Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
“Can you look at Daddy, Little one?”
She finally blinked and turned her head to face him, her eyes seeing once again. She frowned.
“My father and a few others are coming over, Little one. That’s what I was about to tell you.” Apparently three others, but Felix still could not scent them.
She nodded. “Why?” His Little girl had no idea anything unusual was happening.
“I wanted them to meet you, Little one.” That was true, but it didn’t even begin to cover the reasons, and suddenly there were far more important details about his Little mate than what he’d already known.
“Okay.” She leaned forward and kissed him without a care in the world. How could she sense the approach of shifters but not her own mate’s anxiety?
“Can I play the piano for a while until they get here?”
He frowned, confused. There was nothing sweeter in the world than the sound of his Little girl playing the piano and singing. He enjoyed hearing her nearly every day. But there wasn’t time for her to play right now. At least as far as he knew. “They’ll be here soon, Baby girl.”
She shook her head. “Not for another fifteen minutes. They stopped at Leah’s house.” Suddenly, she gasped. “Why do I know that?”
“I don’t know, Little one.”
“Did you know that?”
“No, Baby girl. I can’t scent them yet. They aren’t close enough.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “Why can I sense them?”
“That’s an excellent question. Have you ever had an experience like this before?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“What about in the last few weeks? Have you sensed other Alpha Protectors nearby or any other shifters?”
“No, Daddy. I’ve only noticed the bears.”
His entire body went rigid. “Bears? You’ve scented bears nearby?”
She shook her head again. “I don’t smell them, Daddy. I feel their presence. And they weren’t nearby. They were just out in the mountains. They’re always out there.”
“Why didn’t you tell me, Baby girl?” He tried to remain calm.
She frowned. “Why would I tell you there were bears? You know there are bears.” She pointed to his chest. “You said one of them attacked you last year.”
He swallowed. He needed to tell her so many things. He had no idea where to begin. Apparently he had fifteen minutes to do so. “That’s true, Little one. There are bears out in the mountains, but I never explained what happened that day. I wasn’t attacked by a normal bear. It was a shifter.”
She gasped. “There are bear shifters?”
“Yes. We only recently found out they were in the area. Before that, none of the living Alpha Protectors had ever encountered another shifter species.”
“So the bears I sense are shifters?”
“I don’t know, Khloe. They could be regular bears. However, the shifters can block their scent from us. If you’re scenting shifters, apparently they can’t block from you. But more importantly, I have not scented them in the area here before. I’m wondering why you can.”
She shook her head. “Daddy, I can’t smell them.”
“Right. You said that. You didn’t think it was odd you could feel their presence?”
She slowly shrugged. “Maybe I should have. I just thought my senses were heightened after I learned to shift.” She set a hand on his chest over his heart. “You’re nervous.”
He chuckled. “You just now picked up on that? You can sense bears and wolves in the distance, but you can’t tell your mate is freaking out?”
She cringed. “Are you freaking out?”
“A little bit, yes,” he admitted. He didn’t like this. It was unnerving. What the fuck was going on? “Is there anyone else out there you can sense, Khloe?”
“No. Nothing large. Just small animals like squirrels and rabbits. There haven’t been any wolves nearby until now. Just the bears.”
“Leah lives too far away from here for you to scent her or her mate or anyone else.”
“But I told you—”
He covered her mouth. “I know. I know, Little one. I get it. You aren’t smelling them. I’m just talking this out in my head. I don’t know anyone who can sense when guests are coming. I can scent them when they get close, but not from a distance, and I certainly can’t feel their actions.”
She cocked her head again, her eyes doing that weird glazy thing. “They’re coming now. Leah is not with them.”
He waved a hand in front of her face, wondering if she could be distracted from her vision and finding she could not. In any case, she didn’t linger long in the weird trance. She shook out of it and met his gaze with her normal sight again.
This time she was shivering. “Is something wrong with me?”
He forced a smile. “Definitely not, Little one. You seem to have an odd gift. That’s why I asked my father and a few others to come visit in the first place. I wanted them to see your other gift so they could go to the elders and inquire about it.”