His brows furrow, and his eyes darken. “I wear a spray that masks my scent.”
“Why?” I blink up at him.Shut up, Addie! Take your egg and go.
“Because...” The word comes out as a low growl. “I don’t need to accidentally scent match with some puck bunny.”
“Oh.” I blink again.
“Why are your nipples pierced?"
My eyes go comically wide. “W-what?”
His eyes flick down to my breasts, nostrils flaring. “Your nipples. They’re hard, and I can see the barbells through your shirt.”
My eyes drop quickly, and heat fills my cheeks when I see he’s right.
Quickly, I spin around and place the plate on the island. “None of your business,” I mutter.
“Whatever,” he grunts.
“Addison.”
My mother's voice has my spine stiffening, and my head snaps over to see her walking in. She’s dressed in a black pencil skirt with a blood red blouse. We share the same white blonde hair, but hers is pulled into an elegant bun. You can’t even tell she’s been on a fourteen-hour flight.
“Mother.” I put on my best fake smile. “Lovely to see you.”
She raises a brow, knowing damn well that I don’t mean it. “How have you been settling in?”
“Good,” I say. “All good.”
“Wonderful. Now that I’m back, there’s no point in wasting time.”
“Wasting time with what?” A look of confusion takes over my face..
Damien stands nearby, watching the two of us talk while eating more of my damn bacon!
“Damien, honey, it’s so wonderful to see you. Congratulations on your wins. Your father is ecstatic.”
“Thank you, Eloise. But it’s only the beginning of the season,” Damien replies.
“Of course.” She smiles, nodding. It’s her fake smile. She can’t even muster up a real one for her favorite child. She turns her attention back to me. “Tomorrow, make sure your schedule is free.”
It’s not, I was going to stream for a few hours before taking the weekend off.
“Why?” I ask, dreading the answer as soon as I ask.
“The Bancroft pack will be coming by to take you out.”
“What?” I gasp, face morphing with panic and shock. “What the hell! Why?”
My mother glares at me. “We talked about this, Addison. You were allowed to come back home and live under my roof with the expectation that you would find a pack. It’s time to grow up and stop wasting your time. I gave you a chance to go to that school,” she spits the word as if the place is beneath her. “And you’ve chosen to do nothing of value with that time. That's on you. You’ve lived off my money long enough. It’s not my job to take care of you beyond the age of eighteen. It should be your pack’s responsibility. Since you don’t have one, we need to rectify that, which starts with you courting packs of my choosing.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” I hiss, anger boiling inside me. It takes everything I have not to let the angry tears spill.
“I’m not messing around, Addison. I’ve selected some lovely unmated packs, all from well-established families. I’m not telling you which pack to pick, as long as you pick one. No matter who you choose, you will want for nothing.”
“You can’t do this.”
“I can, and I have. I will not entertain any arguments. Do you understand me, young lady?”
