I was about to release her, but then... fuck it. I snapped her thumb and left her in a howling pile on the floor while I collected my steaming nachos.
"Girl," Mattie exclaimed, standing there with a glass of wine in each hand and a wide-eyed look of awe on her face. "Firstly, that was so badass I think I just came a little bit. Secondly, the guys are going to freakingkillme when they see your face. Dammit, Vi!"
I touched a hand to my cheek, feeling the ache of a bruise forming. "Oops."
Mattie groaned but didn't look back at Claudette’s crying and wailing even once as we walked away. Good girl.
Chapter 28
I’d never thought much about the monarchy of Australasia. For one, it was on the other side of the freaking world, and as a poor orphan, I wasn’t getting there any time soon. And two, well, mainly just the number one reason. It was too far away to ever really register on my radar, and it wasn't until I’d met Alex that I’d even crossed paths with anyone born there.
After my first introduction, I’d expected them all to be evil assholes. I mean, look at their king and queen and heir. So I was surprised to find their team played a super clean game, no cheating, fighting, or catcalling.
“This is the most professional game I think I’ve seen,” I said to Mattie at halftime. She grimaced.
“Oh yeah, Australasians are super disciplined in general. They look like hot surfers, but they’re soldiers at heart.”
“Lots of beaches, right?” I said, trying to recall the few things I knew about them. “And weird animals.”
Mattie laughed. “If byweirdyou meanable to kill with a single bite, then yep, that’s about right.”
Kill with a single bite. Well, that explained their monarchy. They were just as lethal.
My palm reader buzzed, and I lifted it to find a message from Alex.
Dinner with my parents after the game. Not a request.
My heart beat like a fucking jackhammer in my chest as I quickly showed Mattie. “I can’t get out of it,” I said softly. “What freaking excuse would be good enough to bail?”
Her eyes were wide, but she didn’t immediately panic. I could see she was running it over in her head, no doubt trying to find a protocol I wasn’t aware of.
“Don’t answer him yet,” she murmured. “We need to check with Rafe. He might be the only one with the power to supersede their request. I’m just not sure how it can be worded so as not to raise suspicion.”
Jesus. This was not my week. Month. Year. If it kept going this way, I’d just call it “not my decade” and be fucking done with it.
“Should I tell the guys now, give them a chance to work it out?” I asked, putting my head right next to Mattie’s.
She pursed her lips. “It’s a close game. Maybe just wait until they’re finished, and that way we won’t distract them during the second half.”
“Yep,” I nodded, “good plan. These moody bastards hate to lose, and I’d rather not be the reason they were distracted.”
Her laughter was a welcomed relief after the tension.
Of course, my palm reader felt like it weighed a freaking ton with Alex’s message just sitting there. I wanted so badly to tell him to go fuck himself, but that wouldn’t help. I had no power. Curse words wouldn’t do anything but make my punishment greater.
So I would wait.
The second half passed in a blur. I spent most of it tapping my leg and thinking murderous thoughts. The blatant manipulation of my life had gone on long enough, and I was done playing Alex’s pawn. Could the Society… the resistance, whatever the fuck they called themselves… could they help me escape the fate of a ballot winner?
Or would that just be a trap of a different making? Exchanging one cage for another wasn’t ideal, but Alex was never gonna happen. That much I knew for a fact.
Mattie jumped to her feet screaming, and I blinked, focusing on the game again.
Only it was over and we’d won, three points to two.
“Rafe scored,” she said, shooting me a smug grin. “And you totally missed it. He’s not gonna be happy.”
I snorted. “I’ll pretend I saw it. Did anything unusual happen that I should comment on?”
