Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
There was a short pause on the other end. “Huh. I don’t remember that, but he might have.”
Nadia opened her eyes. “We don’t have a museum.”
A beat passed.
“Do we?” It was true Nadia had only been in the territory for a couple of months, but still. She would have noticed a museum. Everyone noticed museums. They weren’t exactly subtle.
“You know, we were starting a museum about fifty years ago, but then it was decided we didn’t want a bunch of humans coming through town anyway.” Gail paused. “So yes and no, I suppose?”
Nadia closed her eyes and dug deep for patience. “All right. Where would the museum items be located?”
“That’s a good question.” Gail went quiet for a couple of moments, and Nadia could hear the faint clink of something being set down. “You know, the only place I can think of is the main lodge in town. In the basement.”
“There’s a basement?” Nadia hadn’t spent a lot of time in the main lodge.
“Yeah. I mean, no one goes down there because it’s a basement and we’re wolves, but I know there are some pack artifacts secured down there. So I’m assuming if there were museum items, that’s where they ended up.” Gail sighed softly. “I can’t remember much about it, to be honest.”
Nadia looked toward the windows. Darkness had already fallen, settling thick and heavy around the house. “Do you think there might be updated laws there? Ones that don’t require a fight to the death?”
“Huh. Heck if I know. We haven’t worried about the grimoire or the challenger laws in so long, I guess there could be something. It just hasn’t been an issue since the Nightsoms always have heirs.”
Nadia rubbed her chilled arm. They had an heir now, but she didn’t want the job. She sighed. Unlike the previous evening, the sky was fully clouded over, with no moonlight anywhere to be seen. The light from the kitchen barely pushed past the glass. “How do you get into the basement?”
“The door is off the larger kitchen. If you want,” Gail said, “I can meet you at the lodge tomorrow and show you where everything is.”
Excitement tickled through her. Maybe she could find more books than the grimoire. What if the laws had already been changed? She didn’t want Caidrik and Luca fighting to the death. There had to be a better way. “All right,” Nadia said. “Do you think there’s anything down there that would be useful?”
“Oh, honey, I have no idea. But if Solomon thinks there are more instructions somewhere, it’s as good a place to start as any.” Gail hesitated. “You do have to realize there are probably individual pack members who have artifacts and relics and maybe old books tucked away.”
Nadia nodded, even though Gail couldn’t see her. “We’re not big on history, are we?”
“No,” Gail said easily. “We’re bigger on here and now, really.”
That needed to change. “I’d prefer we look toward the future,” Nadia said.
“I suppose once we do,” Gail replied, thoughtful now, “we should also look more toward the past.”
“You’re poetic, Gail,” Nadia said dryly.
Gail laughed. “Thank you. It’s nice to be appreciated. For now, I have to go. Meet you tomorrow after lunch?”
“All right,” Nadia said into the phone. “Enjoy the rest of the school play.”
“I will. Don’t worry. This is going to be over very soon.”
Hopefully. Nadia said her goodbyes and ended the call, slipping the phone back into her pocket. Instead of heading toward the front, she walked to the back door and looked outside. It was too dark to see far, but light snowflakes drifted down through the black, sparkling briefly before disappearing against the ground.
It was actually a pretty night. Cold, but quiet. The kind of night that made her want to run in wolf form, but she might find more journals or even written laws, and she couldn’t bring those home in her teeth. She chewed on her lip and glanced back at the journals on the counter. She’d come as far as she could with those for now. Her gaze drifted toward the direction of town, already mapping the distance in her head.
The lodge wasn’t too far away.
She looked restlessly around. Caidrik was out there, hopefully not being killed, and she was tired of being protected. Tired of feeling like she wasn’t strong enough. If she wanted to be the Alpha female for this entire pack, she should start acting like it. She shoved a sheath knife into her back pocket, pulled on a jacket, and jogged into the garage. Emily’s SUV sat where it always did. She wouldn’t mind if Nadia borrowed it.
Being careful with her sister’s rig, Nadia backed out and headed through town, staying slow and steady.
She watched both sides of the road, already knowing what she’d see. Enforcers moved with her, four of them, two on each side, pacing the SUV in full wolf form. She didn’t try to lose them. They had a job to do, and she wasn’t interested in making things harder. Yeah, they would probably report back to Caidrik in the morning, but at the moment she didn’t care. He had his hands full.