Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Talon nodded stoically toward Sienna. “Welcome, Little one. I’m sorry you’ve been forced to assimilate so quickly.”
“Thank you, Sir,” she murmured, her body stiffening.
Owen patted Jayce on the back. “Talon and I are only here so we’ll be informed. We’ll report back to the other elders.”
Jayce nodded. “Thank you.”
A loud voice made them both turn to find Arion in the center of the gathering. “Thank you all for coming. As you know, we have zero idea why we’re all gathered here today. It’s disconcerting to say the least. It would seem all of our recent mates have been gifted with abilities none of us could have predicted. There has to be a reason. I feel the sizzle of electricity in the air. I’m sure all of you do.”
“Thank you for calling this gathering,” Brock stated. “As many of you know, my mate Suzette has recently come into her own power. The power of touch. She can set her hand on any object and see who else has also touched that object. It’s unnerving. We stopped several times on the way here for her to experiment, and I’m frustrated to say that she has discovered holes in her knowledge. Sometimes she touches an object and isn’t granted a view of whoever came before her. I’ll let her elaborate.”
Suzette stepped in front of Brock and cleared her throat. “I was curious why we all felt compelled to gather here specifically, so I touched everything in the vicinity. Sometimes I could see specific people having been in that spot before—any of us or several of the bears. But other times, all I got was a blurry shimmer of a person perhaps almost in human form but in the process of shifting.”
Jayce gasped. Everyone did.
“Leah has something to add,” Elias stated as he picked her up and held her higher.
Leah glanced around, fiddling with the hem of her dress. “This morning, I dreamed of all of us standing right here. I know we were meant to gather.”
“I do, too,” Khloe added as Felix pulled her into his arms. “I watched each of you preparing to head this way.”
The air was thick with impending…something. Jayce couldn’t put his finger on it. None of them could. “Where are the bears?” he asked, knowing several of the women could answer the question.
Molly, Rylee, and Amber stepped into the center of the clearing and faced the direction the bears were known to live. They each looked like they were in a trance as they stared into the distance—hearing, scenting, and seeing things no one else could.
Sienna squirmed in Jayce’s arms. “I have to join them, Daddy.”
He held her tighter. “No, Little one. You’ll stay with me.”
She grabbed his face and twisted to look him in the eye. “I have to join them,” she repeated.
He stared at her. He couldn’t let her go. It went against his common sense.
“Daddy,” she urged, “you have to trust me. It’s my calling. They need me. I’m here for a reason.”
“What reason, Baby girl?” he whispered, shaking from head to toe.
“I don’t know, Daddy, but it’s all going to be okay. You have to put me down and trust me.”
He swallowed hard, kissed her on the forehead, and lowered her to her feet. She rose onto her tiptoes, grabbed him around the neck, kissed him on the lips, and smiled at him. “We will live a long, happy life together, Daddy. But first, I have to take care of this.”
He choked up as he let his mate of twenty-four hours turn and walk away from him. It wasn’t as though he couldn’t spot her. She was wearing the red outfit he’d put on her intentionally so he could see her at all times.
She joined the other women in the center of the circle at the same time as every other mate—Suzette, Olivia, Leah, Khloe, and Jezebel.
All of the women stood together, huddled really, touching each other. They gasped in unison but didn’t share what they seemed to collectively know. Whatever powers they each held seemed to sort of coalesce, as if by holding hands they could share information between each other.
Jayce knew all this without knowing a thing. He simply knew. His heart was racing. He sensed all the rest of the Alpha Protectors having the same panic attack.
There was a sense of impotency. For centuries, the Alpha Protectors had existed for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the rest of their extended pack in the valley. They had patrolled these mountains day and night to make sure no creature—shifter or otherwise—broke their ranks and upset the peaceful existence of the inhabitants of the valley.
Suddenly, the power was shifting. Nine women had all the knowledge, and they were going to put an end to this looming threat, whatever it was.
Jayce was humbled and proud. His mate was both his Little girl and a powerful wolf in her own right. All of these women were.