Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
“You’re damn sure not a Beta female so you’re definitely an Omega,” Christopher said with certainty.
“So that’s why he thought we were, uh, forming a ‘Triad?’”
“I guess so—but we never could. We’re related to you and it doesn’t matter that it’s by marriage and not by blood—it would be breaking the Unbreakable Laws of the Pack if Gabriel and I, uh, tried to mate you.”
His eyes flickered to my full breasts again. They were much more decently covered, since I had found a bra that fit me and a T-shirt that wasn’t so tight, but you could still see the points of my nipples poking at the fabric. They seemed determined to stick out no matter how hard I tried to conceal them.
I didn’t know how I felt about a “mating” between myself and my two stepbrothers—I still didn’t know what was involved. Which was another reason to get to the library, I reminded myself—I needed to educate myself. I’d been ignorant long enough.
“I don’t think it’s right for them to treat you the way they do just because you’re a Beta,” I said to Christopher, trying to point the conversation back in another direction. “You’re the only one who was nice to me when your father first abducted me and my mom.”
Christopher gave me a smile that was sad and sweet.
“That’s my problem—I’m too nice. It’s a Beta trait.”
“Well, it’s a good one,” I said firmly. “Now please—can we go to the library before we go back to the Compound? I’m dying for some new reading material— it’s so boring in the mansion with nothing to do. I wish your father would let me take some classes at the community college.”
“You know he won’t do that. He barely let Gabriel and I go and we were only allowed to take the classes he wanted us to take.” Christopher sounded bitter, I thought. His father really did control all aspects of all of our lives and I don’t think any one of us was happy about it—not even his sons.
Not that any of us could do anything about it—we were stuck and there was no getting out of the Compound, ever.
Or so I thought.
SIX
The library turned out to be a treasure trove of information since, for once, no one was policing what I could read.
I checked out some books on the human reproductive cycle and then—after some thought—I added a few books about wolves as well. I looked at books about werewolves, but they were all in the fiction section and most of them were smutty romance, which I had never been allowed to read.
I chose one or two of them anyway, just because I could and then went on to get a few fantasy books from the YA section. Fantasy was my favorite genre and reading was my escape—only through the pages of a book could I take myself away from my horrible new life in the Compound and all the stress I’d been under lately as my body changed so rapidly.
“You think you’ve got enough?” Christopher eyed the pile in my arms doubtfully as I finally emerged from the stacks.
I laughed.
“These should keep me busy for a while.”
Christopher grinned back at me.
“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you laugh before.”
I sobered.
“Well…I guess I haven’t had much to laugh about.”
“No, but it makes you pretty. C’mon, Little Sis—don’t stop smiling.” He grinned at me cajolingly and grabbed half of my books.
Reluctantly, I smiled up at him. No one had ever called me “pretty” before. Not even my mom—she always just said I’d grow into my looks. But now my looks were completely different and for the first time, I didn’t feel like that was an entirely bad thing.
We left the library with stacks of books—Christopher had even gotten a few himself—and I felt happier than I had in ages.
Which was one reason I was absolutely crushed to find that while we were gone, my stepfather had come home.
SEVEN
Gabriel met us at the gate of the Compound, a grim look on his dark features.
“Scoot over, little mouse,” he said to me, climbing up into the cab of the big gray truck. “I need to talk to you both.”
“Is the Pack Master back?” Christopher’s green eyes went dark and the smile fell away from his face as he asked the question.
“He’s back and he’s in a shitty mood,” Gabriel said flatly. “Apparently his new bride isn’t pregnant yet and he’s fucking pissed about it.”
“Hey—that’s my mom you’re talking about!” I protested.
I felt strange, sandwiched between the two muscular male bodies, but not exactly in a bad way. It was more like a strange sensation I was getting—almost like a low-level electrical tingle that ran between the three of us when I sat between them. I wondered if Gabriel and Christopher could feel it too?