“Don’t pretend to care so much about our family,” she spat, dashing away her tears with her sleeve, “not after you stand by and let Dominic Volkhov insult our house, our parents.”
“That’s different,” Theodore said through gritted teeth. “I’m building an alliance that will look after us all-”
“You’re nothing but a trained dog!” Layla threw her hands up in the air. “What kind of friend talks about your home like that? Yoursister?”
“We’re not talking about Volkhov,” Theodore said, “we’re talking about you and your insistence on practicing magic even when I’ve expressivelytoldyou—”
“You’re not in charge of me!”
“The fuck I’m not!”
“Why is it you only remember you’re my brother when it’s to order me around?”
“Because, believe it or not, I’m trying to protect you. To protect all of us. It’s as the Alpha says. Magic comes at a cost. Witchcraftalwayshas consequences. Our own great-grandfather died when the witches tried to seize control for themselves. I’m looking out for you-”
“Yeah, right,” Layla spat. “You’re doing a fantastic job of that. I haven’tdoneanything wrong. I told you.”
Theodore’s eyes flashed in anger before flicking to the door.
She realized, a second too late, what he planned on doing.
“Theo,” she yelled as he sprinted past her, taking the stairs three at a time. “Theo, stop!”
She was no match for him. By the time she stumbled into her bedroom, he already had one of her grimoires in hand, disentangling it from the mess of blankets. He held it up to her, jaw working.
“Unbelievable.”
“Theo…”
“Itoldyou to throw these things on the fire! Ifanyoneelse,includingour father, found them—”
“It’s not what you think,” Layla said, hands clenched into fists. “I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone!”
“Then what? What couldpossiblyjustify breaking the pack law?”
Yet again, tears of pure frustration welled in her eyes, and she growled as she furiously rubbed at her face. “I was just trying to…that is…there’s a spell—”
“You were using magic to try and shift.”
Layla looked up at him, heart sinking into her stomach. She nodded, suddenly feeling a hundred times smaller than she was.
Theodore groaned, chucking the grimoire onto the bed, running a hand down his face. “I can’t keep covering for you, Layla. Do you know what Dominic would say if he knew?”
Layla’s breath caught. “He already hates me.”
“Not like this,” Theodore said. “He’d tell his father. And once the Alpha hears—” he broke off, his jaw working. “I can’t protect you from that. Iwon’t.”
The words landed heavily.
Layla blinked fast, but a tear slipped free anyway. “You’d tell him yourself if it meant keeping your place.”
He didn’t deny it.
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Theodore moved to the window. The moonlight caught the edge of his jaw, his expression tired and bitter, “You don’t understand what it’s like,” he said quietly, “every day, I have to prove we’re not at the bottom of the food chain. That we belong in this pack. You think I can do that if my sister’s off practicing witchcraft?”
“I wasn’t hurting anyone,” she said.
