Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 129268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Instead, my fingers steeple together in my lap and I sit with this emptiness on my own.
“Fate has certainly blessed you, little human.” Her eyebrows raise and she takes one of Lizzie’s small hands in both of hers. “Good luck taming these two.” Caleb bellows a laugh and Lizzie smiles shyly.
“She’s wolf,” I say, correcting Carol. “Latent.” I say the words with pride; nonetheless Lizzie’s smile falls, and she recoils into Caleb. I wish I’d kept my stupid mouth shut. I can’t do a damn thing right by her.
“Oh.” Carol perks up even more and says, “Well that’s wonderful, dear.” She purses her lips and taps her heel. “But it’s a PR nightmare.” My brow creases and Carol answers my unasked question. “A latent wolf on human territory?” She shakes her head. “It’ll be called a conspiracy, of course. That we set her up as a spy of sorts.” She tsks. “It’s a shame, but we’re going to have to stay with the human version.”
“We’re on in five.” Alec positions a chair angled toward the sofa and turns the camera on, extending a screen and flipping it so we can view the human newscasters.
“All right, Daddy,” Carol answers him easily.
“Daddy?” Grace’s curious look almost makes me smile. Devin is going to have his hands full answering our Alpha mate’s questions after this morning. She truly has been thrown to the wolves.
“He’s not really my daddy.” Carol winks at Grace and takes a seat, fixing her skirt and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She flashes her pearly whites and asks, “No lipstick, right?” She sucks at her teeth while Grace shakes her head, grinning at Carol. A warmth settles through me as I watch Lizzie relax. Carol and Grace are good for her.
Maybe Grace doesn’t realize it, but she set the mood the moment we walked in here. Devin’s appraising gaze tells me he’s aware of it as well. It provides an unexpected comfort.
“She’ll be all right.” Caleb’s words sound in my head as he pats Lizzie’s knee and kisses her forehead. A faint blush appears on her cheeks. I love the look of her flushed skin.
“Okay, ladies and gents, I’ll field the questions. You just play along.” Caleb and Devin nod slightly as Lizzie fidgets with her fingers until Grace takes her hand and squeezes. “Any questions? It’s now or never.” Grace shakes her head and Lizzie follows suit.
It seems just then that Grace looks down at her outfit and realizes she’s going on camera in sweatpants and a simple gray T-shirt. Lizzie is just as casual in worn, faded jeans and a blush tank top. Both of their faces fresh, without an ounce of makeup on.
From one event to the next, they’re thrown into it with no warning. Grace’s unease comes and goes quickly as she squares her shoulders. I don’t miss Devin’s hand squeezing hers either.
Alec hands Carol a mic that she immediately turns on and taps lightly. The sound vibrates through the room, making her smile. There’s an innocence in Carol that hundreds of decades of violence have yet to break.
“There’s a five-second delay in case we need to cut the feed.” Alec speaks only to Carol as he gets behind the camera. “We’re live in three, two …” He finishes by mouthing one.
“Hello, Carol.” We hear a woman’s voice from the screen.
“Hi, Amber. How are you this evening?” Carol’s sweet voice takes on an edge of professionalism. It’s her mask for the humans. Far less theatrical. She’s the Authority’s PR dream.
“We’re all a bit anxious over here to see the state of Elizabeth Weatherly and Grace Windom. I can see they’re sitting with you now. Is that right?” The news anchor’s dress shirt remains stiff when she leans in slightly, as if she could get a better view. Her anxiousness is more than obvious and the back of my neck heats with a tingle.
“They are. I can assure you that I was just as anxious watching the offering of Shadow Falls as it aired on the news and saw the clips that were shared on social media. The Authority was prepared to take action and mete out justice had the werewolves of Shadow Falls violated the law. We will always honor our pact with the human nation. However, we have no desire to interfere in this case. As you can see, both humans are doing well. The Authority’s investigation has determined that no laws were broken.”
“Carol, I have to ask. Why is it that there was such a difference at this offering? We’re given so little information that the sight of the Shadow Falls incident was very disturbing for the human population.” The anchor drops her tone, matching the somber expression on her face when she adds, “It reminded us all of much darker times.”