Page 195 of The Blairville Legacies

Nash snapped out of his stupor, turned and hurried past me, out of Father’s office, while Father turned back to the window.

I felt like I was glued to the floor. I wanted to leave the office, but it didn’t feel right. I didn’t want to leave Father alone with these problems. I wanted to support him somehow.

The words left my mouth on their own, even if they were well-chosen.

“I’m going to get involved in the university’s election campaigns and make sure the DeLoughreys are de-registered.”

Euphoria filled my chest. Father would be proud if I managed that. And I wouldn’t let him down.

He turned toward me. Something I hadn’t expected, because he often tended to stare into the garden, or rather, into the void.

But now he was looking at me, fixating me with his gaze, which, as always, I couldn’t interpret.

Father had never put his alpha bond on me, and I had stopped worrying about it. He probably didn’t want to make it difficult for me to accept Nash as my Alpha someday.

His stare brought me back to the present, pooling all my nervousness in the center of my chest until I couldn’t take it anymore and reached for my bracelet.

Father’s gaze traveled down my arm and lingered on the spot where the fabric of the bracelet nestled against my wrist.

Something in his expression hardened.

I fought the urge to clasp my hands behind my back so that he could no longer see the bracelet.

Somewhere outside the house, tires squealed.

The sound was enough to snap Father out of his stupor. He turned his eyes away from me, paced across the room, past me.

“Tell Nash he has to be in my office at eight o’clock tonight.”

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see it. Then he was gone.

I didn’t know how much longer I stood there staring into nothing, just like him, until the confusion inside me was enough that I had to move to get rid of it.

Lost in thought, I wandered through the hallway to the lounge, where old paintings from the early days and model ships were displayed in glass cabinets next to the floor-to-ceiling windows, past the seating furniture to the burning fireplace.

I simply stood there and stared into the fire, which brought out the veins in my arms as well as my glowing eyes and captivated me with its fascinating flicker.

Almost of its own accord, I slipped the bracelet off my wrist. It took effort to look away from the flames, not only because I was magically drawn to them, but also because the bracelet in my hands seemed to repel my gaze.

My eyes settled on the fabric anyway, scrutinizing the zigzag pattern and the wooden pearls.

I had always tried to feel something when I looked at them. Devotion, longing... guilt, regret. But all I felt was painful confusion.

Mind drifting, I held out my hand... And let the bracelet fall into the flames.

A crackling sound made the hairs on my arm stand up, and I watched as heat ate into the pattern, reducing the fabric to ashes far too quickly.

A tear tried to escape my eye, but I turned away from the fireplace in time, left the lounge, hurried up the stairs, and retreated to my room to study for law school for the rest of the day.

Chapter 45

Julie

“These are just elections, Grace,” Larissa laughed, apparently better able to handle the stress Grace was scattering everywhere in her election madness.

She wanted to be part of theStudent Council Presidential Committee. And best of all,president.

I doubted shereallywanted that. All she was striving for was to practice leadership positions because she didn’t feel ready to take over the Circle as Domini someday.