“Ah, yeah, of course. Of course it is, and thank you so much for this opportunity,” I said, trying to play it cool and utterly failing.
Gideon kept talking then, about the plans for the conference and the progress of the different projects, but everything just washed over me. I couldn’t seem to listen, think, or feel anything beyond this.
I was being given the greatest possible opportunity someone like me, especially at this stage in my career, could get. My mind raced as I thought furiously about all the angles to take, how to present the information, which sources to reference, until finally, the meeting came to an end.
“Windsor, contact my secretary and set up the first of what will no doubt be many progress meetings around this study,” Gideon said with a smile as we all got to our feet.
“Dad!” Evan pushed his way forward, the people exiting the room not really giving way to him, so he had to fight against the tide to get to his father. His face creased in irritation, growing darker and darker until he was positively fuming by the time he reached Gideon, though he took the time to smooth his face into a more acceptable expression. “So, about this study. I was thinking as senior…”
I had to give it to Evan, he persisted way past the point I would’ve. Gideon stared at his son with the kind of implacable look that had your words dying in your throat, just like Evan’s were now. His was a watchful gaze, one that waited for you to prove that this interruption was warranted, but also made clear that anything frivolous would not be tolerated.
“Evan, my answer remains the same,” Gideon replied quietly. “You want a keynote address? Earn it.”
And with that, he nodded to the three of us before stalking out of the room.
Candyand I held it together right up until we got out of the elevator, and then, as soon as Windsor’s back was turned, I punched her right in the arm.
“Ow! What the fuck was that for? I just gave you exactly what you wanted, Tin Man,” she spluttered, and I just stood there, staring at her. “Ohh…that’s right—you’re that emotionally repressed that you don’t know how to deal with that.” She peered up at me and then started speaking in the kind of tone you use with small children. “Now, Riley, I need you to use your words.”
“Thank you.” That was all I could get out right then. It was manifestly inadequate, but that realisation just made my throat lock down harder. “Thanks for everything.”
“I got you, bitch, I told you that. Now c’mon. We’re gonna need to work our arses off if we are…”
We walked down the hallway to find my office door open, and an ice-cold finger slid down my spine in response. It shouldn’t have. We knew who would be there, and of course, there was fucking Evan, pawing through the reports we’d just left lying there on my desktop, due to my little furry incident before.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I snarled, and Candy shot me an alarmed look, because it wasn’t entirely Riley who was speaking right then.
And Evan knew that.
His head jerked around, his eyes wild as he saw that he’d been caught, but he didn’t care. If all the times before were anything to go by, he wouldn’t be reprimanded, and in any case, he’d get what he wanted. But right now, my precious paperwork slipped from his fingers as he just stared at me.
“What the fuck…?”
He was staring at my eyes, stammering some bullshit out as he pointed with shaking hands, but mine didn’t shake a bit as I grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him closer.
“What the fuck are you?” he asked, eyes flicking everywhere, as if that would tell him what was happening. “What have you…?”
As his words trailed away, his eyes went to the desk, the papers, and the very deep furrows I’d carved into the desktop with my claws. Evan wasn’t stupid, just really, really lazy, so it didn’t take him too long to put two and two together.
“You’re the latent,” he said, the jubilation palpable in his voice.
“And you’re fucking dead if you breathe a single word of it to anyone.”
My body coursed now with a kind of power I’d never felt before, my muscles like iron as my grip tightened around his collar. His hands went up, scrabbling at the fabric, at my fingers, but got nowhere with it. His breath started coming in wheezes, the sound soft and pleasant on my ears, then his face went a fetching shade of purple.
“Fuck, down, Cujo!” Candy snapped, and that seemed to break whatever spell this was. My grip instantly loosened, dropping the man so he ended up sliding down the wall into a gasping mess at my feet. “Remember, the first rule of Candy and Riley club is we don’t kill Evan, no matter how much he might deserve it. Gideon will miss him, I think.”
“You fucking crazy bitch!” Evan tried to shout, but his voice just came out as a hoarse whisper. “You tried to kill me!”
“And you just broke into my office, into my turf, and went through my stuff.”
Any indignation he might have felt was quickly wiped by my expression.
Was this what the alphas felt like as they moved through the world? Was this why the omegas at my school had ruled it with an iron fist? Because right now, Evan’s eyes went wide as it finally sunk in what he’d done. He thought he’d discovered a trump card, but instead, he’d found something with sharp teeth and claws.
When I spoke next, I was fairly sure my eyes were shining bright silver, and Evan, he couldn’t seem to look away.
“You will not speak to a single soul about this,” I said in a voice that was part wolf, part woman. “You won’t ever enter my office unless it’s with my express permission. You will not try and fuck with my study or do anything that might piss me off.”