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)
Harley ignored her, which seemed to only increase her frustration. Harley suspected the woman would snap at some point and spout whatever was on her mind. How tedious. Jesse also ignored it. He focused on Harley, constantly touching her—stroking her hair, holding her hand, tracing her claiming mark, or curving his arm around her to run his fingers along her collarbone.
She’d expected Jesse to be possessive, but she hadn’t expected him to be so blatant about it. Shifters were easy about touch when it came to people they trusted, but she’d never known Jesse to be touchy-feely. Of course, the constant touching was also a protective display. He was communicating to every wolf in that room that she wasn’t to be harmed, verbally or physically. It was . . . nice. She wasn’t used to nice when it came to relationships. She was used to assholes.
It was a shame that the dog wasn’t around, since at least he liked her. But apparently Bruce went roaming for days at a time.
Leaning back in his chair, Derren spoke to Jesse. “You wasted no time in claiming Harley, did you?”
Jesse blinked. “Why would I?”
Ally chuckled. “Why indeed.”
Derren’s gaze cut to Harley. “You don’t seem to have returned the claim. But I’m guessing, since you haven’t covered the bite with makeup, that you’ve accepted his claim on you.”
Harley sipped at her coffee, returning his stare boldly.
He arched a brow. “No answer?”
“I didn’t realize there was a question,” she said.
Ally snickered. “Don’t mind him, Harley, he’s—”
Splat.
As a slice of toast slapped Jesse’s chest, he sighed at the two pups. In reality, he was amused that—despite the constant reprimands—the pups seemed to find it necessary to engage in a food fight with each other every morning. However, he’d find it much more amusing if their aim was better and the food didn’t accidentally hit him.
Eyes twinkling, Willow kept her hand over her mouth to hold in her laugh. Cassidy had her head down to hide her amusement, but her little shoulders were shaking.
Nick gave them both an exasperated look and tugged on one of his daughter’s curls. “Enough, you two. Apologize to Jesse.”
The pups both turned to him, eyes still gleaming, and said in unison, “Sorry, Jesse.”
He snorted. “No, you’re not.”
They giggled and, predictably, resumed their food fight.
Harley looked up as Kim and an unfamiliar brunette entered. A hush fell, as if everyone was waiting to see how this would play out.
Thin and gaunt, the brunette stared down at Harley, an ugly twist to her mouth. “So Kim was right. And here I was thinking that Jesse would never betray his sister’s memory that way.”
Harley turned to Jesse. “Who’s that?”
The woman’s eyes flared. “Who’s that?”
“Bracken’s mom,” said Jesse, stifling a smile. But he could see that Harley didn’t remember her any more than she remembered Kim. Of course, he’d known Bracken’s mother would have a few things to say about Harley’s presence. The woman wasn’t cruel or blinkered, but she was very opinionated. If she had something to say on a matter, you were going to hear about it. It meant she could come across as harsh at times and tended to rub most people the wrong way.
“This is my mom, Nat, and my sister Kim,” Bracken told Harley as they took their seats. “I take it I don’t need to introduce Harley.”
Nat opened her mouth, no doubt ready to spout off something offensive, and Ally quickly suggested, “Maybe someone should take the pups to the play area now that they’re done with breakfast.” Both pups had sensed the tension and were staring at Nat, wide-eyed.
Nick rose to his feet. “Eli and I will.” Switching from wary to excited in a heartbeat, the pups scrambled out of the room with the males close behind them.
Jesse arched a brow at Nat when she started to speak. “No. I’m not interested in hearing bullshit, and I won’t tolerate you insulting my mate.”
Eyes bulging, Kim glared at Jesse. “You’ve claimed her?”
Looking a little off balance, Nat stroked a hand over her perfectly coifed hair. “Jesse . . . I’m without words.”
“Well, that’s a first,” muttered Bracken, earning himself a scowl from his mother.
“I just don’t understand,” said Kim, shaking her head.
Harley picked up her mug. “We don’t require you to.” Kim shot her a glare.
“You’ve all made your point,” clipped Jesse. “Back off.”
“Now that the pups are gone, we can all discuss the plans for Cassidy’s surprise party,” said Shaya, trying to defuse the tension. “What do we have left to do?”
“I saved my to-do list on my phone,” said Ally, whipping out her cell and swiping her thumb across the screen. “Right, here we go. Balloons . . . check. Costumes . . . check. Cake . . . I have all the ingredients. Themed decorations . . . well, we have most of them. The fake vines and camouflage fabric still aren’t here. Why aren’t they here?”