Page 4

The steady rhythm of my feet hitting the treadmill filled the gym, stretching wall to wall in the unfinished portion of the basement. Letting me claim this cement-walled area was one of the few things I ever got my parents to agree with me on, and it took years of begging, negotiating, and finally offering to pay for half before they agreed when I was fifteen.

It was my favorite part of the house. My parents' house. At twenty-six, I lived here, not because I didn’t want my own space, but because it allowed me to save every spare dollar I could.

Not that it mattered.

At least, not anymore.

I’d given up my dream of ever escaping this life at nineteen. At this point, staying was more habit than anything else.

I hadn’t accepted back then that the Pack would never let me leave. I was far too valuable. A double-edged sword I fell on before I had any idea of the mistake I was making.

Growing up, I knew I was nothing like my sisters or girls my age. I wasn’t looking forward to finding my mate or falling in love. I didn’t want to pop out baby after baby while a man provided for me.

I wanted more.

What was the point of being a lethal wolf if we were only used to breed?

Unfortunately, I was the only one who felt that way. Or admitted it aloud.

The door behind me opened, and in the mirror, Dad’s reflection stepped inside. “Can we talk?”

I nodded, and he came to stand in front of me, knowing I wouldn’t cut my training short for his sake.He was large, even by shifter standards, with deep brown skin and thick black hair that Mom made sure he kept trimmed. Years of stress and responsibility etched lines in his face, which bore a look like he wasn’t here for a casual chat.

“Last night was successful?”

Direct and to the point, as always. He didn’t bother to ask if I was okay, physically or mentally. He never did. I wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t care, or if it just never crossed his mind to check.

“Yes.”

He would have heard by now if it wasn’t.

“Any cleanup needed?”

“No.”

Again, word would have made it to him.

“Good.”

If this was all he wanted to know, he could have sent me a text. He was here for a reason.

I tapped the button to increase the incline. I could wait him out.

“Miguel wasted our time.”

“Oh?” There it was. His sudden trip. He hadn’t even told me where he was going when he left.All he said was that his brother might have a bastard daughter, and he needed to check on things.

“The girl was his, but she barely learned to shift. A weak, pitiful excuse for a wolf. She had her ovaries removed, which is a favor to our kind. She was of no use to us.”

Smart bitch.

I’d tried to do that three times but never succeeded. Dad showed up at the clinic each time and stopped the surgery. Even when I flew down to enemy territory in Belize under a fake name, he still found me.

However, after that trip, he finally accepted I wasn’t going to stop trying. He allowed me to get a copper IUD. I had three more years of protection left before coming up with another solution.

If the Pack ever found out, Alpha would execute us both. Nothing mattered more to the Velez family than continuing to produce a strong line.

That was all he was going to tell me about his trip? Was he just trying to rub it in my face? My cousin avoided the Velez family’s reach, and I couldn’t?