“I did what I had to. You don’t understand how delicate the situation is,” she says, keeping her voice low.
I yank away from her and cross my arms. “You’re only looking out for yourself. I can’t believe you.”
“Shut up, Amber. You need to listen carefully. If you dare try to mess things up for our family, you will regret it. I have been pushed around enough by your sisters. I won’t stand for you trying to make me out to be the bad guy. You killed Jade. You killed her and you need to understand the consequences.” Mother grinds her teeth, smudging her plum lipstick.
I point to the door. “Get the fuck out of here. Get out and don’t ever talk to me again!”
“Amber…” Gabe’s soft voice snatches my attention, and I whip my head to look at him.Shit.Rip doesn’t say anything, but he holds his hand under his jacket. I wouldn’t put it past him to do something rash. He is a murderer after all. I know it because Scarlett told me. He wouldn’t think twice about killing anyone who stood in my family’s way.
“Mother! Make them back off. Leave Gabe and Beau out of it.” I dig my fingernails into my palms. “I mean it. I don’t know what you think you’re doing here, but you can’t threaten me anymore. Just leave. Leave, or you’ll be the one to regret it. I won’t miss next time.”
Mother tosses her hair over her shoulder and looks at Rip and his cousin. “I think we’ve made our point. Come on. We have another errand to run.” Mom forces herself to smile at me. “You’re such a disappointment,Daughter. I hope you know that.”
Her words nearly crack me in half, but I square my shoulders and point at the door again.
“Well, you’re a fucking monster. I’m glad you don’t like me. Means I must be doing something right in this godforsaken life.” My body shakes with my words, but I remain standing tall. I don’t back down. I would never step away from the challenge against her. She’ll see just what I’m really capable of.
“Goodbye, Amber. Enjoy the rest of your stay at Drakewood. You’ll learn to appreciate all I do for you soon enough.” With a twitch of her nose, she pulls her purse onto her shoulder and strides away, leaving the visiting members of Pack Fernando to follow.
She leaves me and my two guys standing in shocked silence.
I don’t know what game she’s playing, but I know this is only the beginning.
Mother will do whatever it takes to protect herself. No matter who she takes down in the process.
Including me.
Including all of us.
GABE
What a fucking joke. Our Power and Control professor threw us to the wolves. I’d laugh if I weren’t ready to punch a wall. I’ve never been so upset and pissed off in my life.
Amber’s told us all about her fucked-up relationship with her mother, but even that hadn’t prepared me for seeing it firsthand, for the feel of that gun pressed into my ribs. Her mother brought us there to flex her control, and goddamn it, I hated feeling so helpless. That asshole thug of hers was just looking for a reason to pull the trigger. Probably had a hard-on at the thought of killing off some random guy.
This is not the life I want, not for Amber, not for me, not for any of us. We deserve a helluva lot more.
I may have held up that gas station as an excuse to get into Drakewood, but I swear I’m on the straight and narrow from now on. It’s not the academy that reformed me, so much as finding something to live for.
I’ll be a good alpha, contribute to society, do my part… unless someone fucks with my pack, then I’ll be the one holding the fucking gun. I know I have it in me.
“Are you okay?” I ask, draping my arm around Amber’s shoulders. I expect her to be shivering violently from the stress but instead her stance is steady, her jaw set with determination anew.
“I should have killed her when I had the chance,” my mate growls, her blue eyes are wild, burning. “It should’ve always been her. Not Jade. That fucking woman thrives on destroying everything in her path.”
“She’ll get what’s coming to her,” I promise, even though it’s not exactly a vow I can make, not unless I choose to take the matter into my own hands.
She turns to me and sighs. “Yeah, but will it be soon enough to make a difference?”
I shake my head, unable to find the words she wants to hear. “I don’t know, but I promise everything will be okay. Nobody will harm a single hair on your head. We won’t let that happen.”
I’m making a lot of promises today, and I’ll make a million more if it will help Amber be happy. I’ll move fucking mountains to ensure they all pan out.
Beau grunts his agreement. I’d been so caught up in our girl that I hadn’t even remembered that we weren’t alone, that Theoden was still locked out of the visitation room.
Amber must remember then too, because she strides toward the door, her alluring scent of cherries and vanilla swirling behind her.Cherry pie.
Our visitors only stayed for a few minutes, and yet somehow they changed everything. This isn’t the pint-sized alpha who challenged Beau and me on the front steps at the beginning of term. It’s as if Amber’s been reborn, forged from the ashes of everything her mother set ablaze. She’s stronger, because she needs to be in order to survive.