Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Violet
I make it to Emma’s door before my legs start shaking.
She greets me with a smile that brightens when Cinnamon appears next to her leg. “There she is! We had such a good time, didn’t we, sweetie?”
Cinnamon launches herself at me, all wagging tail and excited yips. I crouch down and bury my face in her soft fur, fighting to keep myself together.
“Thank you so much for watching her.” My voice comes out steadier than I feel. “I really appreciate it.”
“Anytime. She’s such a sweetheart.” Emma hands me the leash, then tilts her head, studying my face. “Are you okay? You look exhausted.”
“Just a long night. Work stuff.”
She doesn’t look entirely convinced, but she doesn’t push. “Well, get some rest. And seriously, if you ever need someone to watch her again, just let me know.”
“I will. Thank you.”
I practically flee back to my apartment, Cinnamon trotting beside me. The moment my door closes behind us, everything I’ve been holding together falls apart.
My legs give out. I slide down the door, my back scraping wood until I’m curled on the floor. Cinnamon whines and nudges me, confused.
What have I done?
I rake my hands through my hair, tugging hard enough that it stings. The pain doesn’t help. Nothing helps. Because I can still feel him. Still feel Darius’s hands on my hips, his mouth on my neck. Can still see way he looked at me like I was everything.
I slept with him. My stepbrother. The alpha heir.
Heat floods through me at the memory, and I hate myself for it. I hate that my body still wants more even though my mind knows how wrong this is.
Cinnamon whines again and tries to climb into my lap, licking at my face. I wrap my arms around her, holding on like she’s the only thing keeping me from shattering completely.
Then, something inside me moves.
That sensation. The same one I felt when Darius was inside me, when pleasure was tearing through my body and I thought I might break apart from it. That stretching, unfurling feeling. Like something that has been sleeping my entire life has suddenly remembered how to breathe.
My chest tightens. My heart pounds so hard, it hurts.
No. It can’t be.
I gently push Cinnamon aside and look up.
At the end of the foyer, there’s a full-length mirror. Even from here, even slumped on the ground like this, I can see myself. Wild-haired, wearing Darius’s sweatpants, with eyes that…
Eyes that flash golden.
The air leaves my lungs in a rush.
It’s happening again. Just like it did with Darius. Just like when he said he saw it, and I felt that impossible presence inside me.
My dormant wolf. Waking up.
Pure, molten gold pulses once, twice, before fading back to hazel.
I crawl forward on my hands and knees, my body shaking. Cinnamon follows, intrigued, but I barely notice. I need to see. Need to confirm what I already know is true.
The hardwood floor is cold beneath my palms. My breath stutters in my throat.
When I reach the mirror, I pull myself up to my knees, gripping the frame. My face stares back at me, pale and wide-eyed and terrified.
And then, it happens again.
Gold bleeds through the hazel, transforming my eyes into something I’ve never seen before. Something that has been locked away inside me for as long as I can remember. It only lasts a second before fading, but I see it clearly this time. Undeniably.
My hands fly up, trembling as they touch my face beneath my eyes.
“Oh my God,” I whisper.
My wolf is waking up.
After a lifetime of dormancy, of silence, of that empty space inside me where normal shifters have their other half, she’s finally surfacing.
Because of Darius.
The realization makes my chest ache. I felt my wolf when he and I were having sex last night. Felt something inside me wake up in a way it never has before, not even close. And Darius saw her. Saw my eyes flash gold and told me what it meant.
I thought maybe it was just a fluke. A momentary thing brought on by the intensity of what we were doing. I didn’t think it would last. Didn’t think she’d still be there when I got home.
But she is. She’s actually here.
I watch my reflection, waiting. When my eyes change to that impossible color again, just for a heartbeat, I feel it. Her presence. An awareness of something inside me that has been dormant for so long.
Tears blur my vision. All these years, I’ve been the weak one. The broken one. The stepdaughter who couldn’t shift, who embarrassed the pack just by existing. My mother always said that my wolf was dormant because I was sickly, that maybe one day she’d surface but probably not.
I accepted it. Accepted being less than everyone else.
But now, she’s here.
Why? Why now? Why did sleeping with Darius trigger a wolf that has been dormant for as long as I can remember?
The question terrifies me because I don’t have an answer. Because there has to be a reason, something that explains this, but I can’t figure out what it is.
My watch vibrates against my wrist. The medication timer.
For a moment, I don’t move. It goes off again, and I swallow, pulling myself to my feet on shaking legs. I find my bag, take out the bottle, and swallow the two pills dry, the bitter taste familiar on my tongue. Within seconds, nausea rolls through my stomach.
I grip the edge of the couch, riding it out.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I fumble for it, grateful for any distraction from the queasiness still churning.
It’s a text from my mother: Zion has returned. Family dinner tonight at 7. Don’t be late.
Irritation floods me.
Zion. My older stepbrother. The illegitimate son everyone knows about but no one mentions. Not that he cares; he has never wanted the alpha position. Too busy enjoying his parties and women. Last I heard, he was off on some mission for Alaric. Apparently, he’s back.
I type out a refusal, but before I can send it, another message arrives.
No excuses, Violet. This is important. Do not embarrass me.
Of course. Of course it’s about her. About appearances. About playing the perfect family even though we’re all drowning in secrets and lies.
I type back a single word: Fine.
The last thing I want is to see Zion. Being around him makes me uncomfortable.
At least, it used to before I was sent away.
I doubt he’ll have changed much in the time I was gone.
I don’t want to sit through a family dinner and pretend everything is normal.
To look Darius in the eye and act like last night never happened.
Sighing heavily, I head into the bathroom and turn on the shower. Steam fills the space as I strip off Darius’s sweatpants and step under the spray.
The hot water hits my skin, and I close my eyes, my back leaning against the tile wall. I stay like that for a long time, letting Darius’s scent wash off me.
My wolf. She’s really here. Inside me. Finally surfacing.
And it’s because of Darius. It has to be.
When I finally step out and wrap myself in a towel, Cinnamon is waiting for me in the bedroom. She wags her tail as I pick her up and collapse onto the bed. She immediately curls into my side.
I hold her close to me. I need to think.
Should I tell anyone about my wolf? Visit a healer? Anxiety floods me as I probe for that presence inside. Nothing. She’s gone again, as if she only woke up to stretch before going right back to sleep.
I stare at the ceiling. “Great.”
At the sound of my voice, Cinnamon clambers on top of me, licking my face.
I tell her, “You’re lucky you’re a dog. No one expects anything from you.” I stroke her fur, muttering, “Well, they don’t expect much from me, either, so I guess we’re kind of similar.”
I check the wall clock before closing my eyes. I’m not going to think for the next couple of hours. Not about Darius, not about my wolf, and certainly not about going to the main house tonight.
All I’m going to do is sleep.
I arrive just before seven, my stomach still churning with anxiety that has nothing to do with my medication. The sprawling estate looms before me, with all of its stone and glass and perfectly manicured grounds.
The massive front door opens before I can knock. James appears, his expression neutral, but there’s a flicker of recognition in his eyes when he sees me. And maybe a hint of that same respect I saw after the kitchen incident.
“Miss Violet.” He steps aside to let me in.
“Is everyone here?” I ask, though what I really mean is: Is Darius here?
“The Alpha and your mother are in the dining room. The eldest master is with them.”
My stomach twists. “And Darius?”
“Master Darius has not yet arrived.”
Relief and disappointment war in my chest. “Thank you.”
I move past James into the foyer, my footsteps echoing on the marble floors.
The house smells like money and power and everything I’ve never been able to claim as mine.
The dining room is at the end of the hall.
As I arrive at the open doorway, I can see my mother seated at the long table, her posture perfect, her expression serene.
Alpha Alaric sits at the head of the table, reading something on his tablet.
And there’s Zion.
He’s leaning back in his chair, legs stretched out, looking exactly like the arrogant playboy I remember.
Tall, broad-shouldered, with the same dark hair and sharp features as Darius—but there’s a different quality to his eyes.
A reckless and wild look that Darius keeps locked away beneath layers of control.
His gaze snaps to me the moment I enter. A slow grin spreads across his face.
“Violet.” He stands, arms spread wide like he expects me to run into them. “You’ve gotten even more beautiful.”
I force a smile. “Zion. Welcome back.”
I move to the far end of the table, as far from him as possible without making it obvious. The chair scrapes against the floor as I pull it out and sit.
Alpha Alaric looks up from his tablet, his pale blue eyes assessing. “Violet. How are you liking your new home?”