“Yes.”
“Well, I feel that way about my stuff. My room. My safe space. And you violated it to get laid.” I stood, and I could feel my anger rising. “You’re weaker than me, lower than me, and an all around shitty fucking person. But you thought you had the right to MY things. You went into my room and used my things, the things I got from my mother, from my father, for myself. And you used them to trap a wolf that isn’t yours.” Nix came closer to the surface. I felt my eyes shift, my fur flowed down my arms, and my claws came out. “Do you know what that does to me?”
Shannon paled. She shook her head back and forth and cowered. “I, I, I, I, I don’t know.”
“You know.” I screamed. “You feel the same way about Brandon.” I stepped toward her and Morgan stood up with his arms raised up in surrender.
“Amy, please.”
“A Beta has some nesting instinct.” I glared at him. “How would you feel if someone went into your room, stole your shit, and then strutted around acting like you owed them? Knowing that they aren’t even fucking ranked.”
Morgan swallowed and then nodded. “I’d hate it.”
“Exactly.” I flung my hands up. “So ask me again why I need a dorm.” Morgan met my eyes and looked away. “I said, ask me.”
“Why do you need a dorm?”
“So I have a place away from your pathetic daughter. Where she can’t get in. Where my wolf can feel like her space isn’t invaded. So we don’t do anything stupid, like fucking kill her.” My eyes flashed and Shannon cowered again.
Morgan nodded. “It seems like it is a smart decision.”
My mother looked back and forth between me and them. “I think, for the sake of peace, you should stay at your dorm for the first little while. Until Nix calms down a bit.” I looked back at her, betrayal on my face. But she reached her hand out to me and shook her head. “Baby, look at yourself. These things used to roll off your back, but now…” She rubbed her thumb over my hand. “You are on edge. And I don’t want you ruining your life by killing someone who doesn’t matter.” Shannon scoffed and my mother just smirked.
“Would that be alright Amy?” Morgan asked quietly.
“You want me to stay on campus?” I glared.
“I just think, for the safety of everyone involved, it might be the smart decision.” He tried to sound sorry, but I could see there was a glint in his eyes.
“Safety, right? And it has nothing to do with getting me out of the house and having my mother all to yourself?”
My mother threw her head back and laughed. “Amy.”
“It’s true.” I shot back.
“Even if it was true.” My mother started and pulled me back down to the chair. “It doesn’t matter. That ship has sailed.” She looked at Morgan, and I watched the life, the love, drain out of them. “I don’t know how often I have to say it to get it through your thick heads. But I am no longer your wife, your stepmother, your chef, or your maid. We live together, but that’s all there is.”
“Ainsley.” Morgan tried to take a step, but she growled.
“Fine.” I settled back in the chair. “I’ll stay in the dorm.”
“Fine.” Morgan settled back down beside Shannon.
“Can I go now?”
Morgan was about to nod, but Shannon grabbed his arm. “The food card, daddy.”
He huffed out a breath and rolled his eyes. “Shannon. Be reasonable.” He looked at her, but she screamed and got to her feet.
“See!” She pointed at me. “She gets everything. The rank, the money, the Alphas. Everything and I get NOTHING.” She screamed. “She gets a hundred thousand on a FOOD CARD. Are you kidding me?” She whirled on me. “Why do you even need that much money, anyway?”
I looked her dead in the eyes. “I might want to buy something.” I shrugged.
“I have nothing on my food card!” She broke down into tears.
“Well, that’s not true.” I leaned forward. “I just paid like four million to ensure every student enlisted had at least ten thousand on their cards.”
Shannon and Morgan froze. “What did you say?” Shannon took a step towards me.
