Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“Climb out of the darkness, Aurora,” Jess said in that calming tone, this time with a command worming through it. “Your beast does not rule you—it helps you. You control it, not the other way around. Fight your way back to the surface.”
“I’ll be damned,” Tristan whispered. Austin would have to ask him later what he was responding to.
Carlos’s throat began to mend, and his bleeding slowed. Jess was healing him as she worked with Aurora, a protector and a teacher at the same time.
Austin’s pride swelled. He couldn’t have picked a better co-leader or mate. This would get out to the rest of the pack. This was why they were all concerned about her well-being.
Aurora lunged once more, but her heart wasn’t in it.
“Claw your way to the surface,” Jess commanded, and this time, power roared in her words. “Come on, Aurora, you’re more than a mere beast. Prove it.” She waited a beat. “Austin had to find his balance as well. So did I. You have to have balance when you’re flirting with the darkness. That side of you is a great asset…until it’s a danger. Stability should not come with a warning label.”
“That’s something a gargoyle would say,” Tristan whispered, leaning toward Austin. “Language like that appeals to the cairns.”
Good to know.
“She’s blossoming as an alpha,” Brochan murmured. “Looks like she needs to be in the action to really own that part of herself.”
“I agree,” Tristan said. “It’s something I’ve learned about myself recently.”
Austin kept himself from huffing out a laugh. Tristan had learned that by taking over a schedule, of all things. He needed to buy Niamh a beer, or perhaps a whole vat of basajaunak special brew.
A flare of light preceded Aurora’s rising to stand in her human form, her gaze acutely focused on Jess. She didn’t speak or step forward. She didn’t posture with the victory or even give a cursory glance to get reactions, something most shifters did.
Jess nodded at her as though there had been a silent exchange. “Good,” she said. “Work on it. Eventually, it won’t be such a struggle. I should know—I went from a Jane to a violent, dark-dwelling death machine. If I can do it, anyone can.”
“Kind of extreme,” Tristan muttered, laughter in his tone.
Jess pulled her foot from over Carlos before kneeling at his side and putting a hand on his shoulder. “How do you feel? Better?”
He let his tongue roll out.
“He’s good,” Austin translated, because Jess would have no clue what that meant. “He just needs more time to heal.”
“I’m letting him feel most of the pain to keep him from shifting or moving too much.” Jess rose. “His throat needs to be better stitched together, or it’ll tear. Blood loss could still kill him if he’s not careful.”
The magic winked out from around the challenge area. Aurora lowered her gaze, contemplative, before making her slow way to Carlos. She knelt beside him as someone brought her clothes. Austin couldn’t hear what she said, but it was customary to thank the other shifter for the fight.
“Okay.” Jess stopped in front of Austin with her hands on her hips. “What’s next? Tristan?”
“Give me a minute. I just need to jot down your thoughts and hopes in your diary really quick,” he replied.
She rolled her eyes as Austin nearly turned back to see what he was talking about. Jess grimaced at him, though, stealing his attention. “Sorry,” she said. “Hopefully, with practice, I’ll get better.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her toward the car. “You did perfectly. I’d never thought to coach Aurora on the darkness. She always seems much more together than I ever was. I didn’t realize it was a concern.”
She half glanced back. “I’d ask if I overstepped, but I have a connection with her through my gargoyle.” She didn’t elaborate on what she’d felt. “It probably isn’t a concern for your day-to-day shifter stuff. No one else seemed worried about her. They were only worried about the wolf. Those I could feel through connections, anyway. But losing control like that is dangerous. We both know it firsthand. I think it should be addressed, that’s all. Maybe not for everyone, if you don’t think so, but at least for the people…at least family.”
For the people she cared about directly—that must’ve been what she was about to say. But she cared about all of her pack directly. Maybe not randomly on the street, but once it became about battle and fighting and danger, she cared. It was her duty, whether personally assigned or assigned by Ivy House. Or, hell, maybe that was what a female gargoyle was. It was why there were so few—it only took one to get the job done.
She needed to attend more challenges. She needed to ingrain herself in the shifter lifestyle every bit as much as that of the gargoyles. Her insight, and her personal touch on the members of the convocation, were clearly important. He wanted to nurture that.