Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“Oh, honey.” Bussy patted her arm with a warm hand that had more strength than softness. “We’re all related in one way or another.” She fussed with the buttons of her heavy pink coat, releasing each one. “We’re here to make sure you remain safe and properly chaste for the Alpha.”
Nadia went still. A cold sensation crawled along her spine. “Chaste?”
“That’s what the book says.” Bussy lifted her shoulders. “It is nice to be included, and it’s not like you’re dating a bunch of males right now. Everyone could use some girl time, and our husbands can live without us for a brief time.”
Margaret snorted, an inelegant sound that somehow made her seem even more formidable. “The wording is rather archaic, but this is what’s supposed to happen.”
Nadia stared at them, then at Solomon, then at the counters that looked too clean, too white, too perfect. She had the sudden, vivid urge to shove every cup off the counter just to prove she still had control of something. Instead, she clenched her hands until her nails bit into her palms. “All right,” she said. “What all do you do?”
Bussy’s mouth curved in a patient expression. “We stay with you. Make sure you’re safe and don’t give yourself to anybody, at least outside of the trials.”
“Give myself.” Nadia repeated the phrase slowly. Her stomach turned again, this time with anger. She lifted her chin. “That’s… dumb.”
“We know,” Solomon said sharply. “We’ve all agreed the rules are positively medieval. Let’s finish complaining about the entire situation.”
“I’m not complaining,” Nadia snapped. Her voice rose on the last word, then broke just enough to betray her. She hated that. “I’m noting that every time you hit me with new information, it’s something you didn’t tell me earlier when I could’ve made an informed decision.” Not that she was looking for sex right now, for goodness sakes.
Margaret pivoted toward Solomon, her gaze narrowing. “Didn’t you explain any of this?”
“Of course not.” Solomon straightened his tie again. “Look how she’s reacting.”
“That wasn’t kind,” Margaret noted. “But now that we’re here, what’s the big deal? It’s nice to have company around since Emily’s gone, right?” Her tone was cheerful. “I can cook.”
“And I can bake,” Bussy added promptly. “Any cookie you want.”
Nadia covered her eyes with her hands and held them there. Under her palms, her eyelids throbbed. “Wait a minute. You said I have to remain chaste, and forgetting the fact that nobody uses that word any longer, only outside of the trials.” She dropped her hands.
Bussy suddenly focused on the microwave in the corner, looking away. “Um, yes. Apparently, during the trials, you are free to, ah, sample each contender.”
Nadia’s chin dropped. “Sample?”
“It’s good to know what you’re getting,” Margaret said wisely.
Solomon blushed a bright salmon. “But only during the trials.”
Nadia cocked her head. “So I must participate in at least a couple?”
“Yes, but I can’t go into detail until all of you are in the same vicinity,” Solomon said.
Nadia inhaled and tried to force her brain to line things up in a row instead of spiraling. A male was dead. A challenge was still in motion. Everyone else was running for their lives. And she had just been assigned chaperones who were apparently tasked with keeping her body under lock and key.
She looked at Solomon. “All right. What about Dax’s body? Do we need to have a funeral? Should we call his people? What happens?” Sadness moved through her again, quieter than panic but heavier, settling into her ribs. He had seemed decent. He had been standing there one moment, part of a twisted competition, and then he had been reduced to an animal on the ground.
“I’m sure the doctor will handle all of that.” Solomon’s voice softened. “She’ll most likely put the body on ice until his people decide what to do with it. I don’t know if they’ll want a funeral here in our territory or somewhere else.” He paused. “I’m sure they’ll burn the body.”
Nadia swallowed and nodded once, because she didn’t trust herself to speak without her voice cracking. The marble counter bit cold into her fingertips as she gripped it. “So, we’re all locked in because we agreed. Even if I decided to take off now, to go back to farming in a different pack, what would happen?”
Solomon shook his head. “They’d come get you, and the entire pack would be forced to turn against you.”
She cocked her head, studying him, trying to find a crack of doubt. “Do you think the entire pack would actually follow their stupid rules?”
“Yes,” Bussy said immediately. She lifted a hand, palm out. “We wouldn’t want to. But if we don’t follow these rules, the pack will perish. There’s more at stake here than a silly book and tradition. The winds themselves are involved.”