When I was a kid, that tone would have made me flinch, then shrink back into myself as I looked away and mumbled an apology. This time, I laid down my fork and leaned forward, resting my head on laced fingers as I stared down my father.
“Is that really the way you want to speak to your new luna?” I asked, my conversational tone barely masking the warning in the words.
Dad’s lips curled into a sneer as he glared back, fingers tightening on his fork. I raised an eyebrow, an amused smile creeping onto my face even as anger simmered beneath the surface.
“You’re not luna yet,” he growled.
“Sure,” I said. “But we both know it’s inevitable.”No matter how badly I wish it weren’t,I thought to myself. “So I would recommend you keep that in mind the next time you try and order me around.”
“You impertinent little—”
“Careful,” I cut him off, not even looking at him. “You’re forgetting who you’re talking to now.”
His eyes widened for a brief moment, then narrowed as he let out a low growl. When I raised an eyebrow, he pressedhis lips together and sulked. He couldn’t touch me anymore. Not without risking Elias’s ire. And as soon as the ceremony took place, I would outrank my family. Dad might hate it, but he had to deal with it.
The doorbell rang, mercifully pulling me from the uncomfortable conversation. With the faintest smile that didn’t reach my eyes, I dipped away, relieved for the reprieve as I hurried over to the door.
A tiny, almost waifish woman, a couple of years younger than me, stood at the door. Long dark hair framed her narrow face, complementing her tan skin. She gave a warm, almost timid smile as I looked down at her.
“Hi, Emma,” she said.
I stared for a long moment, my brow furrowed as I tried to place her face, searching back over five years ago. My mind landed on an even skinnier, even tinier girl who had always followed Elias around, wide-eyed and devoted in the way only a younger sibling could be.
“Rachel,” I said.
The timid smile broke into a more authentic one. “You remember me?”
I nodded. It was hard to forget that the younger sister of the man I had known was my fated mate. The only reason it had taken me as long as it had was because she had made that transition from gawky teen to woman in the few years I had been away.
“It’s good to see you,” I said, more than a little awkwardly.
Her smile grew wry. “You probably weren’t expecting it to be under these circumstances, though.”
I couldn’t help myself. I gave a soft laugh as I gave a brief shake of my head.
“No,” I said, some of the tension easing in my shoulders at her kind smile. “Not at all. It’s a little bizarre. Everything happened so quickly…”
I coughed, remembering that I was speaking to my mate’s sister. I didn’t know what she would relay to him.
Rachel, as if sensing my thoughts, knowing which direction they were drifting, waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to rat you out to Elias or anything like that.”
Raising an eyebrow, I tilted my head. “No?”
Shaking her head, Rachel raised two fingers. “One, you’re more or less going to be my sister in a few days, and I have every intention of being a safe space for you while all of this gets sorted out. Two, it’s a weird situation, and it’s going to take adjusting. As long as you’re not planning on running away, I don’t think Elias needs to know about your personal thoughts on the matter, at least not unlessyouwant to tell him. I’m not his spy.”
“Well, he hasn’t seemed to care much about what I’ve thought thus far.”
Rachel shrugged. “He’s smart, and a lot more perceptive than he looks.” Her eyes sparkled with playful mischievousness. “I’m sure that he knows on some level how weird this is for you. It’s weird for him, even if he won’t admit it.”
I let the words sink in, chewing on them contemplatively. “You’re probably right,” I murmured.
“I have my moments. Anyway, I came to let you know that the mating ceremony is going to take place at the end of the week,” Rachel said.
I blinked, taking a step back without realizing I was doing it. “That soon?” I asked, trying to stop my voice from coming out as a squeak.
“Sooner the better, for a lot of reasons,” she said.
“Well, I don’t really have much choice in the matter, so it sounds good, I guess.”
