There was no natural light, as it sat centrally in the house, which gave it a really cozy feeling, added to by the stone-lined fireplace roaring away in the corner, vented up through a stunning stone flue.
Warmth surrounded us as Slade led me to a long table, clearly used for research purposes. Thefunreading would be done on the large, squishy couches dotted closer to the fire.
On the table sat a pile of books along with a laptop and tablet. “Sit,” Slade commanded, pulling out the chair for me.
“Yes, sir,” I said, snapping to attention in the way that usually had his eye doing a twitchy thing.
He shook his head. “You wouldn’t call mesirif you knew how much my dragon liked it.”
That had my wolf perking to attention, and I wasn’t sure Slade and I were on the same wavelength when it came to our beasts. I absolutely wanted to useallthe words his dragon liked. I wanted to claim both sides of this alpha. For once though, I was smart enough to keep that need to myself. We’d been so distant lately. I didn’t want to ruin this time together.
I sank into the chair, and Slade pushed me toward the table. “Okay, let’s do a bit of reading to figure out where we’re at, and where to start.”
He took a seat beside me and pulled the pile of items toward him, retrieving a dozen or so pieces of paper. The first one he handed me had a white background with printed sentences in black blocky text. When I stared at the words, everything started to move around, and I squinted in an attempt to focus. I finally figured out the first sentence and read it out loud:Theshifter broke the first rule of the treaty.
“Okay,” Slade said with a nod, making no comment on my obvious struggle, even as I felt heat in my cheeks.Fuck, I hated this. “Let’s try a few different styles.”
The rest of the papers were all different. Different colored backgrounds and different fonts. Surprisingly, I found some of them far easier to read, while others were even harder than the first white one.
“You do better with a green or dark-tinged background,” Slade noted clinically, as if he was a scientist making a checklist. “Sans-serif fonts, at least point twelve or fourteen, and no italics.”
A surge of excitement rocked deep in my gut at the idea that maybe I could keep moving forward with my reading once I figured out the foundations.
Next we worked on the tablet, and he continued to break down my difficulties, until eventually he had the perfect background and text for me. “Give me your phone?” he said, holding out a hand, and I tried to remember when I’d seen it last.
“Uh, I’m not sure…”
Slade shook his head. “Why am I not surprised? Have you even checked the group chat lately?”
That would have been a no. I’d been too busy training to think about anything else. “I’m always with one of you and you all keep me updated.”
In truth, I loved our group chat threads, and I needed to make more effort to be in there. Especially if Finley and Slade were no longer ghosting as soon as they were added.
We spent another thirty minutes going through different programs, and I was shocked by how strong my reading was with the right background and font. I’d thought I’d test out as no better than a first or second grader, but I was actually much higher.
“You’ve been working harder than you realized over the years to compensate,” Slade said, as he packed everything up. “Your reading level is good, Emme. You just needed to understand your brain better to help it shine. Now we can cater to that.”
I barely stopped from squealing and bouncing in my chair over this unexpected boost to my day. “I’d really love to be able to read novels one day,” I said, finally voicing a long-held dream out into the world. “The couple of audiobooks I could afford only whet my appetite, and while I love Kellan reading to me, I’d like to repay the favor.”
Slade nodded. “You can use a reading tablet. I’ll ensure it has the right font and background, which will come across in every book you download. I won’t lie to you and say that reading is ever going to be super easy for you, but you’ve already proven your grit and determination. Just keep practicing and we’ll have you reading novels in no time.”
I waved my hand, feeling the burn behind my eyes as I fought back happy tears. “I need to work on spelling. Those pesky letters still want to switch themselves up, and I thank the goddess for autocorrect and spellcheck.”
Slade, who was the closest shifter I’d ever met to a perfectionist, surprised me when he leaned down over me on thetable, and rested his hands on either side of my body.Caging me in. “Don’t worry about spelling, Snow. If you get your point across, I don’t care if a letter is the wrong way around or you miss a comma. As long as you can express yourself, I want you to do that. Incorrect spelling and all.”
As he moved back, he brushed a hand across my shoulders and left the room.
I needed a few seconds to pull myself together before I got to my feet and followed.
It had been a truly perfect hour spent with the enigmatic dragon shifter. I felt lighter as I stopped beating myself up about my differences.
Maybe it was time to embrace my true self and stop caring what others thought of me…
A freedom I’d never understood until this very moment.
CHAPTER 39
FINLEY
