Wednesday evening, Andrew had driven us a good thirty minutes away from town, passing the old Everton house. I thought we were lost, but with GPS and Andrew's "alpha assurance" of direction, we eventually approached a giant mansion sitting on a large stretch of hilly land in the middle of nowhere that had a circle driveway full of cars.

"Jesus," I commented, gazing up at the mansion that was way bigger than Ryder's. I looked over at Andrew. "This house is probably worth one of our inheritances."

"And then some," he added in agreement before we both got out of the car and were greeted. Meena was the first to run out of the French doors to greet Andrew with a kiss on the cheek and grab to his hands. She welcomed me too, but I was focused on the man walking out calmly in a suit with a familiar boy to his side who smirked like he did the last time we met.

"Welcome," Meena's father said with a relaxed smile. He held out his hand to Andrew, who shook nervously. "Quite a grip, Andrew," he commented within a chuckle before looking to me. "And this is...?"

"Ashlynn," Meena introduced.

"My sister," Andrew added.

"Well, the more, the merrier."

"That's what I said," Meena giggled and gazed up to Andrew before remembering something and looking at me. "You did invite Ryder, right?"

"Uh yeah," I lied. "But he was busy; football stuff."

She nodded skeptically and I watched her chauffeur from yesterday—who I assume is her brother—poorly contain a pathetic laugh. I narrowed my eyes.

"That's no problem. Maybe some other time," Meena's father proposed as if my facade of willingness to be here was better than I thought. "But the food isn't actually ready so..."

"Great!" Meena exclaimed. "I can take you guys on a tour."

"Sure," Andrew allowed. I produced a weak smile in agreement and followed her through the doors of her castle, sure to notice her brother's eyes never left my face.

***

Even though Meena had warned us that she had a big family, her father Trey had informed us that tonight we'd only be dining with him, his wife Lonnie, and Lee (Meena's older brother/occasional chauffer) since the other Leonard children were out of town for college or work and wouldn't be back until the weekend. As soon as the dinner began, Lonnie and Trey showered Meena and Andrew with compliments of how well and happy they looked together.

"They better be happy," Lee commented before shifting his dark eyes over to Andrew. It was the first time he said anything tonight from his aloof seating down at the other end of the table across from his father. Maybe it seemed further because aside from the empty seat next to me and next to Andrew on the other side, Lee's facial expression conveyed a strong sense of detachment. That way, he could judge us from his own distance. "I don't need to give you the 'break her heart, I break your face' talk, right?"

Andrew had smiled back initially, but I knew his alpha side must have been barking at the insult and for being in another werewolf's "claimed" territory that was literally just outside our jurisdiction.

"Oh Lee," Lonnie scolded. "You won't lay a hand on his handsome face," she instructed before looking at me and Andrew. "He's just a protective brother—even to his older sisters sometimes!"

"Mm," I hummed because every word of excitement or weird obsession with the immediate intensity of Meena and Andrew's relationship was just...wrong. It's like I stepped into some backwards dimension where parents were quick to sell off their daughter to my brother—oh my God. He spent years in Florida with commitment issues to girls for no reason. How was tonight not scaring him? It's like the Leonard parents already wanted them to get hitched and move in! And of course all of this was happening without any mentioning or mutter of the word werewolf because I could see that they had high hopes in Meena and Andrew's relationship because it was like a business arrangement to them. And then suddenly, I just began laughing hysterically.

I don't know what compliments Lonnie was giving or what condescending life advice Trey was presiding over, but I just laughed briefly and the talking stopped. The only other change in the room was Lee lifting his chin in an interest for what was about to happen.

"I'm sorry?" Lonnie asked with narrowed eyes about why the hell I was laughing at nothing right now.

"This," was all I said within a laugh, "this whole situation tonight is hilarious."

"I think we missed the joke," Lee said, still with an intrigued expression.

"Ash," Andrew hissed at me. I shot him a look across from me before looking between Lonnie and Trey on one end of the table and Lee on the other to my right.

"How can the both of you just be okay with this?"

"With what?"

"Them," I clarified, gesturing across the table to the two love-birds who were still in their honeymoon mindset after being together for maybe a week. I looked directly into Andrew's eyes. "You're wasting your time, Drew. She's not your mate."

Suddenly, the demeanor of the room shifted and I heard both Leonard men simultaneously sigh and place their utensils down as if I had not only addressed the elephant in the room, but also paraded it around with a sign of my disapproval.

"So the wolf's out of the bag," Lee mentioned.

"Was it ever 'in' the bag?" I questioned within a pathetic laugh. But this wasn't funny and they all knew it. "You're sitting at a table with two people from one of the oldest werewolf families. Did you think we were stupid enough not to recognize you and this grandiose lifestyle to fit into your family's legacy? Or did you think we stupidly assumed y'all would conveniently not address the obvious territory belonging to Evertons that's always belonged to Evertons?" I asked. "I mean really, you think we can just sit here all night and act like—"

"Ashlynn," Andrew hissed yet refrained from flashing his blue eyes at me.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I feigned. "Did you and your new girlfriend not get the chance to reveal your werewolf secrets yet? Maybe you wouldn't have to if you were mates—"

"Ash, stop it—"

"We didn't know if you knew about werewolves," Trey finally notified.

"Yeah right, like he didn't smell Ryder all over me when we met," I gestured to Lee, who arrogantly scoffed in amusement.

"Ryder...?"

"Ryder Ramon," I assured the patriarch. "My mate."

"The other alpha," Lee muttered to his father with a low voice. I laughed once more.

"Of course you know that little detail," I said to myself. He must have done his research because I hadn't uttered a single word involving the werewolf world even when I gushed over my relationship with Ryder to Meena yesterday.

"Of course we do," Trey addressed my comment. "One small town with two alphas? Yeah right. The only reason this situation is as it is, is because your family has a tendency to not fight for what they want even if it's—"

"Don't act like you know anything about my family," I retorted. "Evertons breed alphas. We don't need to fight for anything because we have all that we need and we know what's ours. Just like having two packs in Tyriette. This is our land and our territory and we're secure enough to share it with a pack our own father passed down."

"Real alphas don't just pass down their packs—"

"They do when they value their mate!" I interrupted. I watched Trey's composure remain calm on the outside, but my wolf wasn't stupid to sense his frustration and hear his heartbeat speed up. "But you wouldn't understand that," I suddenly realized. There was no changing their entire legacy. I looked at each of them briefly and scaled back from attacking them in their own home. "I know your family. Wealth and power—that's all y'all want. That's all y'all have ever wanted, and when the day comes that an alpha steps up, you spend your whole life clutching onto it desperately. That's why I know they," I pointed at Meena and Andrew, "won't work. It doesn't matter if Meena has anything to do with it, but Andrew knows deep down that she is not his mate. We breed alphas because love is power and I'm gonna be damned before I see my brother throw that away."

"You're so quick to live up to the elitist Everton mindset my family's being dealing with for generations," Trey mentioned with something glimmering in his eye. I shrugged in the bitchiest way possible. "Yet you sit here without your mate even by your side."

"I'm not insecure enough to need him at my side every waking moment," I expressed. My eyes shifted over to Lee's because I knew he had been studying me all night for selfish reasons. "And like you said, he's an alpha. He has a life of his own and so do I. I think we can live without each other for a night."

"Or three," Lee figured and I watched his eyes glance over at his sister's, who probably told him how I hadn't actually talked to Ryder since Sunday. "Or who knows, however long either of you decides?"

"Maybe," I challenged. If need be, I knew Ryder and I could go a while without each other despite neither of us wanting that outcome. We had enough trust in the bond to know that as long as either of us weren't dying or in danger, we'd be fine.

"Then what's so wrong about what we do?" he asked me. "As far as I know, every imprint I've seen is no different than any other relationship."

"Because you've never been in one."

"Maybe I never will," he responded. "Most Bitten don't find their match. Some bloodlines don't either. There are seven billion people on this planet and I'm expected to find one person that's apparently perfect for me? Yeah right," he scoffed. "I rather take my chances than wait on someone who probably won't be who's best for me."

"Best for you or best for your family?"

"Same thing."

Unbelievable.

"You don't get to choose who is and isn't good for you. Fate does," I preached. "And Fate has a funny way of catching up to everyone."

Now, the Leonards aside from Meena stepped even higher onto their horses and actually laughed at me. Now I was the one missing the joke.

"We make our own fates," Lee told me, dismissing absolutely any respect for Fate or the Order their own family was succumbed into following. I looked over at Andrew, who I knew respected imprinting (because why else would he deal with Ryder for me?), but his eyes were glued to the table with his head down. When the conceited chuckles ceased, I simply stood up and excused myself.

I felt my heartbeat all the way in my ears just pounding away. I didn't know if I was angry or frustrated or embarrassed, but it didn't feel good. I think above everything else, including confusion, I felt pity for the entire Leonard family for their generations of rejected the idea of imprinting all because of what? They wanted to control even more land and werewolves? There was way more to life than all of that.

And yet, as I walked along the dark and empty street away from the mansion with so many lights I could use to see a full football field away, I realized that the pity brought on sadness. It only mixed with the silence and realization that not even my brother came after me. And in good faith of everything I just preached, I found myself calling Ryder.