1
The wineglass shattered in Nora’s hand, temporarily disrupting the steady chatter in the wine bar.
Jennifer cursed. Tasha half rose out of her chair.
“God, are you okay?” their waitress asked, showering the table with little white napkins.
“I’m fine,” Nora said. The stem had sliced across her palm. Blood mixed with the cabernet that dripped to the floor. Good thing she’d chosen red tonight.
“I’m so sorry,” the waitress said. “I’ll get you another glass. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes.” Nora’s voice was icy.
The waitress rushed off.
Probably too icy. It wasn’t the waitress’s fault. Nothing had been wrong with the wineglass. Nora had simply crushed it in frustration.
“Are you sure you’re not cut?” Jennifer asked.
Nora almost didn’t hear her friend’s question. Something pulsed nearby, the aura of another paranorm. Vampire most likely, roused by the smell of her blood.
She waited another second for her cut hand to heal, then she showed Jennifer her palm. “It’s fine.”
Satisfied, Jennifer sat back in her chair. “I knew you’d be upset but not that upset.”
The words were meant as a joke. Both humans laughed. Nora forced a cool smile to her lips as well. Her friends didn’t know about the paranormal world. They would never understand the extent of her unrest. It wasn’t just the wolf that wanted to crawl out of her skin. She was drowning, smothered by the weight of an ocean filled with the demands and expectations of the most powerful alpha on the planet. Powerful because of his dominance over his wolves, both physically and supernaturally, and powerful because he controlled access to the only Null zone in existence, a place where the moonsick could go to quiet their connections to their packs and to escape the violent influence of the full moon.
That alpha also happened to be her father.
“What if we talk to your dad?” Tasha asked. “Would that help?”
Nora snorted. “No.”
The waitress returned with a new glass and another apology. “This one’s on the house.”
“No need,” Nora said. “I’ll pay.” This little outing was a silent rebellion. It was time with her human friends and Swirl’s most expensive bottle of wine, the latter of which she was paying for with her father’s money.
By the glass.
Because it cost more.
Tasha stabbed a toothpick into a cube of cheese. “The perfect apartment just became available. It’s within walking distance of the beach.”
“And we really need another person to split the rent with,” Jennifer said. She lifted her glass of wine in the air and added, “Someone with money to burn.”
She would burn all the money at her disposal if she could move to California—if she could move anywhere away from here—but not only had her father denied her permission to leave his territory, he’d forbidden her from asking about it again. He’d put his power as alpha behind his order. It had wrapped around her, tightening her throat and preventing any protest.
Rage built under her skin again. She set down her glass so she didn’t launch it into the wall.
Or into the head of the vampire who drifted closer. He was somewhere behind her. She couldn’t get a feel for his age. Maybe he was young and stupid and would look at her wrong. She was in a killing mood tonight.
“You know, you’re an adult,” Jennifer said, a finger tracing the rim of her glass. “He can’t really tell you what to do.”
Who would have thought Nora could be envious of a human? How easy life would be if she could simply defy her father and ignore the orders of wolves who outranked her, especially when she was more dominant than many of them. But she had no place in the pack’s chain of command. She was something outside of it, never allowed to officially fight for a position, always guessing when she was supposed to act like a normal werewolf or act like the alpha’s daughter.
“Have you told Craig you’re moving?” Nora asked, changing the subject.
“I mentioned I was thinking about it. I’ll tell him next…” Jennifer’s gaze lifted. She focused behind Nora, and her finger froze on her glass rim.
