October 29th

A few hours of peace later, Leo's car pulled up in front of Mateo's house. I shrunk into the sofa and buried my head in Elora's lap. We'd been chatting, gossiping and joking all afternoon and I'd almost forgotten the miseries of having Leo as a mate. Now I could hear him slam his car door and his footsteps come toward the house as an enormous sense of dread filled me.

"Tell him I'm not here," I begged, "Please."

Mateo let out a heavy sigh before getting up to answer the unnecessarily loud knocks.

"She doesn't want to see you," Mateo said before Leo even said a word.

Leo scoffed, "Don't waste your breath telling me things I already know."

"How do you live with yourself knowing your mate despises you?" Mateo asked.

"I-" Leo began.

"Actually, don't waste your breath either. I already know. A severe lack of empathy, sympathy, remorse and guilt."

I sat up, my mouth dropping open as Elora's eyes flashed in delight.

"You tell him Mateo," she said under her breath.

"I'm here for my Luna. Not a lecture from my little brother," Leo grumbled.

"Elora is staying here tonight. I'm happy to host Nelda too for however long she likes."

Leo laughed, "The last thing Nelda needs is encouragement from you two. She's already capable of making my life hell on her own."

"Ah yes, last night-"

"Just show me where she is," Leo interrupted.

Mateo sighed again, "The living room."

Leo didn't hesitate to step into the hallway and stride towards where Elora and I sat listening.

"We're heading home, Nelda," he said with a monotone voice as he gave me a laborious gaze.

I nested further into Elora's lap as she placed her hands on my head, gently playing with my hair.

"I'd rather not," I said.

Elora bit her lip, hiding her smile as Leo shut his eyes for a second, taking a slow breath.

"Don't make this difficult. My patience is hanging on by a thread this evening."

"When is it not?" I muttered.

With that, he strode forward, grabbed my arm and hauled me off the sofa before effortlessly throwing me onto his shoulder. Feeling like I had caused a satisfactory amount of villainy this week, I surrendered to it and let him carry me out of Mateo's house like a rag doll. After bundling me into the car, I waved at Mateo and Elora who stood on the doorstep before Leo sped away.

"You had a pleasant meal with my family I hear?" he asked as he sat down opposite me at the dining table.

I pursed my lips.

"Yeah... charming."

"Mateo and Elora have never known when to keep their mouths shuts," he muttered, "I'm sure you guys all get along quite nicely."

"How does it feel that I've recruited two of your siblings onto my side?" I asked, "Including your favourite brother?"

Leo gave me a sarcastic smile.

"Luca is my favourite brother. He doesn't get in my way or encourage my mate against me."

I shrugged.

"I could easily recruit him too... how angry is Xavier?"

"Off the scale," Leo said, "You really rub him the wrong way."

I grinned, "Good. He deserves it. Even you can't deny that."

Leo bit his lip, glancing at me briefly.

"Admittedly he does deserve it a bit," he said, the shadow of a smile on his lips, "But I'm not saying I approve of you bullying my father."

I let my jaw hang loose.

"And do you think he would approve of you saying he's getting bullied by a barely five foot nineteen-year-old?"

The smile finished materialising as his grip on the steering wheel loosened.

"No. Don't tell him I said that."

When we got back to the house, I headed straight for the stairs.

"Nelda wait," he said, "I need to talk to you. Come and sit in my office."

I hesitated for a moment, my hand clasping the banister of the stairs.

"It's about your mother."

My hand fell limp and as my mouth dried, I followed him into his office. He sat at his desk and I perched on the chair in front of him.

"I released Liliana today after General Raven came to the conclusion that she knows nothing. She was offered accommodation, food and a chance to see you but she fled the territory immediately. I thought you'd like to know."

I raised my eyebrows and leant back in the chair.

"And I'm supposed to believe you?" I asked.

He gave a knowing nod before reaching into his desk draw and handing me my phone.

"I thought you might say that. So go upstairs and give her a call. If she doesn't answer, I swear on this pack that it has nothing to do with me."

I took the phone out of his hand, my lips pursed and eyes narrowed.

"Okay..." I said.

He wouldn't swear on his pack. Maybe on his father's life, or even his mother's, but never his pack. That was the one thing he cared for.

I went upstairs and after positioning myself on a window seat where I could watch the sun dip beneath the treetops, I rang my mom.

"Nelda," her soft voice said the second I began ringing.

I smiled, relief sweeping over me.

"Are you alright, mom? I know what they did."

"I am fine," she said, "I wanted to see you, but I didn't want to make things harder for you with Alpha Thorn."

She spoke slowly, her words elongated with sadness.

"I'm so sorry, Nelda. I have failed you and now Maximus knows everything."

I leapt up from the window seat before busting into the bedroom, through to the bathroom and turning on the shower to mask our voices.

My forehead creased, "You told General Raven? But Leo said Raven decided you didn't know anything in the end."

For a few moments, she took a crushing pause. Only the hammering spray of the shower filled the silence.

"What did you tell him? Why did Leo lie?" I questioned, my heartbeat raising.

"Maximus is the one lying," she whispered, "He will never tell Thorn this. Not if he's anything like all the Ravens before him."

"Mom," I said deeply, "What did you tell him? I need to know."

"I'm sorry, Nelda. I can't tell you. Thorn finding out through you is too much of a risk."

I let out a frustrated breath, "Am I in danger? Does this make Raven a threat to me?"

Another torturous silence.

"I don't know what this means, Nelda. We are so far out of our depth. But you need to avoid Maximus Raven at all costs. Never be alone with him."

"Okay. I can do that."

"Good. Have you been keeping a low profile too?"

I swallowed, images of me speaking in front of the entire pack in a brilliant white dress flickering in front of my face.

"Sort of."

"Nelda, this is so important. I need you to keep your head down," she said.

"But so many more people need me to keep my head up," I replied, "I can't let them down."

She sighed, "You are just like your father. Do you know how many times I asked him to keep his head down and how many times he refused?"

I smiled, my heart warming.

"But look where did that get him."

My face dropped. Her voice was harsher than I'd ever heard it before.

"Learn from his mistakes and be sensible. I love you."

She hung up, leaving me in the now steamy bathroom clutching the phone. After taking the opportunity to stash Elora's pills amongst my pads and tampons, I composed myself and stepped back downstairs.