Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“Word on the street is you’re working for the vampires. Not just any vampire. The king of the vampires.”
I growl in answer. I don’t like people knowing my business.
“Is it true? You’re employed by the king?”
“The king and I have an arrangement,” I tell him. I don’t know why—I don’t answer to him. But I need Declan as an ally.
“The wolves aren’t likin’ it,” Declan goes on lecturing me about vampire/shifter politics. “The treaty’s still new but some shifters feel you’ve chosen sides. And anyone sidin’ with the vampires isn’t tae be trusted—”
“You gonna meet me at the Fight Club or not?”
Silence.
“Declan…”
“Sure, sure. I’ll see ya then. Keep your panties on.”
I growl again and hang up. Head to the door to lock up and check my security system. Vampires don’t hunt during the day, but they have money and money buys lackeys. When I’m satisfied everything’s locked down tight, I head back to bed. Day’s shaping up to be full, even without dealing with my rescue. The thought of her makes me soften, and I tread lighter so I won’t wake her. I’m not gonna touch her, just lie beside her.
But when I get to my bedroom, the blankets are on the floor. The glass of juice is drained, empty like my bed. My fox is gone.
Chapter 3
Jordy
I crouch behind the blue truck, holding my breath. When I woke, I was so disoriented, I thought I had crawled out of my cage and lain down on a bed in my master’s house. I was up and out from under the covers like they burned me. No telling what Augustine would do if he caught me taking luxuries he didn’t dole out. He’s not bad as far as masters go, but he definitely likes complete control.
The big male who took me away on the other hand…I don’t know what he wants. He was there in the club. And later, in the house, his footsteps approached slowly while I shivered in the cage. The heat of his anger washed over me and my fox reacted the opposite of how she felt when faced with other angry dominants. Submissive, not fearful, but free and easy, as if his anger was a warm den I could curl up in and hide.
Then I literally woke up in his den. Master Augustine will loan me out, share me, send me as a package to stay overnight with someone he wants to reward—but all those times were with vampires. Even the time when—
Don’t think about that.
Master Augustine never loaned me out to a shifter before. As far as I know, he disdains shifters, even though he owns one as his submissive. I shouldn’t be here. The longer I stay, the angrier my master will be. I have to go, no matter how good the bear makes me feel.
I’m not just worried about punishment at the hands of my master now. I’m worried about my life. Augustine is to be feared, especially when he believes he’s been betrayed.
And then there’s what the big bear said on the phone a second before I snuck past: The king and I have an arrangement. That should be enough reason to leave. No shifter tangles with a vampire and wins, but this guy sounds like he’s struck a bargain with one. If there ever was a sign I should skedaddle, that’d be it. I can’t get involved with vampire turf wars. My master won’t like it. I’ve got to get back to him and explain what happened. I’m not even sure what happened, but maybe on my way back I can think of something.
I peer over the truck bed back at the house. It looks like a long box, one half stuck in the mountain and dark as a basement, the other half—the kitchen and large living room sticking out of the red rock. Big picture windows and a stunning view. Light, lots of it. I noticed as I was leaving. I even thought I wouldn’t mind claiming it as a den.
My fox is stalling.
I just have to take off down the long drive, except that’d be the most obvious escape route.
Maybe I can climb down the mountain. I go to the edge and look over all the red stone. My fox might blend right in.
I take a step and a big hand closes on my nape.
“Gotcha,” the bear growls. He moves quiet for such a big guy.
My body jerks once, my feet scrambling uselessly. The big man turns me to face him, clamping me to his hard body and I go limp. All the fight goes out of me, submission so programmed into me I hardly know how to resist. But if truth be told, I’m relieved to be caught. I’d rather be enslaved to this grizzly bear than with a cold, punitive Augustine any day. Not that I think he’s enslaving me. There’s way too much kindness in him for that. He believes he’s protecting me, helping me. He just doesn’t know how ruthless Augustine can be. What he’ll do when he gets me back.