Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“Ugh,” I groaned, giving up on the food I wasn’t eating anyway. “I’ll figure this out, Nia, I promise. I just need to... lie down... for a minute and then...”
I might’ve been about to say more, but I had already pushed back from the table and trudged off. I made it to the door and reached for the handle.
“Oh, let me get that for you.”
He was already opening the door and throwing his arm around my shoulder before his voice rang the alarm bells.
“Get off me, Orion.”
“Don’t be like that. I’m just trying to help.” The man practically dragged me along after him, his grip on me was so firm. “Everyone can see you’re not feeling too well. Wouldn’t want our illustrious headmistress to fall on her face in front of everyone? How wond— embarrassing would that be?”
I growled at the obvious word slip. “Not as embarrassing as you strutting around like you own the place when we all know you’ll be back squatting over a prison toilet within the next week—crying and whining because all the mwean inmates keep laughing at your tiny peen.”
Orion busted up. “You always were quick with the comebacks, Volana. Clever enough, though they’re nothing but wrong.
“I won’t be going back to prison. Didn’t someone tell you? The secret police cleared me yesterday. Turns out, they’re on to another suspect.”
I didn’t react. “I wouldn’t celebrate just yet. You’ll be back in the frame after I tell them your motive. Of course you wanted Dagem dead after the part she played in what happened to your mother.”
Orion stumbled. Just the slightest hitch in his step, but I caught it with a vindictive glee that concerned even me. Constant, mind-numbing pain was bringing out my evil side, and Orion really didn’t want to meet her.
“She didn’t have anything to do with my mother,” he barked. “They weren’t even in the same clan! You never stop with your lies and manipulation, do you? You just keep stabbing blindly until you hit something. You don’t even care what. You—”
“Blah, blah, blah,” I carried on. “Before you accuse me of lying, why don’t you look up a picture of Corvin Academy’s graduating class of 1995, and see who’s standing beside Dagem with their arms around each other.” I smiled up at him and that deliciously dumbfounded expression. “Or not. I’m sure the secret police will show it to you the next time they haul you into the interrogation room.”
“Argh!” Grabbing my shoulders, Orion shoved me up against the wall. “Enough of this, if you know something about my mom—”
“—I wouldn’t tell you because you made your choice,” I sliced in. “You’d rather torture me than help her, and that right there says everything about who you are as a man.”
“Help her?” His fury crumbled. “What do you mean help her? She’s alive? She’s in trouble?” He shook me. “Tell me!”
“Join me.” I smiled serenely into his eyes—mostly because trying to work up stronger emotions made my head ache. “Help me take over Wolf Nation instead of sabotaging me, and I’ll give you exactly what you want.”
His orbs tinged gold. “Never.”
“Then you and I have nothing more to stay to each other.” I threw him off me. “Have a wonderful day, Orion, and thank you so much for guiding me and opening my doors. It’s good to know some people around here know how to treat their queen.”
His growls were kicking up a racket in my jangled head. I turned to leave, and got a split-second look at her ring-covered knuckles before they were flying at me.
Wham!
Pain exploded in my face. The force of the punch knocked me off my feet and dropped me flat on my ass. And Orion made zero effort to catch me.
“Oh my gods,” the blurry figure standing over me screamed. “Daciana, are you okay?”
My nose told me what my watering eyes couldn’t. “T-Tracy? What the hell!”
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
“You’re sorry?!” I shrieked over Orion’s raucous belly laughs. “You just punched me in the fucking face!”
“I didn’t mean to! I mean, I didn’t want to!” Tracy whipped around. “It—it was a command! From an alpha,” she cried.
“What alpha?” I blubbed, tears stinging my eyes as I hauled my broken cartilage back into place. An awful necessity unless I wanted it to speed-heal crookedly.
“I... I don’t know. I didn’t see them, I just heard it. A voice from another room. They said to punch you.” She clapped her hands over her mouth, crying as much as me. “I’m so sorry, Daze. I can’t believe some alpha bastard made me do that. What is wrong with them! I swear, they’re worse this week than they’ve ever been.”
“They really are,” I muttered, the pain beginning to clear in my nose, but pound harder in my head—Orion’s howling making it worse. “It’s okay, Tracy, it’s not your fault.” I flicked down to the water bottle in her hand. “Just do me a favor and we’re even?”