Page 21

The room is nice—smaller than my room at Greystone, but at least this one is decorated better. I start opening up doors and find a closet behind the first and a Jack and Jill bathroom on the other side of the second. Nathan opens the opposite door at the same time and chuckles when he sees me. “I guess we’re sharing.”
Shrugging, I try to play off his nearness, but a muscle in my stomach tightens. I really hope this won’t be weird. Gesturing toward the room between us, he asks, “Do you...need to use it?”
I shake my head. “Be my guest.”
I step away, attempting to close the door behind me, when Nathan sticks his hand out to block it. “We should talk strategy soon.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand, and I turn slowly. “Sean and I aren’t your fight,” I say as nicely as possible. “You need to worry about yourself.”
The creases in his forehead deepen as he glares at me. “I’m only giving them one chance before I go on the offensive. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you’re not sent Feral, Mia.”
“One chance?” I counter. “You know that’s not enough. We have a year’s worth of shit to work through.”
“We can’t wait too long,” he growls back.
“Just focus on seducing Gayle,” I snap.
He reels back like I hit him. My heart pounds in my chest. Unsure of where that outburst came from, I cross my arms in front of my chest, not backing down. No matter where it came from, it’s the truth. He needs to worry about Gayle, and I need to worry about Sean. Separating them while we’re here should be a priority for us.
“Fine,” Nathan grinds out before slamming the door closed between us.
I sigh and throw myself back on the single bed. The mattress creaks beneath my weight. I take my phone out of my pocket, bring up my mother’s number, hit the green call button, and hold the phone to my ear. She answers coolly, so I measure her even tone and sprinkle it through mine. “Hello, Mother. I just wanted to let you know that I’m at the alpha’s hunting cabin.”
“Ah, yes, they said they were going to have you stay there.”
The call is silent after that. Unease trickles through me. “I was wondering if I could come visit you and Dad. Maybe we can invite Sean over for dinner?”
“Sean? Did he agree?” she asks, excitement evident in her response.
“I haven’t asked him yet.”
“Oh,” she remarks. “Well, if he agrees, your father and I would be happy to host you both.”
“So, only if Sean agrees?”
“Mia,” my mother remarks with exasperation, “why do you have to be like this?”
“Mom, I haven’t seen you in a year. I’m not being like anything.”
She clicks her tongue. It’s a bad habit she’s done since I was a kid when she was annoyed with me. “You know how busy your father and I get around parties. I don’t know why you chose the Winter Solstice to come home, anyway.”
“Greystone sent me here. I didn’t ask for it.”
“Still, you’d think they would’ve asked us what we thought before they decided.”
I shake my head. She’s acting as if I’m away at some prestigious high school. “Fine. I won’t bother you, then.”
“Ugh, Mi—”
I don’t let her excuse get out before I hang up the phone. The door opens, and I peek up to find Nathan standing there, lips thinned. By the way he’s looking at me, I’m sure he heard all of that. “You don’t need them,” he says. “Focus on Sean. When you get him, your parents will go back to being normal.”
“Normal meaning they’re going to actually act as if they have a kid?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Oh, goodie,” I deadpan.
He sits on the edge of my bed. “I was about to text Gayle, telling her I wanted to see her, but I can’t get my fingers to do it. Here, switch phones with me.”