Turning, I started toward the grand staircase. The goddess knows I dreaded what I was about to face. It wasn't because I feared the council, but because I loathed their hypocrisy.
It irks me.
I was halfway down the stairs when I heard the shriek.
"Cali!"
I barely had time to turn before a blur of cream chiffon and espresso curls barreled into me.
"Nyx," I groaned, catching her by the shoulders before she knocked both of us down the stairs. "For the love of the Moon, you trying to break your neck?"
Nyx beamed, bouncing. "I wanted to see you! Stop being so serious all the time."
"Well, I'm busy."
"I figured. You always are. But today, I have important sister things."
"I have an important Alpha thing."
"Ugh, you're no fun," she huffed, linking her arm in mine like we were off to buy pastries. "So serious all the time."
"Because I have serious things to deal with."
"Like your breeder?" she asked sweetly.
I shut my eyes and took a deep inhale. I knew what this was. Nyx was here to tease me about Rose. Everyone seemed to want to talk about Rose.
She was the new celebrity, huh?
"Leave it, Nyx."
She gave me a look that says; 'Not a chance in hell!'
"Anyway, congratulations. I haven't congratulated you properly." Her voice dropped to a teasing whisper. "New Luna, huh?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Rose isn't Luna yet. Not until she completes the rites."
Nyx smirked. "I know. But something tells me she will be soon."
"That's a bold assumption."
"It's an observation, big bro." She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, watching me sidelong. "You don't usually protect anyone. Or speak for them. Or threaten to murder someone over them in a ballroom full of witnesses."
"That was… situational."
"Situationally hot," she teased, giggling as I rolled my eyes. "Don't look at me like that. I'm just saying—she's different. And you act like it."
I ground my jaw and looked away. "I just felt… responsible. I bought her, you know."
"Sure. You also shielded her, warned Mom in front of Dad at that, and nearly broke Ciro's hand. That's a lot of responsibility for someone who doesn't care."
I knew fighting Ciro in front of our Father was going to birth dire consequences. I knew what Nyx meant and understood her shock.
Our Father was the most powerful wolf in this era. Rumors had it that he was in cahoots with demons, who in turn gave him so much power.
However, these were unconfirmed rumors, and they'd stayed like that ever since. What this meant was that he might have retired from the company, and his position as the Alpha, but he was far from retirement.
He called the shots. Pulled strings behind the scenes... He was like that. He knew we couldn't defy him; Ciro and I. He was a bully. A grown ass one.
I was a very powerful wolf, second to him, but nowhere near his type of powerful. He knew that too well and exploited it.
Hence, even though he no longer attended the council meetings, I reported to him firsthand. He'd give his opinion, and I dared not go against it.
It was the same with the company. Ciro was also the CEO by name, but Father was the real big shot. On the outside and at the first meeting, he seemed like your usual warm Father and quiet man, but on the inside, he was the Father who still punishes his twenty-seven-year-old and twenty four like they were teenagers in high school.
Nyx grinned triumphantly, taking my silence for succumbing. "Anyway, I actually wanted to ask you something."
"Oh no." I groaned.
"Don't be dramatic. It's a favor. Evelyn's found her mate. She's throwing her mating party tomorrow night."
"Congratulations to her," I said dryly. "What's that got to do with me?"
"I want to take Rose."
I stopped walking. "What?"
Nyx beamed up at me like she'd just suggested teaching a goldfish how to tango. "I want to take Rose to Evelyn's party. Just us girls."
"Why?"
She pouted and shrugged. "Because I want to make friends with her?"
I arched a brow. "You've never made friends with any of the humans ever since…."
I couldn't finish, but she understood. My sister has had quite the history.
"She's different. You know that."
"I don't like it."
Nyx placed a hand on her hip. "Why not?"
"She'll be lost. Evelyn's a brat, and her friends are worse. They'll eat Rose alive. They'll bully her."
"Don't be so dramatic."
"I'm serious, Nyx. She's human. Evelyn's squad would play on her weakness for their entertainment."
I could already see it; Rose standing there in her secondhand shoes while Evelyn's wolves laughed behind their champagne flutes. My fists clenched just imagining it. Maybe this was a bad idea. But I had to let her breathe. I had to, didn't I?
"And I'll be there," Nyx said firmly. "You trust me, don't you?"
I stared at her. Damn it, I did trust her.
"Come on," she coaxed. "She's been locked up in a convent her whole life. Doesn't even know what eyeliner is. One evening with decent music, and she might remember what it's like to smile."
I clenched my jaw. She had a point. As much as I hated it, she had a point.
Rose had barely seen the sky. She blinked at the chandeliers like they were UFOs. She probably doesn't even know how to use a cellphone. A single evening out might not kill her.
It might even help her. Even if I didn't like this, maybe one night of unwinding would do her a lot of good. I needed to put her comfort first.
"Fine. But you stay with her the entire time. No parties within parties. No sneaking off." I raised a warning finger in her direction.
"Deal," she chirped, doing a little happy bounce. "Thank you, thank you, thank you…"
"Don't make me regret this."
"You won't," she promised, already halfway back up the stairs. "Also, tell Cassian I say hi!"
"Tell him yourself!"
I watched her disappear down the hallway, laughing like a child who'd just gotten away with stealing the last cookie.
And now… I had the Council to deal with
I took a deep breath, straightened my coat, and began the slow, heavy walk toward the war room.
Cassian was already waiting at the tall, arching doors like a sentinel dressed in black. His white shirt was neat, sleeves rolled up to the forearm. His bored gray eyes met mine.
"They're inside."
"How long?"
"Fifteen minutes. They brought snacks."
"Of course they did."
He opened the door for me. "Time to be Alpha."
"Time to tame a pack of gossiping grandpas."
As I stepped into the room, the scent of burnt coffee, sour tempers, and politics met me like a punch. I straightened my spine.
Let the games begin.