Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
I step around Order and I extend a hand to the monarch, wondering if I should bow my head, or kneel, or curtsey, or just straight up lie face down on the ground. He has a certain majesty and regal bearing that commands my respect.
“Hello, sir,” I say. “My name is Tessie. I had a last name, but nobody has used it in a very long time, so I don’t bother with it anymore.”
“Sir!” Order snorts. “You’ve never spontaneously sir’ed me!”
“I guess that says something about you then, huh?”
Fury chuckles. “Respectful and impudent in the same breath. I see the attraction.”
“You don’t mind that I’m a wolf? One of your enemies, even if I was made reluctantly?”
I like to get the awkward bits of a conversation out of the way as quickly as possible. It helps either move things along, or end things up front, and I am fine either way.
“There’s no changing what you are,” Fury says. “You did not choose to be turned, and Order did not choose you after you were turned. We need all the allies we can get at this point. You may function well as a guard if you wish to aid us in the simple act of survival. Your senses will make you more than usually aware of any hostiles in the area.”
I feel rather pleased at the notion of receiving some responsibility. It’s been a long time since anybody saw me as useful. When I was still properly human I got very accustomed to riding a desk and being ignored by most people. This monarch looks at me and sees my potential. I can’t help but be very, very pleased by all that.
“What about Stealth? And Justice? What about the others?” Order asks the question with more than a slight hint of bitterness. “What about those who cling to the old ideologies so tightly they can never allow a supernatural to exist in their presence?”
“I know there was tension when this one was turned,” the monarch says, glancing at me.
I smile slightly at his use of this one. There’s a soft of informal affection about it, even though we are strangers. He seems intelligent, as if he has done his homework.
“I have spoken with the others,” he continues. “I have impressed upon them the importance of not casting out potential allies, especially those with blood ties to the enemy camp.”
Order bristles. “So you believe her to be useful? I don’t care if it has occurred to everybody that she is potentially a pawn to be used. Tessie is not a tool in this war. She is my pet. My most beloved mate. She is everything to me, and I will not allow her to be used.”
He is so sweet. I feel tears rising to my eyes hearing Order speaking so protectively of me. He has truly chosen me, fur and all. I don’t know what I did to deserve him. For the longest time, I felt like an outcast. I felt wounded and odd and estranged from even the concept of love. But Order has made me his. He has accepted me, and claimed me and now he defends me even to the highest of his kind.
“I’m not here to use your pet,” the monarch says. “I’m here to ask for your help. I come to you not as a leader. I come to you as a brother.”
“He comes to you as a brother,” I repeat. I want Order to agree to this plan. It feels like that gives us a point, and maybe takes us a little closer to peace. It might even mean getting to see Sally again one day.
“You might think you are for this plan, but remember, they wanted to kill you,” Order tells me. “You were unconscious, and they tried to kill you. I got you up and out of the vault in time, but they intended…”
“They who? I thought Justice helped you help me escape?”
“Stealth, mostly.”
“But then the only other person…” I pause as the logic of the matter forces its way through my head. “Are you telling me Sally wanted me dead?”
“She wanted to do it kindly, if that helps. She wanted to put you out of your misery.”
“It does not help. Not even a little bit.”
I am not sure I believe that, not that I think Order would lie to me. I just don’t think Sally would betray me that way. We are partners. She does not want me dead.
“She wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t…”
“She wanted her children to be safe. People choose their children over everything, including friendship. You were a threat, and she was a mother defending her young.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“You don’t need to believe him,” the monarch says, putting his hand on my shoulder.
“Well, now I sort of believe you,” I tell Order. “I thought we were running away to get away from Chief Connor… but…”