Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“How’d you get adopted?” She half held her breath, knowing the question was an incredibly personal one to ask a beta.
“I got dropped off on the edge of town in a basket. Newly born with just the items from the hospital in the basket. I was left under a tree. The patrol brought me in, and my parents offered to raise me. They hadn’t been able to have kids of their own.”
She blew out a breath, not really knowing what to say and blurting out the first thing that came to mind. “Did your birth parents not want you?” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry, that was incredibly rude. I didn’t mean to say that. I—”
“It’s okay. I asked the same question when I was told I was adopted.”
“I don’t mean to pry,” she murmured.
“Yes, you do.” He glanced down at her again with a small uptick at the corners of his lips, his version of a smile. He took a sip of his drink, then grimaced. “This stuff is intense. I tracked my birth parents down in my late teens. My birth dad had been an alpha. A gorilla, like me. He was up in his years and didn’t relinquish the pack when he should have. He was challenged, given the choice to step down or fight to the death. He didn’t step down, and he didn’t win.”
“And your mom couldn’t stay in the pack and raise you?”
“She probably could have, but from what I learned, it sounds like she probably wanted a fresh start. She was my birth father’s second mate. The first left when he started losing control of the pack but wouldn’t make way. Seems she saw the writing on the wall. But my birth mom didn’t. She was young. Too young to know better, maybe. Maybe too young to care.”
“Maybe both.”
“Maybe. She saw the opportunity to be an alpha’s mate and took it. Or maybe my birth father had a lot of charm, I don’t know. I didn’t get any of his charm if he did.”
“I don’t know about that—some people find intense, menacing stares very charming indeed.”
“Only Niamh, and she’s not my type.”
Aurora spat out a laugh and turned away so her uncle wouldn’t see. Something about this dark, brooding beta made her feel lighter, somehow. Like he’d taken all the storm clouds for himself and she got whatever sunshine was left over.
“I got the feeling that she was very pretty but low on power,” he said, watching as Auntie Jessie stood and slipped her arm around Uncle Auzzie. He pulled her in a little tighter, turning her way and bending toward her possessively, showing the whole room that she was his. His mate, his heart, his everything. “I guess she didn’t see a future with a newborn and no mate. She thought it would be better to be without a baby.”
“She wasn’t there when you visited the pack?”
“No. She left before having the baby and never went back. I might’ve been able to track her down—I had her name—but I didn’t bother. My parents were still alive at the time, and they’d cared for me all my life. Knowing my history was enough. Knowing my father was an alpha answered some questions. Questions that would later become very important as my power continued to grow. In my early twenties, with a newly established mate, I got to that precipice you felt before you came to this convocation. I needed a challenge. I needed more. I could’ve challenged for the pack I grew up in, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough for me. Instead, I packed up and moved to the much larger pack of my birth father.”
“Which had been taken over by another alpha.”
“Taken over by a lackluster alpha who’d seen an opportunity and cashed in on it. He wasn’t nearly as strong as me. Wasn’t as strong as my birth father had been in his prime. The pack was languishing.”
“You stepped in.”
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t have any experience.”
“No. But my birth father had been loved in his prime. He’d done well for the pack. The only issue they’d had with him was his refusal to step down when the time came. When she heard that I was taking up the mantle, his first mate returned, promising to help me where she could. The former beta acted as counsel, and so on. I cobbled together a good team, and they all helped me get up to speed. Once I got some experience, I found I had a knack for leadership. I got things back on track.”
“And your birth father had no other children?”
“None. Just me. He might’ve succeeded if he’d had a child earlier, I don’t know. From all the stories I’d heard of him, he’d been a true alpha. A good alpha.”