Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Austin continued to wait, no energy to feel much at all.
“The thing is…” John fell silent as the door opened again, and Mr. Tom entered, carrying another scotch.
“If you insist on hanging around, you might as well try to relax a little,” he said. “We can’t have you making the whole house jumpy. We’ve got that horrible Irishwoman for that.”
He handed John the drink, fluttered his wings, and left again.
John stared at it blankly for a moment and then started chuckling. “This is actually just the thing.” He took a sip and relaxed a little more. “Austin, I’m going to be frank. I ran my pack like I did, and stuck with it as long as I did, out of duty. My life was about protecting my sisters’ futures. And now I find myself in a world where they are in jeopardy again. If someone can nearly take down a pack like Kingsley’s, there’s nothing to stop them.”
“Except us.”
“Right.” John ran his fingers through his shaggy hair. “Except us. I have a duty to my sisters, as I said, and to the magical world at large, as do you. As do we all. I cannot, in good conscience, turn a blind eye when I am able to help.”
Austin felt his confusion show on his face.
John smirked, allowing himself to be just as expressive. “Thought I was about to say thanks, but no thanks, huh?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact.”
“The last test, I guess. I just had to make sure, because I don’t really want to be saying this, but I feel I have no choice.” He took a deep breath. “I can help you sway the shifters. I still have pull.”
“I’d imagine you still have a lot of pull, but won’t that be a sticky situation for your former pack? Don’t they think you are exiled or dead?”
John’s lips tweaked into a smile. “Is there no end to your honor? I could greatly help you and you’re more worried about the people of a pack you have no ties with.”
“I’m an alpha. Taking care of others is my job. It doesn’t matter if they are my people or not, they don’t deserve to have their lives ripped apart by having to choose—allegiance to you and this convocation, or to their pack and your sisters.”
John nodded slowly. His gaze was hyper-focused on Austin, reading him. “True. You’re shaping up to be a very good man, Austin Steele, an alpha worthy of the king of the mountain status. Quite the change from the little Barazza boy who terrorized his pack.”
“In some ways, yes.”
“In many ways. I’ve been watching.” He took another sip of his drink. “I’ve spoken to my sisters and then chastised them for not telling me how serious this mage problem is. They didn’t want to worry me, apparently. They want me to get on with my life. They’ve had mage visits. Many, it seems, in groups and once in a crowd. So far, they’ve been able to run those mages away. This was before the attack on Kingsley. The visits have totally stopped since that battle. They get the feeling the mages are regrouping.”
A shock of adrenaline coursed through Austin that made him tense. Niamh would want that information.
John gave a tiny nod, reading Austin’s thought. “My sisters are highly intelligent and excellent at their jobs. But they are shifters. Rather than reaching out to Kingsley to compare notes or contact you—both strangers—they collected their pack friends. They thought more numbers than Kingsley had would be enough.”
“And they’d be annihilated.”
John took a deep breath. “I’ve realized that. My sisters are going to talk to our pack and explain why I really left. I’m sure most of them suspect. Once that is smoothed over, I will use what pull I still have to help you. On a few conditions.”
Austin kept from widening his eyes. Having Golden Fang as a backer would be huge. Huge. It would push this thing in leaps and bounds. Unlike that cairn leader, Austin was prepared to offer him the absolute world.
“Which are?” he said evenly, not giving anything away.
The other man took a sip. “I will not join your pack. If I tried to fit myself into your hierarchy, inevitably I’d have to pit myself against Sue.”
That was true. John had ten times more experience, and he was raised to be in a leadership role. He didn’t come to it late, like Sue had. He’d fall into the role without thinking, and eventually people would turn to him rather than Sue. Eventually, they’d have to battle for dominance, and John would win.
“Sue is exceptional in his place,” John went on. “He’s a better fit for this convocation. He understands it, and he wants it. I don’t want to get in the way of that, even if I wanted to be in a pack at all.”