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)
It was tricky navigating the rules. Mostly because Luame was temperamental and was liable to change said rules whenever she felt like it, but in Mason’s case, I had a feeling I was safe.
She didn’t like that rapist piece of shit either.
Mara leaned in close to the screen. I knew her as the fire clan leader, and the sister of the woman Orion’s father killed, but I’d never seen her in person before.
She also wasn’t what I pictured. Mara took over the clan after I ran away that fateful night. The woman looking down on me was slender, pale, and dressed simply in a plain white top with no makeup or jewelry. Every other leader was dressed like the rich people they were.
“I’m not aware of any serial rapist among my clan, or that reports were made against him,” Mara said.
I looked her in the eyes. “Exactly.”
Eyes yellowing, Mara’s lips pressed in a thin line. “Women are safe in my clan, High Priestess. That was the promise I made when I took over...” Her eyes flicked off my face. I didn’t have to look to know who she was staring at. “It’s a promise I intend to keep.”
“There are women from your clan here right now, Alpha Mara, and they want to tell you what they need to feel safe. All I ask is that you listen to them.”
She stared at me, face unreadable. Then she reached for something off screen. “I’m listening,” she said, flipping open the notebook. “Let them speak.”
Nodding, I turned to the waiting audience. “All right, now’s your chance. One at a time, come up, speak into the mic, and share your concerns with your leaders. We have less than an hour, so be concise.”
A wind beta girl literally blew on stage, using her power to blast over everyone’s head and get to the microphone first. I braced myself to intervene.
She cleared her throat. “The law says that the alpha in the relationship gets full custody of the kids in a divorce, and that’s wrong,” Bindi said, voice small. “I haven’t seen my mom since I was seven, and now I don’t know where she is or how to find her. I don’t even know if she’s alive. It’s wrong,” she repeated, then walked away—leaving quieter than she arrived.
Mara said nothing. She just silently wrote it down.
“See?” Edric said as another student stepped up to the stage. “No violence or maiming required, Daze. The omegas needed to know you could affect real change beyond these walls. More than that, they need to know they could.
“Getting all the clan leaders together to listen to the concerns of people they wouldn’t stop to piss on if they were burning in the street? That’s huge, baby. Ash is right that nothing like this has ever happened before, but you made it happen.”
“Big, fat checks and all the blackmail Idalia collected on them under Sunella’s command made it happen,” I amended. “But you get credit for the idea to hook the two of us up.” I glanced up. “We really do need each other to pull this off.”
A third-year omega guy stepped up to the podium. “The entire education system needs to be changed in every clan, not just Corvin,” he said. “We should all be taught the same lessons.”
“Yeah,” someone whooped, setting off a round of cheering.
Megan was very quick to storm the stage and shove him not-too-gently aside. “I would just like to remind everyone here that Wolf Nation is the best, strongest, and happiest dominion in the world.”
“Yes, thank you!” another voice shouted, setting off the alphas.
“We’re the only dominion that’s never had a civil war, and you know that,” Megan cried. “Because we all know our place. We know who we are and what we’re meant to do, and it’s not because the alphas and betas are soooo mwean,” she mocked, pulling a face at me. “It’s because we obey Luame and the path she chose for us!”
“Yeah!”
“All of you should be ashamed of yourself, whining and crying to our alpha leaders because you hate your own lives, but you should be ashamed most of all, High Priestess.” I didn’t think someone shorter than me could look down their nose at me, but damn, Megan nailed it. “Luame is so ashamed of you!”
I gave her a crazy look. “How in the hell are you going to tell me how Luame feels? I’m the one she talks to!”
“Are you sure those aren’t the voices in your head, Crazy Dazey?”
“Tell her, Megan!”
The alphas and half the betas were on their feet—clapping, stomping, assaulting everyone’s sensitive ears, including their own.
“Settle down,” I shouted. “Be quiet, everyone!”
“What is this nonsense? I can’t hear a thing,” Magnus gruffed.
“Little girl wants to steal a school, but doesn’t know how to run it,” muttered Kenyatta, the new moon clan alpha.