Total pages in book: 203
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
I hear Joel answer.
“Drone, seen four or five hundred feet from my back fence along the river heading west, not more than a minute ago.”
“More?” Joel asks.
“Me and Bay were both shifting. Don’t know if it got footage. Also ran at superspeed, don’t know if that was caught on footage either. Code orange?”
“Definitely, bro,” Joel says.
“You look. I’ll text the group chat.”
He ends the call and opens his messaging app. We’re both still naked and I’m still on his back, watching him tap out ORANGE before he squats enough that I can easily put my feet on the floor.
I reach for my clothes to get dressed while he’s continuing to tap on his phone.
“Your foot feeling better?” he asks.
“Yes, it’s better. What was that?” I ask.
“Sit, let me see.”
I pull my pants up the rest of the way and sit on the dining room chair so he can lift my foot and inspect it. “Your wolf stepped onto a little plant shoot. I don’t know what plant it was and it didn’t hurt me. The bottom of your paw swelled up, pad looked shredded. I’ll send a text to Cat and ask her to come take a look in the morning and identify it. But right now, we need to figure this drone out.” He rubs my foot. “No sign of any injury. It’s okay?”
“It’s fine.”
He lifts his phone again and I get to my feet and move to the fridge to get myself a bottle of water.
“Drink?” I ask.
“Yes, please.”
***
Jase blows out a heavy breath of relief, tossing his phone to the table. It’s been about half an hour and I feel relief at both the look on his face as well as the sensation of it in our bond.
As suspected, the gunshot we heard was Joel shooting the drone down.
Jase says, “Footage taken off the shores along the river, a few minutes circling the space over the falls, and that’s pretty much it. Nothing on there of us shifting or me running at superspeed. Just my face as it zoomed over when I clocked it. It’s an older unit, only has an SD card, so it’s not broadcasting the footage anywhere.”
“Really? That’s a relief. I wonder who it belongs to.”
“We’ll be at code orange until we’re sure it’s no threat.”
“Should we be worried?” I ask.
“My job. You don’t worry about a thing, Bay, except maybe washing my back up in that shower right now. You down?”
“I’m very down,” I say, “Though we just had a shower a few hours ago at my parents’.”
“Want to make sure there’s nothing on our skin after what happened by that riverbank.”
“Good point.”
“And it wouldn’t hurt, you givin’ me head before we go to bed.” He shrugs and flashes his dimples.
I laugh. Before I’ve stopped laughing, he’s got me hoisted over his shoulder, carrying me upstairs.
***
I fall backwards into bed and yawn. I’m exhausted in the best way. We didn’t run far tonight, but between the running and the multiple shifts I did, not to mention all the sex today, I feel like I could sleep for a week.
Jase slips in beside me and shuffles us into a more comfortable position, tracing my jawline with his fingertips. As my eyes drift shut, he says, “Still have a surprise for you.”
“Hm?”
“Look,” he prompts.
I open my eyes and he’s holding his phone up.
“What’s this?” I ask, despite the fact I see it’s an email confirmation of airline tickets purchased.
“Italy?” I ask.
He swipes up to a picture of the Colosseum. Now I’m looking at St. Peter’s Basilica. He swipes again and now there’s a picture of a train. When he does it again, there’s a picture of Venice.
“Jason,” I whisper.
“Your trip got cut short. Here’s a do-over. We don’t have to do these things, but I’ve got us airline tickets and booked us a hotel for the first three nights so far. Once we’re there, we can do what you want.”
“I…” I let that hang. Because I’m at a loss for words.
“So we’re leaving a week from tomorrow for two weeks.”
“Wow. Um…”
“And tomorrow night, we’ll venture out to the town hall if you want. There’s gonna be a party for Brody and his people. A send-off. Not the whole pack, but those who were involved with Brody’s people the most. They’re leaving the day after for their new digs.”
“You don’t look too happy about that,” I point out. “Do you have concerns?”
“With Brody taking his new pack away? No. With having to take you to a party? Yes.”
I tilt my head a little, assessing his face.
He mutters, “I’ll deal. I know there’s no way you’d miss that party.”
I snuggle in. “Thanks for understanding without me having to explain. Another benefit to mating someone you’ve known your whole life. Even though you might have thought they didn’t pay all that much attention, they truly know you.”