Series: Star Moon Pack Series by J.L. Beck
Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 118781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
“I’m just saying. We don’t need any big talkers who end up pussing out at the last second.”
“Ask them for yourself when we get there if it makes you feel better.” I might do just that.
“I have to ask you something,” he blurts out all at once as we come closer to the center.
“I can’t wait.”
“Is she worth it?”
I wasn’t expecting anything that serious. I pause, turning to him, and he does the same. “Are you honestly asking me that?”
“What do you think?”
I fold my arms, looking him up and down. “I didn’t come up with this on a whim, you know.”
“All due respect, that’s exactly how it seems. I get it, I do,” he insists, raising his hands in self-defense when I growl. “And I’m with you. They need to pay, and they need to be stopped once and for all. But don’t tell me it’s a coincidence that you happened to come up with this while you were sitting at her bedside, not knowing if she was going to live or die. I know you would’ve gone charging out to tear off a few heads if you had been given the chance to do it while she was in really bad shape. But that’s not the case anymore. So, I’m asking you, is she worth it? I like her and everything, I do. But I don’t know if anyone is worth the life we might end up living at the end of this war.”
I see what he means, but I don’t have to like it. Until now, our pack has been able to claim the moral high ground, so to speak. We’ve acted in defense. We didn’t start this. We’re only trying to keep our borders closed to them and to stop them before they grow in power.
Once we stage an attack, all bets are off. It’s war, really and truly, and we’ll be warmongers. That’s how they’ll paint us, and that’s how they’ll manage to rally more of their numbers. This could end up setting off an explosion that will ripple its way through our world and the human world, all of it. And we’ll be at the center of it. The ones who set the match to the powder keg.
“That’s why we have to win,” I remind him, lifting a shoulder. “We know the stakes. Either we wipe them out, or this gets much worse. I would still rather go out there and take the shot over waiting around for them to start their shit again. I want to be on the offensive. It’s beyond time for it.”
“Tell me it’s not only because of her. That’s all I ask. Things are still shaky between you two. You can say all you want that this is only to put an end to the conflict, but I know better. And I know you want her, and I don’t want to see you regret it. Is she worth it?”
“I don’t know,” I finally have to admit. “My wolf doesn’t like the idea of her not being here. That much I do know.” In fact, just mentioning him brings back the familiar, irritating sensation in my chest. Like the wolf is trying to claw his way out. He gets that way whenever I imagine not being with her.
We continue walking, a few blocks from the training center now. Beyond it is the oldest section of our pack lands, where the very eldest members have lived since they were pups like the ones I just left. Their homes are the most rudimentary, some of them no more than shacks. Pride won’t let them live anywhere better. If it was good enough for their ancestors, it’s good enough for them.
I see a few of them in the distance, one slaughtering a goat, another hanging washing on a line. Like we’re back in the stone ages.
“While you were busy mooning over your little girlfriend,” Forrest continues with a snicker, “I was busy doing actual work.”
“Such as?”
“Such as sending a message to the white witches.”
“You did what?” The white witches serve a purpose and have nothing to do with the necromancers bearing down on us. Still, it’s not as if we socialize. Sometimes, I’ll see them roaming the territory, but it’s normally to visit with the healers and exchange potions or whatever it is they do.
“Relax. I wanted to ask about the bond, the magic behind it. We’re still playing with fire, for all we know. I thought it would be good to get an actual, educated opinion on the subject. I didn’t use any names, so don’t get on my case about that.”
“I wasn’t going to.” Of course I was.
“I asked the older women to search for information, too, down at the library,” he continues as we cross the street in front of the center. “They’re going to look through some of the oldest texts, see if they can find anything.”