Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“Yeah. I think it relieved her to know that being half human wouldn’t be an issue.” He was pretty sure it also annoyed her that he’d weakened her “I can’t stay” argument.
“It takes time to settle into a new place, especially if that place is filled with strong personalities,” Ally pointed out as she joined them. “You’re not exactly a relaxing person to be around, are you, Jesse?”
“Harley deals with me just fine.” Which wasn’t an easy feat.
“She won’t find it easy to fit in here,” Derren warned him. “I’m not trying to be an asshole. I’m just being straight. Her upbringing was no walk in the park, but she survived it. That tells me she’s strong. And I can see she’s highly dominant. Prides and packs have a similar structure, but she wasn’t part of a real pride. This will all be very new to her.”
“I know,” he said.
“She’s also spent a lot of years around humans,” continued Derren. “For her, moving to a pack will be the equivalent of a city girl moving to a small town. She’s used to noise, bustle, and privacy. We’re in each other’s business and have no real privacy and are out in the middle of nowhere. It might not bug her, but she might grow to feel bored, overwhelmed, and disconnected. She’s used to having a paying job and a purpose; she might not find a role or purpose here.”
Jesse sighed. “I know all this, Derren.”
“You need to also consider that she’s been living the high life for a while now.”
“She also spent a lot of her years living the total opposite of that.”
Derren tilted his head, conceding that. “So maybe she won’t find this so hard. But maybe she will. You need to be prepared for all of this so that you can help her adjust. If you’re blind to it, she’ll struggle.”
“You’re really not telling me anything I don’t already know, but I appreciate your concern.” Jesse turned to Ally. “There’s a rumor that Clive is the founder of The Movement. Is that true?” Ally’s foster brother, Cain Holt, was part of the group and posed as one of the leaders to give the true leaders more freedom and privacy.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I don’t ask Cain for details and he doesn’t volunteer them—it’s better for both of us that way.”
“Do you think he is?” Derren asked Jesse, putting an arm around his mate.
“I wouldn’t put anything past Clive Vincent,” said Jesse.
Marcus kept his voice low as he spoke. “I heard about what he did to the humans who killed his son. It was pretty gruesome. Even worse than what the humans did. But I don’t blame Clive one little bit.”
Neither did Jesse. The group of human men had attacked thirteen-year-old Michael with a baseball bat, a lead pipe, and glass bottles. After beating him almost to death, they’d poured gasoline over him and then set him alight. He’d died before the paramedics arrived. Clive had visited the exact same injuries on the humans when he killed them one at a time, calling it karma. But he also used a knife to carve “For Michael” into their chests before castrating them—this was while they were still alive.
Clive told the court that he did the latter because “they weren’t men” and they needed to die with the same indignity his son had suffered when they attacked him as a group, making him feel powerless and unmanned. It was definitely a cold method of retaliation, but Jesse had sought vengeance for his own sister’s excruciating death, so he was in no position to judge.
Hearing humming, Jesse turned to see Cassidy skipping toward them with Kathy, who was carrying Willow. “Hey,” he greeted. “How are you pups doing?”
Willow pulled her thumb out of her mouth. “They’re here,” she sang in a perfect imitation of Carol Anne from the original Poltergeist movie.
Shaya gasped. “Who let her watch that?”
Willow regularly spouted creepy lines from horror movies. Jesse was pretty sure Bracken was teaching them to the pup so she could spook people—he was odd like that, and Willow seemed to enjoy doing it. Eli, Marcus, and Zander shuddered every time.
Cassidy cocked her head. “Did you bring the pretty lady here?” she asked Jesse, biting on her lower lip, but it was clear she already knew the answer.
“I did, yes. You saved her. Thank you.”
Ally crouched down to her level of height. “And you did very well explaining the vision to us, Cassidy. We’re all proud of you for that.”
The little girl scrutinized Jesse closely. “You would have been very sad if the lady was hurt.”
He swallowed. “I would have been.”
“Are you so mad because someone wants to hurt her?”
Jesse nodded. Her Seer senses no doubt picked up on his emotions. “Would you like to meet her?”