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)
His words filled me with joy and hope. I could finally get out of here! I had never liked the people of the Blackridge Pack, and they had never liked me. Why should I give them one more minute of my life? Neither Kor nor I needed them and their narrow-minded, judgmental ways. We could get out of here—we could be free!
“Let’s do it!” I exclaimed. “Let’s get some plane tickets and leave early tomorrow morning!” I bit my lip. “But we’d better be someplace where it’s safe for you to Shift on the full moon night, though—right?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Kor told me. “I’ll get us tickets back to my place. I can Shift and hunt that night with the moon and then we’ll plan the next part of our adventure.”
“Just seeing anyplace but Blackridge and Wolverton Manor will be an adventure for me,” I admitted. “But…will you want me to meet your, er, ‘cursed wolf’ tomorrow night? I know when I first got married to Carter, we had a ceremony in the Moon Glade for me to meet his.”
“What? No—no, absolutely not.” Kor looked positively pale for a minute. “That would be a bad idea.”
“What? Why?” I frowned at him. “Do you think he might hurt me?”
“Not on purpose.” He shook his head. “I can’t explain it, but he’s become very…interested in you these past few weeks.
“Interested?” I put a hand to my throat. “I don’t understand.”
“He wants you—wants to breed you,” Kor said bluntly. “I’m sorry—there’s no pretty way to say it. But please don’t worry,” he added quickly, clearly seeing the apprehension on my face. “I’ll make sure he’s never anywhere near you. Every full moon I’ll be far away, roaming the woods. You won’t have to ever even see him, I swear it.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. It was disconcerting, to say the least, to find out that his alter-ego—the Beast that lived inside him—actually wanted to breed me. The wolves that live inside most male Weres understand instinctively that it’s wrong to breed in Fur Form. Also, they retain the sentience of the males who they’re tied to. I wondered if the Beast was less sentient…or simply harder to control.
“Has he ever, uh, gone after anyone you were with before?” I asked.
Kor shook his head.
“No, never. That’s the strange thing—he’s never even shown an interest in any of the women I’ve dated in the past.” He shrugged his shoulders. “He seems to think you should be our mate.”
“Well, I agree with him about that, at least,” I said, smiling. “But you’re sure it’s safe—”
“I’ll never let him near you,” Kor interrupted. He took me by the arms and looked into my eyes. “I’ll never hurt you or let my Beast even get near you, baby—I swear it. You’re safe with me—always.”
The sincerity in his eyes soothed the last of my doubt.
“All right,” I said, nodding. “I trust you, Kor. I know you won’t hurt me.”
“Good. Thank you for trusting me.”
Kor pulled me close and gave me a long, sweet kiss. When we broke the kiss, he looked down at me.
“I’m going to breed you tonight and make you mine, sweetheart,” he growled softly, looking into my eyes. “I don’t give a damn about the Unbreakable Laws anymore.”
I nibbled my bottom lip.
“But Kor, breeding means Bonding and our age difference—”
“Doesn’t mean a damn thing,” he said, firmly. “We were made for each other—I knew it the first minute I saw you.”
“I might not be able to give you children,” I reminded him.
He shrugged.
“You think I care about that? I’m not my uncle, Vivienne. I care about more than just having an heir to carry on after me. I care about having you as my mate—as my wife, too. I don’t want to just Bond with you—I want to marry you.”
My heart flooded with joy as I understood that he meant it—all of it.
“I want to marry you, too,” I whispered. “And mate with you and Bond with you. And spend the rest of my life with you.”
Kor grinned.
“Then that’s exactly what we’ll do. Let me go get on the computer and find us some flights to Colorado. I’ll get them for tomorrow afternoon—is that enough time for you to wrap up everything here?”
I thought of all the clothes hanging in my closet—the ones I’d worn when Carter was alive that I didn’t want to bring. Likewise, he had given me a few trinkets on birthdays and holidays that might be worth something. I could pack those easily enough—or I could just leave them here. I had enough money in my bank account to buy anything I needed when we got to Colorado. Really, the only things I needed to pack were the clothes I’d bought since Carter was dead and a few toiletries.
“Yes, that’s plenty of time,” I said, nodding. “But let’s go early tomorrow afternoon. I want to get out of here before the Pack starts gathering in the Moon Glade for the Alpha Challenge.”