Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Jonathan snorted while Lukas’s eyes widened.
“Got it,” Lukas coughed.
“Here. We found the belongings stashed by the idiots who attacked us the other night.” Jonathan nodded toward a couple of knapsacks at his feet. “From what I can tell, the cell with the stupid symbol had six members here in our territory. We killed three, leaving three still within our encampment. I can’t tell if there are more of their cell members in contact on the outside.”
“Damn it,” Vero muttered. He should have pushed Geoff harder. “I killed him too quickly.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Jonathan said, folding his arms behind his head. “Some people don’t break, and he knew you were going to kill him anyway.”
Vero didn’t reply. The truth was, his temper had gotten the better of him. The bastard had talked about Lyrica—about hurting her—and Vero hadn’t been able to think past his rage. “I’ll do better next time.”
Jonathan shrugged. “We’ll get them. I analyzed their communications. There are definitely six participants, and they call themselves the Defenders. From what I can tell, there are many different cells and they don’t communicate much with each other. Seems smart. Nobody can betray the others.” He took a deep breath. “I consider you both my boss and my friend.”
Vero stilled. “Ditto.” He’d known Jonathan his entire life, and the soldier had always been kind, even when training Vero years ago. But friendship? This was new. “Why do you mention it now?”
“I scent your mate on you. That puts her in danger, and I wanted to let you know.” Jonathan kept his gaze. “Without pissing you off.”
Something settled in Vero’s chest. Mated. He had a mate. “I appreciate it.” Nobody had picked up on his being part demon as of yet. That was good. The brand on Vero’s hand had lightened, but it was still there. “She’s still vulnerable even without this new danger.” Nobody really knew how long it took for a human to become immortal. It seemed to vary with each human.
Lukas glanced at him from beneath his brows. “Um, I’m dating a girl, you know. They like weddings. Just an FYI. Are you going to marry Lyrica?”
Vero hesitated. “Kurjans don’t marry much anymore. Centuries ago, sure.”
“She’s human,” Lukas reminded him. “They like that kind of thing.”
Vero hadn’t considered that fact. “I’ll think about it.” He had also only mated her as a demon and not a Kurjan, not that it probably mattered biologically or genetically. He’d promised Lyrica time to adjust, but there was a part of him that wanted—needed—to finish the bond. He shoved the thought aside. “I want to see the doc, then I’ll interview anybody I can find who knew the attackers.” He’d barely known them.
“Nobody seemed to know them well,” Jonathan said. “From what I can tell, they joined that small band a while back.”
“They were from the Donbas region, right?” Vero asked, sifting through his memory.
“That’s what it looks like,” Jonathan agreed. “Either they met three more Defenders here, or they joined the movement once they were already in the nation.”
That possibility seemed the most logical.
“That’s my guess. Otherwise, what’s the point? It’s not like they knew that Paxton would become our king,” Silas said, finally taking his face out of his huge coffee mug.
Lukas nodded. “That’s good news in a way. It means they haven’t had time to plan.”
“I’ll start asking around,” Vero said.
Silas reached into his pocket to toss a cell phone at Vero. “We now have cell service and the internet. I had a teenager program all our numbers into each one.”
Vero snatched the phone out of the air. “Finally. Do you have one for—” He caught the next phone. These were way beyond what the humans currently used. “Thanks.” He pressed a couple of buttons to note that his number was the first one programmed into Lyrica’s, with Hope and Paxton next. Good. That’s what he would’ve done.
Vero tossed Lyrica’s phone at Lukas, impressed when the young soldier caught it easily. “Give that to Lyrica when she comes down. Do you two have phones?”
“Yep,” Lukas said, placing Lyrica’s phone on the table. “I put Genevieve as my number one.”
“Good thought.” Vero headed toward the door. “Text me if Lyrica wants to leave the lodge.” As he stepped into the frigid morning air, he noted the guards stationed at their posts and gave them a short nod. The crisp cold helped sharpen his focus as he walked toward the medical facility and opened the heavy door.
Inside, the oppressive heat hit him immediately. “What the hell, Fizzlewick?” he muttered. “It’s like a sauna in here.”
Dr. Fizzlewick looked up from his desk, his black hair wild with the red tips curling, his purple eyes bloodshot. “Sorry. I was up all night and the temp dropped precipitously.”
“Why haven’t you slept?”
Fizzlewick rubbed his temples. “I looked over the bodies of the two remaining human females again. Poor young victims. We had to put them in a snowbank until we figure out who they are. I also searched the internet for any missing person reports, but so far, nothing.”