Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
His gaze bored into me, unsure.
“I wouldn’t gamble with a child, Weston,” I told him softly. “Not ever. You’ve read my journals. I’ve always ensured the children had enough. They were always my first priority, and I always made sure Granny made good on her promises where it concerned them. I wouldn’t bring a child into my world, not even to save my life. I wouldn’t pass this curse on to another.”
He flinched, his eyes flickering. Then he nodded.
“Good.” I turned toward the cart. “because that tea is gross as fuck.”
Chapter 20
Weston
Her admission felt like a gut punch. It was a hard dose of reality.
I’d always wanted kids. Maybe not right now, as I was still helping to build the kingdom and flesh out the pack, but . . . someday. I’d always thought I’d find someone compatible, who’d complement me and who I’d complement in return. A partner.
Here I stood, looking at my true mate, and the barrier between us was as insurmountable as ever. It had never been clearer than when she said she wouldn’t dare have my child. That thought had me withering away. It curdled my stomach. I hadn’t even been thinking along those lines, but now that I had, this situation was ten times bleaker.
“Get this done,” I growled, standing too rigid. Feeling too rigid. I didn’t want this duty anymore. I didn’t want to be dealing with any of this. I wanted to go home and pretend like none of this had ever happened.
I couldn’t, though. Nor could I pretend that settling for an imperfect fit would ever be enough. After having met Aurelia, I knew that it wouldn’t. I’d never met someone so . . . intoxicating. No one’s touch had ever felt as perfect. No one had yelled at me with such fervor, or spent an entire day so thoroughly ignoring me. No one had ever dared to. I liked that Aurelia wouldn’t give in when she’d hit her limit. I liked that my power and position had no bearing on her.
I also liked how soft she could be, how pliant, letting me dominate when I needed to. I liked when she melted around me as though she couldn’t help herself, and how she gave in to her primal need even though she clearly wanted to throttle me. I just wished we could see eye-to-eye. She wouldn’t backpedal. She wouldn’t apologize for the drugs she had created. She had no remorse. The dragons would never grant her a pardon if she saw no blame in her creations.
Now here we were. I was going to allow my pack member to sample that product while a threat possibly existed somewhere out in the woods. Tanix and I had scouted the area. We’d found scents and followed them until it was clear they had taken off, but still, that didn’t mean they were done. They could double-back at any time. Had I lost my fucking mind?
But what choice did I have? We needed to see if I could form a bond with a wolf after they had ingested those tabs. Our strategy for protecting ourselves depended on it.
At least we had the healing elixir from Finley and her brother Hannon. We didn’t have much, but if something happened to Hadriel, we should be able to pull him out of it.
Aurelia looked in the cart. “Granny said she’d name the pregnancy one. I just called it Project X.”
“I like it.” Hadriel finished his glass of wine. “Which one is the hallucinogenic one? I want to try that one.”
Aurelia turned but I stopped her with, “Just the relaxant.”
“Poo,” Hadriel grumbled as Aurelia stepped aside.
Her eyebrows climbed slowly. “Well? What are we waiting for? I’m the hostage—I shouldn’t have to pull the crate out.”
“Right you are. Here, hostage, have some more wine.” Hadriel stepped up with the wine bottle.
“Dante, Sixten, get the crates,” I said, stepping aside. “What’s the name of the relaxant?” I asked Aurelia.
She frowned at me. “I thought you were supposed to be the expert on the horrors of my product. Don’t you know their names?”
“I know their market names, yes. What did you call them?”
Her frown increased. “They should be the same. Granny never asked me to change my labels.”
I sighed. “Did you turn a blind eye to literally everything outside of your little bubble?”
“We talked about this,” my wolf admonished as Aurelia said, “Uh, yes. I focus on doing my job. When the product is finished, I hand it over. I’m not the manager of this outfit, I’m the worker bee.”
“And you didn’t know Granny had changed all the names?”
“No.” She looked into the cart again, squinting with the dying light, trying to see through the encroaching gloom of the forest. “I wonder why . . .?”
“Tanix, run and get her lantern to help her see. She can pick them out for us.”