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Polton perked up,smiling over the top of the wooden box in hisarms.

“You might enjoy our ancestral hall,”I continued, “where we have paintings, books, and historical records tracing the lines of the Luna familyback—”

“No, no,”Perennia said, waving her hand in front of her, like she’d smelled something bad. “We’re quite exhausted and would like to be shown to our room so we can freshen up before the party. Now, I’ve been told that you have a special safe I can use to store myvaluables?”

“We do. It’s—”

“Good.Take me to it immediately. It’s for someoneveryspecial in Diamond Dust, and they must be given the utmost attention.” Her cheeks went rosy pink, while her husband’s face flashed with quick irritation. I smiled and nodded. I just wanted get the two of them out of my hair as quickly aspossible.

Ibroughtthem inside the house and went straight to the storage room we used as a coat room during events. A desk had been installed next to the entrance, where two members of our house staff would be posted to care for our guest’s belongings. I punched a pin number into a keypad next to the door, and the lock whirred open. Why she didn’t think that was enough security as it was, I had no idea. It wasn’t like they were storing their things here long term, and the only guests would be other highborn clan members. No one would be interested in her things, whatever theywere.

We usedthe room normally as a kind of vault to store various things, like records, awards, Mother’s extra shoes, and the keys to all the various vehicles we never seemed to use, along with keys to our other properties. The room was lined with recessed shelving along the walls and one long double-sided shelf that ran down the center. About half of the room had been cleared for guest’s belongings, and at the back was the electronic safe where the various keys and important documents werekept.

“This is your most secure safe?”Perennia asked. She looked at its gray, metal door down her nose, like she wanted to say that she’d seen better. The truth was that Mother and Father didn’t like to store money or anything precious, like jewelry, inside this safe. They had a separate vault for that down in the basement, one that was far more secure, but I wasn’t going to say a word aboutit.

“Yes,Mrs. Whitefang. Your things will be secure here.” I punched a pin code into the door, and it swung open. “You can put your box right here.” I placed my hand on an empty space on the green velvet lined shelf. “Would you like me to put your handbag in,too?”

“No,I’d like you to put that in my room, thank you very much,” she said, as if it were something I should’ve known withoutasking.

Her husband shuffled forwardand slid the box onto the shelf, and I closed thesafe.

“Willyou be checking on it through the night?” she asked as we left the storageroom.

I’d learnedthe art of patience and still mindedness at the Alpha Leadership College, and had dealt with plenty of irritating people—in my position, there was no shortage of them—but I was feeling sore about the party and this woman was starting to really get on mynerves.

“Don’t worry,Mrs. Whitefang. The room is very secure, and we’ll have two members of our house staff manning it through the night. Now, this is Stephen, our head of staff. He’ll show you to yourroom.”

Stephen,who was waiting with the cart of luggage, gave a quick bow. “Right this way,please.”

“Seeyou both at the party. If you need anything, Stephen will personally assist you.” I nodded a goodbye, turned heel, and quicklyescaped.

Ientered the main hall,where workers were still setting up the tables and decor for the party. Getting a glass of something was all that was on my mind at that moment. I’d need it to get through the rest of theday.

“Sir.”One of our staff raised his hand and hurried over to me. “Quick question. Mrs. Luna—ah, your Mother—she wanted red flowers for the table centerpieces, but the company made a mistake and delivered white flowers. What should wedo?”

“I’m sure white is fine.”

“Mrs. Luna seemed very seton having redflowers—”

Istopped walkingand took the frazzled man by his shoulders. “You can pass the blame onto me if she does. It’s a child’s birthday party. White, red, I don’t think he really cares. But there is something you can do forme.”

“Oh, yes, sir. Anything you ask.”

“Find me a drink,please? A strongone.”

Soon,I had a glass of bear honey whiskey in my hand, and I fled outside to enjoy it in the one place that nobody would be able to find me. Making my way through the rose garden, I placed the glass onto the ground and, after taking a quick look around, shifted into my wolf form. I gently picked the glass back up with my mouth, and ducked into a space between two hedges that formed a tunnel of crisscrossing vines and branches. Sunlight leaked in through the spaces between the foliage, dappling the ground with pools of shimmering light, like reflections off water. I continued on through the bushes and into the forest until I came out into a grove of apple trees. I shifted back into human form, took a sip of my whiskey, andsighed.

Asmall streamchuckled along through the trees, and next to it was a large, flat boulder—my boulder. I’d made this place my secret hiding space when I was young, and would sometimes sneak off here when I needed to be alone. It’d been a long time since I’d come here. Time and responsibility just hadn’t allowed it, no matter how much I wanted to escape. I sat myself down on the rock and sipped my drink. I should’ve just brought the whole damn bottle, though drinking too much would definitely not be a good idea. Too many things I’d need to handletonight.

Iwas privilegedto be the one to handle the family affairs. My father was a respected man, and I would have his position someday. But sometimes I couldn’t help but be jealous of my brothers. Loch was married. There wasn’t much pressure on Arthur after he’d graduated from the academy, and he was having a grand time fooling around. Vander, being the only omega, got special treatment, and he was up in the north, findinghimself.

Ajourney of self-discovery.

Icouldn’t helpbut laugh. The idea was so foreign to me. The freedom to just up and leave, and have Mother and Father’s approval to do so… It was something I would never be able todo.

Not that I needed to.I knew who I was. I was going to lead this family someday. That was what I was destinedfor.

Iclosedmy eyes and laid back on the rock, spreading my arms out on either side. It felt like I’d been running a marathon, a never-ending marathon, and when was the last time I’d stopped to take a break? A long time. I was tired. And more than that, I felt…empty.