Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“So I see things are going well,” Chance noted sardonically from the end of the hallway. “That’s good.”
“Shut up, Chance,” I spat, getting to my feet.
“Nice face.”
Lifting my hand to my cheek, I pressed it against the stinging there. The tips of my fingers came away with blood on them.
“Shit.”
“I mean, it could be worse,” Chance said, following me to the kitchen. “She could’ve kicked you in the balls. Did she kick you in the balls?”
“Shut the fuck up, Chance,” I repeated.
“You seem to be walking fine, at least.”
Dalton and Gary seemed to have moved to the kitchen table, probably to give Rosemary and me a bit of privacy, not that we really had any in a house that small. Vampire hearing was very acute. We could hear anything happening inside the house, no matter which room we were in.
Grabbing a paper towel, I wet it and set it against the scratches on my cheek. When I turned, Dalton was staring.
“Deserved that and worse,” he announced, his tone grim.
“What the fuck is going on, Gary?” I asked, rounding the table so I could see his face. I had a feeling that the man had been deliberately ignoring me when I entered the room.
“I’ve stayed out of it,” he said, meeting my eyes. “I understand the mating bond, and I’d never get between that. I also understand the drive to protect the people you care about. There’s not a thing on this earth that I wouldn’t do for Rosemary or for her mother when she was alive.”
I could hear a but coming.
“But if you don’t pull your head out of your ass, I’m going to do it for you.” He glanced at Chance. “And I might be in a wheelchair, but I’ve tussled with quite a few Vampires in the past, and I think I’d surprise you.”
“Lay it out like I’m five years old,” I ground out, still completely fucking confused.
When I’d left that morning, everything was fine. Rosemary had been lying in bed, sleepy and satisfied. How the hell had she gone from that to a complete hellcat in the hours I’d been gone?
“How in the fuck do you keep leaving your mate?” Dalton asked, his head tilted a little to the side.
“She’s safe here—”
He slashed his hand through the air. “No, I understand why you’re doing it. I’m asking how.”
“What do you mean?” I glanced between Dalton and Gary.
“How is it physically possible?” Dalton asked flatly.
“Are you asking if it hurts?”
“I know it hurts.”
I just looked at him.
“How in the hell are you leaving her every day for hours at a time?”
“It’s not fucking comfortable,” I snapped, becoming frustrated with the questions. “Obviously.”
“You’re not in pain?”
“Yeah, it’s painful. I feel like shit.”
“But it’s manageable,” he mused, his brows drawing together in thought.
“He’s got a high pain tolerance,” Chance said conversationally, leaning against the kitchen counter. “Doesn’t really feel things like the rest of us.”
“No, I don’t,” I argued, waving him off.
“Yes, you do.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You fell and broke your collarbone when we were kids and didn’t say anything. Walked around with it for a week before anyone noticed. Mom finally saw you with your shirt off and lost her mind.”
“It wasn’t a bad break.”
“You were deformed.”
“Would you shut up for a minute?” I turned back to Dalton.
“You also pulled a bullet out of your own leg, what…” Chance paused, counting off on his fingers. “Eight years ago.”
“It wasn’t deep,” I shot back.
“It was in your thigh,” Chance said with a chuckle. “You’re lucky you didn’t lose your balls.”
“Shut—”
“Didn’t mention that one either,” Chance drawled.
“Gods dammit,” I muttered under my breath.
“Oh, and you’ve torn off every fingernail you have at least twice.”
“On a scale of one to ten,” Dalton said, cutting in before I lunged for Chance. “What would you rate the pain when you’re separated from Rosemary?”
“Six,” I replied, lying through my teeth.
Did it hurt to leave her? Fuck yes. It felt like I was coming out of my skin. I loathed it when we were apart.
But I’d made a decision when Zeke died that I’d take care of my family. I’d hold them together however I could. I’d help find my brothers’ mates, and I’d protect them once they were found. Leaving Rosemary where she was safe while I did so was the only option open to me.
I refused to put my mate in danger for any reason.
The consequences would be catastrophic.
“That’s fucking fantastic,” Rosemary said from behind me. I spun to face her.
She’d showered. Her hair was in a sleek fall down her back. She’d changed into a matching set of pajamas, and her feet were covered in a pair of thick hiking socks.
“Ask me,” she ordered Dalton.
“On a scale of one to ten, what would you rate—”
“Seventy-five,” Rosemary said before he’d finished. Her gaze moved slowly to me.