimitri, briefly cutting his gaze to Bailey before refocusing on Deke. “You have my admiration and respect.”
Deke frowned. “Uh … thanks, I guess.”
Sergei melted at the sight of the baby James was still cradling. “Ah, if it isn’t our beautiful Galina.”
James sighed, his eyelid twitching. “That’s not her name.”
Sergei adjusted his collar. “It is fitting one for Ivanov wolverine.”
“First of all, she’s a Devereaux,” James reminded him. “Second of all, the name Aurora is—”
“Not suitable,” Sergei finished.
“Not Russian, you mean.”
Isaak cut in, “Same thing.”
James frowned. “No. No, it isn’t.”
Dimitri leaned into Isaak and said, “Poor babe deserves pity, having psychopathic cat for step-grandfather.”
James looked honestly close to punching one of the brothers—maybe all three. “I’m not a ‘step’ anything. Like it or not, I’m the father of your niece and nephew. Accept it.”
Ignoring that, Isaak patted Dimitri’s shoulder in reassurance. “Little Galina will have us. We will be there for her. She will learn ways of wolverines from us.”
“Mama will help,” Sergei threw in.
James gave them a pointed look. “That dysfunctional mother of yours won’t be around Aurora without supervision—I can tell you that now.”
And just like that, the chests of all three male wolverines puffed up in affront.
“Dysfunctional?” Isaak echoed in a tone that dared James to repeat himself.
The pallas cat lifted a brow. “Would you prefer I called her the embodiment of all evil?”
Isaak ground his teeth. “If it is really death you seek, dumb cat, I will—”
“Please do not tell me you are arguing again,” interrupted Valentina, appearing out of nowhere.
Dimitri frowned at her. “He called Mama dysfunctional. Can you believe that?”
Well, Deke could. From what he’d seen of Olga, the woman had a dozen screws loose. And she had no issue drugging her mate to make him stop talking. She made Bailey seem sound of mind.
Sergei sneered at James. “You disgust me, feline. How can you show no respect for person who birthed woman you tricked into thinking she is your mate?”
“There were no tricks,” James upheld, looking bored. “Valentina is my true mate. Let it go already.”
“Lies,” Isaak declared. “Nothing but lies.”
James slid him an exasperated look. “I’d ask you to be normal, but I don’t think you know what that is.”
“Enough of this foolishness,” Valentina interjected, slashing a hand through the air. “I am—” She cut off as Havana and Aspen barged out of the stairwell door squealing like little girls. The answer of why quickly became apparent when Blair chased after them like a crab, several of her limbs all disjointed—including her neck.
Bailey scrambled up Deke’s back so fast it was impressive—particularly since she didn’t even spill her beer. Looping one arm and both legs around him, she shuddered. “Creepy.”
Deke snorted, his lips quirking. Spotting Isaiah leaving a nearby apartment, Deke cupped his mate’s calf as he crossed to the enforcer.
A chicken wing in hand, Isaiah frowned at Bailey, though his eyes were lit with amusement. “There a reason you’re all the way up there?”
Clinging to Deke like a monkey, she replied, “Of course.” But she didn’t expand.
Deke took a swig of his beer. “Any progress with FindYourMatch.com?”
“Ooh, yeah, what’s going on with that?” Bailey asked the enforcer, who’d recently made the entire pride aware of his plans to enter an arranged mating.
“I was sent the names of three possible matches,” said Isaiah. “Each has what you’d call a basic profile and a photograph on the website, so I checked them out.”
“And?” prodded Bailey.
“One stood out for me.” Isaiah bit some meat off his chicken wing. “I had River do a little digging, but he couldn’t find more info on her than I already know.”
“What kind of shifter is she?” Deke asked.
Isaiah’s mouth hitched up. “A breed that will never fear pallas cats, so I knew I wouldn’t have to worry that she’d care what I am. I contacted her. We exchanged a few messages. She’s agreed to meet with me.”
So far so good, in that case. “When?”
“Soon. Tate will come along, as will her Alpha male. We’ll probably—”
“Dear God, will you never stop?” bellowed Damian, his face red as he glared at his sister further down the hall.
“Until the world accepts that I’m right about you and brands you the monster you are, no,” Elle yelled right back. “No, Beelzebub, I will never stop.”
Damian threw up his arms. “I can’t with you.”
Feeling his lips curl, Deke peered up at his mate, expecting to see her laughing. She wasn’t. Her eyes were glazed over as she stared into space. He squeezed her calf to get her attention. “Are you in a mental world of your own again?”