Chapter 1
I watched the rotor wash whip the lawn outside my window into a small storm and pictured the look on Drake's face the moment regret would hit him. A cold smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
This game was only just beginning.
"Thank you, Father."
"No need to be so formal with me, sweetheart. We'll talk when you're home,your mother's been missing you."
I'd barely hung up before Drake's call came hammering through.
"Elena! What is wrong with you? Why aren't you answering my texts?"
His voice carried that signature Alpha arrogance,that impatient pressure that pressed on you even through a phone speaker.
"It's just one ticket. Are you really going to throw a tantrum over this? Tiffany is your friend,your good friend,and she's not doing well right now. Can't you have a little sympathy?"
I gripped the phone tighter, my knuckles whitening.
"That ticket was mine, Drake. Did you ever bother to ask me?"
"It was an emergency!"
He said it like he'd just made some brilliant tactical call.
"Tiffany got passed over for Warrior selection. Her wolf is unstable. She needs somewhere quiet and comfortable to settle herself, and first class is exactly what she needs."
"Besides, why didn't you grab a third ticket while you were at it? Now look at the mess I have to clean up."
I almost laughed in his face. Aria let out a low, mocking growl in the back of my mind.
"Drake. Those two tickets cost me three sleepless nights. I sat staring at a screen, afraid to even blink."
"I thought it would be the first time we attended the ceremony together. I wanted memories. And now you've handed my seat to someone else?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
His voice climbed half an octave, the irritation undeniable now.
"Elena,when did you get so cold? So petty?"
"Tiffany is part of the Pack. She might as well be your sister. She's fragile right now,isn't it our duty as the strong ones to take care of her?"
"The strong ones," I echoed quietly. The cold sank deeper into my chest.
"She's fragile, but I'm not? You want me to ride a cargo ferry that reeks of fish guts and stale sweat,standing,for eight hours, and somehow I'm the one being unreasonable?"
"What's wrong with a standing-room ticket? It's just a little discomfort. When did you turn into such a brat?"
His voice was thick with disappointment.
"I thought you were kind. Sensible. Turns out you're vain. Just because it's not first class anymore, you have to make a scene? You're going to make everyone miserable over this?"
Vain.
I was vain,over a single ticket on a royal cruise.
He had no idea that with one nod from me I could buy out the entire royal fleet. It was nothing more than a single sentence from the Lycan King.
But I didn't feel like saying any of that.
I just wanted to see what other little theatrics he and his fragile, doe-eyed white lily of a girl could conjure up.
I let the silence stretch. To Drake, my silence sounded like guilt,like surrender.
His tone softened, though it still dripped with that condescending generosity:
"All right, all right, that's enough. I know you feel slighted. Once the festival's over, I'll take you to a movie in the human district,happy?"
"Now hurry up and see if you can still get a standing ticket on the cargo ferry. Tiffany and I will meet you at the Pack's harbor."
I could practically see the magnanimous expression on his face,the one he wore when he believed he'd just been very gracious indeed.
"Don't bother," I said flatly.
"Don't bother? What's that supposed to mean?" He stalled.
