Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
“You already ate most of it,” Lydia complained.
Marcus tipped his chin toward Cam. “He okay there?” Her sleeping mate had sunk so deeply into the chair he looked close to slipping right off it. Lydia just shrugged as if too tired to help him.
As Tao chatted with his Alphas, Taryn and Trey, he listened for Riley’s approach. It was at least twenty minutes before she arrived, and he tracked her every move as she headed to the table. He really did love to watch her walk. She had a fluid, predatory grace that said she was confident, capable, and not to be fucked with.
As she took the seat beside Makenna, Tao studied her carefully. He’d watched her often enough to be able to read her moods—much too often, really—but nothing in her expression gave away anything about her phone call.
Had it been bad news? Was someone hurt? Had she been asked to return to the flock?
More and more questions sailed around his head, none of which he would ask her at that moment in front of the pack. The news was for her to share or not. And if he knew Riley like he thought he did, it would be not.
Riley poured herself coffee and met Tao’s gaze across the table. She’d felt the burn of it on her skin as she entered the room. She warned him with her eyes not to question her now about Lucy’s call—and he would question her about it sooner or later—but there was really no getting Tao Lukas to do anything he didn’t want to do.
“I’m never drinking again,” said Taryn, eyes closed. The blonde might be small, but she was all Alpha. She had an aura of authority and dominance that Riley’s raven highly respected.
“I promised myself that same thing twenty minutes ago,” said Riley, shaking her head when Makenna offered her some toast; her stomach protested the idea of food. Turning to the only female enforcer, she griped, “It’s not fair that you look so fresh.”
Roni buttered her toast. “It’s only because I didn’t drink as much as you did.”
“You were more interested in the cake,” said Jaime.
Roni frowned at Jaime. “I’m mated to Marcus. If you don’t get to the cake fast, you don’t get cake.” Marcus smiled, eyes dancing with amusement.
Jaime raised a hand. “Girls, I say we make a pact here and now never to even touch a bottle of tequila ever again.”
Makenna nodded. “It would be for our own good.” Ryan grunted at his mate in what might have been agreement—Riley didn’t know. Mostly mute, he often communicated with grunts that only Makenna seemed able to fully translate.
“Don’t kid yourselves into thinking you won’t break that pact,” said Trey. Unlike his mate, he was powerfully built. The two Alphas might be very different in size, but they were both equally crazy, in Riley’s opinion.
“Dexter, you can’t!” said Kye.
Riley turned her attention to the cheetah cub, who was stuffing food in his pockets again, and groaned. “Dexter, please don’t do that.” She smiled in approval when he put the bacon back on the plate. “Thank you.” Of course, she knew he’d slip it into his pocket the moment she looked away.
Zac pushed away from the table. “The smell of food is killing me. I need a dark, quiet room so I can die in peace.” As he left the room, he passed Trick—another enforcer, who happened to be more deliberately annoying than even Riley—and bumped fists with him as he entered.
Seating himself at the table, Trick looked around, and his mouth quirked. “You all look like extras from Dawn of the Dead.”
Taryn glared at him. “Why don’t you have a hangover?”
Trick shrugged. “I rarely ever have them.”
“Lucky bastard,” said Riley, raking a hand through her hair. “I wish I could say I look rougher than I feel, but I don’t.”
“You don’t look rough,” insisted Dominic with a mischievous grin. “You look beautiful. You make me think of fast food—I want to take you out and then eat you in my car.”
Jaime chuckled, Tao growled, and the others groaned.
Dominic had an idiotic habit of dishing out cheesy pickup lines, and often used them on females who were either mated or dating; that aggravated their partners, given that shifters were very possessive. All that aside, Riley thought the cute blond enforcer was pretty funny.
When Dominic opened his mouth to speak again, Tao snarled, “Dom, don’t.”
Surprised at the vehemence in his tone, Riley met Tao’s gaze. “Cheer up, Fenris,” she said, knowing he hated that she’d nicknamed him after the wolf from Narnia. Exasperation glittered in his eyes, which tickled her raven something fierce.
“You’re a pain in my ass, Porter,” he growled.
Riley just smiled.
“Don’t tolerate that behavior, Tao,” said Greta. The woman didn’t dislike Riley just because she was a raven. It was also because Riley was unmated. Greta didn’t like unmated females around her “boys”—Trey, Dante, Tao, and the four male enforcers—and did her best to scare them off. Tao, Trick, and Dominic were unmated, so Greta wanted her long gone.