Chapter 43
CHAPTER
FORTY-THREE
Violet
M y mother actually squeals when the doorbell rings the Sunday after the ball. We didn’t go.
I didn’t go.
It was hinted at that as Luxe I needed to be there, but I’m not going to be seen with Stephan. My heart’s too wrecked. And he…
He’s stopped trying to win me with meaningless gifts and guilty pay-offs.
He’s stopped completely.
Iris looks at me as we stand at the top of the stairs. My heart’s going a mile a minute, only because the Monarch’s here.
“Monarch,” Mom says, dangerously close to borderline simpering. “Come in, please.”
Shit. Why is she here? Did Mom… ?
I told Mom and the others when they arrived yesterday at the countryside estate that Stephan was busy. When I lied and said I wasn’t going to the ball because I didn’t feel well, she just stared.
And hadn’t said a word.
“Why is she here?” I whisper as Iris comes up to my side.
“You know Mom doesn’t believe you,” Iris hisses. “She’s worried about you and Stephan.”
Me and Stephan, like that’s all I am now, part of a unit, a mate to an Alpha.
“You don’t think…?” I stop and swallow.
“That Mom contacted the Monarch? God, no. She wouldn’t. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t. It’s our Mom, not one of the other ones. Like Quinn’s.” And Iris takes my hand, linking our fingers.
“O.M.G., it’s the Monarch,” Rue says, and Dahlia starts to play something regal on the piano.
“Rue. Go to your room.”
“Maybe you’re right,” I say. “She has all of you to mate off.”
“Not me,” Iris says. “We need to hear what’s happening. She might be here to announce the dissolving of your mate bond.”
That sends a knell of pain through me, even though I want it.
No, want is the wrong word.
“Where’s Heath? Iris, you and Rue make sure everyone’s on their best behavior.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know… ”
“Phone.” Iris holds hers up, nabs Rue as she barges up the stairs. “I’ll text.”
I nod.
When Iris has dragged Rue down the stairs, I put on a dress, then change and change again. Then I stop.
It’s the Monarch, so simple and classy.
So I pull out one of the outfits Iris made and put it on, a simple silk dress in the palest of lavender, and I find a pair of low heels and slide them on. I leave my hair down.
I’ll go down, pretend, say I made a mistake. Beg for my family to be left out of any scandal. As I rise, my phone buzzes.
Iris
No idea where Heath went. Monarch is being waited on. Mom’s about to birth litters of kittens. I think she wants blood.
Then:
Iris
Monarch bloodthirsty, not Mom.
It buzzes once more.
Iris
She hinted that Mom isn’t a good Mom.
I can fix this.
Inside, my anxiety is rising, the panic growing, but I raise my chin, fix a smile, and head down.
Every eye turns to me when I enter the living room.
“There you are at last,” says the Monarch in a chiding tone .
“Oh, Violet,” Mom says, “I knew something happened. Are you okay?”
“Is she okay?” The Monarch shoots up from her seat. “I’m being ridiculed. All because you can’t contain your children.”
Something in me snaps.
“My mother has done a magnificent job,” I say. “With all of us. And I know that because you chose me as your Luxe.”
“Maybe,” she says to me after a long moment, “I was bored.”
“Violet…”
I ignore Mom.
“Maybe. But Stephan did choose me.”
“And yet you can’t seem to make it work. He might have screwed up, but as his Omega, you’re meant to endure. To overcome and forgive. No matter what it is.”
I narrow my eyes. I’m sick of being as perfect as I can be. I’m sick of bending over to please everyone, while ignoring myself and my needs. I’m tired of being taken advantage of, used as a pawn. I’m not the same na?ve Omega I was at the start of the Season.
“Omega or not, I’m a human being, and I’ll not let anyone hurt me the way your nephew did,” I say. “My mate bond, my life, has nothing to do with you. I stand by that.”
Sophine comes right up to me. “Be very careful.”
She uses her Alpha voice, but I fight it. That command that’s hidden in her words. She isn’t telling me to be careful, she’s ordering me to shut up.
Silence rules in the house and even Dahlia’s stopped playing the piano. On my periphery are all my sisters and Mom, all not moving. Even Rue.
Meeting her glare, I take a step forward, so I’m in her space. “That’s all I ever am. Careful. Everyone else comes first. You, Stephan, my family. And only my family gives back. But I think I understand why Stephan did what he did.”
Mom moves then, her hands on me. “Sweet Violet, what did he do?”
I shoot her a look of misery, but I can’t focus on anyone but the Monarch. Her command still stings. But my ire, my love for Stephan and my family is stronger.
I refocus on Sophine. “What he did is also your fault. He was young. Younger than me, only around Iris or Mari’s age, when you just…turned your back on him. Abandoned him. Maybe if you’d supported him?—”
“Then he would’ve sullied our family’s name and reputation.”
“Fuck your reputation,” I snap, and there’s an audible gasp around the room. Letting the curse go makes me feel more powerful. “If you’d taken an interest, been there, maybe he wouldn’t be as scarred and she’d be alive.”
Sophine stares down at me “But then there would be no movie star Alpha for you, and you and your family would sink under your father’s debts.”
My fury whips into an inferno. “Stephan is more than a star. He’s real. He screwed up, yes, and I’m so furious at him I can’t see straight. He’s an idiot, a moron, but I know in my heart of hearts he crossed those lines because his family failed him. You failed him. You’re his aunt, one of his only family members left. He did what he did because he didn’t want to lose me like he did Cecilia.”
“The girl,” the Monarch sneers, “was a Beta.”
“So? How could you let your social standing come before your family? That is weakness.”
Her eyes widen. “How dare you. There are risks with Beta/Alpha pairings. Risks Stephan didn’t want to listen to. That’s why?—”
My hands ball into fists. “If they loved each other, you could have…you could have done so much more. Most importantly, you could have been there to help pick up the pieces.”
The silence is almost oppressive. And I can feel my family gawp at me. I don’t even have to look to know.
“Are you done?” the Monarch asks suddenly.
“Yes.”
To my surprise, she pulls back, the hard lines of her face softening some. “I like you, Violet. I always have. It’s why I chose you to be my Luxe. So much potential. You just needed a little push .”
I stare, a bit dumbfounded by her words.
“You’re perfect for him. I know you’ll sort it out.” She starts to sweep out then stops. “Stephan is in Sabine. He’s at my sister’s. So if you decide to see him…”
“Be kind?” I shake my head. “I won’t?—”
“Hell no. Show no mercy. I own my part in this. I failed him back then. But Stephan crossed lines with you. Even I know that. So do make him prove himself worthy. He is, by the way, worthy. He just needs…”
“A little push?”
“Exactly.” Smiling, she leaves .
When the door shuts, I almost collapse.
“I think…” I raise my head, trying to finish the sentence, but apart from Mom’s worry and confusion, my sisters all smile.
Heath strolls into the house. “Was that the Monarch? What did I miss?”
“It was wild,” Mari says. “Totally wild. Vi was magnificent.”
“Heath, what is going on?” Mom demands.
“Go, Vi!” Rue shouts. “You rule!” Then she pauses. “No, I mean go . Find Stephan. I want a movie ending.”
I look at my brother. “I need to get to Penrith’s. Can you call a car?”
He nods, and I head to the door.
I guess I should end this once and for all.