Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87502 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87502 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
I knew I shouldn’t want that and yet in the dream, I welcomed the wolf…welcomed him and opened for him as he demanded. I spread my legs for him and gave him everything he wanted and more…
I woke up panting and drenched in sweat. Oh Goddess—I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling my heart drumming frantically. I looked around, almost certain that I would see the wolf from my dream somewhere in my room.
But though I peered into all the dark corners, I saw nothing. The half-full moon was visible in the huge arching window that covered most of one wall of my room. It was bright enough for me to tell I was alone in my bedchamber. No huge, hairy shape was hiding in the shadows—I had nothing to fear.
Or so I told myself.
I slid out of bed, pulling the white nightgown away from my chest. I was sticky with sweat, and I felt like I needed to cool down. I walked to the window and opened one of the panes, letting in the chilly night air.
I stared out into the garden beyond my window. The moon was only half full, but I knew soon it would be a fat, round disk in the sky. Soon Kor would be participating in the Alpha Challenge. Would he win…or would I be married to Harris Murdoch by the end of the month? Would I have to endure him mounting me, as I had with Carter for so many years?
The thought made me want to vomit. One of the best things about Carter being older than me was that he had eventually stopped breeding me. For almost three years before his death, he hadn’t been able to mount me and eventually stopped trying. I had been so grateful when that happened. I could go to bed without fear that he would come into my room with no warning and go to sleep without being worried that a rough hand would shake me awake and a voice in my ear would say,
“Turn over woman and spread your legs. It’s breeding time.”
Just the memory made my skin crawl. I had never wanted Carter—not even when he was younger. And as he grew old, he had gotten even more repugnant to me. It’s hard to describe the revulsion I felt on those nights he woke me for breeding or the relief that came when I knew he physically couldn’t mount me anymore.
But now I had that fear again. I wondered if that was why I’d had the dream. It wasn’t an uncommon dream for female Weres, but they usually only had it before their first Heat Cycle. It was known to be a rite of passage—a harbinger of a female Were’s future and fertility.
My Cycles were far behind me, so why was I having it now?
I had no answer—only the lingering anxiety about my fate and the future.
I took a quick shower and tried to calm down. It took a long time with the steaming water rushing soothingly over my body but at last my heart stopped pounding and I was able to take a deep breath without feeling like someone was sticking a knife in my side.
I put on a fresh nightgown and slipped back into bed. But it was a long time before I could get back to sleep again and I kept thinking I heard a wolf howling somewhere in the forest around the edges of the Manor.
Far away but getting closer by the hour.
TEN
KOR
I thought Vivienne looked tired the next morning. There were dark smudges under her lovely gold-ringed eyes that spoke of a sleepless night. Indeed, I’d heard her thrashing around some time around two in the morning—it had woken me up.
I had debated with myself on whether I ought to go to her or not. If she had cried out, I probably would have. But she hadn’t shouted or cried or made any verbal noises at all. So I decided it was better to stay in my own room. After all, she’d had years of a man coming into her room to take what she wasn’t willing to give—I didn’t want to frighten her or give her the wrong impression.
So I waited until she was quiet again and finally drifted off to sleep.
Now, as we sat across the kitchen island from each other drinking coffee, I wondered if I should ask her if she was all right. Could she be grieving for my late uncle? From everything she’d said, I doubted it. Carter Jamison sounded like he’d been an abusive bastard. Who would miss that?
I was wearing the clothing I’d had on yesterday—of course. I’d already ordered more but it wouldn’t be here for another day or so. Vivienne was wearing a simple blue dress that made her eyes stand out even more than usual. Her long dark hair was loose around her shoulders. She was, I thought, even more beautiful than the night before, despite her obvious fatigue.