Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Arion stood her on her feet and patted the backs of her thighs. “Be good. We’ll be right out back.”
“I will.”
He lifted a brow. “Want to try that again, Little one?”
Her cheeks heated as she licked her lips and murmured, “I will, Daddy.”
“Good girl.” He rose, kissed her forehead, and headed for the back deck with his father.
When she turned around and took his spot in the armchair, she found Carina smiling. “Are you happy?”
Jezebel nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
That earned her a bigger smile. “Carina. Try it out.”
“Carina.” It still sounded too familiar.
“I know my son prepared for you for years. He was more obsessed than most other Alpha Protectors. I assume he had everything a Little girl could want already in the cabin.”
“Yes…” She forced herself not to add ma’am. “Things I didn’t even know existed. I’m still in shock most days.”
“I’m sure that happens with all mated couples in their first days, but it’s far more pronounced when you find yourself mated to an Alpha. The protectors are fiercely overbearing and dominant.”
“That’s what I’m learning.”
“The important thing is that you’re happy.”
Jezebel glanced down, wringing her hands in her lap before glancing at the door and then at Carina again. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Does your mate talk to you about pack things? I mean like his work and stuff.”
Carina leaned back and glanced at the two men also. “You mean like whatever they’re discussing right now?”
“Yes.” Jez swallowed nervously. “I know I’m the luckiest Little girl in the world, and I have everything a mate could ask for or want, but…”
“Tell me, child.”
“But I feel like D…Daddy,” she spit out, “has a lot of weight on his shoulders, and he won’t share it with me. And I want him to be able to unload some of the burden.”
“I understand, child. Yes, Talon does share a lot of the pack business with me. Though I submit to him in all things, and he has the last word always, we are more of a team when it comes to pack issues. If that’s something you want, I’m sure you can explain it to Arion. I suspect most of the reason he has not shared anything with you up to this point is because you’re in your honeymoon period, and he doesn’t want you to focus on or worry about anything except adjusting to your new life.”
Jezebel nodded. “Maybe you’re right, but also I’m worried because he talks on the phone a lot and paces and rubs his forehead, which makes me nervous because I assume something pressing is bothering him, honeymoon or not, and I want him to be able to share with me. I don’t care that we’re in our honeymoon period. Whatever problem he’s dealing with doesn’t care either.”
Carina smiled warmly. “You are a wise and perceptive girl, Jezebel. My son is lucky to have you for a mate. Talk to him. I know you can work this out. He may be fiercely dominant like his father, but he’s a reasonable man.”
Jezebel shifted her weight. “My bottom might not agree if I bring it up and he thinks I should be spanked for my insolence.”
Carina laughed. “That’s true. But he’ll come around, and I’m sure you would agree that there are far worse things in the world than getting spanked.”
Jezebel’s cheeks heated again. She couldn’t bring herself to agree with Carina. It was too embarrassing. But she at least commiserated and felt a kindred connection. She knew in the coming years she and Carina would grow fond of each other.
A huge weight lifted off Jezebel’s shoulder as she smiled at her mate’s mother. The woman was kind and loving and caring.
Jez was a lucky girl.
Chapter Twenty
As Jezebel stepped onto the front porch with Daddy to see his parents off, she realized something she hadn’t known before. There was no driveway. No car. No concrete to park it on. No garage. She hadn’t been out the front door a single time since she’d arrived.
“How did they get here?” she asked, tipping her head back to look up at him.
He wrapped an arm around her chest and flattened her back to his front. “In wolf form, Little one.”
Her jaw dropped as both his parents shifted right in front of her eyes before taking off at a gallop. It was unexpected. In the valley, no one shifted out in the open or galloped around town.
“How did you even get the supplies up the mountain to build your home?”
“Carried them, Little mate.”
She gasped. “Why not build a road?”
“The terrain is too steep, and besides, the main reason we don’t have cars and roads is so that we can remain secluded. It’s harder to find us. When an adult Alpha builds his home, everyone helps.”
She narrowed her gaze, dozens of questions coming to the forefront. “But you can’t really hide from anyone, Daddy. I don’t understand. Other wolf shifters can scent you from a great distance.”