Page 57

It’s chilly and I realize that winter will be coming sooner than I think. That might be fine, but I don’t think I want to weather it here, in this place, this punishment house.

No, we can do better.

I want a proper nest. I’ve waited long enough.

I touch my bite marks as I walk, feeling each of them as they reach inside me with long fingers to brush my deepest core. With all the bites, I am whole in a way I have never been. I have come into my power, and I am now a force, a storm, an omega. It is time for a reckoning.

I don’t knock when I get to the main house. I just go in. I climb up the steps, following the scent of where I know the Vasilissa is.

It surprises me she hasn’t scented me, hasn’t come to me. But if she were to try to stand up to me, she’d be in for a surprise. She should have come and submitted, offered her entire pack to me, at my disposal.

I burst in on her, opening the door to her nest.

She is there, asleep, her mates curled around her.

They get up, coming to me but I only have to give them each a look before they bow their heads or fall to their knees.

Good.

Penelope wraps herself in quilts and sits up in the midst of the nest. She does not get to her feet.

Smart woman.

I fold my arms over my chest.

She tries to hold my gaze, shudders, and breaks. She bows her head. “What happened?”

“When will Selene be here?” I say.

“That… you heard about that.” She lets out a noisy breath, and then she speaks quickly, pleading with me. “Listen, that was a foolish idea, and I see that now. I can scent—we can all scent—what you are. We would never think to challenge you, and you must accept my sincere apologies for even attempting to—”

“When will she be here?” I interrupt.

“You cannot actually think to go head-to-head with Selene like this. You will crush her.”

I laugh. “Does Selene deserve better?”

Penelope’s lips part. “Please. You have no quarrel with her. I am the one responsible for that even being suggested. It is my error. You would kill that poor girl.”

“Would I.” I survey her. “It is your error, however, Penelope. It’s good you recognize that.”

“You… what happened to you?” Her voice cracks.

“You might wish to make it up to me?” I say.

She nods. “Of course. What could we do?”

“Well, who knows,” I say with a shrug. “After all, I grew up in the secular world, and I don’t really understand insults amongst omegas, do I?” I throw her words back at her. “Although, it does seem to me you should be addressing me with respect, shouldn’t you?”

She cringes. “Yes, kyra. Apologies, kyra.”

“Better,” I say. “Now, how will you make amends for the way you have insulted me?”

“You must not stay in the punishment house anymore,” she says.

“No, I don’t think I must,” I say. I smile at her. “I’ll stay here.”

“But—”