Ellie POV
For all of Nolan’s complaining about being late, we arrived basically right on time. The pack elders were still hovering around the door, waiting for us, making their formal greetings as soon as we walked in.
I stood beside Nolan, holding onto his arm, smiling politely and playing my role perfectly, regardless of how nauseous I felt or how overwhelming it was to be here in a room full of people who hated me.
And it only got worse once the elders started talking.
At first, it was the usual chatter about pack affairs: border issues, the economy, and all of that. But one particular elder kept staring at me. And while I wasn’t completely unused to that, it still irritated me.
Still, I kept smiling that ridiculous, polite smile until the elder finally said,
“When can we expect y
