Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“She doesn’t need help from a vampire.”
Edric heard the uncharitable thoughts coming back at him loud and clear.
Amusement trickled down the bond. “I’m not a stubborn, bigot jackass, thank you very much. I’ll have you know, I did tell Idalia about Lucia, including that she stumped up the first two million. Idalia is thankful, and believe it or not, so am I, but she still has dreams, Daze.
“It’s like you said, many werewolves want Wolf Nation to become the haven it pretends to be. Idalia plans to be the first omega clan leader of the wind wolves. She wants to enact real change. It’s already next to impossible for her to lead a clan as an omega. She’s got no chance if her enemies ever find out she accepted help from a vampire,” Edric replied. “I appreciate what you both are trying to do, but this has to be her choice.”
I backed down, nodding. “You’re right, it does. Sorry I went on the attack. I’m just a bit on edge today.”
“An agreement and an apology? Wow. You’re definitely not feeling well this morning.”
I flipped him off.
“Is it because of Ash?”
As much as I wanted to deny it, I had to tell him the truth. “Yes. She’s a puppet of the council—no matter what she says. They’re planning something, but I have no idea what it is. They can’t possibly want any of the changes she’s made, so why did they send her here to make them?”
“Maybe they’ve seen sense.” I felt his presence behind me. Edric grasped my tense shoulders and dug in, kneading the hard, tight knots between my shoulder blades. If I was any kind of cat, I’d purr. “You don’t fuck with Luame’s will. You just don’t. You know the saying, ‘she’s not as strong as she was—’”
“'—but she’s always strong enough to punish disrespect,’” I finished. “I know the saying, but if they’re going to fight for the vision, they’d have to believe in it in the first place, and I’m not sure they do.
“I may not know enough about Wolf Nation, but I was smacked with some hardcore culture shock when I was hiding among the mundanes. A lot of the lost packs have protected themselves by living in plain sight among them, so I had to as well,” I admitted. “One curious thing I learned about them is that they twist their religions to suit their own prejudices, not the other way around.
“But are we any different? At no point in Wolf Nation history did Luame ever indicate through gruff, growl, or vision that she wanted the alphas and betas on top, and the rest of us begging and scrambling for their scraps. But even though that’s true, alphas still shout from the mountaintops their supremacy is their Luame-given birthright.
“If they truly believe they were born to have everything, and they’ve believed that for thousands of years, are they really going to trust me when I pop out of nowhere, saying they’ve been bad and Luame wants them to give up their toys?”
His massaging slowed. “I... I don’t know. I honestly can’t say I would’ve believed you if I hadn’t seen into your mind and got the full blast of that vision myself. Wolf Nation is about to become every horror movie combined, and I’ll burn my fucking toys to stop it from happening, but if I didn’t have proof and I was going on nothing but the word of the psycho priestess that betrayed Wolf Nation...” We both fixed on Vice Ash. “I wouldn’t believe it, and I wouldn’t give up shit.”
I couldn’t even get mad at him for saying it so bluntly. He was only confirming what I deep down knew was true. I did believe that Ash’s changes were good ones, and I also believed that she loved her sons enough to want them to live in a better world.
But I damn sure didn’t fucking believe that her vision of a better world—or the alpha council’s vision—would come close to mine.
“They’re just placating me. Stringing me along for a few months or years until I’ve completed the bonds, and they don’t need me anymore. These changes will never go farther than Corvin Academy.” I shook my head, knowing in my bones it was true. “We can play at being equal all we want within these walls, but out there, the alphas and betas are on top. And they’re not giving up their toys.”
“Sorry to say this, Daze, but that’s one hundred percent what they’re doing, but you had to know that already.” His hands skittered down my back and up under my shirt, popping goose bumps on my flesh as he rubbed my lower back.
My lids lowered unbidden, a soft sigh escaping me. When Edric said he planned to turn off his jerk switch, and become a sweet, worshipping boyfriend, I blew a raspberry in his face. I was convinced his fake and phony efforts would be the biggest lady-boner killers, and it would turn me off worse than guys who say they hate reading.